This winter has not been a good winter for ski touring, with a distinct lack of precipitation and plenty of warm days, so running up to this weekend I was unsure if we would actually be able to make the tour. However thankfully there was some fresh snow in the last few weeks, and the weekend ended up having a good, if warm, forecast. Our plan for the weekend was to stay in the Franz-Senn-Hütte for two nights, with the primary objective being the Ruderhofspitze, a tall but relatively isolated peak, with a stunning snow arête up to the summit from the ski depot, so it looked like an excellent mountaineering objective. We headed down to the Stubaital early on Friday morning, with the thought that we would get to the hut and then go up and do something relatively short, however this was not to be as by the time we got to the hut it was really warm in the afternoon sun and we all needed to cool off after the ascent in the sun! The next morning we got up for first breakfast and were leaving the. Read the full article…

It seemed so simple when we came up with the idea, arrive at the Christlum ski area as it opened, skin up to the top, ski back down and get back to work in time for the afternoon, however it was only when I looked at how long the route took Adam and me a few weeks ago, that I realised this may have been a tad ambitious. I was keen to get out with Becky, as last weekend she had bought ski touring skis and we didn’t have a chance to use them, and this weekend the weather looks fairly snowy. So we came up with the above plan, which turned out to be a bit overambitious for a first ski tour, as there was no time at the top to chill out and eat some food before getting back down! The skin up the Rodelbahn was a great way to warm up and for Becky to get into the rhythm of ski touring, so we gently snaked our way up through the forrest, eventually appearing at the mid mountain and emerging from the forrest. Here we briefly skinned. Read the full article…

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. Read the full article…

With a poor weather forecast and a suboptimal avalanche forecast, Adam and I decided to head to Christlumlopf for a piste ski tour to get out, as it could easily be done in poor visibility and with a high avalanche forecast. The day turned out to be much nicer than we had anticipated, however there was still a lot of cloud around, so it probably wasn’t a bad decision. The way up was very pleasant, most of the way up was on a quiet Rodelbahn, with only a short section up the side of a piste, before we went into the woods for the final ascent. It wasn’t a long day out, we were at the summit in under two hours, but my legs certainly felt the lack of ski touring so far this season! The ski down was wonderful, on wide pistes, with good snow and not very many people!