ParticipantReport | risk'n'fun FREERIDE - Training session in Sölden

When my ski touring buddy told me that you could win the 3-stage training with risk'n'fun at PowderGuide, I didn't hesitate for long and applied. The training session, the Next Level Camp and, as the icing on the cake, the Chill Out fitted in pretty well with my plans for this winter.

After spending last year in Chile and discovering my love of climbing there, as well as doing some ski touring and other mountain expeditions, I have some pretty ambitious projects on the agenda this winter: contrary to those nasty voices that say a splitboard isn't worthwhile from an alpine perspective, I want to start doing alpine tours and slowly approach more challenging, alpine tours. To do this, it was really important for me to update my knowledge about avalanches and safe behavior in the terrain. Unfortunately, this has become a little patchy in recent years, as I have done relatively little to refresh it.

Practical practice for routine handling

I have been studying the theory a lot since the start of winter and have already tried to apply it on a few tours (thank you Peter for this brilliant start to winter!). However, practical exercises on the routine use of avalanche transceiver equipment and the correct behavior in an emergency were the things that I was still missing and that I was hoping to gain from the training session.

So I headed off to Sölden highly motivated, where on Saturday evening we first got to know each other and had a short introduction to the topic. It quickly became clear that we would be a totally mixed group, some participants already with considerable knowledge and experience, but also total newcomers to the field, but all with relatively similar expectations of the camp: the group's main priority was to practise using the emergency equipment, to simulate an emergency and, of course, not to miss out on the fun and the powder lines!

How different perception is!

The first day on the board was all about perception. We first focused on ourselves, then on the group and finally on our surroundings, the terrain. The latter was not so easy anyway, given the poor visibility. The first exercises with the avalanche transceiver equipment were supplemented by a typical risk'n'fun soft skills exercise. Here we were quite surprised at how different our perceptions are, even though we see the same thing. This makes communication all the more important in order to prevent misunderstandings in the group.

In the evening, the corresponding theoretical session was on the agenda, which focused on the Austrian Alpine Club's "stop or go" method. However, this was not presented to us as frontal teaching, but we had to actively work it out for ourselves and filter out the most important things for ourselves, always with the guides and trainers on hand if questions arose or there was a need for discussion.

Routine and practice for a cool head

On the second day, we participants then took it in turns to lead the group as teams of two, again supported by the mountain guide and trainer. With moderately good visibility and not yet fully developed local knowledge, this led to some initial uncertainties. After that, another soft skills exercise was on the agenda, in which we had to become aware of our own willingness to take risks.

Later in the day, we were then completely unprepared for a simulated multiple burial, in which the guides had not refrained from including every conceivable difficulty and trap. Suddenly it felt like everything we had learned in theory was thrown out the window and the search process, which was calm and coordinated at the beginning, became increasingly chaotic as time went on.

We only noticed after 10 minutes that the only unburied person had still switched his beeper to transmit, sometimes the beeper was scooped up immediately after a hit without even probing and only after the exercise was over did the question arise: "Did anyone even call the emergency services?"

This once again impressively demonstrated to us all how important routine and practice are in order to keep a cool head in an emergency. And also how quickly mistakes can happen that can have fatal consequences. For my part, I was also quite concerned that the last two people we dug out would have had relatively little chance of survival in reality.

Learning from mistakes

In the evening session, we reflected on the avalanche search and discussed what we could have done better. Heli, one of our mountain guides, cheered us up when we felt that we had pretty much failed and emphasized that you learn from these mistakes. Next time, you'll definitely do better.

Avalanches aren't the only risks that the mountain has in store for us

On day three, the joy in the morning was huge: finally sunshine and we were able to see which slopes we had skied so far and what other possibilities there were. Perfect for the day of decisions!

The freeride strategies developed the day before were implemented and tested for their suitability for everyday use. During the situation check in the lift, it quickly became clear that a lot had actually stuck with us from the last few days: we were now able to reliably read the wind signs, which had caused a lot of confusion on the first day and where the interpretation was more of a fun guessing game. And the scan for danger signs and favorable factors was also quick and precise.

The first overview was thus created, the areas we wanted to go to were selected and the first line was already evaluated from below. The prevailing avalanche warning level, combined with the estimated slope gradient, the area of validity and the alarm signs led us to the decision: feasible. No sooner said than done.

And then, with so much endorphin overload, I twisted my knee so badly during a botched landing that I couldn't continue. So unfortunately my day was over faster than I could say POWDER. Avalanches aren't the only risks the mountain has in store for us after all.

So I headed down into the valley on a skidoo instead of in deep snow. The friendly gentleman from the piste rescue service, whose spontaneous diagnosis was: "The inner ligament is off. It's clear", which didn't exactly boost my morale. But the doctor thankfully gave the all-clear: at least the ligament is only strained. The relaxed last evening with the group I had already grown fond of and quite a few tears of laughter quickly consoled me for the missed day on the board.

Another way of learning at risk'n'fun

All in all, the five days of the training session in Sölden were incredibly instructive and exceeded my expectations once again. The didactic approach of risk'n'fun, in which the participants acquire their knowledge and experience themselves, was absolutely convincing. They simply remember a lot more. And through the soft skills exercises, we all learned something new about ourselves. This factor is far too often overlooked in the whole safety and avalanche topic. In my opinion, it's incredibly important to know which factors influence you when making a decision, especially when this happens in a group.

A really good time with a brilliant group

In addition to all the things we learned and all the new impressions, it was also simply a really good time with a brilliant group. Thanks to our guides Heli and Lisa, who were there to help and advise us in every situation, as well as to Herbi and Berni. Not forgetting the other participants, of course, and especially my girl power group Babs and Tatjana, without whom the whole thing would only have been half as much fun!

The coming Christmas days will probably be a little more contemplative for me than I had actually planned. And when my knee holds up again, I'll be looking forward to applying what I've learned in the terrain and I'm already really looking forward to my next appointment on the Kitzsteinhorn!