The Hohe Tauern are the part of the Alps that I have only known from stories and reports so far. But I wanted to change that, so we made the Hohe Tauern the destination of this year's road trip. Equipped with a stove and sleeping bag, we set off in the VW bus to spend a week exploring the north side of the Tauern massif. We got to know many places that are often visited by freeriders and ski tourers, but also quiet, unspoilt areas that are off the beaten track but offer impressively good freeride terrain. One special experience was a ski tour on a rather inconspicuous mountain.
After the snow situation in winter 2014/15 in all the sun-exposed slopes around Sportgastein was just as unconvincing as elsewhere, we decided to seek out the northern slopes of a rather unknown mountain away from the large streams of ski tourers. In perfect sunshine, we set off for the Schwarzkopf. This mountain, just 2765 m high, lies between the Seitwinkeltal and the Großglocknertal. Its rather moderate altitude does not initially suggest that it offers a magnificent panorama, nor that its steep northern slopes preserve excellent powder. But in fact, the mountain on the northern edge of the Hohe Tauern massif impresses with a view over the entire Grossglockner region and makes every freerider's heart beat faster when it comes to descents.
The evening before, we drove to Bad Fusch - an inconspicuous and dilapidated seaside resort in a side valley of the Grossglockner valley. The asphalt road that branches off in the center of Fusch soon ends and turns into a narrow muddy track that winds its way up the valley floor. Bad Fusch, situated at 1186 m, consists of an old bathhouse, partly dilapidated and partly under renovation. A small chapel and a Kneipp facility, covered in thick snow at this time of year, stand at the end of the official access road.
Ascent
We set up camp here, parked the bus and got down to the everyday things that had become routine on our trip through the Hohe Tauern over the last few days. Simple life with a great panorama.
As we had estimated four hours for the 1600-metre ascent, the alarm clock rang at half past six. Shortly after seven, two ambitious ski tourers passed our sleeping area. Shortly afterwards, another group followed. I didn't react to the shout of the "tribe elder" "whether you were awake", instead I tried to get my limbs moving, still quite stiff from the cold night, which really wasn't easy for me that morning. We didn't enjoy the luxury of a well-heated apartment with a kitchen and other infrastructure, but, as befits true vagabonds, we even did without auxiliary heating.
We set off shortly after half past seven, almost missed the turn-off to our destination mountain and soon found ourselves in a rather obscure and steep mountain forest. Fortunately, there was a clearly recognizable trail, otherwise the search for the right path would have turned into a tough and extremely arduous affair.
After a good while, we reached the tree line. A steeply rising alpine pasture rose up in front of us. The landscape was playful, hilly and interspersed with rocks and individual larch trees. The trail faded more and more, especially on the steep slopes exposed to the wind. We passed the small Riegeralm hut, prominently situated with a view into the deep valley. When I pass places like this, I always wonder what drove people back then to farm in this impassable terrain and what hardships they must have endured. Especially when you consider the resources available at the time...
We left the Riegeralm behind us and continued up the consistently steep slope. Above us, we could make out a rock gate behind which, as we approached, a sun-drenched alpine pasture could be glimpsed. At 11 o'clock we reached the Rieger Hochalm at 2190 m and allowed ourselves a short rest.
In front of us, the valley branched off to the south-east and south-west. Our map showed that the two valleys split at the saddle below the summit of the Schwarzkopf. Obviously, it must be possible to reach our current location from the saddle through both valleys.
For the rest of the ascent, we opted for the eastern valley and continued to follow the ascent trail. While the ascent had been in the cool shade so far, it now stretched across dazzlingly bright slopes where the sun burned down on us with all its might. In a depression at 2450m, we passed the Grüne Lacke, a small cirque lake that is difficult to see in winter and in our case was heavily marked by wind drift. We traversed a slope exposed to the south-east. The sun's rays were extremely intense and I could feel the 1200 meters of ascent already in my legs. We made several hairpin bends up the steep slope to the northern saddle. From there, it was another 100 vertical meters to the summit and the weather continued to be at its very best.
We reached the summit via the east ridge, which was heavily overgrown on the south side. Once at the top, we were rewarded with a magnificent panorama: the entire Glockner group lay before us. There was no mountain to block the view, no cloud to cloud the light. It was only half past twelve. Time enough to enjoy the view and linger a while. When it was time to set off, we decided to descend through the valley through which we had climbed. The north-west facing valley to the Rieger Hochalm, which we had seen from our resting place, was still untracked. As avalanche level three still prevailed, we first thought about our safety, as there were still plenty of untouched slopes ahead of us on the next 1600 meters of descent.
Descent
I actually want to end here, because I don't feel like going on and on about "epic runs and turns". As I said, it was a long downhill run - varied, steep, crooked and playful. From a mountain that is not too high and in good conditions, it really is fantastic. The snow quality was unbelievably good despite the spring-like temperatures and the rather strong sunlight. We found passages and hollows with loose powder everywhere. In the upper section between Grüner Lacke and Rieger Hochalm, there was even excellent powder in open terrain for making big turns. But the middle section from the Rieger Hochalm downhill also proved to be varied, so we thought about getting back on the lift right away to enjoy the whole thing again.
We chose the stream bed, which has carved its way into the rock like a gorge, as the exit from the alpine pasture down through the forest to the Embach Grundalm. There would certainly have been room for improvement for the exit. However, we didn't want to give away the entire length of the slope and its direct fall lines...
Information
Exposure: north/northwest/northeast
Altitude difference start | finish: 1,186m | 2,765m
Altitude difference uphill and downhill: 1,600
Duration: 4-6h
Maps: DAV 45/1 and 342
