I certainly wasn’t convinced at the idea of a pre work ski tour when my alarm went off at 04:50, however I dragged myself out of bed and completed the 1h drive to the parking for Hirschberg. After getting fairly cold gearing up at the car, we soon headed off up the initial section of piste. I remember this initial section being brutal when I walked it, and it certainly felt just as brutal on skis in the dawn light.
Eventually we made it to the top of the piste, and the end of the ski resort where we headed off into the forrest. Here it was much easier going and the track was wide enough to skin two abreast so it was fairly social. We followed the skin tracks off the main track and more towards the descent, which probably made progress slower, but it certainly made the ascent more beautiful.
As we broke out of the woods the sun was just starting to hit the slopes as we emerged into the warm sunlight and glowing peaks. A few steep turns later and we were at the huts before the final ascent up. This is where the view started to get really outstanding, with the morning light on the peaks, an inversion over Bavaria and a wonderful winter wonderland around us.
We were soon at the Vorgipfel, which was our objective for the morning. From here the view towards the Karwendel was just fantastic. After briefly soaking in the scenery and taking some pictures we set off on the descent. The start was brilliant as we made our way down separate lines around the small bushes with some good powder back to the houses. We then had a short section of excellent powder and some fun down through the trees to the easier descent route back down to the piste.
The piste was much better than I thought it might be given how icy it felt on the way up, and the lower section had plenty of fresh snow on it due to the snow cannons. We were back at the cars in 2h45min after setting off, with large smiles on all of our faces. An easy drive took us back to Munich and I was sat at my desk by 10:30 starting a day of work!
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