The private ski tour

by Ben Hulmston

After an unprecedented run of events, ranging from flooding to a gardening injury, our fully loaded tour was reduced to just me and Duncan, and with two Obungsleiter attending (Leanne Mills leading, complemented by her husband, Andrew) it felt pretty exclusive.

This was the second part of a double billing, Andrew having led the previous week's tour. The Mills' meticulous prep culminated in a pre-tour day on piste where we covered various skills such as might be needed out in the hills, and also Avalanche Search and Rescue (AvSAR). Some of this stuff was new to me, and it didn't stop there. Leanne and Andrew were always happy to pass on tips and skills, which meant I ended the week a better skier and tourer, so thank you both.

The tour proper started at 10.00 and 1300m, from Innerst carpark, just east of Innsbruck. From here it was a steady 500m ascent up a mostly snowed-in track to the Weidener Hutte. I say steady, but it actually started with a descent on skins barely three minutes into a five-day tour. But of course, we'd practised for this the previous day. We arrived at the hut in time for a late lunch and with an afternoon to kill. The snow cover was adequate, rather than excellent, and getting on for a week old. There are many options in this valley, but from the outside seating at the hut, Leanne suggested approaching Hobarjoch, on the other side of the valley, because it was less sun-affected and we had multiple options for a return route, seeing as we only had the afternoon. As we skied up our side of the valley, we were looking at an obvious and attractive option for the return route; a chute of good-looking snow, both wide and gentle, cutting through the trees, with a few tracks already on it. We crossed the valley and climbed about three quarters of the way up the other side to a sunlit spot just below Hobarjoch (2512m), fully good enough to take off our skins, soak up the view and the sunshine, and eat some snacks. Our descent from here took us through some trees and into the aforementioned chute. It was as good as it looked, and the snow was in a better condition than we had anticipated.

The second day was spent in the same valley. We headed for a local peak, Halslspitze (2574m), and did our best to find a descent route through the softest snow. Being such a small group, everything went quicker. As such, we found ourselves back at the hut in time for lunch. It was a beautiful day, so I put my skis on again and headed back to the chute (I need to grasp every opportunity to work on my turns!), and I was still back in time for a pre-dinner beer.

I would not be surprised if, like me, when most people think back to their various hut experiences, they are really thinking about the food. Neither hut on this tour disappointed. At the Weidener Hutte, we were served three courses for dinner, plus seconds. Breakfast was also comprehensive, and they even had a fancy coffee machine.

Day three of the tour was the hut-to-hut day and also the biggest day all round. And it nearly didn't happen. The weather forecast was not encouraging, low cloud and snow predicted to come in just as we expected to be approaching the col, and therefore our highest point (2450m). We decided we could approach until beaten by weather, and then retreat for a taxi if needed. We set off smartly and made good progress through the 'Enchanted Forest; and up the Grafennsalm valley in beautiful sunshine and a fickle breeze. The predicted cloud held off long enough for us to reach the col, transition, and start the descent. We were through! It would have been such a shame to have missed that day. The descent was lovely, that is, not too steep, and at about 13.00 we saw our first humans. To get to the Lizumer Hutte required another ascent, first by ski, and then by foot along the road (to the Austrian Army barracks that share this valley with the hut). Arrival by 16.10, beer, and dinner at 18.15.

The penultimate day was something of a play day. The hut warden had shared whispers of some good snow in a bowl on the other side of Torjoch, so off we set (with the rest of the hut occupants, it seemed). But this was new ground to all, so it had a feeling of adventure about it, even for the two locals in the group. We found the snow, we had sunshine (and wind across the col), and two of us even bagged a peak on the way back to the hut.

On the last day we had too much time available to simply drift back down the valley, so we selected a nearby peak (Torspitze, at 2663m, was the highest point of the tour), and set off on an overcast morning with the odd snow flurry. Again, we did not really expect to make the peak because of the weather forecast, but again it was sufficiently wrong to afford us our mountain and an excellent descent to boot. On the way down we had ridge, rocks, snow fields, forests and gnarly tracks. Proper.

Footnote: if you find yourself in Innsbruck, or near any Mammut shop, you can get your Mammut/Barryvox transceiver updated free of charge, while you wait. You can also pay €25 for a hardware MOT, where they check that all components are working correctly, apparently also without notice.

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