Topics we cover include:

• Moving from fearing failure to seeking challenge and growth during comps
• comp preparation
• energy management
• regulating thoughts and feelings to prime yourself to perform
• goal setting
• the one most important thing to do if you want to start building mental strength.

Please let me know what you think of the podcast in the comments section on my Instagram account. Was there anything you found particularly interesting that you want to know more about? Anything confusing or you’re in disagreement with? Don’t be shy, hit me up!

If you enjoyed the podcast and think you’re friends would benefit too, go ahead and share it on social!

The post ‚The Winning Mentality‘ Podcast appeared first on Lorraine Huber.

After months of soul searching and careful consideration, I have decided that this is the year I’m going to retire from the Freeride World Tour. I’ve had 8 intense and unforgettable years on the FWT and I am very happy to end my competition career on such a high note. I skied two of my best competition runs in Fieberbrunn and at the Xtreme Verbier during the FWT 2018 season, and using this momentum, I want to build my future and direct my energy into new projects now.

Competing on the Freeride World Tour has given me so very much: something to strive for, dreams and goals to achieve which have enriched my life, memorable experiences of skiing with some of the best freeriders around the world, and friendship. It has allowed me to introduce the sport of freeriding to a broad audience in Austria as well as internationally. I am truly grateful for the many personal lessons and experiences over the years on the qualifier events and on Tour – it’s been a hell of a ride!

Although I’m retiring from competition, by no means am I retiring as a professional skier. I want to put all my energy into new projects now. It’s especially important to me to pass on my knowledge and experience in the sport of freeriding to future generations – particularly to female skiers. To this end, I plan on expanding my women’s freeride camps in Lech am Arlberg – the Women’s Progression Days. I will also be busy with the production of ski film projects. My next big goal is to complete my master’s degree in mental strength coaching at the University of Salzburg. This will enable me to coach athletes professionally in reaching their full potential.

I want to use this opportunity to thank the organisers of the Freeride World Tour as well as the judges and the athletes I’ve learnt so much from and shared incredible highs and lows with. I want to thank my family and friends for their ongoing support – I know it wasn’t always easy for you – thanks from the bottom of my heart. To the employees at the Olympiazentrum Vorarlberg for their training expertise and their valuable support in getting me through my last two injuries. Big thanks also go to my sponsors Kästle, Lech Zürs, Bergans of Norway, Scott, Audi, Strolz, Dalbello and Roeckl Sports for their ongoing trust.

And lastly, the fans. What an incredible support you have been over the years as well as giving me encouragement not to give up during the tough times. Thanks for watching me ride and for continuing to follow my future endeavours!

The post Big Changes Coming Up appeared first on Lorraine Huber.

Das Interview führte Mila Hanke exklusiv vor dem Freeride World Tour-Finale 2018. Mila Hanke ist Diplompsychologin, Sportpsychologin (asp) und Journalistin und lebt derzeit in Aschau im Chiemgau (Deutschland). Infos zu ihr und ihrer Arbeit gibt es im Netz unter www.sportandmind.info, www.die-sportpsychologen.de/milahanke und www.milahanke.de). Das Interview ist zuerst auf der Internetseite www.die-sportpsychologen.de erschienen (Link zum Original), einem Netzwerk und Blog-Portal für SportpsychologInnen aus Deutschland, Österreich und der Schweiz. Ich durfte das Interview hier freundlicherweise übernehmen.

Lorraine Huber gewann 2017 die Freeride World Tour (FWT) der Ski Damen – die Weltmeisterschaft der Freerider. Seit Jahren fährt die 38-jährige Österreicherin aus Lech am Arlberg ganz vorne in der Weltspitze mit. Wer die Wettkampfbedingungen nicht kennt: Die Teilnehmer dürfen den zu fahrenden, mit Felsklippen durchsetzten und meist sehr steilen Tiefschneehang nur von gegenüber per Fernglas besichtigen, um sich vorab eine möglichst spektakuläre Abfahrtslinie zu überlegen. Einen Trainingslauf gibt es nicht. Für den Wettkampf steigen die Fahrer und Fahrerinnen nach oben zum Startpunkt und müssen dann die Linie ihrer Wahl möglichst schnell, flüssig, mit tiefen Klippensprüngen, Tricks und sauberen Landungen abfahren. Judges bewerten den „run“ nach einem Punktesystem. Diejenige mit der höchsten Gesamtpunktzahl aus fünf weltweit verteilten Contest gewinnt den Weltmeistertitel.

