In freeskiing, her new discipline, Justine Dufour-Lapointe throws herself down dizzying slopes with a bag on her back, the contents of which are anything but trivial.
Because beyond the falls, another potentially deadly danger lurks for skiers skiing down such large mountains with steep slopes: the danger of being caught in an avalanche.
The famous bag, an airbag from which the skier can obtain oxygen in the event of a snow spill, also contains, among other things, a shovel and a probe.
“We don’t control anything”
It is mandatory on the Freeride World Tour, where Dufour-Lapointe was crowned overall champion last season, as are the avalanche training courses offered at the start of each season.
The risks are limited by the measures taken before each competition to minimize the likelihood of an avalanche being triggered.
But the way nature is, “we can’t control anything,” explains Dufour-Lapointe.
“This risk can be exciting, but it can also be scary if you don’t know it,” the 29-year-old skier, who made the transition from moguls to freestyle skiing last year, said Wednesday.
“Obviously I’ve always loved adrenaline! she added with a laugh. But I decided on a trainer [Stefan Hausl] to support me in making the right line decisions in the competition. So that the sport continues to be fun and my family at home doesn’t have to worry too much.
Dufour-Lapointe added that she thinks more about avalanche danger when she trains.
“But we always go with at least two people. You can’t start freeride skiing alone.”
Photo QMI Agency, Toma Iczkovits
A bit like “undergrowth”
Very popular in Europe, freestyle skiing is less popular in Quebec, where the mountains suitable for it are located in Gaspésie. The sport also has many enthusiasts in British Columbia.
But Justine Dufour-Lapointe compares her new discipline with clearing skiing, which can be practiced very well here.
“It’s about seeing new territory and interpreting it the way you want,” she says. That’s the free spirit of freeriding.”