Austrian Night Race – Nachtaufstieg Rofan
Ah, the night racing. Fritz registered us as Team Slowtech, himself and friend Ricki, and me. Without the high heartrate sprint fitness and specialized gear, along with older and slower Lou, the idea was to simply have fun. Which we did. That is, it was fun other than the terrifying skins-on ice downhills, using skins that were like Brillo on the low angled track but still seemed to fly on the downhills like they were possessed. But hey, adrenaline is balm to the soul.
In the following video, listen closely to the soundtrack when it goes black. You’ll hear eloquent audio expression produced by the sound of screaming skins — along with my own terrified yelps. Also listen for the announcer saying “Shloe Tech, American!” The goal was of course not to finish last, which was accomplished, no matter that the winner’s time was 39 minutes and ours was just under an hour. Oh well, perhaps I need more pastries.
Click TWICE on the go button, then hit pause to allow a bit of buffering, as this is a fairly long vid. I’m in a rush, so will do more editing and compression in a few days. Everyone, also please know I’ll be away from the computer for a few days over this weekend. Heading up to a private hut without internet. The weather and snow are still less than ideal, but we’ll take Fritz’s Pinzgauer for the snowy and muddy road up to the cabin. When I get back, I’ve got a full overview of new Dynafit gear, as well as more trip reportage. And we’ll talk about Pinzgauers of course! (BTW, this vid could shut down my server. If so, apologies. When I return I’ll upgrade server if necessary.)
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10 Responses to “Austrian Night Race – Nachtaufstieg Rofan”
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Schlooooeeee Tech, American! Classic!
Hi Lou!
Wrote U a comment on widening brakes beyond 100mm (Vertical FT) fitting BD Verdict (102mm wide) a while ago….Can You ask the Dynafit guys whether they plan on making wider brakes as the skis get wider ?
-Keep enjoying Europe, seems like You’re having a ton of fun !
And Happy Birthday!
Nice reflective Dynafit garb! Racing at night must be pretty scary, eh?
That is a pretty funny video. I’ll be grinning most the afternoon. Thanks for the stoke.
Matt, it was super fun, but not something I’m going to make a habit of!
Nice video.
The pastries are definitely getting harder. At the risk of being too general, I’m gonna go with Schoggitorte which basically just means chocolate cake. Hmm.
Awesome soundtrack, especially the start!
As to your team being called “Shloe Tech”, that’s a local thing. Tyroleans tend to pronounce “s” like “sh”.
Seeking guide/location advice for April 14′er climb/ski.
Best sources?
Brian, make sure you have my guidebooks (see books link above). After that, look at snowfall and snowpack patterns in state and go where the thick snowpack is, and look for peaks with the best road access. If you’ve never skied any Teeners I always recommend Elbert if the snowpack is good. Really cool to ski Colorado’s highest peak, and Leadville is a fun place to have dinner after. Another good bet is Quandary, but it’s pretty crowded because it’s so close to the population centers.
Thanks Lou, have spent many hours with your books and used them frequently on Summer/Fall hikes and climbs – excellent. When I was 23 I would’nt have thought twice of doing it on my own (heck, at any age, come to think of it!), but with virtually no winter mountaineering exp., and being sort of responsible for my wife’s cousin – in – law (a very important Orthopedic Surgeon – should have seen the look on his wife’s face when I roped him into this one), I thought some experience would be advisable.
………….OK, Ok, cousins wife may have said something like “You aren’t going anywhere with Brian without a guide”.
That about sums up the reputation I worked so hard to build, eh?
Thanks for the great site.
BC