Snow & Safety Conference 2013

Snow & Safety Conference 5-8 December 2013 in Z端rs /Arlberg

www.snowandsafety.com

Introduction

EVENT ORGANISER Dear Arlberg and Deep Powder Snow Fans Following last year’s highly successful première, we are delighted to invite you again this year to the famous off-piste Eldorado Zürs am Arlberg to take part in the second Snow & Safety Conference. This year we are again kicking off the winter season with an in-depth look at avalanche protection, freeriding and off-piste skiing. During the course of a series of high-calibre lectures, workshops and panel discussions, deep powder snow fans will have the opportunity not only to obtain comprehensive theoretical information about important aspects of avalanche protection, but also to test what they have learnt in practice in the company of highly trained ski guides from local ski schools as well as professional freeriding guides.

Thanks to the new Auenfeldjet cable car linking Lech Zürs and Warth-Schröcken, the Arlberg with approx. 200 kilometres of deep powder snow runs is without doubt one of the world’s most popular winter sports regions among skiers and snowboarders of all ages. Prerequisites for the best “powder snow fun”, however, are risk awareness and conscientious behaviour, particularly when venturing off-piste.

With this in mind, I hope that you will find much to interest you in our programme for the 2nd Snow & Safety Conference and wish you a good and safe start to your off-piste fun this winter.

Lech Zürs Tourismus GmbH PRESENTER Bernd Krainbucher Bernd is a state-certified ski instructor and guide, who has been presenting events, such as the Youth Olympic Games in Innsbruck, Red Bull Playstreets in Bad Gastein, the Freeride World Tour in Fieberbrunn, the White Thrill and the Red Bull Hütten Rally in St. Anton and the Freestyle Ski World Cup in Kreischberg since 2005.

WORKSHOP LEADERS Klaus Kranebitter Klaus has been working as a state-certified mountain and ski guide since 1998, including five years in Canada as a heliski guide. He is the founder of SAAC (Snow and Avalanche Awareness Camps) as well as the freeride app SNOWHOW and also works internationally as a professional photographer specialising in the field of mountain sports.

Markus Amann

Hermann Fercher Managing Director of Lech Zürs Tourismus GmbH and his team

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Markus has been a member of the mountain rescue team for over 20 years and has been in air rescue since 1998. Until 2012, he was the training and deployment leader of Lech Mountain Rescue and has already completed over 900 rescue operations. Currently he is working voluntarily as the leading air rescue operative at the helicopter base in Zürs and as acting land/air rescue consultant for Vorarlberg Mountain Rescue.

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Your Lecturers

LECTURERS

Michael Larcher In addition to his training as a state-certified mountain and ski guide, Michael Larcher, who is a court-certified expert on alpine accidents, is the holder of a degree in German and Sport Studies. Since 1992, he has been head of the mountain sports and mountaineering school departments of the Austrian Alpine Club in Innsbruck. He has also published a number of articles on the subject of safety in the field of mountain sports.

Rudi Mair Dr. Rudi Mair, who was born in Innsbruck in 1961, studied meteorology and geophysics in Innsbruck and has been head of the Tyrol Avalanche Warning Service since 1999. Since 2000, he has been a sworn and court-certified expert on meteorology, avalanche studies, avalanche accidents and avalanche protection and, since 2011, he has been a university lecturer on snow and avalanche studies.

Walter Steinkogler Walter Steinkogler studied meteorology and geophysics and has been working at the WSL (Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research) Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF since 2008. His various travels have taken him from the Alps to Spitzbergen and on to Alaska, where he worked as a forecaster for snow, weather and avalanches, in terms of both research and practice.

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Flo Orley 38 year-old Flo Orley, a snowboard guide from Innsbruck, has been one of the world’s top freeriders for 15 years now. He provides Austrian statecertified snowboard instructor training and is cofounder of the platform freeridecamps.at. A passionate hang-glider, surfer, base jumper and circumnavigator, he is also an expert in risk management.

