ÖKAS

Once again, the Austrian Board of Trustees for Alpine Safety organized the Alpine Forum as part of the Innsbruck Alpine Trade Fair. Every year, numerous experts report to an interested specialist audience on a highly topical and hotly debated subject. The trend towards more and more mountain rescue missions in summer and winter, the increasing pressure to perform, the professionalization of alpinism and the winter topics of avalanches, falls and cold led to this year's key question: "Mountaineering - only healthy?". This question was explored in four different thematic blocks. We at PowderGuide were able to take part in the exciting presentations, the sometimes heated debates and the impressive field reports and would like to report on our personal highlights below.

The Alpine Forum was divided into three thematic blocks, whereby we were primarily interested in thematic blocks one and two: "What has changed in the mountains?" & "Mountain professionals: consequences in everyday working life and training?". We also got hold of the analyse:berg issues and would like to give a brief overview of selected content here.

The Austrian Board of Trustees for Alpine Safety (ÖKAS) analyses alpine accidents and derives trends, recommendations and prevention measures from the data. Since 2006, the Alpine Fair has served as a platform for information, training and networking, with the Alpine Forum, organised by ÖKAS, playing a central role. Since this season, ÖKAS has also been a partner of PowderGuide, with the aim of jointly disseminating information and knowledge on the subject of alpine safety.

One thing is clear, Christmas 2021 will once again be characterised by the coronavirus in one form or another. Unfortunately. So even at the beginning of December, many people are still not sure how they will spend Christmas, when they will get out into the snow, how the winter season, and in fact life as a whole, will continue over the next few months.

Once again this year, the Alpinforum will not take place at the Insbruck trade fair as usual, but digitally. The top-class presentations are therefore accessible to everyone with an internet connection, either as a live stream on Friday or later on YouTube.

The annual Alpine Forum will also take place digitally this year due to the restrictions imposed by the Covid-19 situation. On November 13 and 14, the Austrian Board of Trustees for Alpine Safety will present online lectures, live streams, webinars and tutorials.

Peter Höller, avalanche expert at the BFW in Innsbruck, has analyzed accident statistics from the Austrian Board of Trustees for Alpine Safety. He found that fatal avalanches in the variant area close to ski resorts are often due to new and drift snow problems, while there are proportionately more fatal accidents on classic ski tours with old snow problems.

Statistical key data on alpine accidents in 2017, presented by the Austrian Board of Trustees for Alpine Safety and the Alpine Police (BM.I): 283 people died in accidents in the Austrian Alps in 2017, 18 of them on ski tours, 13 while off-piste skiing and 27 while skiing/snowboarding on pistes and ski routes.