risk'n'fun Chillout | Report

I feel a little strange as I load my powder skis into the car in bright sunshine, blue skies and almost 20 degrees in the shade. But I'm happy to leave pre-summer Stuttgart behind me and make my way to Fieberbrunn for the Risk'n'Fun Chillout, the last stop on my three-stage freeride training course. As soon as I arrive, I'm already looking forward to seeing the familiar faces from the previous camps this winter. As always at Risk'n'Fun, there's a friendly, almost informal atmosphere. But there are also some new faces. It's not just in terms of clothing that the group is a colorful mix. Some have just completed the training session, some come straight from level 3, the Backcountry Pro. We are spread out across Fieberbrunn, staying in various guesthouses and hotels. Later, we all meet at the "Eiserne Faust" inn. After a short welcome, the mountain guides and trainers present their routes and program offers. Due to the unfortunately poor snow conditions, I decide on a tour with a long ascent. My hope is to catch the last remaining powder. We study the tour on the map and look at optional ascent and descent options. The next day we head out early and make our way through the entire ski area to get to the starting point of our tour. Once there, we unfortunately discover that the snow conditions are anything but ideal. The remaining snow cover is already very wet in the morning and the risk of being caught by a wet or sliding snow avalanche on the ascent seems too great. We spontaneously change our battle plan and set off in the direction of Wildseeloder. A traverse and a short hike take us into completely secluded terrain. Almost automatically, I scan the terrain for danger spots, take note, assess and decide. The sun is now shining through and we are getting really warm. We reach a ridge, from where we enter a wonderful slope via a cornice. We still find first-class firn snow there and some people even claim to have spotted a few square meters of powder. Nothing can spoil the downhill fun, although everyone knows that we either have to climb it all back up again or push out through the valley. We shimmy down into the valley on the last remnants of snow and walk back to the valley station. Quite exhausted from the hike, we spontaneously decide to take a break and talk shop. We talk about our joint decisions and the dangerous situation. We quickly find our next destination: the face of the Freeride World Tour. A Freeride World Tour competition was planned for Fieberbrunn again this year, but it had to be moved to Kappel in the Paznaun Valley. We are impressed by the enormous dimensions of the cliffs and ledges, which the riders seem to jump with ease during the contest. However, we refrain from performing any breakneck stunts and instead inspect the huge avalanche of wet snow that has piled up below the slope. We make sure we get out of the danger zone quickly and head back towards the ski resort. [Please note: some of the photos in the gallery are archive images from Chillout 2013] One or two more runs on the piste, then the freeride day is over for us. Everyone meets up downstairs for a beer and we realize that all the groups have ridden more or less the same thing. Nevertheless, everyone has different stories to tell and so the first day of chilling out comes to an end, at least in terms of training. After dinner at the "Alte Post" we head to the party at the Riverhouse. After countless rounds of beer and table football, a great atmosphere and plenty of freeride spirit, the last people leave the bar at four in the morning. Nevertheless, I'm one of the few who decide to take part in a workshop the next morning. We practise searching for avalanche beacons in the rain-soaked snowfield under real conditions. I realize that without an avalanche shovel there is no chance of rescuing a buried victim in such a dense and heavy layer of snow. Afterwards, we did a bit of water skiing on the soaked slopes and I realized that even slushy snow can be fun in less than perfect conditions. At some point, we are both exhausted and soaked. A BBQ is waiting for us in the valley. In the meantime, almost all the participants have turned up and we linger in the warm hut until the steaks are cooked. Later, there is also a material flea market. In the afternoon, most of the participants gradually leave. An almost sad mood spreads, because we probably won't see each other again for a while. I look back on many instructive hours together on the mountain, many new acquaintances and lots of great lines that we were able to conjure up together in the snow. The chillout was a great experience despite the spring-like temperatures and rainy weather. I will remember less the skiing qualities of the end-of-season Risk'n'Fun program, but rather the moments I was able to spend with the participants, mountain guides and trainers. At this point I would also like to say "thank you"! Thanks to PowderGuide for this unique opportunity to capture the camps from the participants' perspective. Thanks to the trainers and mountain guides from Risk'n'Fun, who did a fantastic job, and last but not least to all the participants, who made a significant contribution to making the Risk'n'Fun training my own personal highlight.