Skitour Hochwurzen
At weekends, I usually drag myself out of bed early in the morning, before the sun even thinks about competing with the moon, and set off on my ski touring adventure. That means I gather my equipment in the semi-darkness, put on my socks and trousers, pull up my sports zip-up jumper to protect me from the icy cold and stumble to my iced-up car, where the cold equipment I prepared the night before lies.
But this year, well this year, it's not just the summit victory that's a pleasure, but the whole process, because I don't start until after sunrise and think about which piste tour I want to choose today in Schladming-Dachstein over a cup of hot coffee.
A quick equipment check before I set off: I have the right outfit, a change of shirt and a second and third layer in my rucksack in case it gets colder. The touring ski boots are waiting next to the crackling warm stove for me to pour my tea into the thermos flask. Skis, skins and poles are ready in the car and I'm ready to go. With a quick sideways glance and a grin on my face, I decide to leave the head torch from my previous adventures on the chest of drawers next to the entrance - I certainly won't need it today.
The sun is shining on my face as I get out of the car at the valley station of the Hochwurzen summit lift. That's right - a little sun cream is a must, even in winter. Full of vigour, I grab my skis and march past skiers from all over the world. I don't have to worry about tickets, with the Ski amadé ALL-IN Card White I can choose whether I want to ski or ski tour in Ski amadé.
With an altitude difference of around 720 metres and a length of three kilometres, this is a moderately difficult tour for me. As I'm on the piste and not in open terrain, I enjoy being completely alone on the ascent. Well, almost, because I can hear and see the skiers, but we are well separated from each other so that there are no collisions. The well-signposted tour runs along the east side of piste 33 and, in addition to the forest passages that allow me to immerse myself in the winter landscape. My favourite part is the magnificent view that I am rewarded with at the top of the tour. With the cold winter air in my lungs, I climb the last few metres to the summit after around an hour and a half and take a look around. The snow-covered winter landscape makes me pause for a moment and savour the view.
After a fortifying meal at lunchtime in the Hochwurzenhütte, the tour ends for me in the middle of the day. But I'll be back, because I've been given an insider tip: The tour is also open until 11.00 pm on night-time operating days, making it perfect for an after-work tour! Schladming mountains, I'll be back!
