Sunday 10th April 2011, Sgt Philip Houseman and Officer Cadets Matthew Waterston, William Bowkett, Lewis Hart, David Keay and Charles Woods-Stride set out from Oxford on Exercise Blue Innsbruck.
The following afternoon we arrived in the small Austrian village of Greiss. There we joined Captain Tania Noakes who would be leading the expedition. Kit was issued and a packing list presented. This led to discarding numerous unnecessary "luxuries". Next morning was spent familiarizing ourselves with our personal equipment.
It was late afternoon when we set out from the Obergurgl ski resort. Initial hopes of a gentle on-piste warm up were dashed as the weather closed in. For many of us, skiing with weight was a novel experience and one which did not improve our performance. Adding the strong headwinds and reduced visibility, we were all happy to achieve the sanctuary of the Langtalereck hutte.
Our plan for Wednesday was to reach the Martin Busch hutte. However, due to poor weather it was decided to make a round trip to the Eiskögel instead. This gave us opportunity to practice the basic skills of skiing uphill. Returning to the Langtalereck hutte, we spent the remainder of the day learning to perform a crevasse rescue. Despite the initial complexity of establishing which knots went where and who should take on each role, by the end of the afternoon we were confident that should one of us go through a snow bridge, the rest would not be entirely out of their depth.
By Thursday the weather had cleared so our party embarked upon the first true leg of our expedition. We trekked 11km, covering two glaciers and 1246m in ascent. After climbing the Kleinleiten glacier, we reached the Schlafkogeljoch. There we switched from skis to crampons and began a multi-pitch descent to the Nördl Schalfferner glacier. This involved descending as far as our ropes would allow, setting up a new anchor and descending again. It ended with an abseil down a cliff face and onto the glacier. From there we were able to ski several thrilling off-piste miles to a final climb to the Martin Busch hutte.
Friday morning our group set out for the Hochjoch Hospiz. The first landmark of the day was the Hauslaubjoch and the monument to the Otzi Iceman. After some of the most perfect powder skiing any of us had experienced, we began our ascent of the Saykogel. Once we had climbed as far as skis would allow, we divided into two groups: one remained with the skis and bags, the other, equipped crampons and ice axes and headed for the summit. Once we had regrouped, all that stood between us and a hot meal was a short ski followed by a mixed hike and rock climb up a final, snow-bereft face.
With Sunday established as the grand finale of the trip, it was decided that Saturday be a less strenuous affair. The initial ascent of the day was a challenging mix of ice, snow and mud. At times it was necessary to put skis on and off. At the top, a brief flat stretch gave way to a second, equally steep climb to the Kesselwandferner glacier. From there we enjoyed a relatively gentle incline to the Fluchtkogel. The last leg of the journey was pleasantly downhill all the way. We arrived at the Vernaght hut in the early afternoon. Following a brief struggle with the menus, the majority of the party speaking limited German, we enjoyed a very welcome lunch in the sun. The afternoon was spent practicing avalanche drills. This took the form of a competition: the goal being the quickest to locate a transceiver. After dinner we settled for an early night in anticipation of the challenge that awaited us in the morning.
Sunday morning, our group set out ahead of the rising sun. We hoped to get as far as we could before the heat began to weigh upon us, both physically and mentally. Our first destination was the Wildespitze, the highest peak in the Tyrol region. The incline was steep but regular for the most part, though it was necessary at times to proceed on foot, skis strapped to our bags. For the final hundred meters to the Wildespitze we attached crampons and joined the multitude of like-minded individuals, forming an almost unbroken chain making their way up and down the narrow track leading to the peak. The next challenge was the Mittelbergjoch. Our reward was the Mittelbergferner ski area on the far side which provided an exhilarating, if brief, opportunity to relax, pick speed and enjoy a little on-piste skiing. Then began the final segment of our journey, first climbing the Pitzalerjöchl, then skiing down through the Hochsölden ski area. Over the course of the day we had covered approximately 14km in 11 hours.
Upon arrival at the foot of Hochsölden, we took a taxi down the mountain to Sölden proper. There we found a hotel, washed and headed into the town for a meal and drinks to celebrate. Monday 18th April we said goodbye to Captain Noakes and began our return trip to the U.K.
Exercise Blue Innsbruck was a challenging, but positive experience and I look forward to taking part in Oxford UOTC’s ski touring expedition in 2012.
OCdt. C. E. Woods-Stride