Seit Januar steht Lorraine Huber in der FWT 2018 unter dem Druck, ihren Vorjahrestitel zu verteidigen. Die ersten drei von fünf internationalen Contests liefen nicht wie erhofft, Lorraine lag danach nur auf Platz acht der Gesamtwertung. Beim Contest im Österreichischen Fieberbrunn am 10. März musste ein Knoten platzen, um doch noch unter die besten Sechs und damit ins Finale am 31. März in Verbier einzuziehen. Und dieser Knoten platzte: Lorraine siegte in Fieberbrunn und schaffte als Gesamtvierte doch noch den Sprung ins Finale (siehe Video des Runs unten). Auch aufgrund ihrer mentalen Vorbereitung.

Im Interview mit Journalistin und Sportpsychologin Mila Hanke verrät sie, welche Mentaltechniken ihr wann am meisten helfen. Außerdem interessant: Weil Lorraine die mentale Stärke im Ski-Sport so wichtig ist und sie auch andere Sportler in dieser Fähigkeit unterstützen möchte, absolviert sie gerade ein Masterstudium zum Mentalcoach an der Universität Salzburg.

Lorraine, wie wichtig ist der „mentale Faktor“ in deinem Sport?

Beim Freeriden ist er enorm wichtig. Es wäre aber ein Trugschluss zu denken, dass innere Stärke ausschließlich im Kopf, also durch die richtigen Gedanken entsteht. Je besser mein Training in der Saisonvorbereitung lief, je stärker ich körperlich bin, je ausgeruhter ich mich fühle, je mehr ich meinem Material vertraue usw., desto stärker bin ich auch im Kopf. Körper und Geist hängen eben immer zusammen und beeinflussen sich gegenseitig.

Von welcher sportpsychologischen Methode hast Du bisher am meisten profitiert?

Von ideomotorischem Training, auch Visualisierungstraining genannt. Vor jedem Wettkampf stelle ich mir meine geplante Abfahrtlinie im Detail vor, vom Start bis ins Ziel. Und zwar aus meiner eigenen Perspektive. Beim Freeriden ist das enorm wichtig, da wir den zu fahrenden Hang nur von gegenüber „besichtigen“ können und es keine Trainingsläufe gibt. Du fährst also oft für dich komplett neues Gelände. Vorab stelle ich mir nicht nur das Gelände vor, wie es aus meiner Perspektive aussehen wird – die Rinnen des Hanges, die Felsen, die ich umfahren muss, die Klippen, die ich springen will, die Landeflächen usw. – , sondern auch das Rundherum am Contest-Tag: das Geräusch des Helikopters, der uns oben am Berg absetzt, die Atmosphäre am Start während des Wartens, meine Empfindungen direkt im Start-Gate – so lebendig wie möglich und mit allen Sinnen. Wenn ich die Bilder im Kopf mit den Emotionen verbinden kann, die ich an den verschiedenen Orten und Zeitpunkten im Wettkampf empfinden möchte, dann ist die Wirkung dieser Mentaltechnik umso stärker.

Seit Beginn der Freeride World Tour 2018 im Januar stehst du unter dem Druck, deinen Weltmeistertitel vom letzten Jahr zu verteidigen. Der Saisonstart lief aber nicht so gut und bis zu deinem Sieg in Fieberbrunn sah es sogar aus, als würdest du es nicht ins Finale schaffen. Wie gehst du mit hohem Leistungsdruck um?

Dabei hilft mir die richtige Zielsetzung. Ich konzentriere mich voll und ganz auf mein Skifahren – also wie ich technisch fahren möchte – und nicht auf das Resultat, das ich erzielen will. Es ist gut, eine übergeordnete Vision wie einen Weltmeistertitel zu haben, um Zugkraft zu generieren und Ressourcen zu fokussieren. Aber während meiner Wettkampfsaison hilft es mir enorm, den Fokus auf kleinere Teilziele zu lenken, bis hin zu dem, was ich am Wettkampftag frühstücke oder wie ich mich aufwärme. Ganz wichtig ist für mich zudem, bei jedem Contest neben einem Leistungsziel auch ein Lernziel vor Augen zu haben – wie zum Beispiel einfach Spaß zu haben, möglichst viele Erfahrungen zu sammeln, von Konkurrentinnen dazuzulernen. Wenn ich mich auf das Lernen und meine persönliche Entwicklung konzentriere, dann ergeben sich die Resultate von selbst. Diese Lernziel-Perspektive war auch ein wichtiger Baustein dafür, dass ich trotz des Rückstandes fokussiert und motiviert geblieben bin, den Contest in Fieberbrunn gewonnen und es doch noch ins Finale geschafft habe.

