Trip Reports

Ski ?ñtztal, 8-15 March 2014

The Ötztal pioneers
Trip Report

Written by Team Member Christian Pratt, March 2014

Ski touring would seem to be one of the more curious pastimes, if we are to accept the looks of bewilderment and outright misunderstanding on the faces of friends and family upon explaining what we spent our holidays doing. On the face of it, they're right. Where is the appeal? (Or at least the obvious reward?) Wearing the same clothes for days on end, you garnish yourself with miscellaneous straps, harnesses and a heavy rucksack then punish yourself with uphill exertion that lasts for hours, variously accumulating sunburn, frostnip and minor wear-and-tear maladies, and all for the pleasure of a small quantity of downhill skiing on crust, ice or slushy slopes. And you have to share a room.

There is no clear answer or explanation, of course. The truth ñ the appeal ñ is woven through, around and into those very things that your acquaintances find so curious and bemusing. The pleasure of the ski tour comes not from one easily-defined action or outcome but through an appreciation for, and the subtle accumulation of, self-sufficiency, mental determination, goals-achieved and experiences shared with like-minded folk. Simply being in the mountains helps too. And so it was that Jagged Globe's inaugural Ski ÷tztal trip convened in the resort of Sˆlden on a Saturday in March for a week beyond the piste map.

Having taken our first day together on the pistes to find our feet, practice our transceiver searches and worry about how heavy our packs were, the five of us and our guide, Andy Owen, parked-up in the bustling village of Vent, above Sˆlden, late on the Monday morning. We clipped our toes into our bindings and, leaving mobile phone reception and chair lifts behind, headed uphill towards our first hut of the tour. Fifteen minutes later we stopped to strip to our base layers and slop on more sun cream. This was going to be a warm tour.

That first afternoon was entirely, gently uphill. Four hours later the Martin Busch H¸tte magically appeared around the next corner. Here, then, is one of the pleasures of the ski tour; coming upon the hut and knowing that in a short while you will have your boots off, a hot (or hoppy) drink in front of you and something sweet from the menu in your belly. The hut routine is well defined and easily enjoyed. You congregate in the living-cum-dining room (always the warmest in the hut) for drinking, eating, conversation and planning. And, upstairs, the dorm provides some peaceful respite as you quickly learn to pack and unpack your belongings by the dim light of a single bulb. Setting the tone of our trip that afternoon was an innocent request for two portions of kaiserschmarrn 'pudding'. What arrived was deliciously sufficient to defeat six hungry tourists, and put a smile on the face of all.

And so to work. Tuesday dawned clear and crisp (as did every day of our trip ñ the Alpine weather gods were kind to us), perfect for a day's circular tour up and over the Hintern Schw‰zen Joch (3,393m). This being the first time Jagged Globe (and our guide Andy) had toured in the ÷tztal, the routes and terrain were new to all. Here, another touring pleasure; the excitement of the unknown, mixed with the delight of invariably grand and inspiring scenery. Temporarily reduced to five (first day blisters taking their toll on one of the team), we set off up the Marzellferner ('ferner', derived from 'fern' or 'fert', meaning old snow, is the local ÷tz name for a glacier). 1,300m of height gain later and our reward is the first of many majestic views across the ÷tztaler Alpen and the prospect of some untracked pitches on our descent. In fact, widely varying conditions on the way down serve to challenge but the clear skies and enthusiasm of the group saw us safely down and back for tea.

The appeal of a day's circular tour is the certainty of what awaits you at the end and the opportunity to marginally trim your pack weight by leaving your toothbrush behind. In fact, we soon realise there is plenty of excellent touring terrain around and about, with every hut well placed for day tours as well as A to B to C travel. Wednesday, in fact, is a travel day, with one notable enticement along the way: Similaun, at 3,606m. Leaving the Martin Busche H¸tte behind, the group eases its way upwards, into the early morning sunlight, along the gentle valley beneath the Neiderjoch (and the Italian border) before splitting. Two enjoy a sun-drenched breather whilst four turn south and slide skis uphill to Similaun's summit, the final hundred meters, with axe in hand, an easy boot kick on soft snow. Rewarded at the top with superb views deep into Italy, the lack of decent snow on the return is of little consequence. Re-grouping, we turn our backs on Similaun and head north, skinning up to the Hauslab Joch (3,279m), close to the site where ÷tzi, the Neolithic traveller, was found in 1991.

What follows is a joyous descent down the north-eastern basin of the Hochjockferner; nigh-on a vertical kilometre of untracked soft spring snow, enabling us all to leave our powder signatures scrawled across pitch after pitch of perfect glacial terrain. Each of our group brings different skills and experience to the tour; as a skier first and foremost, this descent was the highlight of the week for me, and one of the more obvious reasons for enjoying ski touring. That everyone enjoyed it (mountaineers, climbers and skiers alike) speaks volumes for its quality and that of the environs.

