Well, it’s been a nearly a year since we were in the Tyrolean Alps skiing our hearts out for two weeks. When we arrived home, we managed to put a couple of reports together from our voyage. But, we got so busy jumping into spring ski season, that these reports got pushed by the wayside. Now that it’s the perfect time of year to be touring from hut to hut in the Alps, we thought we’d finish out documenting our journey.

The day before, we toured from Jamtal to Weisbadener Hutte. We had plans to potentially complete what most people call the Silvretta Tour by staying one more night at the Silvretta Hutte, just over the border in Switzerland. However, we knew that bad weather was on the way, and snow falling could make glacier travel difficult and dangerous, and we could have a challenging exit back to Galtur. So, we decided to jump the gun and skip the last night. But, that didn’t mean that we couldn’t enjoy a tour on the Ochsentaier Glacier before we departed, which beckoned us with it’s twinkly white from the Weisbadender Hutte.

In the morning, the sun shone bright as predicted. But the front was still on the way. We left the bulk of our gear still in the hut as we skinned our way over to the Ochsentaier Gletscher. The terrain near the bottom of the glacier was generally steep and sidehilled, and a little treacherous for the firm skinning conditions we encountered, even though tracks were beaten into the snow. I don’t have pictures from that terrain – because, frankly, I was gripped and didn’t want to fall into the crevasse below me – but here’s a couple from when it started to ease up.

As we climbed higher on the Oschentaier Glacier, it kept getting more and more beautiful – a very airy, other-wordly scene.

I started to enjoy myself.

First looks at the Piz Buin twins, standing at 10,866 ft and 10,679 ft.

The Piz Buin dominated the landscape and the photos don’t do them justice. They are actually relatively large. For perspective, can you see the three backcountry skiers in this photo?

And then, before we knew it, the Tyrolean Alps revealed themselves. Here, I gaze upon one of our descent toward the Weisbadener Hutte the day before.

But we had more skinning to do. We were headed toward a saddle called Egghomlucke, which sat on the border between Austria and Switzerland.

The enticing Sivrettahorne, 10,643 ft.

Our visit on the saddle was quick and dirty as the wind howled over it. We waved to Switzerland for the umpteenth time on our tour and quickly headed back down to warmth and shelter a few hundred feet below. Views of Switzerland.

Frank on the saddle.

Then, it was ski time. Frank.

Conan was not really on the picture program

Me.

The Weisbadener Hutte below.

We gathered our things in the hut, and then down valley we went, heading toward the beautiful Silvertella Stausse (reservoir), where we turned east toward Galtur.

The afternoon was hot, and we marveled at the numerous wet slide avalanches that poured down from the mountains, still relatively far away from our route of travel. We ended our tour at a small town called Wirl, where Conan hopped on a bus and retrieved our car from Ishgl.

While our tour the day before from Jamtal to Weisbadener was more exciting in terms of skiing, I think this tour on the Oschentaier Gletscher was the most scenic. Though it was a wrap for our awesome Silvretta tour, our trip was far from done. Next destination, Saint Anton. We had powder to ski

Here’s a look at our route for the day!

The post TBT: Silvretta Tour Part 3- Weisbadener Hutte & Ochsentaier Glacier (28 Feb 2019) appeared first on 14erskiers.com.

From the Jamtal Hut, we headed south and up the valley, eventually traveling on the Jamtalferner Glacier. Frank and Conan skinning down low in the valley.

And a little further up….

It was hard not to admire hosts of ski lines along the way.

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Me skinning with the vast valley behind.

Frank.

Eventually, we set our sites on one line near the top of the valley on a peak called Gamsspitze (3107 m). So, we began our climb up the couloir. Frank.

After the couloir, the terrain flattened on a large bench that sat beneath the summit.

Since the upper reaches of the summit did not have enough snow to ski, we ditched our packs to finish the climb. Frank nearing the summit, with me behind.

It was…. exposed….

Conan snapped a photo of us on the summit of Gamsspitze.

The views from the summit were stunning.

Toward Switzerland….