In deinem Risikosport könnte ein Fehler schwere Verletzungen mit sich bringen oder sogar tödlich sein. Was hilft Dir, mit Ängsten umzugehen?

Beim Freeriden wie auch bei anderen Sportarten hilft es zunächst, Gefühle der Angst zu differenzieren: Wovor genau habe ich Angst? Sind es Ängste rund um die eigene Gesundheit? Und/oder Versagensängste? Und/oder Zukunftsängste? Wenn ich zum Beispiel Versagensängste empfinde, bin ich meist blockiert, was dazu führt, dass ich sehr verhalten bzw. verkrampft Ski fahre. Indem ich sportpsychologisch daran arbeite, verschiedene Eigenschaften in mir aufzubauen oder zu stärken (zum Beispiel mehr Mut, mehr Entschlossenheit), kann ich mich selbst von einem blockierten in einen mutigen Zustand verändern. Bestimmte Eigenschaften stärke ich unter anderem durch diszipliniertes Denken (unterstützende Wörter, Sätze und Bilder durch meinen Kopf gehen lassen) sowie diszipliniertes Verhalten (unterstützende Körperhaltungen, Gesichtsausdrücke). Dabei gibt es eine Vielzahl an mentalen Techniken, die ich einsetze. Ein Beispiel für diszipliniertes Denken wäre, mir in einer angstauslösenden Situation nicht innerlich zu sagen: „Boah, das ist ja brutal steil! Wenn das jetzt schief geht…“. Sondern mir zuzusprechen „Ich habe mich bestmöglich vorbereitet, um eine Passage wie diese zu meistern. Ich schaffe das!“

Welche Mentaltechniken nutzt du sonst noch in einem Wettkampf?

Wenn ich oben am Start stehe, muss ich „vom Kopf“ – also von der ganzen akribischen Planung und Analyse vorab – „in meinen Körper“ kommen. Nur dann gelange ich bei der Abfahrt wirklich in einen Flow-Zustand. Mittlerweile funktioniert das bei mir sehr schnell über eine Routine aus Körperreizen. Zum Beispiel vor dem Start die Oberschenkel abklopfen, Fäuste ballen, tiefes Ein- und Ausatmen, in die Hände klatschen. Dann lenke ich meinen Fokus auf das Hier-und-Jetzt und bin auch körperlich aktiviert und „ganz da“, um meine Leistung genau jetzt, in den folgenden Minuten, erbringen zu können.

Interview: Mila Hanke, zur Profilseite von Mila Hanke

The post „Wenn ich mich auf ein Lernziel konzentriere, ergeben sich die Resultate von selbst“ appeared first on Lorraine Huber.

The post Freeride World Tour 2017 Video Highlights appeared first on Lorraine Huber.

My last blog entry about the FWT revolved around learning about how I had been overly focussed on the overall title instead of enjoying each stop for what it was and just thinking about skiing my best. I came to this realisation after having broken my ankle at the start of the season, a good reminder for me that there are more important things in life than winning the FWT. After a sensational third place finish at the FWT Fieberbrunn and a mid-field finish at the FWT Andorra, I had managed to qualify for the much sought-after FWT stop in Alaska, as well as securing my place in the FWT 2016. This in itself is a success, considering my injury and the fact that I had to miss the first stop in Chamonix. I have to keep reminding myself of that however, since I’ve also been struggling with feelings of disappointment after having placed 7th overall in the FWT 2015 ranking. So this is what happened after Andorra.

Haines, Alaska!

For me it felt akin to returning home after seeing a lot of familiar faces from having filmed here in 2013 with the Shades of Winter crew. People here are so friendly and welcoming! Hosting a FWT event in the mountains of Alaska is an enormous undertaking. The remote location, accessible only by helicopter, the extremely fast changing und unpredictable weather, all the logistics and technical equipment required to provide a live stream, the list of challenges goes on. For us riders, it meant patience. We had a total of three false starts before we actually were able to compete on the face.

