(openPR) - Well-groomed snow on marked-out pistes: that is what attracts winter holidaymakers to the mountains. With their skis or boards beneath their feet, the fans of the summits sweeten up their leisure time by swinging down slopes in picturesque surroundings. But many of them are not satisfied with that kind of riding fun any more: they are looking for new challenges - and they are finding them at freeriding. For that purpose, they leave the safe pistes and venture into the untouched deep snow. However, a trip into the so-called 'backcountry' ought to be well prepared and trained for...
That is why the sports and events agency of 'Programat' offers guided 'off-piste tours' for the visitors of the 'Europa-Sportregion Zell am See-Kaprun'. That way, organizer Volker Hölzl intends to make due allowances for the new trend that leads away from conventional skiing and boarding towards a more adventurous way of doing these sports. The three-day crash course is called 'The Freeride Experience'. It tries to acquaint snow-hungry adventurers with both the fascination and the risks they are bound to encounter out in the open.
'Again and again, I am quite speechless at how little skiers and boarders know about the risks they are taking when they leave the safe pistes', says Hölzl. The participants in his courses know better. The risk of avalanches accompanies every single trip into the backcountry. It may sometimes be just a small one - but it can never be entirely ruled out. For that reason, Hölzl and his team of mountain guides, Nici Winterstein and Thomas Mayr, try to prepare their charges for all eventualities.
From 11th January to 25th March, 2007, the trio offers tours through the still undeveloped areas of the 'Europa-Sportregion'. Alpine safety training is the top priority here: the firm has its own private avalanche search field where freeriding novices are acquainted which the necessary equipment. Knowing exactly how to use the probe, the shovel, and the searching equipment, the so-called 'avalanche peep' (LVS), is an absolute must in case of an emergency.
Guests can book the freeride package in Zell am See-Kaprun from 249 euros, including the necessary equipment (consisting of skis, rucksack with LVS, probe, shovel, and poles). Beginners and experienced freeriders are divided up into groups of seven people maximum, which guarantees for learning the essential techniques for a trip into deep snow the quickest possible way. Hölzl knows, 'people who manage to do a parallel turn on a black piste are good enough to ride on deep snow!'
More information on 'The Freeride Experience' can be found at www.freeride-experience.at. All important information on the 'Europa-Sportregion Zell am See-Kaprun' is also online at www.europasportregion.info.
Contact Europa-Sportregion
Europa Sportregion Marketing GmbH
Guest Service
Phone +43 (0)6542 - 770 0
welcome(at)europasportregion.info www.europasportregion.info
Press contact
knoefler-journalist | media and communications
Mr. Benjamin Knöfler
Phone +49 (0)6028 - 80729 0
esr(at)knoefler.de www.knoefler-journalist.de
General Information:
With its 14,000 beds and two million overnight stays a year, the 'Europa-Sportregion Zell am See-Kaprun' is one of the most important holiday regions in Austria. More than 40 activities like rafting, golf, and walking are offered during the summer months. In the cold season of the year rides in horse-drawn sleighs or snowshoe walks provide a welcome change. 56 chair lifts and cable cars take skiers to thick powder snow on 132 kilometres of pistes - snowboarders find an ideal terrain at the Snowpark on the glacier plateau of Kitzsteinhorn, 2,600 metres above sea-level. Here, skiing and snowboarding is possible even in summer. Moreover, the renowned German publishing house of 'Falk Verlag' has named Zell am See and Kaprun as the most family-friendly holiday region in Europe.
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