We can’t let trip reports from our recent (early January) European travels fall through the seams of the Outdoor Retailer convention center carpet. Publish too many gear reviews — you could forget what the gear is actually used for! So here we go with another day of Austrian fun. (More OR gear stuff coming, trust us.)
A Tirolean powder cat sizes up the American powder hounds.
Powder! I skied 3 weeks of cold smoke in Canada over Christmas and now I am in the Tirol floating through fluff. A dream? It’s so good it could be. Truth be told, the conditions in Austria this January aren’t quite as perfect as they were at Valhalla Mountain Touring, but I’m having tons of fun nonetheless. The reason must be the excellent equipment I’ve been using — the Dynafit One boot and the women’s Dynafit Manaslu. Game changers for me — I feel like I am on the top of my game, a sense of mastery that usually comes later in the season after I’ve had months of practice.
The Dynafit One (size 25) weighs in at 49 ounces per boot, putting them easily in the midweight class of AT boots. They are heavier than other boots I’ve used but stiffer and higher. The enhanced performance is well worth a few ounces. I’ve paired the One with women’s Dynafit Manaslu ski, length 171 (41 oz, 1164 g per ski) light enough to balance the load. The Manaslus worked well on Colorado corn last spring and I’ve looked forward to seeing how they’ll perform on more challenging snow. Something wider and more rockered might be good, but they sure go uphill nicely.
In the Dolomites, I found more challenging snow. We toured through wind affected snow — stuff I usually suffer through. While I still didn’t look like a World Cup racer, better control from my Dynafit One boots helped me cruise through the variable snow easier than ever. More importantly, at the end of the day my knees weren’t aching, a huge personal triumph since they’ve become sensitive with all the miles I’ve been racking up in the backcountry these past few years.
So, when our Tirolean friend, Erich, invited us on a tour, I was delighted to have another chance to ride my boards, regardless of what the conditions might be.
An hour walk on a farmer's road starts our day.
Our friend and Tirol native, Erich.
Me and Lou. Erich is fit and easily gets ahead for photos.
Summit hero shot, 2197 m, Erich, Lisa, Lou
Skiing down Kleiner Beil in lovely light powder.
Erich shows us how to have fun in Austrian pow.
Tirolean village of Alpbach is nestled under the low clouds.
Lou catches an inch of air as he launches down the hill to the essential gasthaus.
Guess that wurst.
St. Johanner wurst or in Tirolean dialect, “Sainihånser,” are longer and thinner than Frankfurters. The sausages are prepared in boiling water and traditionally served with horse radish, mustard and bread. They are trumping pastries on this trip and are the perfect apres ski snack at the gasthaus. Lou still orders apfel strudel but the wurst is fast becoming a preference. A light Weissbier, a plate of Sainihanser mit brot, the sight of our ski tracks down to the deck, and all is bliss.
Farmers are proud of their wurst and boast theirs is the longest.
Faulbaumgartalm. We love how beautifully the wood weathers on these old structures. This gasthaus is a particular favorite because it's basically a fixed up old farmhouse, only not too fixed up. Very funky compared to some of the over-done tourist attractions you can find in the Tirol.
All the cooking is done on this wood fired stove.
Two gals from a nearby farm skied over for an afternoon schnapps. I could understand most of their jokes despite their heavy accent.
The copper kettle for making cheese in the old days. An iron arm suspended the kettle above the fire and could swing the pot away from the fire to regulate the temperature during the cheese making process. The wooden bowls were used to skim the cream from the top of the batch.
Erich. Lou isn't sure how he got this shot. Had something to do with the gasthaus beers or at least that's the theory
Is she guarding the powder or the hut?
Google Map below has Kleiner Beil marked with icon, look north and northwest for Inneralpbach starting point.
WildSnow Girl, Lisa Dawson, is the luckiest girl in the world. Also known as Mrs. WildSnow.com, she tests whatever gear she wants. She gives the WildSnow family of websites the feminine voice.
