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PowderPeople | Stefan Neuhauser in conversation

PG freeride camp in La Grave: "A good line is a challenge for many riders there!"

by Christiane Eggert 02/12/2017
PowderGuide is organizing a freeride camp in La Grave for the first time this year - together with mountain guide Stefan Neuhauser. An interview about the uniqueness of the area, an unforgettable experience and a passion for skiing that knows no bounds.

PG: Stefan, we're really looking forward to holding our first PowderGuide freeride camp with you in La Grave in April. Why there of all places?

Stefan: 2017 may be the last year in which you can still ski in La Grave as before - with the old cable car and the freeride area in its original state. Then either the cable car will close or the area will be more commercialized and converted into a piste area with modern gondolas. La Grave and the neighboring areas of Les Deux Alpes and Alpe d'Huez have high alpine freeride terrain.

PG: What can participants expect at the camp?

Stefan: If you just want to go powdering, you're in the wrong place. In La Grave, universal skiing skills are required. The terrain is for skiers who like to ski long sequences. The runs have 1500 to 2000 vertical meters. The areas where the runs come together are characterized by large bumps and waves, but are part of the area. You usually have a lot of fun riding through them. Finding a good line there is a challenge for many riders. We are deliberately riding the classics this week and not just couloirs. Depending on the conditions, we may round off the camp with one or two freeride tours on the Col du Lautaret.

PG: Is La Grave your home spot?

Stefan: I spend a lot of time in La Grave, but I also always look at what's happening in the surrounding area. There was once a winter in La Grave with only cold, windy and dry air. That was the moment when I realized that it was really snowing in the inner Alps. So I went in search of areas that benefit from Genoa or Mediterranean lows. I now offer my camps in areas that benefit from genoa lows, southern and western accumulations and northern exposures. The secret is to create a base right in the middle of the different snow-bringing weather conditions and their accumulation zones. Some areas don't have big names and are spread far and wide across the Southern Alps, so they can't be described as freeride meccas like La Grave or Alagna. But these many small, unknown locations, together with areas like La Grave, make it very likely to catch good snow.

PG: You trained as an insurance salesman. So how did you become a mountain guide?

Stefan:(laughs). You have to learn something proper, don't you? No, seriously: I've actually always been fixated on the mountains. My parents used to rent an alpine pasture, so I've been in touch with climbing, ski touring and hiking since I was a child. But I never thought of making a career out of it. So I first learned something down-to-earth and then went astray through German universities. During this time, I was always out in the mountains a lot and actually worked more on my training as a state mountain guide instead of absorbing the content of mass lectures. But I wouldn't want to miss the study phase. I've been a state-certified mountain guide since 1993 and have been an instructor for the DAV (German Alpine Club) and for the Association of German Mountain and Ski Guides in the field of canyoning. I can even use knowledge from my studies - such as communication psychology - to better understand people in difficult situations on the mountain.

PG: What tours have you done so far?

Stefan: A particular highlight was certainly the first ascent of the north pillar of the Freispitze, together with Herrman Reisach, alpine historian and mountain guide. We spontaneously left the planned drill at the bottom and managed the tour with minimal resources. The decisive factor for me was the harmony in the rope team. The focus here was not on a possible publication, but on the line itself. I never have a fixed rope partner, it changes depending on the tour. I did many first ascents "by fair means" - so I didn't set any bolts, just wedges, friends and normal bolts. The disadvantage of this is that nobody repeats the routes. Later on, I bought myself a drill. In the meantime, however, I do much less climbing and mountaineering. Instead, I indulge in my love of alpine enduro biking. I do it a bit like ski touring and freeriding - always on the lookout for a fine descent.

PG: If you're always out and about, have you had any incidents involving avalanches?

Stefan: As a 16-year-old, I triggered a snow slab on the northern flank of the Heidenkopf. At that time, the entire slope was about 500 meters wide with a break-off edge of about one meter. Fortunately, I was still able to claw my way through the old snow cover. The force with which the masses of snow thundered into the forest was a key experience for me, the abstract risk became tangible. Snow looks so white and innocent and doesn't smell of danger at all. You're having a lot of fun and suddenly it crashes. A personal experience like that makes you understand the forces at work. But by then it's often too late.

PG: How do you deal with danger as a mountain guide?

Stefan: I'm already out on tours a lot in the run-up to winter. This gives me the necessary fitness and sharpens my senses for the winter. That plays a big role for me alongside the rational methods of risk management. Then I do the easier tours first to really get back into it, observe the conditions and how the snow cover develops. My big advantage is also that I'm on the ground almost all the time and therefore experience the "history" of the winter directly. So I try to get my own picture and recognize the peculiarities of the spots. I then compare my observations with the situation report. When I'm out and about in mountains where there is no LLB, the motto is always: take your time and digest your impressions. This has always worked well so far.

PG: What do you recommend if you can't be on site all the time?

Stefan: It takes a lot of time and experience for your instincts and senses to adjust to the subject and for you to really get to grips with the theoretical aids. On most tours, however, I find the ascent to be a great help. I go up where I want to go down afterwards or at least I can already see some of the descent, get a feel for the terrain and the snow situation and have enough time to make decisions. That's the ideal situation for me.

PG: But that only applies to ski tours.

Stefan: Sure, in La Grave, for example, you quickly find yourself in very exposed terrain after a fresh snowfall and the short cable car ride. I then have two problems at once: There are constantly changing snow conditions in different micro-exposures over the large difference in altitude. In some areas, there is also a huge catchment area. Of course I know the LLB when I go up, but it doesn't indicate every danger spot. I therefore lack impressions and information. So I have to fall back on the technical aids of statistical risk reduction and, of course, on my instincts. The same applies to heli-skiing and also to overruns, where I only have the descent to judge the circumstances. The only thing that helps is to take a very defensive approach and think of alternatives.

PG: You are now leading our first freeride camp in La Grave. We've known you for a while, but how did you actually join PowderGuide?

Stefan: I was always on the road with the forefathers of PowderGuide as a photographer, but also as a mountain guide - on skis or a bike, for example in Kashmir, South America, Scotland and Turkey. We became friends over the years. Most of them have since left to pursue their careers. So I'm a remnant from the old PowderGuide era and am happy to keep in touch with the new PG generation. We are all facing a new challenge: freeriding and ski touring has become a mass sport over the years and the areas are being ploughed up. Many organizers are therefore moving to more exotic areas. In the meantime, the freeride movement is leaving a worrying CO2 footprint. People feel that the snow situation in the Alps is becoming increasingly precarious due to global warming and yet they want to realize their freeride goals. We should control the "model" of the rider. We don't have to blindly jet around the world in pursuit of the freeride spots hyped up by the media - and we can still remain true to our interests on the mountain.

PG: Stefan, thank you very much for talking to us. We are looking forward to spending time with you in La Grave.

This article has been automatically translated by DeepL with subsequent editing. If you notice any spelling or grammatical errors or if the translation has lost its meaning, please write an e-mail to the editors.

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