We have a few minutes left to midnight, when we arrive at the frozen cross of the Rosskopf summit. We will end 2018 at the top and ski right into 2019. Happy New Year!
This year could not have started any better.
It’s the first skitour this season and the first one in the dark. Sami, my room mates’ dog is also with us. It’s his second skitour. On the first one he ran into our ski and cut his foot. That’s why we’re super cautious this time. Three are taking the lead, one holds the dog back – not an easy task, Sami has so much power and only RUNNING in his mind. Around the corner we let him go – and guess who beats us and is first at the bottom. We hardly see him – only the red light at his collar flies through the night.
We, are Flo – my roommate and Barbi, who lived in our house before us. Now she lives in the mountains and we move in. Just for a night, because it is a stopover on the way to our hut trip to Austria. But before, we go with the puppy on another tour to the Jägerkamp. It’s foggy and white, and the perfect powder. 3/4 to the top we realize that we’re too late. It’s getting dark and the view worse and worse. With a heavy heart we turn around. Sami hasn’t learned any ski touring manners overnight (like not running into skis..) and so we have to hold him back again – until Barbi becomes sick of the procedure and takes him on the leash. Now he follows us in full speed, and pulles her. That girl knows how to board! Torn by a wild dog through bumpy, powdered freeride slopes – hats off! We make is safe back down and Flo and me leave the next day for Austria.
6h through snowstorms and meters of snow, until we pass the Felbertauern Tunnel and get to East Tirol – suddenly everything is green. Something is obviously wrong! On this side of the mountains there is literally no snow – we spend 3 days in the green. On the way the pass is closed – avalanche danger. Seriously? Lienz, Brixen, Innsbruck.. we take a nice little detour to get back home. On the way we stop in the Zillertal for some meters of altitude at the pist, everything else is too dangerous in these masses of snow North of the Alps. But finally some snow under the feet.
Two weeks later I’m sitting on the train to Garmisch-Partenkirchen. Before Christmas I met Lukas, who invited me to the opening of the Youth Hostel Moun10.
The weekend starts with a coffee on the rooftop and a sauna with a panoramic view to the Zugspitze. The mountain behind us would be our next days’ summit – the Wank.
Antonia with Lukas and friends, all (more or less) professional athletes. Halfway up I realize that I never asked about the details of the tour and just followed – bad idea! It has 1200m of windy forest trails! I guess there is only one reason why I’m not kilometers behind them. It’s basically Lukas second day on ski – ever. The clouds come and go when we get to the top. A sandwich at the icy cross and back down through the powdered slopes of the winter forest. That’s the way to learn skiing, just follow your friends who don’t really care that it’s your second day! I guess same counts for me, I’m a good downhill skier but backcountry skiing is a new world for me.
That night, the Youth Hostel Moun10 is hosting a fantastic opening party. Still, we go to bed quite early. Lukas and friends have big plans for the next day and I am super exited what will happen.
During breakfast, Quirin’s impatiens look reminds me by the minute that we’re late – it’s 6am. But it takes a little until we get to Oberammergau where the tour starts. It’s still freezing -15° Celsius and probably the one reason why these tons of gear are distributed within seconds. With skis on the back we’re ready to go.
Halfway up, Quirin who has been leading so far suddenly wants to go last and starts to give us an intensive training on kick turns. It’s a short tour to the Zahn with only 600m of altitude difference. On the last 100m I suddenly understand his motivation that we know the kick turns perfectly. It gets steeper and steeper and finally through a small gap between a rock and the trees. We slide a few times but get to the top successfully.
The show starts. The guys get into motion and I’m watching them with the fascination of a little child. Two ski down a few meters and appear later on the other side of the gap. The others climb down the icy wall to fix the anchor on a ledge. The drones fly up and down and connect one side with the other The highline is set. One after the other steps on the line, high up in the air.
These guys are professional Slacklines – highliner’s to be precise. And I can’t believe what I’m just seeing. (Can you see the orange person in the photo? In the air between the mountains?)
With frozen limbs I ski down the powders slopes a few meters to warm up. When I get back up again Lukas is back and takes my hand – was that the moment I fell in love with you?
A little later everything looks like nothing has ever happened and we ski down. This is the world of skitour highlining.
10 days later I’m with Bernie on the way to the same mountains. Today’s destination will be Hochblasse. The sun shines through the dwindled trees and when we reach the tree line the snow shines under our feet. It’s a beautiful day. The trail is long but easy and we reach the top quickly. On the way we see lots of peaks with fantastic lines and make more planes than we have weekends. We’re not alone at the rusty cross and with other skiers we discuss which way down might be the best. The one starting between the mountains pines looks best for us and we fly through the powder. This is heaven! It’s a warm day and the lower we get, the snow is heavy.
On the way home we pass this fantastic chocolate cafe in Murnau and none of us can decide between beer and cake – so we have both. Together. And the same again at night – because we had a beer, and then my roommate came home with cake. I have to admit, it’s not a bad combination.
It’s Wednesday and I’m in the middle of my exam time. I should be sitting at my desk studying all day, but the mountains are calling. Flo gives me a ride to Munich at 5am and shortly after I’m sitting in the Munich library. I want 6h on my study clock before leaving. At 4.30 pm we march to Sudelfeld’s peak Vogelsang. We reach the top with the last light of the day. Beautiful colors! It’s hut night and when we finish our Kaspressknödelsuppe the hut fills up. We were a little too early. But that’s ok. We ski down along a line of headlights, one after the other. We don’t even need ours – the headlights lighten the slope like daylight. This is definitely a one-time experience. There are way too many people!
We find as many people on a Wednesday morning a week later. We chose the Schönberg, close to Lenggries. The few places to park are taken already and the farmers are going crazy. One car after the other goes through their farm and comes back few minutes later. They are really not happy about the new hype.
