Über ÖGSL

After studying at BOKU in Vienna and SFU in Vancouver, and several stops along the way at various warning services and projects both at home and abroad, Matthias now works as an avalanche forecaster on the LWD Tirol team. Previous role: Board member since 2023: Deputy Treasurer; before that, General Manager Motivation for the future: "Familiar terrain – new perspectives: building on the tried and tested, setting a fresh track toward new summits!" Wishes: "Insight meets outside – creating more hands-on, practical relevance!"

Studied at BOKU; has worked as an avalanche forecaster at the LWD Carinthia since 2021. There he brings theory and practice together, both outdoors in the field and in developing new methods at the computer. Areas of focus: A particular passion for the details of the snowpack and anything with edges and corners. Motivation: Strengthen the public visibility of avalanche commissions Continue to support YSP (Young Snow Professionals) Maintain the quality & quantity of the "schnee.semmelnare"

Avalanche forecaster and ski guide with experience in Canada, South America, and the Alps. Studied Alpine Natural Hazards at BOKU Vienna, along with numerous training courses and continuing education both at home and abroad. Passion: Fueled by her enthusiasm for snow, she loves hours of shop talk, preferably with two planks strapped to her feet. Why ÖGSL? "Bringing together and supporting people who share a fascination for snow and avalanches." Motivation: "Even more exchange and collaboration between practice and theory across all of Austria."

Studied Geography in Innsbruck and Norway, with a thesis on glaciers. Professional stints at the SLF, the University of Innsbruck, and the alpS Centre for Climate Change Adaptation. She currently works at the Austrian Board for Alpine Safety (Österreichisches Kuratorium für Alpine Sicherheit), where her work includes the alpine accident database, statistics for the specialist magazine analyse:berg, organizing the Alpinforum, and handling daily inquiries. ÖGSL role: A committed member since the society's founding in 2018, always active across a wide range of areas. Former Managing Director. Personal: A family person who most loves spending free time outdoors in the mountains back home.

Out and about in the mountains since childhood – whether on skis, a snowboard, or with a shovel, he feels right at home in the snow. That's why he turned his passion into the subject of his studies, and he has worked in the field of snow and avalanches since 2006, with a focus on avalanche risk management. For several years now, he's had the privilege of not only studying the avalanche phenomenon scientifically, but also – with the help of avalanche blasting systems, triggering them in a controlled way as part of his job. For him, the ÖGSL offers a home for the entire snow and avalanche community, reaching beyond Austria's borders as well.

Christoph is a snow and avalanche researcher and the technical coordinator on the ALBINA project. A staff member of the Tyrol Avalanche Warning Service. He loves powder, firn, and wet snow. But above all, he enjoys philosophizing about avalanche forecasting and its hazards. For him, the ÖGSL is the place where science and practice can meet head-on, without any brakes.

JT works as an avalanche dynamicist in applied avalanche research and university teaching. For him, the questions begin where snow starts to move in avalanches. Through laboratory, field, and computer experiments, he seeks to uncover the physics and processes behind these masses of snow. For him, the ÖGSL brings together what belongs together: snow, mountains, and the people fascinated by them!

Sascha is fascinated by the mountains and everything you can do in them, especially in winter! That's why he turned his passion into his profession, and he has now worked in the field of applied snow and avalanche research for 15 years, with stints in Switzerland and Canada. The snowpack is a fascinating but complex construct whose evolution we try to predict, and Sascha works on exactly these "forecasting tools." Bringing scientists and practitioners together is often no easy task – but the ÖGSL gives it a go anyway!

"The realization that a beautifully white slope can turn into a deadly hazard within seconds fills me with respect and awe, but also with curiosity. For that reason, I'm always motivated to engage intensively with the underlying processes, to understand them and to communicate them. For me, the ÖGSL embodies exactly that: a platform for knowledge transfer and for connecting practice and research." Christoph Hesselbach works as a research associate at the Austrian Research Centre for Forests (BFW) in the Snow and Avalanche Department. Beyond that, he brings his commitment and his passion for snow to his role as General Manager of the ÖGSL.