WinterCamping | In the sign of the Südstau - Part I

Although this winter trip has been a firm fixture in the diary for those involved for a year, it is not uncommon for everything to be called into question again shortly before departure due to work or family commitments or changes. So far, however, we have always set off anyway and usually with a handful and a half of people. This time, however, only six of us had arrived in Leutkirch in the Allgäu. To be precise, there were only two of us at first, as some of us had travelled there by train and Deutsche Bahn is usually not very punctual on main and especially secondary lines. So there was still time for extensive familiarisation with the two campers we had hired from Sunlight. And for an intensive study of the by then freshly programmed weather and snow maps on PowderGuide.com.

Winter 2023/24 practically only started for the south at the beginning of February 2023. But then Mrs Holle produced three heavy southern storms within three weeks, all of which managed to be mentioned as PowderGuide PowderAlerts. So the snow conditions were ok for the trip planned for the second week of March. Certainly not exhilarating, but just for the first weekend, the fourth PowderAlert was declared within a very short period of time, and the anticipation was great. The bigger issue was the fluctuating and unpredictable snow line over the next few days.

It is important to note that the period and the destination are always announced on the last night of last year's trip. That was in Armenia in 2023. It is a fixed ritual that an 'external lottery fairy' has to draw the suggestions submitted by those present - and this gives rise to some interesting stories. To visualise a picture and to anticipate the end of the Südstau trip just a little bit: This time, by chance, we found ourselves in the only traditional Bavarian Gasthaus still open in Nesselwang. Not even google could warn us that the tenant had changed shortly before and that we were on our way to a medieval-style pub. The food and beer were delicious, but the lottery fairy was strangely dressed - but more on that later.

On the second lap, we made a detour to the Imisl variant and quickly realised that the wind had done a great job. Powder was not to be expected, but we still enjoyed the abundant off-piste terrain - always on our guard against the impressive karst holes, which tried to swallow us up in alarmingly large numbers with their open maws. This is always a major danger on the Krippenstein, and certainly the biggest one this time, as avalanches couldn't really develop in this snow pack. After a visit to friends in the huts in Krippenbrunn and a few more kilometres in the now slushy snow on the third lap, we enjoyed lunch in the valley in beautiful weather. Not everyone could be motivated for the final descent. However, some did make their way to the summit again, as it was rumoured that the Schönberg variant could be covered in firn!

Once we arrived at the mountain station, we battled against the wind towards Heilbronner Kreuz in impressive cloud formations that were pushed over the peaks by the storm from the south. Once again, we realised that foehn storms are not at all warm when you are directly in them. And when we set off on the first few metres of the descent, we also had to accept that cold winds can keep the March sun at bay if they blow hard enough - as a result, there was no firn to be found at all. Rather icy conditions accompanied us to the middle station at the Schönbergalm. Nevertheless, after this intensive first day, we set off in the late afternoon, thoroughly satisfied, to turn the Obertraun base into Obertauern and switch to the southern side of the Dachstein. And on the journey, the first snowflakes of the southern snowstorm blew around the camper.

During these trips, we also quickly realised that winter camping is no longer as carefree as it was 20 years ago. Back then, the car parks were still empty, the campers were iced up inside and it was perfectly possible to enjoy a friendly get-together in a respectful manner with a little consideration for the local structures and population. There are now many more campers on the road, even in winter, and unfortunately there is always a lot of rubbish around the car parks - I don't even want to talk about the waste left behind in the nearby forests. The corona pandemic has certainly contributed to this, in which the Thailand holiday money was invested in a new camper, but the higher level of comfort that can be realised in campers nowadays also does the rest. Coupled with the growing social phenomenon of 'more taking and less giving', there is a lot of justified resentment among the local population.

We are of the opinion that instead of faeces, money and good humour can be left in the valley, the former e.g. in the swimming pool or thermal bath, in the restaurant, for a morning coffee at the bakery and of course in the evening in the bar with a well-deserved beer or a cosy glass of red wine. The latter everywhere in order to make a small contribution to changing the way campers are perceived. Then there would certainly not be so many public car parks being charged for or private Alpine car parks being rigorously closed. At least that was the feedback from the warden of the youth hotel Felseralm, who came running up to us excitedly as we drove up to the car park with two campers the next morning. They used to regularly allow overnight stays in campers, but this was clearly getting out of hand and after nobody went into the restaurant and the car park was littered and full of shit, they stopped offering hospitality, as he explained. A great pity, but more than understandable!

We followed in Chris Skala's footsteps and wanted to try his PowderGuide TouringTip to the Glöcknerin, but the snowfall and storm had increased significantly by the time we set off. The positive side effect: there was already some fresh snow and the anticipation was also growing. The negative effect: the visibility and avalanche conditions did not improve and we decided to at least climb up through the steep forest to the cross and reassess the situation. There the storm was already blowing around our ears and the visibility was mostly miserable, but we didn't let this (completely) discourage us. Shortly afterwards, when we saw a group further up struggling with the storm and when we could barely hold ourselves up in the gusts, we were convinced and got ready for the descent. This was a lot of fun, especially in the lower part, and we enjoyed the turns in the fresh snow!

We made the most of the time we had gained and moved our base directly to Tarvisio in Italy to enjoy a short spa session in a hotel there. Meanwhile, the rain pelted down on the canopy and we visualised the snow-covered slopes of Sella Nevea, which we wanted to see in real life the next day! Due to a very high snow line and the fact that there was a high avalanche risk above and a considerable avalanche risk below 1800 metres, there was no chance of going on a ski tour. In any case, it sounded as if a lot of snow had fallen and the heavy precipitation was expected to slowly subside in the early hours of Monday morning.

You'll soon find out what happens next in part 2 of the story 'WinterCamping - In the sign of the Südstau'!