Wait, what? Does that go? Not so much…. You’d need some rope….

After admiring the lines that surrounded us, we headed back down to our skis.

Alright, on to the skiing! I dropped in first, on the skiers left couloir, just lookers left of the summit. The snow was variable, but mostly pretty good.

Conan dropped in to the next one over to our right.

Frank cut the middle, between our two lines….

I enjoyed the nice creamy turns in the apron.

After skiing Gamsspitze, we had to decide whether to descend the glacier a bit in order to reascend on the other side, which would allow us to go over a pass called Tiroler Scharte, the traditional way to Weisbadener Hut, which was our destination for the evening. Or we could go via another route involving 3 passes, which may or may not work. We decided for adventure.

We headed up toward our first pass, Jamjoch, admiring the views Gamsspitze along the way. We skied the lines to the lookers left of the summit.

Another glimpse of Switzerland.

Jamjoch was a breeze. But then there was a 2nd unnamed (at least on our map) pass that presented the crux of our route. The snow had been blasted by the wind and was not really skiable. But the incredibly loose rock and slick ice made it difficult to downclimb. Thankfully, Conan had a a bit of rope with him, just long enough for a rappel to reach decent snow. So, we rappelled.

From there, we skied down a bit and skinned up to our third pass, Obere Ochsencharte.

Looking back at our rappel route, the obvious gray low point on the right.

From the pass, we descended the Vermuntgletcher (Glacier) and valley toward Weisbadener Hut.

See the hut in the distance?

Close up of the old hut….

On our third night of our hut tour, we finally arrived early enough to enjoy some beer in the warm sun

And while we enjoyed our drinks, we planned our tour for the next day

Our route for the day!

The post Silvretta Ski Tour Part 2: Jamtal Hut to Weisbadener Hut with Gamsspitze Ski appeared first on 14erskiers.com.

Garmisch is incredibly scenic and surrounded by intimidating, angry mountains.

It is also home to Zugspitse, Germany’s highest peak at 2962 meters (9718 feet). Of course, half of it lies in Austria….

Conan insisted we try gluhwien – basically hot spiced wine, as opposed to hot spiced cider.

Apparently, they still celebrate Christmas in February in Garmisch

After flying direct from Denver to Munich, we were jet-lagged. So, rather than pushing for a little further destination, we decided to start our first tour (the day after arriving into Germany) close to Garmisch – in the mountains of Tirol just over the Austrian border. We drove to the town of Biberwier and began our tour from Marienberg Ski Area. Our plan was to circumnavigate the massif whose highest peak is Grunstein (2663 m). We took three lifts for a bump in elevation (ski touring tickets are cheap).

At the top, we began our ascending traverse toward the first of three cols – Holltori.

The Alps are just always so beautiful.

From Holltori, we skied down a few hundred vertical feet to the valley below.

As we rounded the corner we saw a lot people. I mean, a lot of people. Keep in mind, this is European “backcountry”. It was a Sunday with great weather…. And we made our way up to our second col, Gunsteinscharte, along with all of our new Euro friends.

The top of the col was a bit of a cluster – with Euros doing all kinds of silly things that I would never consider, like numerous people walking down from the col in ski boots. Conan, Frank, and I decided to ski it….

After Gunsteinscharte, we finally hopped off the Euro train and suddenly we were mostly alone among giants – with some good skiing along the way! Frank.

Me.

Conan.

After a fun ski, we headed upward toward the last col, Beiberwiererscharte. But, we took a little detour for some added scenery and skiing.

Lots of eye candy.

A few turns back toward the last col.

It’s called Beiberwiererscharte because it leads to the town of Beiberwierer, seen below in the photo. “Scharte” is translated as “notch”, meaning a pass or col.

We enjoyed over 3000 vertical feet of skiing back to the valley floor. Conan.

Frank.
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Brittany.

The line just kept on going and going….

That evening, we returned to Garmisch and feasted on Bavarian food.

Afterall, we had to eat up for our next adventure – a tour of the Silvretta Alps!

See the map of our route!

