The mountain is his first playground. Victor Daviet started snowboarding at the age of 8, to become a professional a few years later.
Originally from Gap, this Annecy by adoption is used to the risks of avalanches.
Because if his sporting career is filled with joys, it is also strewn with fears.
In 2014 in Alaska, the skier was thus swept away in the heart of large masses of snow, then again in 2016. When several avalanches buried his body, giving him the immense chance of getting out, he measured the dangerousness of these situations .
Many times, he is led to seek out his friends, and fear for their lives. Victor Daviet then realizes that we are not trained enough. A "we" that may seem excessive for people who do not practice high level freeriding. A distorted impression: “We often have the feeling that to be in danger, you have to go far, take risks, walk for hours, but that's not true. Someone who goes beyond the limits of the track is already freeriding, ”explains a trainer from the National Association for the Study of Snow and Avalanches (Anena). Between 2020 and 2021, the organization recorded 135 cases of avalanches causing 40 deaths.
he will succeed in exfiltrating them.
However, he is still waiting for help from the government to get them all to safety in Western countries.
Laura Pasquier is a mountain guide, but also a teacher in physics applied to buildings.
She intervenes at Anena on avalanche rescue and movement on snowy terrain.
Meeting with two mountain safety pros.
Madame Figaro.-
How did your meeting go?
Victor Daviet.-
When I created these events, in January 2018, I naturally turned to Anena, which is the reference organization in France.
From the first edition, the association immediately followed us.
At the time it was still an edition that can be described as "friendly";
we were only 70, today more than 300 people participate.
Laura Pasquier.-
As a trainer for Anena, I lead workshops during Victor's event.
We are 18 trainers on the different days.
The weather conditions, the physical form, are all parameters that must be considered upstreamLaura Pasquier
What is the most important
message
to convey on Safety Shred Days?
VD-
For this new edition, we have a new slogan “
The Mountain has no brain, use your one
”.
Since there are no rules, the important thing is to gain experience, and to really develop thinking to make the right decisions in the mountains.
LP-
Adaptation.
We saw it this morning, when the chairlift can no longer operate because of the wind, we have to adapt and find solutions.
It was a great example to illustrate the totally unpredictable side of the mountain.
The weather conditions, physical fitness are all parameters that must be considered before a hike or an off-piste.
What is the profile of the people who take part in the workshops? Children, adults?
DV-
The purpose of this event is to raise awareness among all practitioners. In level one, it is novices who take up freeriding, or practitioners who have never had the opportunity to train and who want to develop their knowledge. Levels 3 and 4 have already taken part in the Safety Shred Days and they want to improve from year to year. In addition to a day for pro riders, we also have a special day for children. Upstream, I contact the ski club coaches who mainly enroll their students, otherwise it is parents who come by themselves with their children. They will be required to go off-piste and spend time in the mountains on a daily basis. We have very enthusiastic feedback.
LP-
Being on the level one workshops, I was with people who were somewhat aware of the subject, but most of them did not have their tools (shovel, probe, DVA).
On the other hand, they were very interested in mountain safety and wanted to know which equipment to use.
Snowboarding has given me everything, my friends, the best moments of my life… I have been looking for ways to return these gifts to himVictor Daviet
In your two personal journeys, what brings you together today?
DV-
Pure passion for snowboarding and the mountains! I had the chance as a professional snowboarder to make films with international productions. So I was confronted with avalanches which were very traumatic, I also had to pull friends of mine almost dead from the snow… others died before my eyes. These experiences were a shock, an unheard-of violence that brought me close to depression. I transformed this sadness into something positive, it gave me the motivation to create this event. Snowboarding gave me everything, my friends, the best moments of my life… I looked for how to return these gifts to him and that's how these training days were born. I feel good there, because above all I have the impression of being useful.
LP-
I have always liked to transmit, whether in my job or in the mountains.
Thanks to these exchanges with others, the training allows me to question myself, and above all, I like to share my experience.
What are the basic rules to be able to go in the mountains?
LP-
Go with the right people, follow your feeling and your experience.
And above all knowing how to give up, which is a basic rule.
VD-
Yes, it's important to follow your feelings in the sense of "not being influenced by the desires of others".
When you are in the mountains, if you do not feel a descent, it is better to trust yourself and not go there.
Have the equipment and be trained.
We have chosen female athletes precisely to highlight this parityVictor daviet
By observing, we realize that women are less numerous than men in freeride activities. In your opinion, why ? Do you already have any ideas for changing this?
DV-
The training is accessible to all, I make no difference between men and women. All people who want to practice off-piste are welcome. We have chosen female athletes precisely to highlight this parity. Marion Haerty, Coline Ballet-Baz and Anaïs Caradeux, who are guest pro-riders, were present both to train, but also because they are great role models for the younger generation. In the films that are broadcast, girls are also in the spotlight. Today, clearly there are still more boys who freeride, but the idea was to create a pleasant atmosphere, that everyone is comfortable, to avoid the "manly" side . It's also a question of generation, we mixed less at the time...When young people go to the mountains, the groups are more mixed.
LP-
I joined a group of women mountaineers, I was actually more confident with them, but I can't explain why.
Personally, I find that the boys completely leave us the place.
In my eyes, in the mountains, it's only the skills that count.
I am totally in favor of pushing girls into these areas, but I must admit that I have never been uncomfortable with it.
Where can we find the best practices to adopt in freeriding if we were unable to attend the training days?
DV-
While waiting for the 2023 edition, with one of my sponsors, the 686 brand, we have prepared explanatory videos, the first of which has just been shared on social networks.
LP-
Until next year, you can buy online and document yourself on the Anena website.
It is intended for the general public and quite well popularized.
But the secret is to practice!
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