I believe the Women’s Progression Days (WPD) camp packages are excellent value for money, but I realise that the total package sum represents a big investment for the young skier’s wallet. This is a dilemma, because especially young skiers can greatly benefit from the professional coaching and guiding that is offered at the WPD.

So I’m super proud to report that this year, for the very first time, young female skiers were able to apply for a scholarship to attend the Women’s Progression Days Freeride Camp in Lech am Arlberg from 9 to 12 January 2020.

The scholarships were made possible by my amazing partners Dalbello ski boots and Roeckl Sports gloves. Dalbello and Roeckl Sports each financed a 3-day all-inclusive package valued at EUR 865,- for two lucky scholarship winners: Lena Danner (23 years old) and Eva Hofer (22 years old).

Eva Hofer, winner of the Dalbello WPD Scholarship

Lena Danner, winner of the Roeckl Sports WD Scholarship

Both women are passionate freeride skiers hailing from Austria and it was an absolute pleasure to have them at the camp. And yes, they shred! I loved how eager to learn and attentive they were, and the fact that they asked me a ton of questions. To all the young women who applied and missed out: thank you so much for applying and I hope to offer the same scholarship next year, so make sure you stay tuned on my channels!

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The WPD guides were able to take camp participants on a great variety of ski tours in Lech, Zürs and Warth with beautiful ascents and long, rewarding descents. Camp participants were also able to test gear from my partners, including the Kästle TX line of ski touring skis as well as Dalbello’s high performance freeride boot, the Lupo. At the end of a long day on the mountain, all four groups met up again for a sundowner at the Audi chill out lounge at the top of the Schlegelkopf chair lift. Giving an inspirational talk and also presenting some of my films right on the mountain on a huge screen Audi had installed was a highlight for the group. The atmosphere throughout the camp with the girls was all-time! 

Photos were taken by the talented Anne Kaiser.

New WPD Dates for 2020

Mark the following dates in your calendar girls:

WPD Freeride Camp: 9 to 12 January 2020 -> Registration opens in October
WPD Ski Touring Camp: 26 to 29 March 2020 -> Registration opens in December

If you haven’t signed up to my newsletter yet make sure you do it now to get updated as soon as registrations open on this website!

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The excitement the next morning before skiing is palpable. The large group of 32 women gathered around the front of the Strolz Freeride Store at the Rüfiplatz, all decked out in professional looking freeride gear, turned more than a few heads. Head guide and event organiser Lorraine explains to the participants that the last few days brought strong and warm winds from the south, making for some trickier snow conditions that day. Not that this is a bad thing. A lot of the women are here to improve their ski technique and gain confidence in more difficult types of snow conditions. The participants are asked to split themselves up into groups depending on how hard they want to charge that day and come up with a group name. The “Sharks” is the name of the fastest group, they are to ski with Japanese ski instructor and guide Harumi Kumazaki. Harumi has over 15 seasons of guiding and instructing at the Arlberg under her belt and is an incredibly gifted skier. The “Dolphins”, the “Rainbows” and the “Sea Horses” also meet their guides for the day and all four groups head up the Rüfikopf gondola to take a group photo. Each day, the guides will rotate through to a new group, giving everyone a chance to meet these special personalities as well as to ski with Lorraine.

After a morning of practicing off-piste ski technique, video analysis and testing freeride skis provided by KÄSTLE, the four groups meet up again to have lunch at Hotel Mohnenfluh in Lech. The afternoon is spent practicing avalanche rescue skills and re-familiarizing oneself with the emergency rescue equipment. The need to practice these skills year after year becomes evident to many of the participants there that afternoon. There is not much time after skiing before our next meeting point: our joint yoga lesson at the sport.park.lech with yoga teacher Rainer Neyer. Rainer’s teachings, which don’t differentiate between beginner or advanced level, feel just right after an action packed and exciting day on the mountain.

The next day is made of the stuff of dreams. 15 cm of fresh powder and sunny skies, with very few people in the ski area. Lorraine and her guides ski fresh powder run after fresh powder run, all the while enjoying that special atmosphere when women ski together.

Tired but happy, the participants meet again that evening to be invited by Strolz sports store to a glass of bubbles and treated to a film evening presented by Lorraine. Then it’s off to Lorraine’s favourite restaurant, the Alpenblick in Zug, where the participants are spoilt some more with good food and wine.

During the night it starts dumping and the Women’s Progression Days participants wake up to 30 cm of fresh snow and cold temperatures. We ski powder all day long, hooting and hollering and never wanting the day to end. After skiing we meet for a late lunch at the Hotel Burg because according to Lorraine, this is where the best Kaiserschmarrn is. A perfect end to the 10^th edition of the Women’s Progression Days!

The next Women’s Progression Days will take place from 28 to 31 March as a ski touring camp just for women. 3- or 4-day packages are available, with or without accommodation.