Competition tactics, or lack thereof?

My experience told me that if I played it safe by skiing a clean run, I would probably place very well on this face. I knew the terrain was challenging and that the snow would be unpredictable with all that fresh powder. For me, one thing was clear: I wanted to ski a very special run at this historical event in Alaska. So I decided to go for it! I planned on hitting a big double in the middle of my run, and got to watch some of the snowboard men hit it before being flown to the start. It was good to go! I started my run, excited to be finally skiing the face. I skied beautifully in the top section, then I approached the double, and that’s where everything went pear shaped. I angled the first part of the double a little more to the right, wanting to avoid previous bomb holes, and landed on unexpectedly hard snow from a small slab having broken out there. The snow here was fast, not fluffy powder. The next surprise: the second take-off  of the double was much further away than I had expected (the terrain in this face is just enormous, the greatest difficulty certainly was judging the sheer dimensions of it). Instinctively, I tried changing direction somewhat before the second take-off, since straight-lining this section would have sent me off the jump at mach speed. However, I became unbalanced in the air and couldn’t land the jump on my feet. I crashed, and it was over. In just a matter of seconds, all the build up, all that waiting, all that planing and energy going into one line, gone! I skied down the rest of my line, totally disorientated and demotivated. It was a pretty low feeling and I can tell you, I was bummed. But I was healthy and able to qualify for the finals, the Xtreme Verbier! That gave me consolation.

Here’s the video of my run:

20th year edition of the Xtreme Verbier

It was go big or go home for the women’s ski field at the Freeride World Tour finals in Verbier yesterday. Hazel Birnbaum skied an exceptional line with a huge amount of confidence and control, sending a massive double at the end of her run which hasn’t been done before by a female skier. So inspiring! Silvia Moser came in second with a really creative and new line with lots of features, and Christine Hargin came in third showing super solid and fluid riding in the classic line on the lookers right of the women’s venue. The other five ski women qualified for the Xtreme Verbier, including myself, opted to start from start number two on the lookers left of the venue, featuring an obligatory air of around 7 meters. Due to a bombed and skied out landing area on very firm snow, we all unfortunately lost our skis in the landing and none of us could finish our run. Luckily there were no injuries, especially after such huge crashes.I’m hugely inspired by these ladies and am very proud to be part of such a talented group of skiers!

I wasn’t too disappointed about my crash since I felt really good in the air and was committed to stomping my line, that’s the important thing to me. It’s part of the sport of freeriding that you can’t always know 100% what the snow will be like, and both male and female competitors struggled with the conditions on that part of the face.

Video of my run at the 20th year edition of the Xtreme Verbier 2015

Photo gallery Freeride World Tour 2015

The post FWT 2015 Reflections appeared first on Lorraine Huber.

I wanted to do a line on the venue that included the top portion of the face, taking a side door entrance above the lower portion of a double – I knew the snow would be solid ice there but at least you know what to expect. Then I chose to continue over a large drop which I knew would be firm in the landing, but I thought it was doable. I was pretty scared about this line, so scared in fact, that the night before in bed my heart was beating like mad every time I imagined jumping over the airs. But in the end the excitement to do these airs remained, and I decided to go for it. If it’s only the fear that’s in my head and heart I usually change lines.

I was feeling pretty good on competition day, although the nervousness in the morning is almost enough to make me sick. My top air went beautifully and I jumped the second air fluidly, finding my take-off without a problem. The air was huge! On landing the impact was big, I had more weight on my right ski than on my left and couldn’t hold it and spun out of control. What a shame! I had chosen the all-out strategy and this time it didn’t work out for me. Jackie Paaso won with a really nice and fluid line, one of my favourite skiers Christine Hargin also had a pretty bad crash, but fortunately didn’t hurt herself.

The post Go Big or Go Home appeared first on Lorraine Huber.

Tomorrow I’m flying to Kirkwood, California, to compete in the next Freeride World Tour stop. Thanks to my good results on the Freeride World Qualifier tour this year, I already know that I’m qualified for the Freeride World Tour 2014 so I can compete without pressure in Kirkwood and get to know the face there. Wish me luck!

