Lawinenkurs

The "Intersport Snow Days" will take place on the Stubai Glacier from November 10-13. A total of 36 exhibitors will be presenting their equipment. Tickets for the test festival cost €20/day, offering interested parties a relatively inexpensive opportunity to test a wide range of different equipment in the snow.

PowderGuide partner Ortovox has produced a summary of important basics on the subject of avalanche safety. The content is available online for reference and is intended as an introduction to the topic (or as a refresher!). Of course, it is no substitute for an avalanche course in the backcountry, but it does provide a good basis on which to build.

risk'n'fun is kicking off the season with a series of free workshops. The approximately two-hour workshops offer an entertaining refresher to get you in the mood for the new winter and are primarily aimed at freeride beginners, although there are also interesting inputs for more experienced powder fans. The workshops will take place in various cities in the DACH region over the next few days!

In the "Safety Academy Lab Snow", PG partner Ortovox teaches important content for everyone who moves around in unsecured terrain - from careful tour planning to what to do in an emergency. In this special winter in particular, Ortovox recommends being considerate and responsible in the mountains.

PG user Birgit won this year's participation in the three-stage freeride training with risk'n'fun and reports on the Level 1 camp on the Hochkönig:

Anyone who spends any time in the snowy mountains and therefore in potentially dangerous terrain should regularly deal with the topic of rescue and recovery. I myself pack my backpack before the start of winter, check the equipment for wear/function and fit the avalanche transceiver with new batteries (lithium ions). Then I meet up with friends to practise, exchange ideas and learn new things.

The Austrian Alpine Association is once again offering evening lectures to get in the mood for the ski season, where winter sports enthusiasts can update their avalanche knowledge.

Online registration for the free SnowHow Camps opened yesterday. The camps provide avalanche knowledge for beginners and slightly advanced freeriders and ski tourers in a practical day and evening lectures.

Lisa Hempfer, winner of this year's risk'n'fun camp competition on PowderGuide.com, reports from the Next Level Camp on the Kitzsteinhorn. After injuring her knee during a training session at the beginning of the season, she was fortunately able to take part in the second training level after a speedy recovery. The Next Level Camp is primarily about independent tour planning and execution.

It's already been a while since the session in Sölden and winter has been a little slow so far. Nevertheless, given the tricky situation we had in many areas in January, I still had a few opportunities to put what I had learned into practice. Above all, the aspect of "perception", which is one of the three pillars of the risk'n'fun concept, is now much more pronounced for me than before. And now the "Next Level" on the Kitzsteinhorn. The focus here is on independent tour planning - I'm particularly looking forward to that. I hope that after a few days I'll finally be able to read maps properly!

On Sunday in the week before the camp in Sölden, I receive an email from Dani from risk'n'fun asking if I am spontaneous? The winner of today's competition had had to cancel at short notice and I was in second place. Oops - that's really spontaneous, but of course I'm in. I frantically start to gather my ski equipment. The winter season hasn't really started yet and I'm still sitting on my bike more than I know where my gloves, ski helmet and goggles are. And do the skis still need waxing?

Freeride pros Eva Walkner, Aline Bock and Jackie Paaso are launching an avalanche safety project for women together with ski guide Geli Kaufmann. The SAFE AS courses, which have been successfully training women in the USA since 2012, serve as a model. The first SAFE ON SNOW dates will take place in Germany, Austria and Switzerland in the fall.