We’d decided that aiming for an overnight camp at the high altitude summer hut would be the perfect mid-staging point for an early morning ascent. From looking over the maps and google earth etc, it looked to be a straight forward approach with a final steep pitch to the hut.

We cruised down the valley and looped back to the local ski resort that would give us a welcome uplift. Due to coaching during the day we started the adventure late afternoon. Heading out from the top lift station things moved pretty well. Obviously any splitboard mission is gonna be an effort, especially after a full day of riding, yet the progression was steady and the views were amazing as the sun started to drop over Innsbruck.

As we started to rise further towards our goal the wind started to pickup. The valley funnels the weather and we started to feel the breeze kicking in the higher we got. The progression was still steady as we reached the final pitch where the conditions took a turn for the worst.

The wind had created a crust on the upper snow layers and you broke through to a soft deep base layer with every step. Without snow shoes we decided to go for the boot pack option, but it was stupidly hard to make any progression. With the light fading and the wind picking up we decided to call it.

Getting back was entertaining. Night navigation, riding off-piste and then cruising down the pitch black piste was actually really cool. We made it back safely to review our strategy and plan for another attempt.