Ortler tour 2007
Southern Tirol, Italy- April 6-12
|
|
|
| |
| This trip was a long time in the making. After
trying to get into this area for several years, IFMGA guides
Larry Goldie and Jeff ward pulled off the inaugural trip to
the Ortler region of Italy. Located in the heart of one of the
largest national parks in Europe, this remote region of the
Alps is a ski mountaineering paradise. The terrain was spectacular,
the huts and food were amazing and the weather was perfect.
This is a trip we will surely offer year after year. |
| |
 |
| After meeting in the quiet, charming
town of Sulden, IT, we rode the lifts to the top of the
ski area to begin our trip. Here Larry stands at the top
of the chair getting ready to begin. We skied the piste
just down to the obvious col in the center of the photo. |
|
| |
 |
| After a strenuous 30 seconds of sidestepping,
we were ready for the first descent of the trip. Here
Sarah and Rick take a few photos before we drop in. |
|
| |
 |
| Our group came from many of the hotspots
of the mountain west. From Left to right, Rick Winfield
from Incline Village, Nevada, Anna Collins of Seattle,
Tad Linn (back to the photo) from SLC, UT, Louis Gordon,
Sarah Brace, both from Seattle and Larry Goldie (from
Mazama). Photo by Jeff Ward. |
|
| |
 |
| The area had received over a meter of
new snow the week prior to our arrival. Once we began
the trip, the weather turned perfect and we skied dreamy
corn for most of the trip. Here Sarah enjoys smooth corn
turns just outside of the ski area boundary. |
|
| |
 |
| After reviewing some avalanche rescue
skills, we continued down the drainage, skinning to to
the Zufal hut. The Ortler region has many huts, all located
several hours from each other allowing skiers many options
for where to go and where to stay. We opted to bypass
this hut in favor of the Marteller hut, a bit farther
up valley. As you can see, the Italians don't pull any
punches with their huts. This one was complete with swingset
playground and Church out front! |
|
| |
 |
| We continued up the glacial valley under
perfect, blue skies toward the Marteller hut. The large
peak in the background is Cevedale; one of the major summits
of the area. |
|
| |
 |
| Here Tad approaches the Marteller hut. |
|
| |
 |
| Louis, Sarah, Anna, Rick and Jeff enjoy
the charming ambiance of the Marteller hut's dining room
pre dinner. All of the huts in this area have electricity,
running hot and cold water, showers and incredible food! |
|
| |
 |
| One of the benefits of low ratio guiding
is having the flexibility to split the group and travel
in different areas or at different speeds. The following
day Jeff, Tad, Rick and Louis climbed over the top of
Cevedale to reach our next hut. Here Rick skies down the
Cedec glacier after working down from the summit. |
|
| |
 |
| Meanwhile Larry, Sarah and Anna skied
over the shoulder of Cevedale. This enabled them to make
a quick stop at the Cassati hut for cappuccino and apple
strudel while waiting for the snow to soften up on the
steep descent on the other side. |
|
| |
| |
 |
| The next destination was the Branca hut.
This hut could be the base for a week of ski mountaineering
by itself as it sits among 6 major ski objectives, each
with multiple routes up and down. Our first objective
would be the classic Punta San Mateo which is the obvious
summit just left of center in the photo. |
|
 |
| The Branca hut is reputed to have the
best food of any hut in the Alps. Our taste testers would
wholeheartedly agree with this assessment. It also had
wonderful coffee and a patio area with incredible 180
degree views. Here Sarah enjoys a post ski beer while
hiding from the sun. |
|
| |
 |
| Here Sarah and Anna pose in front of
San Mateo on the deck of the Branca hut. |
|
| |
| |
 |
| While it hadn't snowed in over 4 days,
we still found cold, powdery conditions on this largely
North facing ascent. |
|
| |
 |
| And by just getting a hair off of the
beaten path we still managed to find untracked snow for
much of the descent. Here Rick enjoys some low angle powder
turns just below the summit. |
|
| |
 |
| Lower down the snow transitioned smoothly
to corn and we enjoyed some playful terrain features on
our way back to the hut. Here Rick drops into a small
chute a short ways above the hut. |
|
| |
 |
| The next objective was Palon de la Mare.
The route begins on the bottom left of the photo where
the hut sits at the end of the long obvious bench. We
then climbed up the left couliour to access the large
glacier above. |
|
| |
| |
 |
| With another day of perfect weather we
enjoyed more great corn snow and the view of our route
from the previous day. Here Sarah, Louis and Jeff climb
up the upper glacier with the climb from the day before
visible directly above Jeff's head. |
|
 |
| After 3 nights we grudgingly left the
Branca hut and traveled to the Pizzini hut. After a fairly
easy climb to the hut we indulged in the beverage that
has given this trip the nickname "The Cappuccino
tour". |
|
| |
 |
| After skiing corn until it got too hot
to be out, we would retreat to the hut for the regular
afternoon pastime. Here Rick serves up the .5 liter Birra
Moretti's. |
|
| |
 |
| While the Pizzini hut doesn't offer the
same big objective ski peaks of the Branca hut, it offers
miles of wide open south facing corn snow. We spent the
following day taking advantage of the 2000' runs right
behind the hut. Heading back to Sulden the following day
would be accomplished by climbing up the glacier in the
background of the photo. This is the other side of Cevedale. |
|
| |
 |
| On our last day, we climbed up the Cedec
glacier and made another ascent of Cevedale before heading
back toward the ski area. Here Rick, Sarah and Louis climb
some steep slopes next to a large icefall. |
|
| |
 |
| We summitted Cevedale by skinning right
to the very top. Here Sarah climbs the last few steps
with the Grand Zebru and Ortles peaks in the background. |
|
| |
 |
| After another quick cappuccino break
at the Cassati hut we dropped over a pass and began our
long descent back to the pistes of the Sulden ski area.
Here Anna stands at the top of our 2500' run into Solden
finding great cold snow for much of the way. This region
is one of the secret gems of the Alps and we cant wait
to get back here again next year! |
|
| |
| |
| |