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Looking back, it was one of my favourite camps of all time! Being on the mountain early and following the sun’s rays to harvest beautiful corn snow is simply magical. Being able to do this with 21 motivated and passionate women is even better. Due to the warm weather, we caught the first lift at 8:30 am and skied without a break until mid afternoon, after which all three groups were able to meet up again on the mountain to share a well-deserved lunch. Participants were able to test the TX and FX models from Kästle, improve both their skinning as well as ski technique, hone their skills in avalanche rescue, learn from their guides to read terrain better and make more informed decisions on line choice, and of course ski a bunch of beautiful runs. And this is probably the most powerful thing of all: getting the chance to ski with so many other ripping women who are equally passionate about skiing is truly special and something you just can’t experience in mixed groups. Anja Schmidt, a participant from Vienna, captures the essence of what I mean in an email she wrote me a few days after the camp:

„It’s incredibly motivating to ski in a group of strong women – strong both in regards to their skiing as well as their personalities; when girls are shredding on your left and on your right and you just feel so much joy watching them and gratitude for being part of it. I’m still so stoked, inspired, motivated and empowered…THANK YOU so much, you have no idea how POWERFUL you are, especially with your initiative to bring women together to ski and learn.“

In the evenings we practiced yoga and enjoyed dinner at various locations in Lech together, with plenty of opportunities to make new friends.

I especially want to thank my guides Melissa Presslaber and Gerlinde Stickler who did an incredible job at keeping the participants safe and happy. Thank you also to Kästle Skis for providing the ski test and to Strolz for looking after all our needs regarding equipment and gear storage. And finally thank you to all the participants for joining and being part of such an amazing event – the feelings of being motivated, inspired and stoked are definitely mutual! See you next winter!

If you have a friend/girlfriend/wife you think would enjoy participating at the Women’s Progression Days by Lorraine Huber, then go ahead and share this article with them!

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Trotz schwierigen Wetter- sowie Schneebedingungen kamen die Teilnehmerinnen am Nachmittag mit strahlenden Gesichtern jeden Tag retour. Die Highlights vom Camp waren für viele das intensive Üben an der persönlichen Fahrtechnik sowie an der Linienfindung im freien Gelände, das halbtägige Safety-Workshop inklusive Üben mit der Notfall-Ausrüstung, die Möglichkeit täglich einen anderen Kästle Freerideski zu testen, vom Profi-Fotografen Alex Kaiser fotografiert zu werden sowie natürlich viele neue Freundschaften mit anderen, skibegeisterten Frauen zu schließen.

Bedanken möchte ich mich auch bei meinen Camp-Partner Kästle, Blue Tomato, Lech Zürs Tourismus sowie Bergans of Norway für die tolle Unterstützung.

Die Women’s Progression Days 2015 sind das siebte Freeride Camp für Frauen welches ich leite, und die Resonanz ist groß. Die Women’s Progression Days 2016 finden voraussichtlich wieder im Jänner statt, es empfiehlt sich jedenfalls, sich möglichst bald nach Freischalten der Anmeldungen zu buchen. Ich wünsche euch jedenfalls alle eine hervorragende und erlebnisreiche Wintersaison!

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Luckily for us, it snowed Thursday and Friday night and the WPD guides Geli Häusl, Angelika Kaufmann, Liz Kristoferitsch and I found many untracked and challenging runs for the participants. The first day was our safety day, involving brushing up on the essential avalanche rescue skills such as beacon search, using the probe, the right shovel technique as well as a simulated group rescue situation. Participants also received ski technique training during day one with plenty of input to work on for the following two days. Ski technique, choosing lines and skiing variable terrain and snow conditions were the focus for day two and three.

Participants were photographed by Lisa Fail and filmed by cinematographer Balint Hambalko who made a fantastic edit of the WPD 2014 right here:

I’m still buzzing from all the positive feedback and general fun and laughter the women had together at the Women’s Progression Days. Besides the great skiing, the best thing was the many new friendships formed with like-minded women who also love to ski. See you at the Women’s Progression Days 2015!

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The program is geared towards good to excellent off-piste skiers and snowboarders wanting to bring their riding to the next level. Join us and experience some of the best runs the Arlberg has to offer and yes: experience the „female stoke phenomenon“ as I like to call it and be amazed. We’re going to rock the Arlberg!

Please put the following date in your calendars: 9 to 12 January 2014. Arrival day is the 9th January and we’ll be skiing/riding together a full 3 days. I’ll be offering an all-inclusive package as well as packages without accom/lift tickets. The program is packed with extras such as an instructor-led Yoga session, test gear, film night, and more.

Registration and bookings will be open at the end of next week on www.lorrainehuber.com, so check back here soon!

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And to get you in the right mood, here’s a video from last year’s camp:

The post Women’s Freeride & Yoga Camp 2013 appeared first on Lorraine Huber.

A lot of the participants were experienced off-piste skiers and also enjoy ski touring, but only rarely with other women. It is a great experience to ski in a female-only group, the group vibe is incredibly supportive and hugely encouraging, a perfect environment for learning new skills and improving confidence. The camp this year focused on skiing some great runs together and honing off-piste skiing technique. Participants were able to test the newest KJUS jackets and Kästle freeride skis. A guided Yoga session was offered for optimal recovery the following day, and participants really enjoyed the wellness-area and good food and wine in our Hotel Kristberg. We were even accompanied by professional camera man Carsten Darr for a day, check out the video below! I hope to make next year’s camp even better so sign up to my newsletter to stay informed.

Check out photos of the camp here.

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