Lawinensicherheit

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!

Before coronavirus, the monthly "SchneeSemmelnare" events organized by the Austrian Society for Snow and Avalanches (ÖGSL) were small lunchtime events in a seminar room in Innsbruck, usually with speakers from Tyrol. Since the switch to a digital format due to the pandemic, it has been possible to watch from anywhere and the speakers have also become more international: Manuel Genswein recently gave an update on companion rescue.

The tour planning module of the White Risk app offers flexible options for planning ski tour routes with the help of precise map material. Slope gradient layers and the automatic recognition of key points offer practical assistance here. Other information can also be displayed, such as wildlife protection zones.

The new onset of winter, which began on 14.3.21, brought a lot of fresh snow along with huge powder turns. However, this increased the risk of avalanches again. The biggest problems here were the freshly formed drift snow and the sometimes heavy amounts of fresh snow. Drift snow can usually be easily recognized in the terrain, but this problem can also prove to be treacherous, as has been the case recently.

The triumph of apps and thus smartphone-based orientation and navigation for outdoor activities has been unstoppable in recent years. The Swiss app White Risk goes one step further and combines this with extensive avalanche-related information and background material (e.g. training opportunities, etc.). Our tester reports on his experiences with it, from tour planning at home to the summit!

After a wide-ranging discussion about the locking mechanism on some Pieps avalanche transceivers at the beginning of the season, an exchange program was initially introduced. Now users of the affected models are called upon to contact Pieps in order to receive an improved carrying system for their device.

In today's SnowFlurry we discuss a profile in which you can see that the susceptibility of the weak layer to disturbance has improved. In the last flurry, the same weak layer was even easier to disturb.

Modern phones can not only replace the classic map, but also offer compass and GPS functions - as long as the battery keeps up. Slope maps are particularly useful for us winter sports enthusiasts. Below is a guide on how to use open source slope maps on your cell phone without having to subscribe to an app. A comparative overview of some of the more popular subscription map apps will follow soon.

PowderGuide partner company Arva presents a modular online tool to brush up on some avalanche basics. No online offer can replace courses in the snow, but if someone wants to read up a bit, this program developed in cooperation with the French avalanche research institute ANENA (Association Nationale pour l'Étude de la Neige et des Avalanches) is a good idea.

While there was a precarious situation in the northern Alps a week ago with numerous spontaneous avalanches, you hardly ever see fresh avalanches that come off on their own anymore. Weak layers and snow slabs often quickly change their characteristics for the better - we compare two profiles that were recorded nearby during the situation and a week later.

No video can replace practical, real-life courses. But Xavier and all sorts of other institutions invite us to expand and refresh our knowledge. There's a bit of contest content to go with it!

The Austrian Society for Snow and Avalanches (ÖGSL) is organizing a virtual lecture evening with top-class experts from Switzerland and Austria next Thursday (21.1.) at 7 pm. As usual with "schnÖGSLn", the talks will be entertaining and accessible. After the talks, there will be time for questions from the audience and discussion.