Not all days can be sunny and after a few days of great ski touring this became the case. With the high mountains being mostly alpine we decided to head for a lower summit. Before long we were heading towards Geierschnabel Valsertal. It would offer some low elevation skiing with easy access and an exit.
We arrived on a small forest road before we started skinning. We were now a group of 3 as Lorenzo Rieg and Humpus Cederholm. As we made our way towards the alpine the high country was surrounded by clouds. Though it was a semi nasty day weather wise we were fortunate to have strong winds that would occasionally bring the sun.
After around an hour of skinning we finally made our way into the alpine. As if it was a sign the sun came out and we could finally see Geierschnabel Valsertal in the distance. While it wouldn’t be the steepest run we could ride it in almost any conditions.
A switchback at a time we made our way up the mountain. What was cloudy one second would become sunny the next. Fortunately there was still over a foot of fresh snow and with brief encounters from the sun the snow wasn’t getting cooked by the heat.
Before long we made our way above the treeline and climbing the last few hundred feet to the summit of Geierschnabel Valsertal. With the snow being deep we would change trail breaking duties laying in a low angle skin track. With the terrain not being steep it was easy to gain elevation.
Before long the clouds burned off for a few minutes and we had a clear view of the valley below. It was wild to see the lush green of the low lands being a high contrast to the high alpine. Though the clouds blocked off the views in the distance it seemed like the mountains were endless.
And as soon as the sky cleared up the clouds were back and blocking the views. It seemed the higher we climbed the deeper the snow got as we made the final few switchbacks before the summit.
Before long we were on the final ridge of Geierschnabel Valsertal. It seemed like we were almost at the top of the clouds as the sun filtered through. In the distance we could see the faint silhouettes of the surrounding mountains. From what I could tell they seemed like amazing alpine slopes but horrible on a cloudy day.
By the time we made it to the top of our peak the clouds really started coming in. It was sunny 30 minutes earlier but now it was snowing as we switched our gear over. Knowing that the weather changed every 5 minutes we decided to wait for another weather window.
To the west I could barely see the lower open slopes. Though I could barely see the peaks it was definitely not the type of day for it. We had made a good call heading towards Geierschnabel Valsertal.
Looking across the valley there was massive couloirs dropping to the valley floor. Though most of the terrain was melted out it seemed there were lines still in but cliff bands everywhere. It was obvious if you knew where to go the skiing was amazing but if you didn’t it could be very dangerous.
Soon enough the sun came out and it was time to get moving. We were in a race against the bad weather as we retraced our skin track. From the top of Geierschnabel Valsertal we had over a foot of new and dry snow on the upper face.
Before long we were making turns towards the lower trees kicking up snow with every turn. It had taken us less then 3 hours to get up and within 20 minutes we would soon be back at the car.
With wide open slopes we were able to make our own tracks as Humpus dropped in a few meters next to my tracks. It was the perfect terrain with a deep snowpack and endless opportunists for first tracks.
Soon enough we made our way out of the upper slopes and back into the lower trees. After riding past a small farm house we were on a forest road and heading to the car. Though there were other days that were bigger it was still a great day out. Lorenzo had called it once again choosing to head to Geierschnabel Valsertal. It had been almost a week since I arrived in Austria and we were able to ride powder pretty much every day so far. Huge thanks to Lorenzo Rieg and Humpus Cederholm for a great day.