Ăndrar lavin-kulturen, en konversation i taget
02/2022
02/2022
I freeridekulturen riktas ofta fokus pÄ det som gick bra. Men efter att en grupp erfarna och tÀvlingsinriktade freeriders upplevde en lavin, bestÀmde de sig för att vÀnda pÄ det och dela sin historia pÄ Instagram och med oss. Vi satte oss ned med Forrest Schorderet för att prata om varför
BilderFlorence Gross
TextAlex Phillips
Efter att ha tillbringat Är som idrottare pÄ Freeride World Qualifier och Junior Tours hade bröderna Forrest och Lake Schorderet trÀnat och övat pÄ lavinsÀkerhet med vÀrldens bÀsta. Men efter en torr start pÄ sÀsongen tog deras upphetsning överhand en blÄsig puderdag i mars 2021. PÄ grund av en serie olyckliga beslut och otur togs Lake av en lavin och blev helt begravd. I en imponerande filmsekvens av prövningen ser vi Forrest lokalisera sin lillebror pÄ bara tvÄ minuter. Lake grÀvs upp ur snön tre minuter senare och rÀddas. Det som gör berÀttelsen sÄ kraftfull Àr inte enbart det faktum att paret bÄda bar kameror under rÀddningsaktionen, utan att de valde att dela med sig av sin historia.
"Jag hade kanske 10 sekunder av att kÀnna mig övervÀldigad, men jag visste att jag behövde förbli positiv och fokuserad."
The footage of the incident was a textbook example of how to respond when there is an avalanche. Looking back, is there anything you feel you did particularly well in your rescue?
Iâm really proud that we were able to get organized so quickly and stay calm. We split tasks, so everyone knew what they were responsible for; contacting the rescue services with the helicopter, digging, etc. And thanks to our training and practice, we were ready. The thing is: you donât know in advance how you will react when something like this happens, especially if itâs your brother. I had maybe 10 seconds of feeling overwhelmed, but I knew I needed to stay positive and focused.
Footage from Ep. 01: One more lap
I can only imagine, but you didnât show it at all. But I suppose thatâs why itâs so important to have training and to practice; so youâre subconscious and muscle memory can kick in when your adrenaline is pumping.âŻ
Yes, exactly.
Vi vill normalisera att prata om dessa saker, sÄ att det inte hÀnder andra mÀnniskor
Posting the GoPro clips and detailing what happened online couldnât have been easy. Why did you decide to take it public?
We wanted to share our story and the footage of the incident for a few reasons. That day, we made some mistakes and some bad judgement calls - and we want to normalize talking about these things, so it doesnât happen to other people.  First, we were too excited and confident. Thatâs just a state of mind we as freeriders canât allow ourselves to get into because unfortunately things like what happened that day can happen. We also made some poor decisions at the top of this pitch. Dropping in together was something you just canât do in those types of conditions.
Yes, these landscapes are so beautiful and inspiring⊠but you need to respect it. Riding is still a dangerous sport.  We also wanted to show people that you need to have the proper gear when you go off-piste, whether thatâs freeriding or touring, and that you also need to know how to use your gear and be trained on avalanche safety.Â
Often, accidents happen as a result of multiple small mistakes or oversights, not one big one. With that said, is there one lesson you want people to take away from your experience?
Try not to be stoked to the point that you canât think straight. Every day youâre out, you need to work with your friends to decide if itâs really safe. Ski with a group that you trust, thatâs knowledgeable and that you can have an honest conversation with. If you donât feel safe, itâs not something to be embarrassed about; you should be able to speak up with your friends. Plan B is always there; you can ski around the area in question, maybe you can come back two weeks later when conditions are better... Itâs not worth the risk if you have doubts.
As a skier myself, I had to learn that there are a lot of differences in freeride culture and snow safety practices in Europe and North America. What are your thoughts on that?
I was lucky to meet my girlfriend, Freya, who is Canadian, and I was able to learn about the different perspectives from her. I think theyâre more aware of avalanche safety in North America and, in my opinion, they have more training than we do. But with that said, I donât understand why they donât always ski with their shovels, probes and beacons when theyâre freeriding at or near a resort. Even if patrol checked the slope in the morning, conditions change throughout the day. Itâs just a bit weird for me when I see videos of freeriders without a backpack. But all in all, I think the culture there is based more on avalanche safety. Europe and Switzerland could use more of that, especially for younger skiers.
Thatâs an interesting point about the images we see in films and online. A lot of people probably donât realize that North American resorts control off-piste areas for avalanches, which is why - for better or worse - people often donât ski with their equipment there. Is there anything you want to change about your safety practices going forward?
My brother and I want to develop our snowpack knowledge, so weâre going to be working with some friends who are guides and who have done specialized training to learn more. On the one hand, itâs because of the incident, but itâs also just because we feel itâs important to have an even better understand of how the snowpack works.
Vi mÄste verkligen prata om kulturen att skylla och kritisera personer som har gjort misstag
These are great points and really open up a larger conversation we can have as a community. After this experience, how would you like to see the freeride community evolve?
We really have to talk about the culture of blaming and criticizing people who made mistakes. I think we should be thankful to people who share their stories because it allows us to learn and reflect. When I posted the video of what happened on Instagram, I received two messages from pro riders telling me it was great I had shared it. They also said they had had similar incidents - but they hadnât posted anything or talked about it publicly. While they didnât tell me explicitly why, Iâm sure that with this blame-seeking culture, people are a bit scared of being upfront with the community and seeing how theyâll react.We need to be transparent and share these kinds of stories, especially for the younger generation that watches every freeride movie that comes out. There are some crazy scenes in those films, and yes, sometimes there is an avalanche, but it always ends well with the skier getting down, nothing happened, everyone is smiling⊠I think thatâs a bit misleading. We need to show that avalanches are dangerous and that they can happen anytime and to anyone, regardless of their experience level. Weâve got to be transparent, especially for the young kids.
Online Snow Safety Workshop -"
Se nu âSe Forrest och Lakes historia i Aspekter Ep. 01 â