Freeride Academy Innsbruck

Safety takes centre stage

Over the 8 days, the kids and trainers fan out in the greater Innsbruck area. On arrival together, the avalanche bulletin is analysed at the start of each day. After arriving at the ski resort, they warm up, carry out an avalanche transceiver check, discuss the avalanche bulletin again with a direct comparison of the terrain, and then enjoy a good and safe shred day. The kids and teens should take part from the start of the season, as the coaches follow a sensible methodical structure and the topic of safety is dealt with and practised intensively, especially at the beginning. Lateral entry during the season is therefore not desired.

Decisions in the terrain are not made by the coach alone, but are always discussed as a group. The children and young people are encouraged to make decisions themselves. In this way, a more conscious approach to alpine dangers is taught in a playful and supervised way. Coaches want to actively transfer responsibility to the group and teach the kids and teens to assess situations correctly. They only intervene in the event of wrong decisions in order to achieve a higher learning curve. Freeriding is mostly years of experience and the kids have to gain this experience themselves, but with an experienced coach at their side who intervenes before negative experiences or even accidents can occur.

Action depending on the weather and snow

Whether a day is organised with kicker building and new tricks or rather with powder runs depends on the weather and snow conditions on the mountain and the motivation of the kids. The coaches try to cater to the different interests and levels of the kids and teens and pass on their experience in all areas: be it the know-how for the perfect backflip, for safe risk management or for solid tour planning. The training sessions are designed to be very playful, but safety topics such as avalanche transceiver exercises and communication on the mountain are always incorporated in order to establish a certain routine. Communication on the mountain also works with the kids and young people using hand signals, radio or shouting and the group tries to feel their way together from safe spot to safe spot in the terrain.

In the long term, the Freeride Academy wants to be a platform for all motivated freeriders, whether for kids and teenagers who want to learn the basics or for motivated contest riders who are aiming to qualify for the FreerideWorldTour.