The original idea for this day was to meet up with Tim and Michael (from the AAC) together with anyone from their tour party who was interested - they would leave for a hut tour the next day. We had agreed on the closest ski area to Innsbruck - Patscherkofel as the starting point. The aim was to get some piste skiing done as well as a little skinning - the top of the mountain can be reached via a short track around the summit cone.
Following this we would then depart for home and they would prepare for their tour.
Overnight we had heard the wind getting more dominant and after breakfast, we crossed over to the parking area. Surprised to see it nearly empty we went to the ticket office to discover the wind had closed the lifts for the day.
There was a steady stream of people skinning up the side of the pistes from the car park - this is a popular activity for this area.
We waited for Tim (together with Steve and Charles) to arrive up by bus, before discussing what to do. This concluded that we would skin up the piste (Olympia route) for a portion then ski down.
We gathered at the edge of the red piste, beside the nursery slopes before setting off.
The surface was softer than yesterday (there was no deep frost overnight due to the clouds) and together with the closed lifts in the ski area there was very little downhill traffic.
We followed up the side of the piste (this ski area has signs all the way up to show where the skinning track goes).
The lack of downhill skiers made the steeper sections easier to climb since we could zigzag across the slope when necessary. The lack of downhill also meant there were very few smooth sections since the overnight grooming had removed them.
We continued up the thin ribbon of white, with Innsbruck below us.
After 600m of ascent we discussed where a turnaround could happen and concluded the middle station would be ideal.
Around the corner the station came into view, and at the same time we started to feel more of the wind - it had been nagging all the way up but now was getting a little stronger.
We sheltered in the lee of the station (it was all closed) and transitioned for the descent.
The skiing was superb on the way down - perfect spring snow with a nice soft top layer. It was a shame the lifts were closed, but also not sure how much would have been left after the masses had been down a few times.
Down at the valley station we had what I had once heard referred to as an "Italian Shower" and changed clothes for our return journey. Then gathered with the others in the café for a final chat and drink.
