The mountains, an environment that enriches every time you face it, and the Ortovox Safety Academy, which is committed every day to the protection of the mountains and those who practice its activities. Knowledge and experience are the main elements that fuel this fundamental initiative.
Let’s start from the beginning by going to find out who Ortovox, Marco Tosi are and what they are related by.
Ortovox, the pioneers in mountain safety since 1980
The company, which is guided by the fascinating alpine world in the designing of each product, puts responsibility, both to people and the environment, at the center. Over the years it has expanded the range of items, producing both winter and summer products.
While building an ecosystem of products and services that have safety as their foundation, they also began to develop training courses, from here the Ortovox Safety Academy was born.
Who is Marco Tosi?
Photo credit: Marco Tosi Official Facebook Page
Marco Tosi, a mountain guide since 1996, works constantly to teach, to all the people he meets, values and approach. A love story, the one with the mountains, that began a long time ago, a story that has respect, awareness and knowledge at its core.
His years of experience in various alpine activities have made him increasingly aware of the importance of protecting the environment and preserving its beauty (“low impact” philosophy).
Therefore, this approach is also reflected in every lifestyle choice and teaching he spreads. He prefers, in fact, zero-impact travel, longer approaches but on foot or by bicycle.
All these choices, guided him toward listening to his surroundings, so as to create an authentic connection with a particular area and imprint unique memories in his mind. And thanks to this mindset, he has become extremely connected with Ortovox’s Safety Academy project.
What is Marco’s connection with the Ortovox Safety Academy?
The strong bond that unites Marco Tosi and the Ortovox Safety Academy is the sharing of the same values. “Being on the same wavelength,” they say, and in this case it can only be true. Since 1980 Ortovox has been composing training courses for all those who like to approach the mountains. From avalanche courses through awareness courses in rock activities to mountain first aid courses. All these activities have one common goal:
Our goal is 360° risk reduction in the mountains
Ortovox Safety Academy
To achieve this, they planned the courses in a way that everyone, even those with little or no experience, can participate. In fact, they go from basic courses in which the fundamentals of the winter or summer discipline are explained (depending on the time of year), to courses for more experienced participants in which trips to more “extreme” environments are also combined.
The topics covered during the trainings are strictly focused on the type of course, but there are some common topics that are, however, dropped within the specific context. These include:
• Basics of the mountain environment.
• Equipment and materials (including choosing the right footwear).
• Directions on how to provide rescue.
A partnership system to allow people to participate
Ortovox, with the intention of truly allowing everyone to participate in the training sessions, has established several partnerships with entities located in different territories, from the Swiss and Austrian Alps via the Italian Apennines to the mountains of Colorado. All this is possible thanks to the synergy established with Specialized Schools. These include Ossola Outdoor School, where Marco Tosi serves as a mountain guide.
Photo credit: Ossola Outdoor School Official Facebook Page
Ossola Outdoor School was founded precisely with the aim of raising awareness and, above all, empowering all those involved in mountain sports. How?
Through approaching innovative methodological techniques, we want to accompany and train people of all ages along an experiential path that, one step at a time, leads to becoming autonomous and responsible practitioners. It is in this way that even without a summit, even along the way to an unknown destination, all of us, accompanying and accompanied, will have conquered the greatest of climbs and the most famous of mountains. We will learn to measure the success of the goal not by the topographical culminations achieved and the time taken but in relation to the experience we have had and what we take home in terms of the added value gained along the way.
Mission Ossola Outdoor School
Awareness, therefore, is the main value that through all these sessions they want to communicate. Knowing, understanding and choosing consciously. Exactly how to proceed in choosing the correct and most functional shoe for the activity we are doing. Just as the athletes we interviewed do and as the different Brand personalities teach us.
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