INTERVIEW – Lorraine Huber – For the love of Skiing

Lorraine hooks into some fresh pow at Zurs Image:: Sepp Mallaun

Chillfactor | Reggae Elliss

The cover girl of this year’s Chillfactor magazine is not only an awesome freeskier, but has also been making a name for herself on the Freeride World Tour and Lorraine finished this years FWT in eighth.

Chillfactor editor Reggae Elliss caught up with Lorraine in Lech earlier this year.

You’re an Austrian/Australian who spent your school years in Australia; can you give us a bit of background there?

I was born in Austria, and grew up in Lech until the age of 8. My family has been living in Lech for the past 200 years. From 8 to 18 I lived in Torquay, as my mother is originally from Melbourne, but I returned to Lech for six to eight weeks in December/January every year during my summer holidays to visit my Dad and ski. After VCE I wanted to do a year abroad, working as a ski instructor in Lech for a season and learning French in Paris during the summer. I loved it so much that I decided to stay and study business in Vienna. During my studies I worked as a ski instructor in Lech and skied as much as I could with a bunch of mates, mostly snowboarders. I really started getting into freeriding at the age of 18.

At the end of 2008 I returned to the Arlberg, which is the perfect base for me as a professional freeskier.

Did annual trips back to Lech, fuel your love for skiing and the mountains?

Absolutely, but my real drive to ski came a bit later, at the age of 14.

Cliff drop in the Stuben side-country. Image:: Hansi Heckmair

Lech is a beautiful place. What do you love about it and how would you describe its soul?

I love the mountains there and the fact that we get some of the biggest snowfalls in the Alps. The terrain is super playful with a ton of variety, and I have a lot of good friends here to ride with who love skiing as much as I do. The skiing culture and heritage is also very strong, it’s in our blood and a part of who we are.

Did you ski much in Australia when you were growing up there?

I skied and snowboarded in Interschools and spent a number of trips in Mt. Buller with friends. I did some great tree skiing there!

You’re a professional big mountain freeskier, which has to be the coolest thing you can do in our sport. What was your path in skiing to get where you are now?

Usually professional big mountain skiers in Austria come from a racing background and have enjoyed a lot of training in their younger years. Although I missed out on that since I moved away from Lech, I still turned out all right skiing in the top groups in the Ski School Lech and learning good ski technique during the Austrian ski instructor programs. The rest was all hard work and a love of the sport. Where I am now as a skier required me to break out of the “normal” life, for example by finding a job in my degree, and start pursuing an alternative life as a skier filled with many uncertainties, such as injuries or sponsorship contracts. Now the sport is quite developed and professional compared to how it was when I started out as a pro skier 8 years ago. It’s definitely become easier to become a pro skier and freeriding is really booming right now.

Lorraine hanging out at the FWT stop in Fieberbrunn last year Image:: Dcarlier/FWT

You’ve won two Freeride World Tour qualifying events this winter to make it on to next year’s main tour.  How hard has it been to get there?

It was really tough. I was close to throwing everything in on the comp scene if this season had not have worked out. I suffered a series of crashes and small injuries last season, putting a good dent into my self-confidence. The season before that I was sick for six months and had to start from scratch with my physical training, not to mention having missed a season on the slopes. Coming back from all that makes winning all the sweeter now though!

Skiing as a sport is part of Austria’s DNA and although you’re not a racer, you have strong support from some solid industry sponsors. That’s something that you wouldn’t bw able to do if you were based in Australia.

That’s probably right as a freerider, less so as a freestyle skier maybe. We’re definitely very dependent on sponsorships and if the market is down, there are always budget cuts and less money to expect, especially as a female freeskier, an even smaller niche market.

Do you drape yourself in two national flags when you win? Can we claim you as well – with Nat Segal on tour, it’s pretty awesome Australia having two skiers on the FWT!

I have absolutely no problem with you guys claiming me as an Aussie on the tour, I have roots in both countries and as soon as I open my mouth you can hear where I grew up. Officially I ski for Austria, and it’s Austria where I became the skier I am today.

Lech has a reputation as one of the more glamorous Austrian ski areas, but one thing that impressed me was the boundless off piste terrain. There seems to be plenty from the playful to the challenging – did exploring that terrain lead you into the big mountain career?

Yes Lech and especially Zürs offer amazing possibilities not only for the cracks, but also for good on-piste skiers wanting to learn how to ski off-piste. The terrain in the Arlberg definitely shaped the skier I am – I prefer skiing faster, open lines with big cliff drops. I don’t get into the gnar too much as you might growing up as a skier in Chamonix or Verbier. What hugely shaped my path into big mountain skiing however were my personality and the friends I skied with. With personality I mean loving to challenge myself, and yes, sometimes scaring myself too!

The Arlberg has a huge variety of terrain and is must-go destination for any skier. Lorraine at Zurs.

You’ve been running one of your freeride/yoga camps during he week I’ve been in the Arlberg. What do they involve and how long have you been doing them?

I’ve been directing the Women’s Freeride & Yoga Camp since 2007. They’re about getting a group of like-minded women together who love skiing and want to use the chance to ski with other ripping female skiers, since most of them ski with their partners or male friends. It’s very motivating to ski with other females because of the direct comparison you have. There’s no making excuses if you’re feeling unsure, it’s like “wow look at her go, I can do that too!” We work on a lot of ski technique in difficult conditions and learning how to jump is always a highlight as well. The yoga in the evening helps us unwind and the idea is that the participants can take a routine home with them to do at home.

What inspired you to initiate the program?

There are still very few women skiing off-piste and I wanted to change that. I want to inspire other women to ski off-piste and push their boundaries, trying something new. According to my motto “life begins at the end of your comfort zone”.

You’re resume is impressive – fully qualified ski instructor, pro freerider, big mountain competitor and fully qualified SKI mountain guide. I get the impression that your motivation comes from more than just prize money, photos and film shoots.

Oh my god, yes. Believe me, the prize money isn’t that lucrative! People in this sport need a good deal of idealism. I just have a huge love of the sport as well, from there comes my motivation. I want to reach my full potential as a skier; it’s just so fulfilling and makes my life so much fun. Of course it’s not always good times, there are big ups and downs but I live from those, it makes life interesting.

Finally, if it was a perfect sunny day with 20cms of fresh powder and you were guiding some advanced skiers around Lech/Zurs, where would you take them?

I’d go straight to Zürs and hit one of my favourite areas, the Trittkopf cable car, to do Trittkopf direkte, Ochsenböden, then on to Guggis and Gamsroute, followed by some secret spots around Madloch…oh the possibilities!

Awesome. Book me in!