Balloon skiing
Balloon skiing refers to a type of skiing or snowboarding in which the athletes use a hot air balloon as a climbing aid to get down on skis or snowboards.
The impetus for the first implementation of this ascent variant in 2015 was the idea of a more environmentally friendly alternative to heli-skiing, which was already practiced at the time . Balloonskiing is not aimed at commercial purposes due to its difficult feasibility, but rather describes a way to climb mountains with a relatively small ecological footprint .
history
Balloonskiing was carried out for the first time in 2015 in the Austrian Zillertal . After a successful first attempt, further starts took place in the Karwendel and on the Ötztal Glacier.
Implementation and security
The biggest challenge in balloon skiing is the limited controllability of the hot air balloon . The pilot has to use winds at different heights in order to be able to aim at a target, which makes comprehensive tour planning in advance essential. Once a possible exit point has been found for the athletes, they abseil down a static rope from a height of around 20 to 25 meters.
In order to keep the risk as low as possible, plateaus such as glaciers are chosen as exit points in order to find as few obstacles as possible. In extreme cases, however, it is also possible to get off near the ridge or summit .
The striking difference to heli-skiing is, on the one hand, the uncertain route planning, which extends over a catchment area of kilometers. Crampons , rope and ice ax are standard equipment, as the technical difficulties to be overcome on the way down are uncertain.
Balloonskiing (film)
The short film Balloonskiing shows three Tyrolean freeriders practicing this downhill variant for the first time. The film was shown at the 2016 Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour , the St. Anton Film Festival and many other festivals around the world.
Web links
- Video balloon skiing
- Radio interview at FM4
- Netzathleten - Leave the helicopter in the garage
- Mpora - “Forget Heliskiing”