A final short, unappealing skin and ski carry to the Hochjoch Hospitz does nothing to take the edge off what was a glorious day of Alpine travel and ski mountaineering. Every hut is both similar and distinct; similar in what it provides the weary ski tourer and distinct in how it does so. The family-run Hochjoch Hospitz is compact and, in places, a little tired. It is also charming, friendly and home to a chef who dishes up excellent plates of food. After more than nine and a half hours on the hill, and over 1,600m of ascent, the team take delight in a fine, filling three course meal and a choice of beers. Some even enjoyed a shower before dinner (and, in fact, every hut we visited offered the luxury of a shower; don't forget to pack your towel!).

Depending on whether you reached for the Swiss map or the Austrian map, day four's objective, the Fluchtkogel, would provide us with an easy summit of just under or just over 3,500 metres, of which 1,230m would need to come through our own efforts. However, getting up onto the glacier would be hard work since the slopes above the Hospitz were steep and definitely icy (as encountered during the ski tourer's traditionally early departure), requiring accurate edging and confident kick turns. The subsequent steep pull up the face of the glacier also put us directly in the firing line of the scorching late-morning sun. A skis-on-pack-crampons-on-boots traverse of 200 metres above a craggy drop added to the day's variety. But once up onto the Kesselwandferner our reward is a quite spectacular glacial plateau that spreads out in every direction ahead of us, and an equally remarkable vista behind us of the peaks we had visited days before. With so much north and east-facing terrain above 3,000 metres, the higher reaches of the ÷tztal is a glacial playground, as appealing to the glacial geomorphologist as it is to the ski tourer. Another reward!

The heat of the day slows our ascent but the group eventually makes the Gustarjoch, 130 metres or so beneath the top, and four of us blast the summit in a 10 minute packs-off blur of skins and poles. Reconvening at the joch, it's a short ski beneath and around the summit into the neighbouring valley to find the large, popular and well-established Vernagt H¸tte, the last of our trip. Sitting at the base of the complex Vernagtferner, or glacier, the maps and photographs decorating the hut's corridors document the important academic research that has taken place on and around the glacier since 1600; it is one of the most studied glaciers in the Eastern Alps.

By now the afternoon routine is well-defined. Happily we arrive early enough to enjoy beverages and the excellent local apple strudel on the balcony before retiring indoors, as the sun falls behind the mountains and the mercury contracts, for further tea or beer. Another seven hour-plus day means that our tour has proved to be a little more committing than expected. Andy notes that the days are longer than normal and our ascents higher and further. But the pace has been comfortable, the terrain generally permissive and the sense of achievement significant. Looking at the maps before dinner, we see quite how far we've already travelled through an area that, whilst undoubtedly popular, is large enough to dissipate the crowds and ensure that you are generally alone on the hillside. The sense of detachment from the hum of the ski lift and the buzz of the valley is noticeable. This, we agree over our last dinner, is one more of those many and varied reasons why we all enjoy ski touring.

Friday, our final day, begins as the others have with a sunrise start at around 7.00am or so. A straightforward day, we head immediately up behind the hut (together with scores of fellow residents) towards the peaks at the head of the glacial basin. The majority eventually turn eastwards, towards the Wildspitze (Austria's highest peak, at 3,768m), leaving us alone for the final pull up to the Hochvernagt Spitze. The true summit is not easily accessible for the ski tourer; we boot-kick up the final ridge to attain the western summit instead (more or less 3,500m) and more stunning views in every direction. Once again, the combination of perfect weather and high altitude provides us with panoramas that appear like paintings before you. Sometimes it's hard to take it all in, so grand is the scale.

Conscious that we need to descend back to the valley, and that we have south-facing slopes to pass across and underneath, Andy encourages a prompt return to the skis and an expeditious descent back past the hut and down, down, down. We sneak some final fresh tracks on the upper reaches of the Grofler Vernagtferner before reaching the slushy, collapsing unpleasantness of the slopes above Rofen, softened by the relentless sun over the past week or so. This, then, is the flipside of fresh tracks; collapsing up to your thighs in slushy holes that are even harder to extract yourself from. But spirits are high and despite the conditions we all eventually arrive, safely and in one collective piece, at the head of the road. Beer, coffee and cake are consumed in Vent, to be followed by showers, shaves (for the gentlemen!) and a fine, final dinner once back at the hotel. Pudding, upon special request, was kaiserschmarrn; a fitting end to the week's culinary journey.

For several of the group, this was a first encounter with ski touring. Whilst perhaps a little harder that necessary as an introduction, the fine weather and conditions meant it was nonetheless attainable and enjoyable. For the more experienced members, the pleasure of discovering a new part of the Alps was significant, and the prospect of returning to the Tirol next year only heightened by what was an excellent and thoroughly rewarding ski tour. Our debt of thanks to Andy Owen for a safe, relaxed and friendly week and the occasional joke!

Christian Pratt, March 2014

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