Performance Carving Camp
Most carving camps stay on one hill. You learn the pistes, you learn the snow, and by day three you are skiing the mountain instead of the turn.
This camp moves. Every morning we choose the mountain that gives us the best snow and the best pistes for what we are working on that day. Saalbach Hinterglemm, Leogang, the Schmittenhöhe above Zell am See, the Maiskogel and the Kitzsteinhorn above Kaprun. Different gradients, different snow, different light. The turn has to work everywhere. That is the point.
Early February is deep winter in the Pinzgau. Cold, dry snow, freshly prepared pistes and the quiet weeks before the half-term crowds arrive. For carving work, this is as good as the Austrian winter gets.
Four days. Four mountains. A turn that holds wherever you take it.
Why roaming
A carving turn that only works on one familiar piste is a habit, not a technique. Moving between ski areas takes the habits away. A new gradient, a different snow surface, a piste you have never skied — and the technique has to carry you.
The region around Zell am See gives us a choice no single resort can. The long, wide pistes of Saalbach Hinterglemm and Leogang. The steeper, sunlit runs of the Schmittenhöhe with the lake below. The Kitzsteinhorn glacier when the valleys need a day of rest. We decide each evening where to ski the next morning, based on the snow, the weather and where the group is in its progression.
One lift pass covers it all — the Ski ALPIN CARD. Short drives between areas, and the first lift each morning at the mountain that gives us the best conditions.
My mornings in this region
There is a piste above Zell am See that I ski first on almost every clear February morning. Freshly groomed, north-facing, empty for the first half hour. The snow is so firm and even that a clean carved turn sounds different from a skidded one — you hear it before you feel it.
There is a long, wide run in the Saalbach valley that I save for the day the group is ready for speed. And there is a steep pitch on the glacier I only take people to when I know the turn will hold.
I will not name them here. After all these winters, a few things stay between me and the people I ski with. You will find them on the first morning — at the right hour, in the right order.
The Technical Focus
We stay on groomed pistes throughout. No off-piste, no moguls. Just the carving turn, taken further every day.
What we build across four days:
Long radius carving — the foundation
Edge angle, angulation, pressure timing, turn initiation. Building the carving turn as a technical movement rather than a shaped arc. On cold February snow you feel immediately whether the ski is carving or skidding.
Speed carving on wide pistes
The long, open runs of Saalbach Hinterglemm and Leogang give us room to build speed progressively. Repeat, refine, push the standard further. This is where carving becomes something you feel in your whole body rather than just your legs.
Racing style turns — GS and SL technique
Not gate training — technique education. GS style turns for arc management, pressure building and speed generation. SL style turns for rapid initiation, edge-to-edge quickness and rhythm under pressure. Both transfer directly into free skiing.
Steep groomed terrain — commitment under pressure
The steeper pistes of the Schmittenhöhe and the Kitzsteinhorn. The same carving technique applied where the slope demands full commitment. This is where we find out how far the technique has come.
New terrain, same turn
The final day we ski a mountain the group has not skied yet this week, with the technical framework from the camp replacing the habits you arrived with. Unfamiliar terrain is the honest test.
The Programme
On snow daily:
- Morning coaching session — 09:00 to 11:45
- Afternoon coaching session — 13:00 to 15:30
- Real-time radio coaching throughout every run (Cardo system)
- Individual video analysis every afternoon
Lunch: On the mountain, at a hut I know on each of the four areas.
Where We Stay
🏠 Your choice — Kaprun or Zell am See
Accommodation is free of choice and booked independently. Any hotel, guesthouse or apartment in Kaprun or Zell am See works well as a base, with an easy drive to all four ski areas. Evenings are your own — half board or a restaurant in town both work well. Book only after the camp is officially confirmed. I am happy to recommend places on request.
What Is Included
- 4 full coaching days
- Real-time radio coaching every session (Cardo system)
- Daily individual video analysis
- Daily choice of ski area based on snow and conditions
- Maximum 7 skiers — individual attention every run
Not included in camp price: Accommodation, lift pass, meals, travel and insurance are organised independently.
Who I Want at This Camp
Advanced and high-performance skiers who want to take their carving to a level that holds anywhere — not just on the piste they know.
You ski confidently on red and black terrain. You have the basic carving turn in your repertoire and you want higher edge angles, more committed arcs and real speed on perfect winter snow. You enjoy a different mountain every day and you understand that variety is part of the training, not a distraction from it.
Minimum requirements:
- Confident skiing on red and black slopes
- Basic carved turns on groomed terrain
- Ability to link short and long turns with control
- Genuine motivation to improve technically
Not sure if this is the right level? Send me one run on video. I will give you an honest answer within 24 hours.
Why This Camp. Why Me.
I hold the Austrian Staatlicher Level 4 and the Hungarian Level 4 — the highest coaching certifications in both systems. My qualifications have been formally recognised and converted by the Italian Maestro di Sci programme, IASI Ireland at Level 4 and PSIA USA at Level 3. Five national systems. One standard.
I have represented Austria and Hungary at three Interski Congresses — Cran-Montana 2003, St. Anton am Arlberg 2011, Pamporovo 2019 — and two IVSI Congresses in Lech-Zürs and Hakuba Japan, as a member of the Austrian Telemark Demo Team and the Interski Delegation. As a former examiner and coach at Snowsports Academy Austria I have assessed and certified ski instructors at the highest levels of the Austrian system.
Kaprun is my Austrian base. I know these four ski areas the way you only know mountains you ski every week of the winter — which piste is perfect at nine in the morning, which one holds its snow into the afternoon, and where the group should be on any given day.
7 Places.
This is the first of three carving editions this spring — 2–5 February, 16–19 February and 9–12 March. This one opens the season in deep winter conditions.
When the spots are gone, registration closes.
Four mountains. February snow. Seven skiers. One coach.
