Two on the road to success
Text: Martin Obermayr / Photos: Sebastian Kislinger, Arvid Auner (@arvideo), FIS
Sabine Schöffmann and Alex Payer are chasing points in the Snowboard World Cup and are also a couple off the slopes. This makes many things in life easier: dealing with defeats, enjoying success, pushing through training challenges, the joy of travel, and better marketing. Another shared passion is the search for the perfect surface for carving.
They've known each other since childhood and grew up very close to one another in Carinthia, Austria's southernmost state. "I used to race against Sabine's brother in snowboard races," recalls Alex Payer, who is three years older than his current partner, Sabine Schöffmann. The two met again around 2012 when Alex joined the Austrian Ski Federation's World Cup team. Sabine was already competing at the highest level. In January 2016, they celebrated their first joint triumph – at their home event in Gastein, no less: they won the team event in the parallel slalom. About a year later, sparks flew between the exceptional snowboarder and her equally talented teammate. In January 2018, they repeated their World Cup team victory in Gastein as a couple. It goes without saying that celebrating successes together is especially wonderful. But especially during defeats and tough times, the two support each other, as Alex emphasizes: "I'm the more stressful one of the two of us. Sabine really helps me calm down. It's great not to be alone with your problems." Sabine also enjoys being together during the competition season. "We share a room during snow training and races. It's like having a piece of family with you all the time."
Sports, travel, and discovering new places are the great passions of this power couple, who are also becoming increasingly attractive to sponsors. They seize every opportunity to explore as much as possible outside of their daily competition and training routine. "When we're racing in Moscow, we ask a Russian colleague to show us things and places you wouldn't normally see," says Sabine. "Or once, in November, we had four days off between two training blocks in Colorado. So we went to Utah and climbed the famous Castleton Tower – a trip like that is a once-in-a-lifetime experience," adds Alex. But their greatest passion remains finding the best snow for their snowboarding carving skills. That's why they study the different types of snow found on different continents so intensively. Especially for "Insight Magazine," Sabine and Alex are now taking us on a journey to their top carving spots on the planet. Buckle up and enjoy the view!
In search of the perfect Artificial Snow
Text: Sabine Schöffmann & Alex Payer
This statement might seem incomprehensible at first glance, but what the untouched powder slope is to the freerider, the perfect artificial snow slope is to the alpine snowboarder. Nothing makes a carver's heart sing more than a perfectly groomed piste with a medium gradient. On this surface, you can simply carve the best turns into the snow and indulge in the art of lean angle. Since childhood, we've been captivated by this feeling of centrifugal force. Once a carver, always a carver. Even though, as members of the Austrian national team, we spend most of our time between the gates, it's still the feeling of carving down the slopes on a 2-millimeter edge that drives us and what we love.
Over the years, we've had the opportunity to travel to different continents and countries, all with one goal: to carve the perfect run, or at least the perfect turn. On these trips, we've come to love and hate a wide variety of snow types and slope conditions. Whether it's the ultra-aggressive snow in the Rocky Mountains, the constantly changing conditions on Japan's northern island of Hokkaido, or the icy conditions in our local Carinthian ski resorts, every spot has its own unique characteristics that require specific adjustments. For us, this usually means getting used to the surface first, followed by adapting our edge settings. These adjustments are necessary to be successful on any terrain. These days, we manage this pretty well almost everywhere – except in the "Wittenburg" indoor ski slope in northern Germany: If anyone has any tips for this bizarre ice rink, please share! However, we still prefer skiing on local snow. It's where we learned to carve, and we practically know some of the lift operators by their first names. In Carinthia we may not have the longest slopes, but we certainly have the best snow-covered slopes in the world.
Regions and snow types
Rocky Mountains, Colorado (USA)
If there's a skier's paradise on earth, it's surely in the North American Rocky Mountains. Here, the ski resorts are situated at altitudes well over 3,000 meters, which is already quite remarkable. But the dryness of the snow is unparalleled. Due to the extreme altitude, the snow doesn't thaw at all during the day, thus retaining its complex structure for longer. Add to that the American principle of "bigger is better," and they build their slopes into the moderately steep Rocky hills accordingly. These slopes wind their way through the forests for kilometers on end, seemingly endlessly wide.
Carving points 10/10
Secret Garden (China)
The host country of the next Winter Olympics boasts a plethora of superlatives. It's the most populous country on Earth, the number one exporting nation, and home to the world's longest wall. Here, practically anything is possible, including snowboarding and skiing – and some of it is truly fantastic. The ski resort we visited is officially described as being three hours north of Beijing. However, this timeframe is only realistic if a) China didn't have such an incredible population and b) the bus driver didn't set his cruise control to the maximum permitted 60 kilometers per hour. But once you finally arrive at the ski resort, you're greeted by perfectly groomed slopes ranging from easy to intermediate. Thanks to its proximity to the Gobi Desert, the snow is incredibly dense and dry – similar to conditions in the Rocky Mountains. However, there's a major drawback: the proximity to the desert is also its biggest disadvantage. Frequent storms carry vast amounts of sand onto the slopes, which nibbles at our beloved edges like a rabbit on a carrot. The blunt edges significantly detract from the carving experience. Nevertheless, it's a unique feeling to carve turns into the slopes in this area.
Carving points 7/10
Carinthia, Simonhöhe (Austria)
"That's where I come from, that's where I belong," sings Reinhard Fendrich – one of Austria's most famous pop stars – in his anthem "I am from Austria." For us, too, it's still something very special to train and practice our sport in our homeland. Most snowboarders from Carinthia made their first turns in the snow at the "Simonhöhe" ski resort in central Carinthia and quickly learned what the common term "crisp" really means. Due to the low altitude in this region and the high number of hours of sunshine relative to the amount of natural snow, the surface often thaws slightly and refreezes overnight. This leads to a constant compaction of the surface. In other words, it gets a bit icy. Once you get used to it, however, the speed you can generate is significantly higher than in other areas, and as a raceboarder, speed is always a welcome sight.
Carving points 8/10
Carinthia, St. Oswald
A second Carinthian ski resort has also made it onto our list of top ski resorts. Not far from the legendary Bad Kleinkirchheim lies the tranquil St. Oswald. Where alpine cows graze in the summer, one of Austria's best carving areas is hidden. Extra-wide slopes, perfect gradients, and all with the Nockberge mountains as a backdrop. What more could a carver's heart desire? Perhaps a shot of Swiss pine schnapps with Austria's Olympic hero Franz Klammer? Even that's possible here.
Carving points 8/10
Phoenix Park (Korea)
If you want to see more snowboarders than skiers on the slopes at least once in your life, head to the land of Samsung and KIA. No other nation boasts such a high density of snowboarders, and especially carving enthusiasts. Here, true piste carvers can still find themselves among their own kind, and the snow quality is phenomenal. If you can't carve here, you'll never learn.
Carving points 9/10
Kayseri (Türkiye)
Yes, you read that right: Turkey. Beyond Istanbul and the Turkish Mediterranean coast, the country has a lot to offer in terms of snow. The Kayseri ski resort is one of the largest in the country and is known as a ski touring paradise. The scenery is absolutely stunning, and its proximity to the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Cappadocia makes it well worth a visit. However, the snow conditions on the slopes are a bit more variable. Warm and cold spells often alternate unexpectedly in the region, leading to unpredictable slope conditions. What delights freeriders often causes us concern. Therefore, this area is more suited to those who enjoy a leisurely pace than to uncompromising slope-jumping enthusiasts.
Carving points 5/10
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