Image Set: "Ski Tour to the Albristhorn".

A cancelled two day ski tour replaced by a one day outing close to home.

Working our way upwards.

Last weekend I was supposed to be heading out on a two day ski tour with friends from the Swiss Alpine Club.

The snow and weather (mostly the latter) had other plans, though.

Our intended route would have traversed some of the higher alpine regions in the area, and given the prediction for day two, we decided to err on the side of caution.

We were still keen to get some skiing in, though, so we decided on a ski tour to the Albristhorn on the Saturday morning.

It also happens to be one of the peaks behind our house and village.

A win for convenience!

So, let’s head out and enjoy some visual stoke from the day.

L-R: Our group marching along the skin track; Aschi perforning trail breaking duties up ahead.

The Albristhorn is one of the more serious ski tours in the area, so I was happy to be doing it with experienced friends and locals.

At the start things were a bit wet due to warmer temperatures.

Wet? I hear you ask.

But isn’t snow wet?

Yes and no.

You see, when it snows and it’s nice and cold, the snow stays soft, fluffy and dry.

A sort of frozen state.

Perfect for skiing.

Sort of like scoring barelling waves with a light off shore breeze when surfing.

But, when it snows and the temperatures warm up quickly afterwards, the snow melts and becomes wet.

It’s sticky stuff and not fun to ski on.

But that’s a thesis for another day.

As we made our way upwards, the temperatures were still cold and the snow improved greatly.

Good times ahead!

That’s also why we started early and were the first on the day, which meant making the skin track.

L-R: Aschi breaking trail; Beautiful scenes as the clouds parted; Our group catching up.

The clouds started thinning out higher up, and since me and Aschi, our group leader, were a bit ahead, we decided to take a quick break while the others caught up.

L-R: Ski's make a great food board; Our picnic spot.

Once we regrouped, we made our way further upwards.

About two thirds of the way up you reach a thin ridgeline where you sometimes have to take your skis off and traverse a small section on foot.

Fortunately, due to the fresh snow, we managed to skin up this section.

Further along, though, we did have to remove our skis briefly just below the summit as we had to dig through a snow lip created by the strong winds the previous few days.

As the clouds swirled in and out around us, the mountains provided amazing scenes.

As they tend to do.

L-R: A mountain peak appearing from the misty clouds; The other side of the valley wall across from us; A group member appearing from the mist.

Once on the summit it was a quick turn around.

The wind was picking up and it was cold, not a place to hang around and eat a sandwich.

A quick summit pick before heading down.

The ski down started off a bit cautious as we traversed the ridge, but once we were down into more open terrain we could enjoy some awesome turns in soft powder snow.

L-R: Carefully skiing along the ridgeline before dropping onto the main face; Looking back up at our ski tracks from the summit; The last few turns before reaching the valley floor (and warmer temperatures!).

Skinning (walking) up a mountain to ski down is for sure one of the most amazing things you can do / experience.

Along with surfing, of course.

And photography, photography’s pretty rad, too.

And let’s not forget fondue.

And raclette.

Ok, ok, there are many awesome things you can do!

I hope you experience some of them this week (the things you find amazing, not necessarily the above)!

A wind face snow blown selfie at the summit - any guesses what direction the wind was coming from?

Any interesting ski touring stories or just stories and / or thoughts to share?

Simply hit reply and let me know / comment below.

Have a great week!

PS - our outdoor inspired casual clothing brand, Seasonal Vagabond, has just been updated with some funky hoodies (guys / girls) and (women) swimwear, just in time for spring / summer, fyi :).

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Until next time ✌🏽.

Cornelius

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