Story | PG end-of-season meeting

This time, the PG meeting took place at the tried-and-tested Rheinquelle/Tschamut location. On Friday evening, there was a brief review of the CR season, before moving on to the humid, cheerful, alpine international understanding and extensive philosophizing about the advantages of Tegernseer, Augustiner and Tannenzäpfle over Austrian and Swiss competitor products (of course, the corresponding goods were imported in sufficient quantities for this occasion).

Saturday morning also turned out to be humid and cheerful - this time the humidity came from the surrounding air while ski touring, the cheerfulness is self-explanatory. The majority of those present headed for the Pizzola Stock. One of the advantages of this tour is that you can find your way even when hungover and in the fog. The snow quality was somewhere between firn and wallpaper paste. The Davos PG contingent visited the ski resort in Andermatt as an alternative. They were surprised to discover that lift tickets, prosecco and pizza were free for skiers in 80s costumes. A quick visit to the local supermarket quickly provided the necessary accessories for matching outfits. In the 80s, aluminum foil, straws and tights were known to be essential fashion accessories.

The second part of Benni's talk was about the SLF's report-back system (PG article on this). He explained what information is of interest to avalanche warning officers and called on everyone to report relevant observations. He then presented some of the results of his study on group dynamics and the human factor. His research has resulted in SOCIAL (PG article), a tool that allows you to check yourself for typical mistakes. SOCIAL stands for "Skills, Organization, Communication, Identification, Anomalies, Leadership". The individual points are explained in bullet points on small cards to take away. There are control questions or thought aids for each sub-area that should be discussed in the group (e.g. "Would I make the same decision on my own?").

In the afternoon, Benni Zweifel from the SLF visited us and gave an exciting talk on the topic of avalanche danger levels. First of all, he talked about what the danger level actually means. It was emphasized that factors such as the day of the week, weather or number of people in the area play no role in determining the level (a sunny Saturday after fresh snow in the vacations is rated the same as a weekday with bad weather in the off-season). There was then a discussion on how to communicate the limits of the hazard level scale in a meaningful way. The main issue here was that transitions between the levels and between different regions are always fluid. However, tour planning often focuses purely on the one number that reflects the danger level, without differentiating sufficiently between various avalanche problems or other relevant additional factors. The fact that warning services in different countries sometimes use the danger levels in slightly different ways provided further material for discussion. For example, with level 4, it is necessary to consider whether the focus is on skier avalanches or infrastructure safety and how exactly the definition of the level should be interpreted here.

After Benni's presentation, the PG editorial team used the presence of numerous "power users" to discuss a few more things on their own behalf (possible improvements to CR input, topic requests, what's next for PG?). Further important program items followed with the foosball tournament and a beer table bouldering competition. The beer table was conquered both crosswise and lengthwise, with the athletes not letting minor injuries slow them down. The beer bench proved to be a tougher opponent and remains a project for next time.

On Sunday, some members of the group bravely set off again into the inhospitable mountain world (snowfall! Cold! It's so bright here, I only slept for three hours!), while others left early to attend important appointments (keyword: 1860 against Braunschweig).

It was great! Many thanks to everyone for coming and we are already looking forward to next year's final event!