Life as a Park Shaper

Anna Fischer lives the life one would wish for themselves. Over the years, we've met her in the Swedish mountains and have been extremely envious of her exciting life. With six seasons in Kläppen, one season in Thredbo, Australia, and a summer season in Saas-Fee, we wanted to ask her about life as a "Snowboard Bum".

Hello Anna, as we write, you're in Corvatsch, Switzerland, working as the Head Shaper for their snowboard park. Have you had any good riding or have you just been working?
I must admit there's been quite a bit of work, but I've managed to get in some riding too. Saas-Fee offered sun and slush in the beginning, and with that came a lot of shoveling, but also some great summer riding. The glacier experience here was new for me and quite challenging as a head shaper with the weather, wind, and glacier crevices. During the season, we also took a few trips to Zermatt, which also has an awesome park just an hour away. We also got some really good dumps in September and October in connection with Stomping Grounds, which was highly appreciated riding-wise!



Here in Switzerland and Corvatsch, I was warmly welcomed with loads of snow in mid-December. The advantage of being in the Alps is that when it snows, it usually snows heavily, and then no one rides the park, leaving more powder runs for us! After that, we've had a streak of sunny days, mostly with blue skies. It's relatively calm here until early March, so there's time to get a few runs in every day!

We've gotten to know you over the years in the Swedish mountains, and it's been quite a few years now. You work as a park shaper—have you done that throughout all your years?
I actually started my first season working at McDonald's in Lindvallen, and it was during that season that I started to get interested in riding the park. Then followed a few years working in ski rentals both in Hundfjället and Kläppen, followed by some longer trips to the US and New Zealand. When I got back from NZ, my arm was in a cast, which made it a bit challenging to find a job (perfectly timed injury, though, in between two seasons). And somewhat luckily, I got a call from Kläppen asking if I wanted to work in the park. I said yes, and then I just went for it.



You've spent six seasons in Kläppen. What's kept you there for so long?
Working in Kläppen has been amazing! I was very inexperienced when I started in the park, but my development in both knowledge and responsibility in the park progressed quite rapidly, and for the last three years, I've been the park manager. When you're in the same place for six years, you get to see both advantages and flaws, and being able to influence and see changes has kept me there. I love challenges and often become very engaged in what I do. Kläppen's CEO, Gustav Eriksson, is the founder of the park, which is very unique and means that Kläppen as a ski resort has a different understanding of the park and park riders than perhaps other resorts do, I'd say. This has also provided me and my team with good opportunities to develop the park and maintain the high standard that exists in Europe. Kläppen has become a bit of a second home, and that's largely due to the community in the park, both at work and in our free time.

Being able to work with your hobby is truly a dream, at least for me.



What does a typical day look like for you when you're working?
It varies quite a bit between the different places I've worked, especially in Kläppen since, as park manager, I had additional tasks beyond just shaping. But here in Corvatsch, we take the gondola up at 8 am, inspect the park, and make sure everything looks good after the night's grooming. Set up signs/fences at the park entrance and flags on the jumps. If there's a lot of people during the day, we do a reshape at lunch, and if not needed, we take the opportunity to do some product testing! Around 3:00 pm, it's time to take down flags and start reshaping for the next day. The advantage here is that the park is located halfway up the mountain (at 2700m), so there's always a 10-minute run to look forward to in the sunset after closing when we're heading down to the car.



What made you decide to do your first winter season?
Simple. To go snowboarding! When I started my first season, I had no thoughts about either parks or shaping. I just wanted to go snowboarding, and Sälen seemed like a good choice. It wasn't too far from home (Örebro), and I had spent a lot of time there with my family. During this season, I met my companion Andrea Carlsson, who is still my partner today. She introduced me not only to the park but also to incredible snowboard enthusiasm. After that, I was hooked...

What's been your best memory from your seasons so far?
It's really hard to pick just one; there are so many! But something that's a common thread every season is all the amazing events like Nitro Good Times Weekend, Stuntwood Session, Spotbattle, Team Battle, and more that bring friends and snowboarders together. It's among the best things I know!

What do you miss the most when you're spending a whole season in the mountains?
As long as I've stayed on Swedish soil, most things are within reach, but now that I've had more seasons abroad, I definitely miss loved ones, especially my dog! Luckily, there are avalanche dogs here haha. One thing I really miss in Switzerland is Swedish oatmeal because I pretty much live on overnight oats for breakfast. I brought 5 kg of oatmeal from Sweden in the car, along with 25L of oat milk. I got some puzzled looks at the border from Austria while they were inspecting the car.



Do you usually work in the summer to make ends meet, or do you just lie on the beach and soak up the sun all day?
It's almost been winter for me in recent years, currently on my third back-to-back winter season. Nearly two in Thredbo, Australia (got a bit late the second year), and most recently Saas-Fee, Switzerland. I try to squeeze in some sun between the seasons at the end of May, June, and November. May and June usually work well in Sweden, but in November, you have to look for something else. The seasons tend to be quite intense, so a little vacation in between is usually much needed, especially for the shoveling arms...

What tips do you have for someone who wants to do their first season in the mountains?
Just do it! It doesn't really matter whether you work in the park, the lift, or at a café. Being in a winter environment with like-minded people and going snowboarding is amazing, and you'll make friends for life!


About Anna Fischer

Born:
September 20, 1987

Resides:
Celerina, Switzerland (currently)

Started snowboarding:
When I was 15 years old.

Last seen snowboard film:
Favorite film Uninvited.

Number of snowboarding days last season:
There was quite a bit of riding last season, but probably not more than around 20 days unfortunately.
Snowboarders you draw inspiration from: Queen Ylfa Runarsdottrí, Celia Petri, Louise Nordström, Maria Thomsen, and more.

Goofy or Regular: Regular

Big thanks for taking the time, Anna! See you on the slopes :)