We add few extra km to the tour and find a place to park. The trees are heavy from the snow and shine in the morning sun. It’s a beautiful day. But the bad luck doesn’t stop. Today I get blisters earlier than usual. I have a new idea – to take off my socks. Bad idea, I rip off the tongue of my shoe, trying to get back in the shoe. And so, I’m sitting in the snow trying to fix my shoe. Flo is laughing! Somehow, I make it work and we can continue. Reaching the top we enjoy a fantastic view. Maybe we stay a little bit too long. While the snow at the top is perfect powder, its already too warm further down. We cruise through the slushy forest where the snow on the trees has already melted.
At home I spend a couple hours fixing my shoe. Not so easy with the solid material, but Stefan from the Freiluftwerk has the perfect idea, using a curved needle.
With my shoes repaired, I am ready for Simetsberg. This time I’m experimenting with Vaseline to avoid blisters.
Most of the trail is a steep winding ascent through the forest. Every once in a while, we get a glimpse of the Walchensee. A sweet tease of the amazing view at the summit. Then the forest opens up and we have a wide treeless slope in front of us. This will be an awesome line to ski down!
At the Gipfelkreuz we see the Zugspitz mountain on the one side and the shining Walchensee on the other – super nice! A good place to practice headstands! The run down is as great as expected, only the forest part turns out to be horrible, because by then my blisters are on fire. Experiment failed, Vaseline also doesn’t work.
The next tour is the absolute favorite one from my other friend Flo. The Ellmauer Tor. It’s the first of March and perfect weather for ski-touring. Quickly I’m out of breath, Flo is rather at an advanced level. It’s a beautiful ascent between the walls of these majestic mountains. A little after him I reach the saddle as well. On one side the summit is accessible without further gear and we give it a try. The way up is a little exposed, but we manage it and the view is fantastic. The sky is super clear, and it feels like we could see the ocean at the horizon.
Back down at the saddle we realize that it’s getting late. The sun has been heating up the walls and the first avalanches have already been set off. Time to get out of here. The first meters are great spring snow, but after 200m the snow is heavy and skiing down is hard work and tiring. Still Flo was right. It`s one of the best tours so far! Few days later I recommend the tour to Lukas and his friends, who were more fortunate with the conditions, finding a meter of fresh powder on the slopes. I am still mad!
Since March I’m doing a fulltime internship, so the days of lonesome ski-touring during the week are coming to an end. Nevermind, as the next two trips are with lots of people anyways.
Barbi and a friend are celebrating their birthdays on the Freisinger Hütte. Flo picks me up after work and we’re off to the mountains. When I arrive at the hut, Flo has already started the fire. He is just too fast for me.
At night, we pick up the groceries from the gondola. It’s a 20min walk but carrying the supplies for 25 people pushes us to the limit. I fall over with the heavy backpack and ski on my feet, ending up on my back like a helpless turtle. Woooop that sucks! But the beer that night is well earned.
From the hut to the summit (Setzberg) its 200m. That’s basically our tour for the next day. Once before breakfast, once after, once in the middle of the day and again at sunset.
The weather is fantastic and we’re basically touring in shorts and t-shirt yet there is still powder in the north facing slopes. It couldn’t be any better and for sure was enough reason to do the same trail over and over.
On Sunday our mission is bringing everything back down, this time without the gondola. I’m probably the least experienced skier in this group and very happy to find out, that we will take the slope. No one told me so, that this slope sucks. Steep slopes, branches and rocks and slushy snow, if snow at all. I’m super proud to bring the backpack to the valley without crashing once. What a fantastic weekend!
The next weekend brings me also to the outer edge of my comfort zone, but this time on a very different way.
I’m meeting with Laura, the girl I met on the last days of the alpine crossing. With her family and friends, we want to do the Rumpler Runde at the Dachstein in Austria. We take the gondola to the glacier and are straight away in the snow. It’s a beautiful and very relaxed first day. We sleep on the Simony hut, where the sun paints beautiful sunset colors against the horizon.
In the Morning I´m the first to wake up. While the sun illuminates the mountain peaks around, I’m doing a few sun salutations next to the hut and then we’re off for the day. Equipped with crampons and ice axes our destination is the highest peak of the area – the Dachstein.
Laura’s dad gives me a short introduction on how to use the gear, and shortly after I find myself on a steep and icy climb, dying a thousand deaths. It’s about a 100m climb and quite exposed at most parts. There is nothing better than a full 360° view from the highest mountain, earned step by step.
Then comes the perfect reward – we ski through untouched summer spring snow on the way down to the hut. We reunite with the others of the group.
My legs are done after that trip, so the way back is not that funny – too much pushing and walking and for good, an endless slope of slushy snow.
I can’t find a car ride for me and my skis back home so I’m taking the local bus to Salzburg and the train back home. What a weekend. Laura I can’t wait for our next mountain adventure!
Only a week later, Lukas and me join Bernie and friends on a tour to the Kuhlochscharte close to Seefeld.
The tour goes smoothly through the forest without ascending very much. Suddenly the forest ends, and we have the mountain range of the valley in front of us. Such a beautiful scenery. We make a break at a remote farm before the ascent starts and then it goes up and up and up – 1000m. It would be super nice if not for the snow. It sticks to the skins like glue and I’m sliding down two meters for every step I make. Everyone passes me and I’m so frustrated that I take of my ski and carry them to the top. But skiing down makes everything good again! We even find some powder in the shade of the walls. Back at the farm we make a looooong break and enjoy the spring sun.
After so many day tours we’re keen to try something new. Our last trip in the snow will be a 5-day hut trip in Switzerland. But this will be another story.
