European Backcountry Skiing, Alpbach Region, Austria

For a tour closer to our home base in Bad Haering, Austria, we headed up the Marejtkopf south of the historic Alpbach village, skied west into a valley, then climbed to another summit and dropped to the drain leading down to Inneralpbach. About 1,300 meters total vert; the climbing was a breeze but along with some decent powder skiing we also worked on our German translation of such English euphemisms as “death cookies,” when we chose a debris choked couloir as an exit from the Maregtkopf. All in good fun, despite Manfred’s story of his friend who fell on a rock hard cookie and broke four ribs. I mean, I’ve busted a gut from eating too many cookies, but never a rib…

Louie finds some pow between the tasty cookies.

Lisa during our second climb of the day, Grober Galtenberg in background (we didn’t climb the peak as the skiing ROA wasn’t high.

Seven decades and still turnin’ em. Manfred.

After the tour we headed for Alpbach and visited the 1600s “Fugger Stube” dining room at the Boglerhof. The whole deal here has a bit of touristy aspect (what do you expect when we tourists like us show up?), but no matter, checking out a 300 year old dining room is just radical. If you don’t believe in ghosts, your mind could be changed. You enter the dim room. The dark, cave like structure is illuminated only by window light creeping in through tunnel like portals in the castle thick walls. Ancient carvings in the burnished wood paneling seem to animate, and dust swirls in the light like it’s trying to whisper. I guess you can dine in here if you really want to (and are willing to pay the price). Doing so would be interesting, but not done alone.

Dawsons after today’s tour. The spring melt has hit the lower reaches in this area and snowcover is sparse, but things are still good up high. In a few days we’re headed to the higher Alps so we’re hoping the spring snow conditions in those zones resolve to plentiful corn snow that’s easy to ski and safe from avalanches. But if not, I’m sure we’ll still get some turns in — as well as a few Swiss pastries.