A public transport journey towards the Caucasus begins

How an insta-reel turned into a winter adventure

It's one of those days again. I should actually be working on my Master's thesis, but my mind is wandering. Once again, I try to string two reasonably straight sentences together, but a quick glance out of the window of the SOWI in Innsbruck towards the Kalkkögel is enough to transport me to another world. It's mid-December - the snow from the beginning of the season is barely visible. The small "sharks", which were still the biggest problem two weeks ago, have now grown into giant megalodons thanks to the prolonged warm spell. Skiing up there now - unimaginable. Then I get a WhatsApp from Malte ...

Malte finished his Master's a little faster than me and is now sitting in an office complex in the center of the city, looking not at the Kalkkögel, but at the Nordkette. There's no snow in sight for him either, far beyond the Seegrube. Nevertheless, thoughts of our ski tour across the Karwendel last year come back to him - and with them the longing to experience similar adventures again this winter. Perhaps not even in Innsbruck's "backyard", but a little more "exotic".

Ultimately, it is his Instagram algorithm that hits the right nerve with a 30-second compilation of ski tours in Turkey. Until then, Turkey was more likely to be associated with "hair extensions" or "all-inclusive vacations" - not powder slopes and steep gullies.

We go through with it

A few days later, we actually get down to business - or rather: We book a Flixbus to Istanbul for 60 euros per person. Not much else has been decided yet, apart from a few new pins on the Google Maps map, the fact that Malte has spontaneously quit his job and that I'll probably have to put a bit more effort into my thesis. It is also certain that we will try to use public transport as much as possible. Having spent a semester abroad in Istanbul, I know that traveling by bus and train in Turkey is really easy. Using this to get to remote mountains in a more or less climate-neutral way and deliberately slowing down the journey was something we both found very charming.

One of the two is me, Niko, who is currently working on his Master's thesis here. Like many others, I was drawn to Innsbruck a few winters ago because of the mountains and skiing. The Master's degree in economics, which I'm just about to finish, was more of a means to an end.

Countless lectures and exercises were skipped in order to slide around with skis that were far too wide on slopes that were far too icy. On powder days, no thought was wasted on university anyway. In summer - or when the snow conditions are poor in December - I also like to swap my ski boots for climbing boots to overcome my inner bastard in the KI or on the Martinswand. Or for trail shoes so as not to be completely left behind by the Innsbruck Dynafit/Backland 65 scene in winter.

The same is pretty much true for the second half of the "team" - Malte - except that he has been working (or has worked) in the construction industry for a year now. This has turned him into a classic weekend warrior. Thanks to a four-day week, Malte still had enough flexibility to spend his winter weekends in winter rooms or to explore the Alps in summer on his road or gravel bike or in trail shoes. We've known each other since my first day in Innsbruck. Fortunately, I moved into Malte's shared flat. Not only did we often cook together in the evenings, but we also planned tours, philosophized about equipment, searched for the weather apps with the best snow forecast or watched various ski movies - to increase the anticipation of the next adventure even more.

And so here we are, standing in front of our backpacks, discussing what we can rationalize away. We will take about two months for the adventure. Of course, traveling by bus and train also limits our luggage. Stuffing all the equipment into our backpacks is therefore a challenge on the one hand, but also a feeling of freedom on the other - not having to think about what to wear and what not to wear for the next few weeks. However, the ski equipment takes up so much space that each of us only has one to one and a half outfits left to wear on off-days.

Planning the route

Basically, we want to maximize the ski days in Turkey. Stops are planned on the Black Sea coast - in the Kaçkar Mountains -, at Lake Van within sight of the holy mountain Ararat and in Central Anatolia with its volcanoes Erciyes, Hasan and Co. as well as the promising-looking Aladağlar mountain range. However, little has been planned and, above all, booked yet. For example, we are toying with the idea of shortening the first bus trip a little so that we can get some blood back into our feet in Bulgaria after a 24-hour bus ride and take a few first turns in the shade of the highest mountains in the Balkans before heading to wilder Turkey. Side trips to Georgia and Armenia - for the Greater and Lesser Caucasus - are also on the bucket list if you're ever in the area. Ultimately, a large part of our itinerary will be determined by local conditions, our mood, the weather and our gut feeling.