Feb 2014 Ski Break Süd Tirol, Italy

Katinka and I decided last minute to go on a ski adventure in Süd Tirol when she heard from her friend Verena that the snow was ausgezeichnet in Northern Italy, whereas the rest of Austria and Switzerland was uncharacteristically dry. So she booked a little apartment two days before break started, Villa Haunold, just outside of Sexten. We found meters of fresh powder, a week of sunny skies, and amazing food. Sexten is a mecca for cross country skiing, perfectly groomed trails spreading out in all directions. Also great winter hiking, Rodelbahn, backcountry skiing, and some easy pistes. 

We figured we'd take it easy, do a bit of skiing, eat some good food, but we ended up having one amazing excursion after another, one beautiful day after another. What an incredible week! 

Day 1: This was our easy starter day. We cross country skied from Sexten to Talschulsshütte and back. 

Katinka standing in the road next to Talschulsshütte, you can just see the hut's roofline to the left. Most roads had snowbanks plowed over our heads like this one. 

Day 2: We hiked up to Panorama Hütte, Cross country skied from the Hütte up to Alpe-Nemes-Hutte for lunch, down to the pass and back to Sexten.

Katinka cross country skiing between Panorama Hütte and Alpe-Nemes-Hutte near Sexten.

Alpe-Nemes-Hutte

Alpe-Nemes-Hutte

Day 3: We hiked with a Rodel (the classic european toboggan) up to Drei-Schusterhütte from Sexten. This was the edge of the road on our ascent. And then we sledded allllll the way down. 

Hiking up to Drei-Schusterhütte

 The snow was so deep you had to dig down to see the park map.

 Day 4: Marathon cross country ski from Toblach up over the pass toward Cortina. We started in the olympic stadium in Toblach (from the 1954 Cortina Olympics). Our skis were literally made in 1970 and I had to double pole hard even going down hill. Our plan was to ski 31km to Cortina, but the trail beyond Ospitale (at 20km) was closed due to avalanches, so we turned around an skied back. Neither one of us wanted to suggest taking the bus back. Here is an old railway station along our route.

 Burried swingset on the way to Ospitale. 

No cats allowed on the ski trails! 

At the end of our marathon ski, we treated ourselves to Speckknödle Suppe and an evening at the Bad Moos spa where I could have stayed indefinitely. 

Day 5: We decided to take it "easy" today and snowshoed up to the Drei Zinnen Hütte, about 1000m climb. We wanted the descent to be easy on our knees, so we brought two of those thin plastic shovel sleds - you can see one of them in blue attached to Katinka's backpack. We sledded down 1000m in the snowshoe tracks, which acted like a luge.

On our way up to Drei Zinnen Hütte

 We saw a few backcountry skiers out there taking advantage of the glorious powder and got to thinking....

 Katinka checking out the Drei Zinnen

 We made it to the top! (Thanks, mom, for sewing me those great yellow gaiters, they really came in handy on this trip!)

 Day 6: We decided that the sleds were fun, but we wanted more, so the next day we went back up with backcountry skis and a snowboard. The hike up goes from hanging valley to hanging valley. This was about the 3rd valley up, and we are hiking up behind the sun-lit crest in the middle of the shot. Exciting times!

Katinka taking off her skins (what a pro!) at the top. 

Thanks, Katinka, for the great times! I had so much fun with you and I can't wait for our next adventure together!