The post TR: Garmisch-Partenkirchen & Marienberg Ski Tour (Feb 2019) appeared first on 14erskiers.com.

The thrill of skiing off-piste into the great white wilderness is what the Alps offer best. Ungroomed slopes give the exhilaration which the tailored ones do not. Documentaries often show skiers and snowboarders descending huge mountains swiftly, jumping off the edge of a cliff, and disappearing into the powdery white.

The good news is that the Alps offer something for everyone.  While more advanced ski mountaineers can head for bigger lines,  people with little backcountry touring experience  – can also ski  ungroomed slopes. So, if you plan to visit a European alpine country anytime soon, read on!

Minimizing the Risks

Make sure to consider these to minimize the risks on your new adventure:

1. Consider the conditions of the slope. Is the snow stable? This article by Ski Club should help you determine the stability of the snowpack. You can also refer to authoritative weather forecast sites, especially for skiers and snowboarders, to determine the conditions of the slope.
2. Hire a guide. A good guide will know the slopes and how they respond to varying weather . We have recommended specific guides for each of the locations mentioned further in this article.
3. Carry an avalanche transceiver and a . Try to opt in for avalanche training to be able to use these tools properly and ride powder safely.
4. Always ski with at least one partner in case you might need some help.

Backcountry Slopes in the Alps

Here’s a roundup of the best off-piste slopes that should be on your off-piste skiing bucket list.

Chamonix

Chamonix is situated on the border between Switzerland and Italy at the base of Mont Blanc. It provides access to incredible off-piste skiing in every weather condition. Chamonix offers a huge variety of terrain due to consistent snowfalls and multiple skiing areas, from couloirs to glaciers.

Booking a guide is recommended to help choose a safe course. It will cost an average of $408 for a group of four.

The Vallee Blanche

The Vallee Blanche is a must for adventurous and confident skiers. It offers every type of skiing you would ever want- steep, powder, ice, and couloir. The slope is a 23 km (14 miles) decent with a 2800m (9200 feet) vertical drop back to Chamonix. The route is not technically difficult provided the visibility remains good. You can finish the run at the railway terminus or ski your way back to Les Planards in Chamonix. The only catch is that you need to be physically fit to be able to ski for such a long time.

Les Grands Montets
With an altitude of 3300 m (10,800 feet) Les Grands Montets guarantees quality snow throughout the year. Skiing from the top is every skier’s dream. The route provides a vertical drops of 2000 m (6500 feet) to Argentiere.

Tignes

Image source: Mustania.com

Built in the in Vanoise National Park located in southeastern France, Tignes is the resort that offers world-class backcountry terrain. The resort boasts of nine natural and ungroomed pistes.

Booking a guide is recommended to help choose a safe course. It will cost an average of $475 for a group of six.

Guerlain Chicherit
A backcountry veteran, Guerlain Chicherit is responsible for the discovery of many off-piste descents of Tignes. The most challenging route, therefore, is named after him.

The run starts 980 feet (300 meters) after the Pramecou slope. Running along the ski line will help you find fresh snow. The run follows the Col des Ves chairlift.

Le Couloir du Chardonnet
The classic Couloir du Chardonnet is well-known for its steep powder couloir. It is accessible from the Grattalu chair and drops down to the Grand Huit chair. There is a bit of climb that needs to be done from the chair to the start of the run. The route carries the risk of avalanche in heavy snow.

Mickey’s Ears
The challenging off-piste route is for the advanced skiers and is accessible from the Toviere lift. The start of the run is a 30-minute walk from the list. The couloir is so named because of mouse-like antennas at the top.

The couloir is as steep as 48 degrees, making the drop one hell of an adrenaline-pumping adventure. You can organize a heli pick-up after you ski all the way down to the lake.

Les 3 Vallees

Spanning over 373 miles (600 kilometers) of pistes across 8 resorts, Les 3 Vallees is the biggest ski area in the Alps. Some of the best runs can be made in Courchevel, Meribel, and Val Thorens.

Booking a guide is recommended to help choose a safe course. It will cost an average of $435 for a group of two.