Michael Winkler 31 year-old Michael Winkler studied meteorology and obtained a doctorate in glaciology from the University of Innsbruck. Following an internship at the Tyrol Avalanche Warning Service, he has been working as a meteorologist at the ZAMG Weather Service in Innsbruck since 2012. He is also a mountain and ski guide, trainer and lecturer for various organisations, including the avalanche commissions in Tyrol, and an Austrian ski guide trainer.

Reini Ranner 45 year-old Reini Ranner, who comes from Kärnten, has been working as a guide at the Arlberg for more than 20 years. Alongside this role, he is also a member of the local avalanche commission and responsible for the area of Trittkopf/Hexenboden. Since 1997, he has also been a member of the training team for mountain and ski guides and has been providing training on the Alpine ski instructor diploma course.

Gebhard Barbisch Since 2000, Gebhard Barbisch, who was born in Voralberg, has been head of Vorarlberg Mountain Rescue, having been a member for over 30 years.

He is also president of the Terrestrial Rescue Commission of ICAR (International Commission for Alpine Rescue) and is an active mountaineering instructor.

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Thursday, 5 December 2013 Arrival Day

08:30 – 19:00 EXPO in the Conference Room Sponsors and partners present their products

08:30 – 15:30 Ski Testing

Agenda Friday, 6 December 2013

Opportunity to test the latest skis for the 2013/14 winter season free of charge, including brands such as Rossignol, Scott, Völkl and Kästle

09:00 – 15:30 Safety Day – Check your Risk with the Arlberg region’s mountain and ski guides A look at all aspects of safety, in both theory and practice, under the direction of state-certified mountain and ski guides.

Briefing on off-piste skiing - weather, terrain, avalanche report - assignment to groups After the briefing it’s time to hit the slopes - group dynamics, risk management, rules of behaviour - situation analysis - avalanche victim detection Conditions of participation: minimum age of 14 years Items to bring: snowboarding or ski equipment, helmet, backpack, avalanche transceiver*, shovel and probe pole A limited number of avalanche transceivers and ABS backpacks are available for hire locally.

Cost: €55 per person excluding ski pass * avalanche victim detection device

09:00 – 12:00 SNOWHOW – Digital Freeriding Klaus Kranebitter: Workshop – The use of digital tools in mountain sports The SNOWHOW Freeride app and the website www.snowhow.info combine all the important information required for route planning so that it can be used on the move with a smart phone. Short theoretical introduction (max. 45 min.), followed by the use of digital instruments in the field. .

Items to bring: ski or snowboarding equipment, smartphone/tablet (optional), ski pass Free admission

All speeches, workshops and discussions are in German only.

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Agenda Friday, 6 December 2013

15:30 – 16:30 A mountain and air rescue operative on an avalanche rescue mission

17:00 – 19:00 Lectures Mercedes-Benz keynote speech (15 min.)

Markus Amann: Workshop – Avalanche rescue operations from the perspective of the rescue organisation - Possibilities and limitations of helicopter deployment (alerting, briefing, helicopter handling etc.)

- Communication of basic knowledge on first aid for avalanche victims - Differences between an organised avalanche rescue operation and companion rescue

Walter Steinkogler: Snow factors which determine avalanche risk – using the ARLBERG as an example (20 min.)

Michael Winkler: Is there such a thing as avalanche weather? (20 min.)

Reini Ranner: The importance of avalanche warnings from the perspective of a mountain and ski guide and avalanche commission member (20 min.)

Free admission

Followed by

Panel Discussion: Stage 3 avalanche warning – a NO for skiing off-piste?!

Moderation: Patrick Nairz

All speeches, workshops and discussions are in German only.

