After how busy it was yesterday, it was another early start for me. Adam and I were at the car park at 7am again, to find it significantly quieter than the car park from the previous day, but at least the weather was better in the morning. After a straightforward skin up a track we were soon above the main forrest line where we were, and we were greeted with a spectacular descent, less than 30degrees, untracked and deep with powder. Something to look forward to on the descent. After a quick pause at the Königsalm for some water we continued heading up. This involved crossing a narrow bridge, which felt exposed with skins on, it seemed even narrower on the way back with some speed! The ascent then took us up a ridge line in the trees, this was fairly uneventful but there were a few tricky corners due to being fairly steep in places. We soon emerged at the plateau below the summit, but it was clear that without crampons it would not have been safe to go to the actual summit. So we made do with our. Read the full article…

After multiple days of heavy snow combined with it being a weekend we knew that we were going to need to start early, after rejecting Rob’s idea of a 5am start, we agreed to meet at 7. It was lucky as 10mins after we arrived the car park was full! We skinned from the cars, and headed up into the woods. The conditions in the morning were better than I was anticipating, and the ascent was actually warm without any wind. The path we took basically went straight up, but despite this it was fairly pleasant and more interesting than skinning up the route we took back down. As we approached the col below Schönberg, the cloud came in and the snow started. We assumed that it was set in for the day, however as we approached the summit we could see the sun through the clouds, and just before we set off on the descent the cloud cleared. The descent started down a steep break between the trees, which gave no time for a warm up. But thankfully due to the excellent powder this was no trouble, and was. Read the full article…

After multiple days of snow in the mountains I was very keen to get out, and am lucky enough to be able to work flexibly. So after a “half day” of working from home I drove down to Bad Kohlgrub to meet Helen for a lunchtime ski tour. There was snow down to the car park, and the weather was much better than I had anticipated so it was great to be out. We made good time up to the top of the ski resort, and were enjoying that it was a lot quieter than we were expecting, and as we left the ski resort it got even quieter! Helen had been commenting that the summit of Hinteres Hörnle was often in the cloud when she was there, and today was no exception as we chose the only time there was cloud on the summit to reach the top. As it wasn’t very warm we did not hang about and set off on the descent. The lack of photos from the descent is a good indication of it being good! The snow was fantastic, although I did find a rock. Read the full article…

With the temperatures having been really high since the day I drove over, I had mostly given up on the concept of using my new ski touring skis this year. Thankfully some of the Bavarian ski areas are still hanging onto their snow, even low down. To make the most the snow before it finishes melting, Rob, Helen and I headed to Brauneck for a day of ski touring on closed pistes. The skin up was tiring, especially for my unfit legs, but straightforward with no need for any kick turns, and surprisingly grippy snow. Once we got out of the initial woods the views were really spectacular. We headed straight up to Brauneck and were treated to a massive cloud inversion to the north west, and fantastic views of the mountains towards Austria with wonderfully clear air. We then headed over to the Stin-Alm where we had a quick drink before heading up the Idealhang lift track. The descent back down from where was lovely, OK snow, great views, what more could you want… We then made the hot return to Brauneck, before starting the frankly unpleasant descent back. Read the full article…