Courchevel

1. Saulire- Taking the Saulire car gives you access to steep couloirs of up to 40 degrees on either side. The snow here stays fresh due to its northern exposure.
2. Creux Noirs- Hiking from the top of the Creux Noirs chairlift gives you access to a host of off-piste routes. Drop off from the left to absorb the thrill of a 600 m (2000 feet)vertical drop.

Meribel-Val Thorens

1. Olympique Express-The Olympic chair from Meribel will take you up to Roc de Fer to access gentle off-piste The descent is not very steep and is ideal for first-time off-piste skiers. The route is a mixture of powder fields and forest.

Image source: valthornes.com

2. Mont du Vallon- The cable car in Van Thorens takes you up to 2952 m (9685 feet) to the top of the summit. The route down gives you access to powder-filled valleys with a vertical drop of 850 m (2788 feet), back to the lift./li>

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The account below is one small piece of a series of posts documenting our road trip to Montana and interior British Columbia in February, 2010. Stops included Bridger, Whitefish, Fernie, Roger’s Pass, Kicking Horse, Revelstoke, Whitewater, and Red (Rossland). This unforgettable adventure was made possible by the generosity of strangers – now friends – who time and time again let us crash on their floors or in their guest rooms, and then guided us around some of the best terrain that they knew. We were lucky to have this in almost every place we stopped.

This trip reminds us that, while we have adventures in places, it’s the people as much as the place that make the adventure best. I have chosen to feature only one small part of our magical trip. But, altogether, it was the trip of a lifetime. To those of you who made this trip possible, we still owe you a huge thanks. Let’s do our part keep the backcountry skiing community generous and real!

Earlier this week, Frank and I realized that two of the best people we met on this trip have now left this Earth. While they are not featured in this particular segment, let this stand as a tribute to them. Long live the memory of Tony Saracelli and Ethan Johnson. Both of you made this world a better place!

This post was originally written March 8, 2010.

After enjoying our time at Whitefish, we continued north, crossing the border into Canada, where the mountains suddenly seemed more interesting.

The drive from Whitefish to Fernie took us less than 2 hours. We were there with plenty of time to grab some dinner and drinks.

The views of the ski area from town are stunning.

We began our day at the Fernie ski area.

We admired the ridge lines we would love to ski from afar.

But, we quickly headed out for a long slackcountry tour, guided by our Fernie friends, Rob and Adam.

Rob skinning, with the town of Fernie in the distant valley below.

Adam with his Aussie smile.

This looked enticing….

But, this looked even better. Our first line of the day!

The skin up to the chutes provided amazing views.

We were in love with the treasure of the bluebird sky!

Time for the skiing. Rob dropping in.

Me, as seen from above.

Frank.

Adam.

Second skin up another bowl.

There we found some fantastic surface hoar snow that we played on for two laps. Frank enjoying the goods.

Me.

Adam putting in a little zing.

Four backcountry runs and 7 hours later we were back at the bottom of the ski area. Thanks to our super guides, Rob and Adam, we got a delicious taste of what Fernie has to offer. Someday we’d like to come back for dessert Thanks guys!

Other Montana-Canada Road Trip Blog Posts
Road Trip Update
Itinerary
Bridger Bowl
Whitefish
Fernie
Kicking Horse
Roger’s Pass
Revelstoke
Nelson and Whitewater
Red Mountain and Rossland

The post TBT: Backcountry skiing in Fernie (2/23/2010) appeared first on 14erskiers.com.

1) Beacon Practice:

Even without a dusting of snow, you can still practice your beacon skills, and it’s a great reminder to change your batteries before your first trip to a trailhead. A grassy meadow is probably your best bet to conceal the beacon that you’re searching for. Sure, you’re missing out on the probe and shovel practice, but you can still deploy those tools when you find the beacon, and make sure those tools are ready to go.

