Lawinensicherheit

With the iSKI X app, Intermaps has launched something specifically for freeriders this season alongside the normal iSKI app. Not only can you find out about the current weather and snow conditions in the ski resorts, you can also use the safety features.

A stable avalanche shovel with a large blade is part of every freerider's basic equipment. With the Pocket Spike, Ortovox offers an extension that quickly turns the shovel handle into a lightweight ice axe. ISPO Award winner 2014 in the Basic Avalanche Gear category.

The almost unbelievable success story of what is currently probably the most popular avalanche emergency equipment began 30 years ago: the avalanche airbag. This story is inextricably linked to the Bavarian engineer Peter Aschauer, who fought for his idea for a long time against many obstacles. And the result was nothing less than a (small) revolution: the avalanche airbag is now virtually standard equipment for countless winter sports enthusiasts. The idea for the avalanche airbag was based on a rather accidental discovery ...

I was eagerly awaiting the semester break. Not only because you have a bit more time then, but above all because it meant: off to Austria again!

The smallest airbag backpack in Mammut's "Protective Airbag System" series is a great companion for all those freeriders who are close to the terrain. Even if it is not suitable for longer tours, its size of 15 liters is sufficient to carry the necessary equipment for smaller ascents. The backpack impresses with its comfort and the clever airbag system.

The i-Probe is a tension probe with a digital receiver built into the tip. There is an on/off button and the battery compartment (1x AA) on the handle. The receiver works according to the EN300718 standard, i.e. it detects 457 kHz transmitters. If you come within about 2 meters of such a transmitter, you will hear an acoustic signal (beep). From a distance of about half a meter, the beeping becomes a piercing continuous tone.

Can anyone remember today's avalanche report? Was it hazard pattern 3: rain - below 2,000 meters; or was it hazard pattern 4, cold to warm / warm to cold - on all slopes; plus hazard pattern 1: weak layer close to the ground above 2,300 meters, especially on the northern main ridge of the Alps; in addition, cold, loose fresh snow that had fallen under the influence of strong winds.

Once again this year, we will be out and about for you at the world's largest winter sports trade fair, ISPO in Munich. At the Munich exhibition center, almost all manufacturers will be presenting their products and innovations for the snow of the day after tomorrow: the 2015/16 winter. As in previous years, we will be presenting the most important product innovations and developments for winter 2015/16 in several articles, with our thematic focus on avalanche emergency equipment (part 1), touring and freeride skis (part 3) as well as bindings, boots (part 2), clothing (part 4) and splitboards (part 5).

In March 2014, following inspections of Mammut/Snowpulse avalanche airbags, Mammut discovered that, in rare cases, the connection between the release unit and the venturi nozzle can become loose with frequent use. As it is sometimes difficult for customers to recognize whether a venturi connection has come loose or not, Mammut has developed a venturi clip that Mammut customers can order free of charge.

23.12.14, 5.13 p.m. I'm now sitting at Innsbruck train station and looking back on a great week. It was great there in Sölden during the Risk'n'Fun session.

Every winter sports enthusiast who ventures into open terrain is faced with the decision to ski or ski down slopes that harbor an avalanche risk. As assessing the avalanche risk is a very complex matter, there are a number of different methods that are designed to do just that: Two experts and "their" methods will be presented at the avalanche colloquium in Salzburg on 15.01.2014.

Mountain guide Stefan Neuhauser experienced an unusual avalanche phenomenon during a freeride tour with a group in the Aosta Valley on March 21, 2014: despite a hard-frozen blanket of snow, with only the top few centimetres of the snow having melted, he and his group triggered an avalanche. The avalanche was triggered in the Val di Rhemes, on the Cima le l'Entrelor in the Aosta Valley (Italy). The avalanche was a mixture of a snow slab and a uniform snow avalanche.