Heidelburger Hütte, Switzerland
Could we have asked for a better weekend before lockdown?
Doubtful.
On the last weekend of February/first of March, four good friends and I packed our skis and splitboards to skin across the border of Austria into the Swiss Alps. We got some of the best snow I’ve had in Europe and some of the most adverse conditions I’ve ever had to tour in.
Our base for the weekend? The beautiful Heidelburger Hütte.
Day 1
Friday was a perfect descent to the hut from nearby Ischgl (the Ibiza of the Alps). We were joined by a fair share of the Ischgl skiers, who had wised up to the fact that the accommodation at the hut is technically ski-in and ski-out. The terrain wasn’t somewhere I’d want to be without avalanche kit, but the tourists didn’t seem to care. And hey, despite the hut being full, most of the occupants weren’t in the backcountry taking our lines!
Day 2
Saturday was a challenge, we turned back from our summit on attempt one, then took it from a different route in near white-out conditions. At around 11am after 4 hours of work we checked- wind was high but snowpack was stable. No one was hungry or cold. We knew exactly where we were. Party on.
We made a successful summit push and were back in the hut with a beer in hand by 3, feeling accomplished and ready for a nap.
Day 3
On Sunday, we departed the hut in the morning with heavy boots. We were exhausted from the previous day’s tour and the day’s conditions didn’t look favourable for us. As we started our ascent into Bowl X (my new secret spot) we started to catch glimpses of the untouched fresh snow before us. By the time we reached our summit, the clouds had broken and we had a sunny, fresh, and fluffy 800m descent below us. The avalanche danger was low and we got a party run all the way to the bottom.
We had nothing but smiles after a perfect day when we stopped off at the hut for our gear. After a cheeky beer we had more descent to go, on ski track unfortunately, all the way back to Ischgl and the car park.
With my season at an all-time high, it seemed almost unfair that I’d take only one more day on the snow before COVID shut everything down. But maybe it’s best to end on a high note. Bis bald Winter!
