The organizer team of the S4SSS was increasing during the last weeks and 5 new colleagues will complement the team with session proposals in the fields of Mountain Biology and Cryosphere. In the frame of a gathering of the S4SSS Organizers at the Institute of Botany of the University of Innsbruck, additional session topics were presented and focus groups were reshaped. Afterwards, the organizer team joined the annual retreat of PhD students active in the doctoral programs within the Research Area Mountain Regions at the University of Innsbruck.