2019/2020 ski gear -- August 7, 2020
Ski season 2019/2020! It had its ups: getting into ski touring with my girlfriend and conquering many routes 👍, its downs: broken metacarpal 👎. But overall it was a great season. What allowed for such adventures was good fitness and good gear. Here I touch on the gear.
Late last season I broke my pair of Lines Sir Francis Bacon free ride skis 😠. Turns out spring slush can get rocky in the Alps.
galtenberg ski tour -- March 17, 2020
Last ski tour of the season. Last last weekend before the Germany coronavirus border closure.
Route: outdooractive guide
1900 meters. Got to get high for decent snow. Talking with a guide at the Deutscher Alpenverein Library he recommend Kitzbühel range so off we went. Goal, summit Galtenberg.
salomon kit
Setting off from Inneralpbach we had a thin layer of snow over mud. We followed a shaded cross country track for a kilometre before heading up hill.
cross-country skiing -- March 2, 2020
Location: Bayrischzell, Deutschland
Ski poles, the worthy opponent. They struck first but not last. And so goes the tail of how I broke my hand and got revenge.
one in my hand, one in the pack
Skiing on the flat ground for a change. 40deg, 30deg, 20deg, now 0deg. First time cross country since I was a school child. Once upon a gym class we marched around the sports fields in skis.
rofanspitze ski tour -- February 19, 2020
Get out of the car, take the skis off the roof, beacon partner check, and head up the gondola. A day of touring starts.
Location: Achensee, Tirol, Österreich
Goal: Von der Erfurter Hütte auf die Rofanspitz
Was taken aback by expansive sun bathed rock faces skinning near Erfurter Hütte. True high alpine environment. Leaving the ski resort we passed an automated beacon checker. Austria keeps its skiers safe. What looks very steep from the resort, up close was passable.
lenggries avalanche course -- February 7, 2020
assessing fresh avalanches
Last weekend Masha and I took a crew of eight friends down to Lenggries for an avalanche safety course. Besides learning about avalanches and ski touring we got to put our skills to the test. The basic itinerary was: tour up to Florianshütte in the morning of the first day, spend the rest of the day learning theory at the hütte, then do a demo tour the second day.
mountain safety reminder -- February 6, 2020
In the last few weeks, I’ve witnessed several close calls in the mountains. Also recently having taking an avalanche safety course I’ve had responsibility in the mountains on the mind. Here I share some resources to make your next trip safety and a story of warning.
Last week I spent my days ski touring out of a hütte in Scoul Switzerland with friends. After returning to the hut one evening and we noticed a few members of the group missing.
scuol hütte -- February 3, 2020
masha and i
Today I’m back after six days of adventuring from mountain hut near Scuol. It was a great trip with several successful ski tours high into Swiss alps. I had an outstanding partner and many warm nights sharing a meals with friends. After the week we covered nearly every skiable face both inside and above the resort and as a result learned a great deal about ski touring and German culture.
start of ski season -- January 12, 2020
Marked by the start of the ski season winter is officially underway in Munich. The lack of snow in the city has been made up for by weekends in the mountains. Already took my new skis down some steep lines on the glaciers Hintertux and Stubai. During the weeknights skiing has also been on the mind researching avalanche safely in preparation to learn ski touring this year. Unfortunately not everything went as smoothly as planned.