The Austrians I’m with are fast. But what else do you expect? You start out in the lineup, stop for a whiz, and the next thing you know your Tyrolean berg-friends are over the next rise 500 vert above. But the mountain boys and girls like hanging out at the summit, bundled up in their puffy with a cup of hot from their thermos. So eventually you catch up. That’s what it’s like when you ski Austria; it seems like everyone is an expert, everyone is fast, and everyone is smiling.
Fritz took this photo of Stephen headed into the undercast that lurked below us all day. Conditions were zilch avy danger due to rain cement under a well bonded pow storm layer. Not exactly hero skiing but close to it, though once we hit the whiteout all bets were off.
Euros don’t carry much (typical pack is a shovel and a cell phone — sometimes without the shovel). So they don’t drink much. So they don’t pee much and get ahead every time a well hydrated American has to stop. But mostly they’re fit. More so, these guys have muscles used to the plentiful oxygen of lower altitudes than we tour at in Colorado (I’ve got the lungs, but until I’m used to the lower altitude my skinny high altitude legs can’t handle the amount of O2 my huffers can gather.) So there you have my excuses for dropping back a few minutes. Pee stops and reverse acclimation. Any questions (grin)?
Lou in Austria, first EU 09 turns. Photo by Fritz.
It’s day 2-3 of this year’s WildSnow European visit. I’m touring with Dynafit binding inventor Fritz Barthel, along with his dad and a group of their friends. We’re backcountry skiing the Schafsiedel and another peak above the Langer Grund valley, south of Bad Haering in the Zillertal region of the Austrian Alps.
I caught this shot on the way up in the morning. Undercast always adds beauty. In this case, it was gradually creeping higher as the day progressed, eventually broaching timberline. Above the trees, being in pea soup can make it hard to find the gasthaus at day's end, so I kept my eye on things with some concern.
Summit of Schafsiedel, looking southeast.
Lou (left) and Fritz Barthel.
Manfred Barthel arrives -- this guy was walking to these ski tours back when they were all 2-day trips from town, amazing what he's seen and knows.
Riki the speed queen, all Dynafit, all the time. Seven Summits skis, ZZero Green Machine boots, clothing, backpack -- even her gloves?
Our down route off Schafsiedel.
Another view of our downroute off Schafsiedel.
Euro march to the day's second summit.
Paolo coming up -- the Italian Stallion won't stop for anything.
Like misty tendrils in some horror flick, the fog continues to seek us out. We go to meet it, and find ourselves flailing for a few hundred vert, then we break out of the bottom into flat but skiable light for the last 1,000 vert to the valley.
Snacks and brews at Brennhutte round out the day. (Full disclosure, I only had a bite as to not spoil Huberta's cooking.) We ended up with about 5,500 vertical feet of climbing and skiing. A bit of a leg ache what with jetleg and all -- but finally a good sized Austrian tour on a mostly bluebird day with good snow. Imagine that!
WildSnow.com publisher emeritus and founder Lou (Louis Dawson) has a 50+ years career in climbing, backcountry skiing and ski mountaineering. He was the first person in history to ski down all 54 Colorado 14,000-foot peaks, has authored numerous books about about backcountry skiing, and has skied from the summit of Denali in Alaska, North America’s highest mountain.
