March 28, 2008, Johanis Hutte (Ost Tirol)

Up at 515 today to be ready for a 615 drive from Salzburg to Hinterbichl, noting that Herman Maier is now a bank advertiser (can you see that in Bode's future?) and as early a start as possible for the ski into Johanishutte, steep valley route with fairly high avi danger in the middle of the day.  As we got ready to ski, I relized I had left my skins in Salzburg.   Darn, but not to be deterred we headed back 20min to the Hinterbichl tourist office for help.  A fellow happened to be there and had skins that fit, lives across the street, so with a little duct tape all was good.

Off we started at 10, an hour later than hoped, saw a small avalanche come from high above on opposite side of the valley, yikes.   Then around 11 we had to cross what seemed to be a really fresh slide.  Fortunately the weather was turning colder and cloudier, thus safer.  Reached the hut at noon, had a snack, took a nap, then were antsy to do some skiing with lighter loads.  I was slow to start out so missed Rob and Volki´s tracks.  Decided to take the clear route to Defregger hut 850m on the way toward Gross Venediger, our primary objective of the weekend.

Got above the clouds around 430, and to the hut at 5 for nice views.  It was closed but there were friendly Germans in the winter room who invited me in for warmth and spaghetti.  At 6 when I headed down to Johanis, the valley fog had returned to our elevation.  Despite the poor visibility, the descent was fast and nice, thanks to good light powder recooling in the evening temps.   At dinner we learned from a Swiss group that they saw a huge wet snow avalanche at 1020am, fortunately my skin problem had delayed our ascent to the hut long enough to avert potentially serious consequences for us!