Getting up early in the morning is not usually much fun, especially in winter. When, however, the alarm goes off at silly o’clock to wake me up for a ski adventure, I am out of the bed like a shot. This winter there were more early starts than normal as I set myself a challenge – to ski seven of my favourite backcountry routes in Tirol. I suppose you could call it my own personal skiing bucket list.
As the first snowfall of winter arrives, I quickly realise that my project is significantly more complicated than I had originally thought. Compiling the list is the easy bit – I chat to some friends, consult a few guide books and end up with five off-piste descents ranging from the Wildseeloder in Fieberbrunn to the winter via ferrata in St. Anton. This is my personal Big 5.
So what’s the challenge? On average I need more than one go at each route to get a really good run down. In early winter in particular the weather can be unpredictable, so if it snows all weekend then there’s no chance of me getting onto the mountain without putting myself and potentially others at risk of an avalanche. That’s why I am glad that this winter I will be relatively flexible time wise – as soon as the weather looks good, I will chuck my gear in the car and head for the mountains.
On top of the weather, the avalanche situation is another issue that has to be taken into consideration. Some of the routes are so steep and exposed that there are just a few, if any, weeks in the year when they can be skied. I will be taking on a number of the runs for the very first time, so ideally I would like to go there at least once in advance to check out the terrain and speak to some of the local skiers.
Well, did I manage to complete the Big 7? I’m not going to give away the secret here, but what I can say is that simply taking on the challenge gave me one of the best winters of my life, a few truly special runs and special moments I will never forget. It also taught me another, unexpected, skill – how to find accommodation in Tirol’s ski areas at super short notice (don’t look in the resort itself but instead move a couple of villages down the valley and you are sure to find something). And, last but not least, the Big 7 introduced me to the wonderfully laconic doctors at the St. Vinzenz Hospital in Zams.
Curious? Find out how I got on!
Oh, and by the way there are plenty of amazing runs which didn’t even make it onto my list. I am thinking for example of all the freeriding on the Nordkette Mountains above Innsbruck as well as the popular off-piste terrain on the Stubai Glacier. There are a couple of good reasons these didn’t make it into my Big 7. First, the Nordkette was left off because there are so many great freeride skiers and snowboarders in Innsbruck that the chances of me driving the two hours all the way over from Munich and still finding some decent powder are pretty slim. Second, the Stubai Glacier has many options but they are all either too short or too risky for my personal taste. Maybe these will, together with other great freeride spots like Kaunertal and Sölden, make it onto my Big 7 for next year…
