Story Base 2017: Behind the Scenes

What can you get up to in a ski resort? Well – ski, of course.

Wrong! Of course, the wonderful and freshly prepared slopes have major appeal. But there is so much more to discover: romantic horse sleigh rides, snowshoe hikes, paragliding, snow cat action and sunrise trips are just some of the activities that the Skicircus has to offer. The sixteen of us really gave it our best effort to not leave out anything. We enjoyed the snow and celebrated with rock stars (Charlotte Cooper|The Subways & her husband, Ryan Jenkinson|Reverend and the Makers) and we got some unusual insights and perspectives. But first things first:

Storybase 2017 – the crew (does anybody actually speak here?)

The goal of Storybase was to highlight the unspeakably diverse region from different angles. Almost at random, it seemed all sorts of creative minds joined in who had successfully passed the application process and showed enough flexibility. The crew was accommodated in super cool, but spatially cramped quarters, with many strangers in double to quad rooms. We had a wide range of activities available. Anything possible, no must-do’s. So where do you start and where do you stop?

Somehow everything is easier when you are with nice people. And to be honest, that was actually a little problem to begin with. Imagine this: a room full of young, motivated people, 9 pm, no one speaks a word. Yes, this can happen when a bunch of bloggers meet up; total concentration instead of an easy chat with a beer. It is, after all, the first week after the Christmas holiday; there are many impressions, photos and videos of the day to post online. A lot of work happens in the background, of which an external bystander notices nothing at all.

Après ski loosens the mood

Therefore, it took a little longer for people to get to know each other. During the daytime in different groups at various activities, in the evening busy to get the content online. Hmm…but at the Goaßstall and the first time during the "schnapsln" card game, the ice finally melted. The dance floor, paired with aprés-ski-music, did the rest; things became unfettered, everyone wound up in conversations, joking and laughing. Unbelievable, what funny, clever and interesting personalities we had. And our smartphones and computers almost kept us from this experience! From that time on, it was all about the experience and less about the processing. Cabin party after some strenuous skiing with our private guide and ski instructor Uwe, afterwards schnapps tasting and the next day together again until sunrise ... The group dynamic quickly took off. The better we got to know each other, the more fun we had during our joint ventures.

Diversity rules

All participants enjoyed the icredible diversity the most. Not only was there an activity for all tastes, but also the mix of individuals that made up the Storybase participants could not have been more varied. There were two experienced sports bloggers from London, travel and outdoor bloggers as well as photographers from Berlin, Munich and Hamburg, the promising, ambitious young guys from Salzburg and their hard-working girl, an up-and-coming, not so "nerdy" technique YouTuber from Vienna, our Berlin fitness model-actor-DJ-bachelorette-celebrity, my favourite Tyrolean outdoor-chamois and roommate as well as the cute German blogger girls, with whom I have since then developed more of a lasting friendship, more than just the memory of a joint project. And of course there was me, herbalist/journalist.

We were all able to benefit enormously from each other and from our respective areas of expertise. For the tourism region of Saalbach Hinterglemm Leogang Fieberbrunn, this breadth of course is also a valuable asset. It is the first time ever that something like this has been done and together, the crew entered unchartered territory with us on this pilot project. The feedback and recognition from all directions all promising follow-up events.

Yes, there is constantly someone fiddling with their smartphone

We don’t want to fend off, but to confirm the prejudice:
YES, THIS IS HOW YOUTH IS TODAY! We constantly have our smartphones, cameras, GoPros and other devices in our hands. For us, this sort of equipment is as important as the calculator for an accountant. And in the end, everybody likes good pictures to go with the articles or would you prefer to read text without any pictures?

This is the Storybase crew of 2017:

Anastasia Dorokhov
Britta Smyrak from Looping Magazin
Anna Aichholzer
Carmen Hafner from goodblog
Charlie Watson from The Runner Beans
Chris Perkles
Flo Lindebner and Stefan Warecka from Techmagnet
Flo Westermann from the Phototravellers
Gesa Temmen
Lisa Mattis from Helle Flecken
Mario Hübner from Schöne Bergtouren
Max Riese
Philipp Stehler
Sandra Delibasic
Sophie Radcliffe from Challenge Sophie

Lots of thanks to the Storybase crew, the dedicated team of the tourism association and to Mother Nature for the wicked powder and sunshine!