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Featuring Joël Rouge.
Interview with Yves Pfund, state ranger
What animals can we meet in our mountains?
The whole wildlife that is present in the Alps, except bears and wolves,
can be found in Les Rochers-de-Naye.
Which animals are hurt the most by freeriders?
The black grouse, which is on the red list, is really endangered by off-piste skiing.
It doesn't overwinter, like marmots do, but it lives in an igloo.
It spends 4 hours a day looking for food. The 20 other hours it stays in its shelter.
Freeriders prefer to ski in the north faces, where you can find powder snow, and therefore might destroy these shelters.
Every day, the black grouse is going to build a new shelter. If it has to build 2 or 3 of them per day, it is going to die.
What are the areas to avoid when you go freeriding?
You can do almost "whatever you want" in the valleys over the forest level.
But as soon as you get in the subalpine level, or forest level, it is important to avoid
riding in the forest and instead maintain the couloir effect recommended by the FOEN.
It is really important to make your run deep in the couloirs.
What other recommandation would you give to freeriders?
Chamois can lose bewteen 40% and 50% of their body weight during winter.
The best solution is to leave later and to avoid being on the spot before 8am
and most importantly to avoid the ridges where these animals feed themselves.
And if I can give a last advice to all hikers who stop to picnic,
don't leave the rest of your sandwich or your apple on the spot,
because it attracts predators, like crows or foxes.
Think about it.
You can make a difference...
More infos on: www.greentracks.ch