The post Freeride World Tour 2013 appeared first on Lorraine Huber.

FWQ 4-Star

La Clusaz, France: 12 – 13 January
Hochfügen, Austria: 9 February
Eldorado Freeride, Andorra: 21 – 24 February
Taos, USA: 28 Feb – 2 March
Nendaz, Switzerland: 15 – 19 March
Röldal, Norway: 25 – 28 April

FWQ 3-Star

Stubai, Austria: 23 February
Chandolin, France: 9 – 10 March
Kitzsteinhorn, Austria: 23 March

In Austria there is also a new freeride series called Open Faces for skiers and snowboarders consisting of six FWQ events of 1 to 3 stars: open-faces.com.

According to the Freeride World Tour, there will be more than 40 FWQ events held during the 2012/2013 season, to be announced on the second week of November. A lot of these events will be one or two star events to make it easier for first-time competitors to start collecting points in the ranking system, since it can be difficult to get a starting place in the 3 and 4 star events if you don’t have a ranking yet from the previous year. This is because local FWQ organisers use the world wide seeding list to help them select athletes from the hundreds (!) of applications. More about that here. Realistically, anyone serious about qualifying for the Freeride World Tour needs to have some good results at 3 and 4 star events to be able to make the cut.

Six female skiers can qualify for FWT 2014: the top 3 from Region 1 (Europe, Asia, Africa, Oceania) and the top 3 from Region 2 (North America, South America). So on the FWQ level, there is no competition between the European and the American riders.

Feel free to add any other events you know of in the comments section below!

The post FWQ Dates 2013 appeared first on Lorraine Huber.

This means that the world’s best freeriders will be competing in the USA/Canada and Europe together, increasing competition between riders and hence the level of riding in general. There will be one true Freeride World Tour champion. On the women’s side, there will be 12 strong skiers battling it out for the overall title. I find competition for the women especially important: it brings us together from all parts of the world, allowing us to push the level of female skiing further and faster due to the fact that it’s incredibly motivating to see each other skiing strong, fluid lines with solid airs.

It makes me very sad that I won’t be one of the female FWT riders after my last competition season full of crashes which cost me a place for the FWT 2013. I’m going to be competing on the Freeride World Qualifier events this coming winter, starting with a 4-star event in Chile now in August, with the aim of re-qualifying for FWT 2014. Still, I tried my best last winter and learnt a great deal about competition in general. The Freeride World Qualifier events will be ideal for me to build up confidence and learn to play the mental game required during competition. They will be important stepping stones for me to achieve my final goal: a successful performance on Freeride World Tour level.

The post A Unified Freeride World Tour for 2013 appeared first on Lorraine Huber.

I decided that conditions weren’t on for dropping cliffs in the steeper, more impressive lookers right of the venue, but those Norwegian girls sure showed me otherwise! Pia Nic Gunderson (1st place) skied a hard and fast line in the steepest area of the venue, stomping a scary cliff above a no-fall zone and holding it together through horrible avalanche debris in her run out. Ex-racer Tone Jersin Ansnes (2nd place) also skied fast in the steep and technical part of the face, and Anne May Slinning (3rd place) chose a difficult line with a big drop despite her broken arm. Nadine Wallner from the Arlberg, Austria, also had a great run showing super solid skiing, but unfortunately she crashed on her last cliff and lost a ski. Too bad! Anyway, she has still made it to the Freeride World Tour next year after a successful FWQ season so all is good.

I chose an easy line with 6 small jumps on the lookers left of the venue, it was enough to place fourth, with only 0,4 points separating me from Anne May Slinning. I was happy at least because I skied the line I had planned and found all my features, but as soon as I was in the finish area I realised I had made a mistake by choosing to ski lookers left. In the end this means I’m not qualified for the Freeride World Tour 2013, but I’m not giving up! I will be competing next year in one form or the other, more news on that later.

As for the male skiers, the conditions sure were tricky to air anything bigger. Out of the 20 skiers that were able to start, 9 crashed mostly due to not being able to hold their speed after their landings. Sadly, there was an accident when a competitor landed in a big crack in the snow pack, and immediately after that a speed rider (small paraglider with skis) had an accident in the face, ultimately forcing the organisers to cancel the competition. There are hence no results for the men ski category.

The post Last chance at Röldal Freeride Challenge appeared first on Lorraine Huber.