We are back! And winter really surprised me in Munich. I remember finishing work one Friday afternoon and went straight to an Irish Pub in the basement of a building near centertown. Little did I know that after several hours of fun, we would step out to a surprising 40cm of snow. It was the perfect start to the snow season, catching us off guard but sparking excitement for the skiing ahead.

We had some awesome first powder days in the Bavarian/Austrian border region and were drawing first lines even in famous resort near couloirs.

After a little drawback when wind slabs threatened our ski line the day before, we opted for a better orientated, say less wind-loaded (but still wind-effected), ski line the day after. Namely the biggest classic in Mieming range and a line I skied a couple of times before:

SCHWÄRZSCHARTE WEST COULOIR:

PD+, 3.3, E2 (35-40°, 600M)
RAPPEL 2X30M (BOLTED BELAY)

In order to get the maximum skiing in, we took the Biberwier Chair-lift and did the full “Grünstein” circle, which provided us two additional powder runs.

Reinhold Scherer’s guidebook says the following about this line:

From a skier’s perspective, one of the most beautiful and snowiest couloirs in this area, and a small alternative to the “Neue Welt” at the Zugspitze. After the bold abseiling start, the route remains steep, leading over smaller steep steps through the gully. (…)
This line can often be safely ridden even in snow-poor winters, often as early as December.