Sellraintal

Whether it's an avalanche or a fall into a crevasse: For many mountain rescuers, the most strenuous time of the year is about to begin again. We explain who the people are who risk a lot for others on the mountain and why they sometimes cross the line.

Digging snow profiles and recording them correctly requires a great deal of experience, starting with the question of site selection through to determining the layers. However, reading standard recorded profiles is less complicated than it may seem at first glance. Lukas Ruetz explains it below using an example from the Sellrain. The profile discussed, like many others, can be found in the LAWIS database of the Austrian avalanche warning services and all notations correspond to those used there. Other organizations sometimes use slightly different forms, but the basic principles and the symbols for the grain shape remain the same.

The Gaiskogel is very suitable for the start of the season thanks to the shady cirque in the upper part and the piste support on the lower half of the tour, or even when the snow conditions are poor, as they unfortunately still are at the moment. The tour is currently possible, but if you don't want to climb the piste for training reasons, you can of course take a shortcut with the lift.

Lukas Ruetz, born in 1993, from St. Sigmund in the Tyrolean Sellraintal, collects a good 200,000 meters of ascent altitude per season, almost exclusively in his immediate home mountains. On his blog, Lukas reports eloquently and informatively about his tours, be it typical Sellrain standard routes or steep first ascents, to the delight of his considerable readership. The young and tradition-conscious ski tourer is an active member of the mountain rescue service and an observer for the Tyrolean avalanche warning service. He is usually only accompanied on tour by his dog.

The WeatherBlog is back from its summer break, although summer is doing the same.

The Stubai Alps are a versatile and popular ski touring area due to their size, diversity and convenient location. You can find the right ski tour for practically all conditions and all seasons. While the Brenner mountains, the Sellrain and the area around the Axamer Lizum are popular and proven destinations in early and high winter, the tours on the main ridge become interesting in spring. Even at the end of May, you can often still find perfect conditions in the highest areas of the Stubai Alps.

This quite easy and mostly very lonely crossing offers many meters of descent with a relatively short ascent as well as a great Kalkkögel panorama. Although the Senderstal seems to be made for ski touring, tours are rarely undertaken. The reason for this is the long ascent via the toboggan run to the Kemater Alm and the aversion of Tyrolean ski tourers to lifts and the aversion of most freeriders to ascents.