Life is not a Practice

Extended lunch break today. Caro and I took our touring skis and walked up to Nadel Loch (part way up the local mountain) and then skied back down through the unpisted snow.



Expresso and cake and then back to work.

Another Sunday and another trip to the Grauen Stein.


(The Grauen Stein is on the right with the Riedbergerhorn on the right.)

I caught the Hörnerbahn to the top and then walked up the valley under the Weiherkopf and Ochsenkopf. I then turned up on to the ridge and tried to follow that to the Grauene Stein but a few very steep sections proved impossible. Skied off the ridge and then walked up between the Riedbergerhorn and Grauen Stein.



At the top the view in every direction was stunning. The Riedbergerhorn was full of people but on the Grauen Stein there were only three of us. Took some voltage measurements on the relay station we have up there and ate the cake that I had taken with me.



The run down was fantastic. New snow on a very steep slope. It is good that the avalance warn level is currently at 1 - the lowest.

Stopped at the Berghaus Schwaben for some lunch on the way back.

Pictures at https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/+NeillHogarth/albums/6097506762533868817

Track is at http://www.gpsies.com/map.do?fileId=jfshwqbfdqbzojra

A ski tour up to the Berglodge Sportheim Böck. Beautiful fresh snow and two fun companions. There is a new manager and when he saw the ladies stripping their sweaty clothes off out in the snow he shouted "you can come in for a drink if you want".



The piste bully had flattened most of the powder by the time we skied back down in the dark but it was great fun anyway.

Track is at http://www.gpsies.com/map.do?fileId=fkikaiozajhggikl

Oictures at https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/+NeillHogarth/albums/6097506762533868817

Today I picked up my new ski touring equipment (after losing everything on the way down from the Riedbergerhorn 2 weeks ago - http://neill.blogger.de/stories/2463603/ ).



The first (mini-) tour with the new skis was to rescue what I could find at Grasgehren. One ski was definitely buried far below the snow but I hoped I would find the other one with the carrying frame attached to it.


Max came with me but, as he has no touring skis, he took the lift up and then walked up to meet me.

I walked to the small hut where the mountain rescue had found me and from there searched the valleys until I found the equipment. As expected one ski is still buried so I set a waypoint with the GPS so that I can go back and look in spring.


This file contains the coordinates of the lost ski. lostski.gpx (gpx, 1 KB)

The snow was wet and slushy but my new skis worked perfectly going back down. I tied the ski to the carrying frame and put that on Sherpa Max's back so that he could ski it down for me.



The track is at http://www.gpsies.com/map.do?fileId=cspbalvqzcntafli

More photos at https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/103827427036815679772/albums/6097506762533868817

[150525] Went and found the second ski today. See story at http://neill.blogger.de/stories/2504497/

Yesterday my partner told me that the station on top of the Grauen Stein had electrical problems and would soon run out of battery power. No sun is forecast for the solar panels so some one needed to get a generator up to the mast.

I picked up the generator from a hoillock near Isny (using the amazing 4 wheel drive capabilities of my Skoda Yeti). I then drove "round the back" through Austria and up the snow covered pass - overtaking all those stuck in the snow and ice :-)

Tom had not yet arrived with the tracked quad so I attached the generator to a carrying frame and got the mountain rescue to take it up to the top of the ski lift on their skidoo. I used the lift. From the top of the lift I used my touring skis and carried the generator up the snow covered ridge to the top of the Riedbergerhorn. From there I carried on back down to the pass between the two mountains. By now visibility was really bad due to the mist and blizzard and I was worried about getting back in daylight so I left the generator and climbed back up to the top of the Riedbergerhorn.


(this picture was taken a day later. On this day there was no view and I had no time to even think about photos.)

I took the skins off my skis and started to ski down. The snow was very deep so I pointed steep downhill off the ridge (bad idea) and skied down in to the valley.

I crossed a bush covered ravine and disappeared through the snow into the bushes below. I was hanging in small trees but under the snow. I managed to get out but lost a ski and a stick so I stood the other ski up as a marker and attached the carrying frame to it. I then started "swimming" and "crawling" through the deep snow until I fell in to another ravine. I once again escaped and worked my way up to a small hillock from where I could see some skiers far below me on the piste. After a lot of arm waving and shouting "help" they got the message and disappeared. I was now really cold so I kept on moving towards a nearby sheep hut where I huddled feeling cold and frightened.

Apparently the mountain rescue tried to reach me with skidoos but they could not get through the snow either - I later saw one completely bogged in. They called up a pisten bully and together eventually managed to reach me and took me back down the mountain.

So I was safe and very thankful to all those who rescued me but had no touring skis and still the problem of a mast running out of power.

But tomorrow is another day.

Two days ago Max and I cycled to Sportheim Böck. Yesterday we were out driving off road and today I was back in Sportheim Böck - with the touring skis. It has been snowing since Max and I were up there two days.



The walk up was a gentle stroll always taking the flatest route. I ate lunch by the fire and then skied back down. The pistes have not yet been prepared so the run down was challenging but fun.

A mornings skiing like in a picture book. Alison, Max and I were skiing in Tannheimertal. Perfect snow, stunning weather and empty slopes. The first runs were down completely empty pistes and we could use our carving skis to their extremes.



Amazing!



max also wrote about the weekend at http://maxhogarth.blogspot.de/2014/03/weekend-83-and-93.html

Saturday morning ski tour. Had to fill up the hours and KCal burnt for my training program and there are worse ways to do it than walking up a mountain, drinking a beer at the top and then skiing down.



Saw Daniel at the top busy teaching kids to ski.

Route is at http://www.gpsies.com/map.do?fileId=twrnqhkbmzvqqitv

In the afternoon I and Max went to the Trendsport center to try some shooting.



I look more like I am training to be a terrorist.

Max and I were skiing this morning in Oberjoch. Got there before the people so could have a few "crazy" runs on the lovely mix of natural and man made snow. Frighteningly fast trying to keep up with Max.



And then there was the crazy off piste routes that I was "forced" to take.

Alison and I walked up the Alpspitz with our touring skis, enjoyed a drink in Sportheim Böck at the top and then skied back down.



The route is at http://www.gpsies.com/map.do?fileId=vsyqnaielfvetdos