To our surprise, the guidebook tells us to catch a bus from Wenns for 20 miles into the valley. Shadow and I had decided not to take the bus, but our host for the night changed our minds. The ticket was 5 bucks a piece and when we boarded, another hiker we had met before caught our eye. Teresa, from Munich is hiking this trail for a week. She too was convinced to take the bus. Sure enough the valley was narrow and the road was busy. We didn't feel too bad about it knowing a 6,000 foot climb was waiting at the end for us. The three of us slowly climbed from the valley up to Braunschweiger Hutte. A beautiful stone mountain hut built in the 1930's. I swear, a James Bond movie could be filmed here. From halfway up our climb we had an awesome view of a glacier. The hut is surrounded by glaciers that are skiable in the Winter. After lunch on the deck we decided to press on. Teresa stayed over night thinking it might rain. Like most hikers here, she is not prepared for ill weather. The weather was good at the time and this was going to be one of our highest passes at 9,800 feet. A hiker going the opposite way told us about a large snow field on the other side and I did not want to tackle that in the morning with ice.
Another 900 feet up above the glaciers and hut we climbed. After reaching the first knife edge ridge line covered with snow I started to change my tune. I looked back at Shadow and said, "I don't know if I can do this." I mean, we waited for the snow to melt in the Sierras on the PCT last year! "This Winter, we ARE taking a snow course!" I said. Turned my head, grabbed both hiking poles with one hand and a snowy rock with the another. Squatted down and made my way through. Once on the other side I could breathe. Another couple was coming up behind us which made me feel better. We reached Pitztaler Pass and my heart sank again. The "snow field" was more like a snowy side of a mountain. When someone says field, you think of flat right? Another two people were there with a dog. I told Shadow I was waiting for them to go first. By that time the couple behind us was there. The dog and other two made it down safely. Then it was our turn. The other couple followed us down. Shadow got the nerve to glissade. You basically slide on your butt down the hill using your feet and hiking poles to control yourself. Soon we followed. My fears of the snow field turned into the most fun. Thankfully Shadow checked his pack and discovered the tent was missing. He had to walk back up 100 feet to grab it before sliding back down. This was so much easier than walking the 2,000 feet down. We did have to posthole a little ways and I pulled a quadricep. Posthole is where the snow is soft and your feet fall through.
Tonight we found a nice flat spot under a ski lift. Today was so far the best day on the trail.
Climbing up.
1 comment:
Geez!!! I would feel the same way as you ... but at least it turned out to be safe AND fun!
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