Manfred Barthel, at Sol Austria in 2015 looking at historical Dynafit tech bindings on display. Click to enlarge.
I posted this back in January of 2009, during one of my early Europe trips, covering Dynafit and Austrian ski culture. I had the honor of skiing with and getting to know Manfred Barthel, father of Fritz Barthel, inventor of the tech binding. Manfred ski toured until just a few years ago, when his health rapidly deteriorated and led to his passing last week. Manfred liked nothing better than being out on the snow, clocking off another classic Austrian ski tour in the mountains around Kitzbuhl and Innsbruck. He was a sweet man. Generous, smart, loyal to his family. He’s now clocking off those same tours in the sky. Farewell Manfred! (I left a few appropriate comments from the older post. You can find another Manfred post here. His life stats: July 28, 1934 – January 11, 2019 at 84 years. Due to health issues he stopped ski touring at about 79 years age.)
Manfred Barthel on Steinbergstein, 2009.
(Original 2009 post follows)
Ski touring is supposed to be fun. So, if the avalanche danger is nil I’ll take it and smile like a waiter realizing they just got a 50% gratuity on an eight person meal, with wine. Today was like that here in Austria. Sure, Steinbergstein is a simple tour with just one climb of 3,600 vert and the subsequent descent of a mellow peak. But. The sublime weather. The historic Alps. Companionship of one of the area’s masters. We even saw wildlife — and did eat pastries.
Your blogger on the way up. It's been cold here. About 8 degrees F when we started up this morning, so hitting the sun was a joy. That and the fact that nearly every day I've had touring in the Alps over the past several years has been a storm day. So I was singing hallelujah when not a cloud grew in the sky, and thinking I was finally experiencing something like those Euro skiing posters and calendars that make it look as perfect as Vail (just kidding, as I like keeping my pants on when it's this cold).
Ok, here is the man. If I can climb and ski at seven decades even close to like Manfred Barthel does, that'll be fine and I will not whine. Why is he so good? Growing up without a car has something to do with it. You wouldn't believe the stories of how back in their day these guys had to walk an extra day just to get to the skiing. (If you're really really green, perhaps you should try that. Leave your crib a day early for a few turns at your local backcountry haunt, then take an extra day to get back? Talk about a low carbon footprint! If you do this, you're allowed to laugh at my truck.)
Near the Steinbergstein summit, we worked easterly along a ridge to drop some lines that hadn't been carved into bump runs yet. No lie, they get so many ski tourers up here that the more accessible slopes look like Highland Bowl three days after a storm. But like anywhere in the world, if you just take some time to think different you can avoid the teeming unwashed masses.
This is cool. We're gliding along and come across of herd of chamois. I've always wanted to encounter these creatures. They're flighty as heck, you can tell they get hunted quite a bit. They look like a cross between a goat and deer -- proof that backcountry skiers once mated with elk?
Manfred heading down...
...and me. More boot top powder, zilch avy danger, bluebird, good gear and the master as a companion. Yep, it was like two feet of fresh.
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.
