Ski Tour Coaching with the Mountain Bunnies

Ski touring has become increasingly popular over the past few seasons. More and more stories of trips up the slopes are popping up on Instagram and I'm starting to get curious. The ski touring coaching in Snow Space Salzburg with the well-known mountain sportswomen "Berghasen" (Mountain Bunnies) is therefore a great way to satisfy this curiosity.Saturday, 8 o'clock in the morning. Our meeting point is the valley station of the Rote 8 gondola in Wagrain, where Susi from the “Berghasen” and Rupert from Intersport Wagrain are already waiting for us. After a quick round of introductions and a brief exchange about our experiences with the sport and our expectations for today's coaching, we already have the first lesson of the day: the right equipment is the key to success. That's why we receive competent and friendly advice from the staff at Intersport. The Atomic equipment is included in the coaching package. Well-equipped, we then take the cable car to the middle station, from where we are due to start our ascent.
When we arrive at the middle station, Susi first familiarises us with our equipment. We receive detailed explanations about the bindings, boots, skis and poles as well as the skins, which we then have to put on ourselves. Susi is a sports scientist and has been an enthusiastic backcountry skier for many years, which is clearly reflected in her explanations and tips. If we have any problems, she and Rupert are there to help us. As soon as all the skins have been successfully put on, we adjust the boots and bindings together so that the actual training can begin.
On your marks - get set - go! We start the warm-up training in competition mode. In two groups, we complete important gliding and walking exercises against each other over a distance of about 15 metres. We can then successfully put this technique into practice during the subsequent ascent. Our piste tour ski route takes us from the middle station of the Rote 8er up to the top station of the Flying Mozart. During the ascent we keep getting valuable tips from Susi. The theoretical information from earlier is now applied live and in action, so to speak. Depending on the gradient of the slope, we learn, for example, how to optimally adjust the bindings of our skis and how to use our poles in the best possible way. In a clearing, just before the mountain station of the Rote 8 gondola, we stop again for a short technique lesson. Susi explains the so-called "Spitzkehre", which we can practise thoroughly on the last few metres of our ascent.
Shortly before noon, the final spurt begins. My legs are burning and my stomach is rumbling. With the finish line already in sight, I summon up the last of my strength, a final surge of motivation sets in and off I go on the final ascent of today's tour.
At the top, I am tired but very satisfied. Judging by the faces of my companions, they feel the same. We take advantage of the impressive view of the snow-covered Hohe and Niedere Tauern mountains to catch our breath and regain our strength. We then round off the coaching with a jolly chat about the morning. The conclusion: We are ready for the next ski tour!

Would you also like to get into ski touring or consolidate and expand your knowledge? In the winter season 2023/24 there will again be instructive coaching sessions with the mountain bunnies.

You can find more information here.
photo credits: Snow Space Salzburg