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Free admission 9

08:30 – 19:00 EXPO in the Conference Room Sponsors and partners present their products

08:30 – 15:30 Ski Testing

Agenda Saturday, 7 December 2013

Opportunity to test the latest skis for the 2013/14 winter season free of charge, including brands such as Rossignol, Scott, Völkl and Kästle

09:00 – 15:30 Freeride Day Professional freeriders, including world champion Nadine Wallner and world tour skiers Lorraine Huber und Stefan Häusl, demonstrate in theory and practice how to select and plan lines on the mountain. Alongside training the eyes for freeriding, there will be practice in the following: - a playful approach to off-piste terrain - risk management on the mountain - correct freeriding technique Conditions of participation: reliable command of off-piste skiing techniques in powder snow and changing snow conditions Items to bring: snowboard or ski equipment, helmet, backpack, avalanche transceiver*, shovel and probe pole A limited number of avalanche transceivers and ABS backpacks are available for hire locally.

Cost: €55 per person excluding ski pass * avalanche victim detection device

All speeches, workshops and discussions are in German only.

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Agenda Saturday, 7 December 2013

For those who do not yet feel as safe off-piste, we offer the following program

09:00 – 11:00 Safety Training – Avalanche Transceiver Workshop Communication of basic knowledge and skills relating to the search for and rescue of avalanche victims using an avalanche transceiver and probe pole: - checking the avalanche transceiver (receiver and transmitter testing) - operating the avalanche transceiver - handling the probe pole - coarse search, fine search and pinpointing Free admission

11:00 – 12:00 Safety Training – ABS Workshop Information regarding the design and function of the ABS backpacks - burial avoidance and how the backpack works - putting it into use: before and after every trip - active product training including practice activations Free admission

17:00 – 19:00 Lectures Mercedes-Benz keynote speech (15 min.)

Flo Orley: Confidence thanks to risk management (20 min.)

Michael Larcher: Airbag, beeps and companions. Chances and limitations of avalanche rescue operations (20 min.)

Rudi Mair : Confidence is good. Understanding is even better: Avalanche warning and risk levels (20 min.)

Gebhard Barbisch: Avalanche rescue operations and their unpredictability (20 min.)

Tombola Sunday, 8 December 2013 Check out the new Auenfeldjet and ski to Warth-Schröcken!

All speeches, workshops and discussions are in German only.

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Local Partners Registration/Information

Alpincenter Lech – http://www.alpincenter-lech.at Skischule Zürs – http://www.skischule-zuers.at Skischule Lech – http://www.skischule-lech.com Independent mountain and ski guides from the Arlberg area

VENUE FOR THE SNOW & SAFETY CONFERENCE Robinson Club Alpenrose Zürs, Conference Room, 6763 Zürs am Arlberg REGISTRATION www.snowandsafety.com CLOSING DATE FOR REGISTRATION FOR FREERIDE DAY AND SAFETY DAY

LOCAL SERVICE PROVIDERS Bergrettung Gemeinde Lech http://www.bergrettung-lech.at

Lawinenkommission Lech

Pistenrettung Lech

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Lawinenkommission Gemeinde Lech http://gemeinde.lech.eu/sicherheitrettung/lawinenkommission.html

3 December 2013 CLOSING DATE FOR REGISTRATION FOR WORKSHOPS 3 December 2013 INFORMATION AND HOTEL RESERVATIONS

Ski Arlberg Pool West http://www.skiarlberg.at

Lech Zürs Tourismus GmbH Dorf 2 6764 Lech am Arlberg Telephon: +43 (810) 966 150 Email: info@lech-zuers.at Website: http://www.lech-zuers.at

Vorarlberger Lawinenwarndienst http://warndienste.cnv.at/dibos/lawine

No registration is required for the lectures and the Expo visitors are welcome on the day!

Photos: Sepp Mallaun, Alex Kaiser, Christoph Schöch, Lisa Fail

All prices are inclusive of VAT. Subject to change without notice.

Pistenrettung Gemeinde Lech http://gemeinde.lech.eu/sicherheitrettung/pistenrettung.html

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Our sponsors and partners www.snowandsafety.com

Lech Z端rs Tourismus GmbH, A-6764 Lech am Arlberg, Tel: +43 (0)5583 2161-0, Fax: +43 (0)5583 3155, info@lech-zuers.at Development and design: move communications, Munich http://www.move-communications.com