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WildSnow EU Day 2 — Wow, it snowed!

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Wow, this much snow down here, I wonder how much in the mountains?

Wow, this much snow down here, I wonder how much in the mountains?

Got up this morning, opened the skylight window in my bedroom, and pushed up through about 8 inches of fresh. I have to say that’s amazing, as almost every year I visit Austria during January we simply do not get much precip. We’ll see how it skis today and I’ll report back. But don’t forget I come here for the pastries, not the skiing. So I’ll try to report on the gastronomic side as well.

Meanwhile, below are a couple of maps.

First map shows the village of Alpbach, one of the zones where the Barthels graciously take me touring when the higher mountains are too sketchy due to weather or avy conditions. If you look north of Alpbach you’ll see the A12 autobahn, which leads westerly to Innsbruck and easterly to Kufstein and Bad Haering, which is the village where I’m staying.

The second map shows the St. Antonien/Partnun area of Switzerland, where Dynafit is having their Press Event at the Berghaus Sulzfluh. This is said to be quite the luxurious “hut” and is in an area where they have plenty of snow. That’s good, because they get us out on the new gear and it’s a drag to test skis on grass.


View Alpbach in a larger map


View Larger Map

Posted by Lou on January 11, 2010 | Filed Under Trip Reports 

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Comments

6 Responses to “WildSnow EU Day 2 — Wow, it snowed!”

  1. Lee January 12th, 2010 3:03 am

    Hi Lou
    I posted you the Dynafit Lacer review after we finally got some snow here in the Pyrenees (plenty of it now!). Will you have a chance to discuss my comments/wider distribution of the product with the guys at Dynafit? I know it’s not a big product like skis, boots or bindings, but as you’re there….

  2. ron smith January 12th, 2010 7:58 am

    Hi Lou, sounds like a great trip. I’ve got a Dynafit dilemma and scratching my head doesn’t help. I can’t understand why the plastic spring cap on the brakes changed with the Verticals to expose the two springs. Now I get snow/ice build up on the exposed springs. Never had this problem with the older gray plastic caps that covered the springs. Any reasoning behind the newer caps that I’m missing??

  3. RobinB January 12th, 2010 10:04 am

    Yes, that ^^ is a burning question for me too! I have the same issue with that design.

  4. moulton January 12th, 2010 11:06 am

    I’m a dynafit newbie with brand new verticals, and have noticed that the brakes ice up and fail to deploy……don’t need no stinking brakes

  5. Lou January 12th, 2010 11:07 am

    Lee, yes. And I’m trying to get your review published ASAP…

  6. Lou January 12th, 2010 11:11 am

    Ron and Robin, that “feature” is probably just a result of designers ruling over engineers. The tension between the two groups is very real in any industrial design situation. In this case, the designers won out, or so I’ve heard… Duct tape is of course the solution.

    And don’t complain about using duct tape to improve a $400 binding. I flew in a $300,000 airplane once that had a big hole in the wing patched with duct tape. After that, I figured duct tape was good for anything. (grin)

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Welcome to Louis (Lou) Dawson's backcountry skiing information and opinion website. Lou's passion for the past forty years has been alpinism, climbing, mountaineering and skiing -- along with all manner of outdoor recreation. He has authored numerous books and articles about backcountry skiing and is well known as the first person to ski down all 54 of Colorado's 14,000-foot peaks, otherwise known as the Fourteeners! Books and free back country information here, and tons of Randonnee rando telemark info.

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