March 22, 2008, Zehner, Fanes Dolomites
3/22/08
2340
1
Silas, Jenn and I spent Sunday skiing in the Fanes area of the Dolomites. It was a great time, especially because of the clear, sunny morning skiing through terrain that left us amazed. At the Lavarella Hut Jen decided to wait for us to ski up Zehner and come back, as she had to catch a flight back to Seattle in just a few hours. So Silas and I set out, soon finding ourselves in a cold cloud of snow. We passed through and enjoyed a little more sun on the long final ascent. But only a little! Tiring a little, (Zehner is 1000 meters above the hut, which is a long 500 meters above the car), we reached the ski depot and spent 15 minutes climbing a pretty exciting "via ferrata" (protected iron trail) to the summit.
The weather had turned, so we got out of there quickly. The powder of the morning was freezing already, and once we reached the long plateau below the summit, we were in kind of a whiteout. Silas led the way in long runs, and finally we were back at the hut. Jen was worried because we were more than an hour late. Oops! But we'd had a good time, and made our way down to the car.
Silas will write about the day before: The Duerrenstein.
It was such a great time getting to ski with Silas and Jen. I got to meet Wolf too, who is such an interesting character!
Thanks,
--Michael
ps - it was so hard to reduce to 3 pictures, plus the best ones couldn't be made under 100KB, unless I made the size so small it was useless. So here are the lucky ones!
The weather had turned, so we got out of there quickly. The powder of the morning was freezing already, and once we reached the long plateau below the summit, we were in kind of a whiteout. Silas led the way in long runs, and finally we were back at the hut. Jen was worried because we were more than an hour late. Oops! But we'd had a good time, and made our way down to the car.
Silas will write about the day before: The Duerrenstein.
It was such a great time getting to ski with Silas and Jen. I got to meet Wolf too, who is such an interesting character!
Thanks,
--Michael
ps - it was so hard to reduce to 3 pictures, plus the best ones couldn't be made under 100KB, unless I made the size so small it was useless. So here are the lucky ones!
It was great to finally get out on a trip with another fellow Picketophile! And you are so right, it is nice to have fun with your grown up kids, and watch them give you advice instead of the other way round!
Zehner turned out to be a bit more than I had expected. The ski into the hut had lots of flats, and scenery that required many stops for photos. And the hut beckoned for a little snack time around noon in the sun. Then the trip over to Zehner summit had again lots of flats, the whiteout began, and altitude took its toll on this old fellow. Michael was a great cheerleader and very patient, and the summit was sure worth the effort even if the views were subpar.
Back out to the hut was like a Patagonia trip, flat, windy, and whiteout. Luckily the 16 folks who preceded us on the tour had all skied the same route across the flats and made a track that was followable despite the efforts of Mother Nature to obliterate the tracks. Back at the hut I welcomed the opportunity to ride down to the parking lot with the hut owner in his Yamaha mini snowcat. We had a nice chat about snowcats despite my schlecter Deutsch and he sounds interested to find cheaper treads in the US than he has been able to get in Europe.
The ride back to Innsbruck took only two hours, Michael refueled himself a bit, then headed on to home in Munich, another couple hours away. Thanks again Michael for a great weekend!!
Sorry Charles, I feel compelled to throw in a few pics too. Delete if you like.
Zehner turned out to be a bit more than I had expected. The ski into the hut had lots of flats, and scenery that required many stops for photos. And the hut beckoned for a little snack time around noon in the sun. Then the trip over to Zehner summit had again lots of flats, the whiteout began, and altitude took its toll on this old fellow. Michael was a great cheerleader and very patient, and the summit was sure worth the effort even if the views were subpar.
Back out to the hut was like a Patagonia trip, flat, windy, and whiteout. Luckily the 16 folks who preceded us on the tour had all skied the same route across the flats and made a track that was followable despite the efforts of Mother Nature to obliterate the tracks. Back at the hut I welcomed the opportunity to ride down to the parking lot with the hut owner in his Yamaha mini snowcat. We had a nice chat about snowcats despite my schlecter Deutsch and he sounds interested to find cheaper treads in the US than he has been able to get in Europe.
The ride back to Innsbruck took only two hours, Michael refueled himself a bit, then headed on to home in Munich, another couple hours away. Thanks again Michael for a great weekend!!
Sorry Charles, I feel compelled to throw in a few pics too. Delete if you like.
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