Interview from August 29, 2023
Fritschi ambassador Lisa Horst
Lisa is a German ski instructor, ski guide and freerider. A stay in Whistler revealed to her the charms and beauties of off-piste skiing, which has not let her go since. She grew up primarily in Stuttgart, but after her experience in Whistler she wanted to study sports science in Innsbruck. She stayed there for a few years and explored the region on her skis.
Lisa now lives in the East Allgäu and works as a teacher and ski guide. The former she does 80% of the time, the latter fills the remaining days of the week
Lisa is a tireless sports person, constantly on the move in the great outdoors. Whether it’s climbing, cycling, high-altitude tours, hiking, paragliding and many other outdoor sports in the summer. The main thing is that she can move outside.
«Most of all I like to be on the move.»
In her free time, she is not interested in structured processes, such as following a fixed training plan. In contrast, however, she is all the more organized and structured in her teaching profession.
The experience is in the foreground
Lisa doesn’t want to commit to one type of sport and wants to remain as flexible as possible in her free time. Why? To keep as many options open as possible, depending on the weather conditions, and thus to have unique experiences in the great outdoors.
In summer and winter, she can be found primarily in the regions of the Allgäu and Tyrol for her sporting adventures. In her activities, the unique experience with good friends is in the foreground, the performance-oriented has never really appealed to her.
«What could be better than being out in the mountains with friends?»
Competitive sports – no thanks
Lisa owes her skiing background – like many others – to ski racing. She raced in her youth and was on the verge of transitioning to competitive sports. But she was never really fast on her way, the running time played a subordinate role for her. It was much more important to her to complete the respective run as technically perfect as possible. So the technical training sessions appealed to her much more than the competitions, which were rather uncomfortable for her.
«For me, the beauty of the ski technique, the flow of the movements was always in the foreground.»
Another world
She finally turned her back on ski racing at the age of 18 after spending a year in Whistler, Canada. The off-piste scene there with its people immediately captivated Lisa. She discovered her passion for being allowed to move in the open terrain, away from pole riding. Additionally, it showed Lisa what is really important to her; not skiing against each other, but skiing together.
«Skiing together fulfils me much more than skiing against each other.»
In general, Lisa finds the exchange with different cultures and their people enriching, as she learns something new every time. Joint tours also help her develop her skiing technique, especially when she is on the road with people who ski better than she does.
This impression was reinforced when Lisa took part in another contest, a Freeride Qualifier Tour Stop in Hochfügen. She went to this contest without making any concrete inquiries and preparations in advance. Nevertheless, she qualified as third overall for the World Tour Stop on the following day. There she finally realized that she didn’t like competitions, regardless of the discipline, even without poles. She only likes to take part in fun events without scoring, where the common experience is in the foreground.
The preparation for the winter
Does Lisa prepare for the winter in a structured way in terms of training? “Yes and no.” She doesn’t follow a training plan, but she always makes sure she keeps moving. She chooses the right mix of sports, which is ultimately conducive to the training goal and the associated injury prevention; such as cycling and hiking for endurance and climbing for strength. This mix seems to have proven itself, because to date Lisa has never had a serious skiing accident with broken bones, torn muscles or the like.
In addition, nowadays she tends to start skiing later. That is, not already in October on the glacier, but in December well prepared and with usually already enough snow.
«With the right outdoor sports mix, you can avoid the gym.»
The ski technique
The lack of injuries to date is certainly due to Lisa’s constant urge to move, but it is also due to her skiing skills, which have a supporting effect. In addition, Lisa is no longer involved in competitive sports and does not take any other risks.
«I have never had an injury until today.»
Lisa got the technical basis for her skiing from ski racing. However, her father suggested that she train to become a ski instructor, as he had once done. This training as a state ski instructor and later as a ski guide gave her ski technique another significant boost. These trainings focused on beautiful skiing and this focus was already more important to Lisa than anything else during her active ski racing days. So she completed her first training as a ski instructor in 2009 during her sports studies in Innsbruck and was even part of the instructor team of DSLV Ski-Alpin from 2012-2019.
Afterwards Lisa studied teaching and missed regular skiing for two years, because on the one hand she hardly had time for it and on the other hand the place of study was in the north of Bavaria. After her studies, she was able to pursue her passion for skiing again, in addition to her full-time job as a teacher. As a consequence, the training as a ski guide followed in 2021.
The future
Lisa is basically satisfied with where she is today. She has an 80% job as a teacher and has enough freedom to move outside the rest of the time. In winter, she works as a ski guide with guests, but also for freeride and ski touring companies. Sports brands and sports retailers also like to take advantage of her professional expertise coupled with her likeable, uncomplicated manner and charisma. Lisa would like to be able to continue her work as a teacher and ski guide for as long as possible.
«A six-month timeout in Norway would be quite something.»
However, she also still has dreams, such as a six-month timeout in Norway. In winter, of course, to be able to go ski touring, but also to dedicate herself more to skiing as a whole again. Lisa also enjoys skiing on the slopes from time to time and also does telemark skiing, but the time for this has been too short in recent years. She would also like to travel to Canada again, but the long travel distance deters her a bit. Moreover the fact that the European Alpine region has so much to offer.
Lisa’s binding
Lisa appreciates Fritschi bindings as a reliable companion. In particular, she likes the driving performance paired with the knowledge of the safety release (after all, Lisa does not want to get an injury in the future).
For freeride descents with or without lift support she uses the Tecton.
Instagram: _skiing_lis_