2) Ski The White Ribbon of Death:

OK, a man-made strip of snow probably doesn’t replicate the conditions you’re likely to find (or look for) in the backcountry. But hey, it’s still exercise and it still gets the muscle memory in those stabilizing muscles ready to go when it does start snowing. Hey, what else are you going to do…

3) Stay Fit:

Speaking of which, the last thing you want to do going into ski season is become a couch potato. Dry years still offer plenty of recreational opportunities in the mountains. You can keep hiking or mountain biking, especially if you’re in an area with easy access to lower elevations. Go to the desert if you have to. Meanwhile, dry years are actually great years when it comes to ice climbing. It’s one of our favorite things about ice climbing- if the skiing sucks, the ice climbing is probably great. Finally, if you prefer fluorescent lights to sunlight, you can always lift weights or go to ski conditioning classes.

4) Get your head in the game:

Re-read your favorite avalanche book. Read a new book, like The Snowy Torrents that I recently finished. Read avalanche accident reports. Take a first aid class if you haven’t already. The point of all this is to be mentally ready when it does snow, so your “avalanche eyeballs” are ready to go.

5) Start dreaming:

Late fall is a great time to start thinking about the upcoming season. Do you have goals? Maybe you can find a few routes in our new book. Maybe you want to do a hut trip, or ski a few fourteeners. Whatever the case, a dry early season isn’t a bad time to think about some bigger goals.

6) Plan B:

Of course, sometimes, it really doesn’t snow. Or at least barely. And as we all know, in Colorado a low snow year means a sketchy snowpack. There is plenty of time, but if the snow keeps avoiding Colorado, we might end up with one of those years. In those years, sometimes it’s best to take drastic measures. That means road trips! Areas like Jackson and Montana are off to a great start, so if that keeps up it might be a good year to visit. And last-minute airfare can be a great deal, too. Maybe this is the year to visit Europe, or BC (see the video below for a Pemberton, BC road trip). It’s never too early to start leaving some blank spots in your schedule- it’s all about having options.

So there you have it- things to do if it isn’t snowing. What do you do when it isn’t snowing? Let us know in the comments section.

The post 6 Things Backcountry Skiers Can Do When It Isn’t Snowing appeared first on 14erskiers.com.

The mud pool is actually not that large, but it is sunken within the crater. So, you get to climb the slipperiest ladders in the world to bath in the mud pit right next to people who you don’t know but suddenly become your best friend for the moment.

Next to Totumo Volcano is a large lagoon of sorts called Cienaga del Totumo which people use to bath in after covering themselves in mud.

A view of some of the restaurants and small shops that built themselves around the volcano.

The best thing we did was to hire a local “assistant” or “guide” of sorts. I think we paid him about $10 for a couple of hours of his time. But, we needed him. He kept our things safe and took pictures while we bathed in mud. He guided us to the right place to wash off in the lagoon where he also continued to watch our stuff and take pictures. He even washed our flip flops free of mud while we bathed in the lake. If you go to Totumo, hiring a guy like this will make your experience so much more enjoyable….

Here, Frank contemplates whether it’s a good idea to actually be going into this mud pit or not.

The ladder would not pass OSHA requirements here in the US. But, it was fine. I mean, it didn’t fall apart on us

Bathing in mud like this is actually really kind of crazy. No matter what you do, you can’t sink. And it’s really quite difficult to move from point A to point B compared with doing so in water. It’s better to just lay there and enjoy the mud.

People in the mud bath will want to massage you for a fee. We opted not to partake in that.

Yep, the ladders are something else, especially because they are covered with extra coats of slimy mud.

But, all in all, it was fun. And definitely worth it.

We then headed over to the lagoon to rinse ourselves of mud. That mud ends up everywhere, so it took awhile. If you want, you can even pay a woman to help you bath. Again, we decided we could bath eachother, rather than have someone help us.

There are a handful of restaurants that surround Totumo Mud Volcano, so we picked one and ate some pretty good fish. It was a pretty traditional meal we found here in both Panama and Colombia – fish with rice and patacones (fried plantain).

Totumo Mud Volcano is certainly a unique experience that is worth the time if you’re visiting Cartagena. You’ll certainly have stories to tell after!

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