1. 1 Inhomogeneity of capacity requirements and their risks on commercially guided ski tours with leisure sport orientated ski tour participants Diplom-Sportwissenschaftlerin Nina Reichwein Institute for sport science Ruhr - University Bochum, Germany International symposium "High altitude influence on human performance: science and praxis IV" from 08.-13.09.2009 Bohinjska Bela, Slowenia

2. 2 introduction, aim, material & methods, results, discussion, conclusion Rising Popularity of ski touring in leisure sport sector - 1,2 mio. hours (1980) → 20mio. hours (2006) (Zeigler, 2006) -2006: 1mio. estimated ski touring people in leisure sport sector in european alps (Burtscher, 2006) _______________________________________________________ Nina Reichwein, Inhomogeneity during ski tour ascents, Bohinjska Bela

3. 3 introduction, aim, material & methods, results, discussion, conclusion Rising popularity of ski touring Commercial mountain sport schools widen spectrum of ski tour supplies ↓ 2008: 95% of german commercial mountain sport schools offer ski tours in european alps or even beyond _______________________________________________________ N. Reichwein, Inhomogeneity during ski tour ascents, Bohinjska Bela/ Slowenia

4. 4 Organizer´s aim: minimize safety risks during ski tour ↓ homogenous group composition ↓ - detailed tour description on organizer´s homepage - verbally given tour information via telephone or e-mail Ski tour requirements ↓ ? Decision of psychological & physiological suitability to ski tour´s requirements… ¿ ↓ … is left up to leisure sport orientated competitioners = frequently inexperienced laypersons introduction, aim, material & methods, results, discussion, conclusion _______________________________________________________ N. Reichwein, Inhomogeneity during ski tour ascents, Bohinjska Bela/ Slowenia

5. 5 Question: Do the tour descriptions announced by the organizer present sufficient information in order to reduce the individual´s and the group´s safety risks by a selfreliant assessment of capacity? introduction, aim, material & methods, results, discussion, conclusion Aim of the study: Assessment of the group-internal degree of inhomogeneity concerning the capacity during ascents of commercially guided ski tours. _______________________________________________________ N. Reichwein, Inhomogeneity during ski tour ascents, Bohinjska Bela/ Slowenia

6. 6 introduction, aim, material & methods, results, discussion, conclusion Three commercially guided ski tours: 1680 – 3180 masl T 1 : n= 6 T 2 : n= 5 T 3 : n= 10 →→→→→→ ♀,1♂, age: 36 n 1 = 4 (3♀,1♂, age: 36 ± 5,83, BMI: 23 ± 1,77) n 2 = 4 (4♀, age: 35,5 ± 5, BMI: 22,6 ± 1,51) ♀,♂, n 3 = 4 (2♀,2♂, age: 49 ± 8,37, BMI: 23,8 ± 2,14) Physiological strain parameters: - average heart rate - lactate values Subjectively perceived exertion level: - modified RPE-scale 1-15 Degree of inhomogeneity: Coefficient of variation V _______________________________________________________ N. Reichwein, Inhomogeneity during ski tour ascents, Bohinjska Bela/ Slowenia

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8. 8 introduction, aim, material & methods, results, discussion, conclusion avg cardial strain inhomogeneity avg metabolic strain inhomogeneity T1T1 6,1%42,6% T2T2 4,5%35,7% T3T3 4,4%46,7% 32,2% of all lactate values exceed 4mmol/l lactate threshold avg perceived exertion inhomogeneity T1T1 23,4% T2T2 12,4% T3T3 23,0%

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10. 10 Organizer´s aim: minimize safety risks during ski tour ↓ homogenous group composition ↓ - detailed tour description on organizer´s homepage - verbally given tour information via telephone or e-mail Ski tour requirements ↓ ? Decision of psychological & physiological suitability to ski tour´s requirements… ¿ ↓ … is left up to leisure sport orientated competitioners = frequently inexperienced laypersons introduction, aim, material & methods, results, discussion, conclusion _______________________________________________________ N. Reichwein, Inhomogeneity during ski tour ascents, Bohinjska Bela/ Slowenia

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13. 13 introduction, aim, material & methods, results, discussion, conclusion State: Group internal inhomogeneity under same conditions Explanations: -Participants made blatant misjudgement of their capacity requirements - Pre-description of the tour does not last out a satisfactiory homogeneity of capacity within ski touring group _______________________________________________________ N. Reichwein, Inhomogeneity during ski tour ascents, Bohinjska Bela/ Slowenia

14. 14 Suggested solutions 1)for responsible organizers/ mountain guides: → performance test under real conditions → tour adaption to current state of capacity afterwards introduction, aim, material & methods, results, discussion, conclusion 2) appeal to participants: → truthful self-estimation of one´s state of capacity → avoidance of fake ambition at the interpretation of tour description _______________________________________________________ N. Reichwein, Inhomogeneity during ski tour ascents, Bohinjska Bela/ Slowenia

15. 15 Thank you for your attention! _______________________________________________________ N. Reichwein, Inhomogeneity during ski tour ascents, Bohinjska Bela/ Slowenia