Eisfallklettern in Schlaningraben

Der Eisklettergarten Schlaningraben zwischen Untertauern und Obertauern in den Radstädter Tauern ist ein Paradies für des Eisfallklettern. Am Sonntag, 08. März bin ich mit einer kleiner Gruppe von der OeAV-Sektion Salzburg dort gewesen. Die so genannte, "Übungstour", war eine noch folgende Veranstalltung zum alpine.ausbildung Fortgeschrittener Eiskletterkurs im Maltatal. Wir haben sehr gute Verhältnisse in der Nähe von Untertauern mit zahlreichen Klettermöglichkeiten gefunden.

Die Spurarbeit hat gedauert, aber mit dem Eis im Blick sind wir immer weiter gegangen.
Der Graben ist im Salzburgerland Eiskletterführer als, "sehr lawinensicher" beschrieben. Da ist er aber nicht, weil man sich immer in einem schluchtartigen Gelände mit sehr engen Stellen bewegt.
Es besteht Durchbruchsgefahr, weil später in der Eissaison der Bach nicht immer zugefroren ist.
An der rechten Seite sind möglichkeiten um WI3 bis WI4 zu klettern. Wegen des Temperaturrückgangs waren die Eisverhältnisse etwas spröde.
Christian im Vorsteig. Wir haben zwei Routen um 20 Meter zum Vorsteig Üben eingerichtet.
Die Routen waren schon im Vorstieg ernst und die Umgebung inspirierend und wunderschön.
Jennifer noch der Drei-Meter Steilstelle am Top-Rope in WI3+.
Nebenbei, einem WI4 auf massiven Säulen mit Röhreneis weiter oben.
Peter hat die Routen am Top-Rope geübt, bevor er erstmals Eis im Vorsteig klettern könnte.
Tages Ziele sind, 1) alle Teilnehmer im Vorsteig klettern und...
2) Eisklettern Technik und Taktik zu verbessern.Eisklettern im Vorsteig ist eine komplette neue Welt im Vergleich zum Nachsteig am Top-Rope.
Auf der linken Seite vom Graben sind viele anspruchsvolle Linien ins Eis bis zu 50 meter hoch.
Christian am Top-Rope in WI4+, ca. 50 Meter lang - Man braucht saubere Technik und Ausdauer.Peter am Top-Rope am linken Eisvorhang: Steilaufschwünge wechseln mit guten Restpositionen vor einer 20 Meter Konstantes 85 bis 90 Grad Passage.
Happiness beim Eisklettern ist eine dicke warme Jacke und trockene Handschuhe beim Sichern zu haben.
Christian in einer Steilpassage mit Eispilzen - Teilweise sehr nervig zum Klettern.

Der Eiskletterkurs im Maltatal und die Übungstour im Schlaningraben hat mir sehr gut gefallen. Als Kursleiter und Ausbildner bin ich sehr glücklich, dass ich eine nette, hoch motivierte und sicherheitsbewusste Gruppe gehabt habe. Wir hatten gutes Wetter und gute Eisverhältnisse an zwei Wochenenden. Einfach super Erlebnisse!

American International School - Salzburg Climbing Course: Picture Gallery

A gallery of photos from the winter climbing course in the Salzburg climbing gym
At the beginning of the trimester we climbed on top rope in the course area with 8 meter long routes
Soon the group was climbing longer (17-18 meter) routes on top rope in the main area of the gym
By the fourth week of the course , the students could independently belay each other safely
The blue panel is 90 degrees steep and requires good climbing endurance
As climbing technique improved, students could start "staying on route", that is climbing on one color which designates a specific route
A climber can not climb with confidence unless their belayer is attentive and thorough
The next step was learning to climb on lead, clipping the quick draws as you move up the route
Next was climbing more physically and technically challenging routes on lead
... and then moving on to routes on overhanging walls
The next AIS-Salzburg course starts up in April. We will be climbing in the climbing gym and then moving outside to the climbing tower at the sport center in Rif once the weather starts warming up.

denkundstein / Kletterhalle Salzburg Termine

TERMINPLAN FRÜHLING UND SOMMER 2009

Kinder Kurse

Donnerstag 15:00-16:00, 19. Feb. bis 23. April 2009

Montag 15:00-16:00, 16. März bis 01. Juni 2009

Dienstag 15:00-16:00, 28. April bis 30. Juni 2009

Mittwoch 15:00-16:00, 06. Mai bis 08. Juli 2009

Donnerstag 15:00-16:15, 28. Mai bis 23. Juli 2009

Jugendlich / Fortgeschrittene Kurse

Montag 16:30-18:00, 16. März bis 01. Juni 2009

Dienstag 16:30-18:00, 28. April bis 30. Juni 2009

Mittwoch 16:30-18:00, 06. Mai bis 08. Juli 2009

Donnerstag 16:30-18:15, 28. Mai bis 23. Juli 2009

Kinderkletterwoche

Montag bis Freitag 09:30-12:30, 13.-17. Juli 2009

Montag bis Freitag 09:30-12:30, 20.-24. Juli 2009

Erwachsner Privat Kurse / Personal Training

März bis Juli 2009 und September – Indoor, Outdoor und Multipitch

Outdoor Fortgeschrittene, „BaseClimbs“

Mittwoch, 18:00-20:30, 17. Juni bis 08. Juli 2009

Freitag, 15:00-19:00 und Samstag, 09:00-16:00, 19.-20. Juni 2009

Montag, 18:00-20:30, 06.-27. Juli 2009

Freitag, 15:00-19:00 und Samstag, 09:00-16:00, 03.-04. Juli 2009

Outdoor Fortgeschrittene, „MultiPitch“

Freitag, 15:00-19:00 und Samstag / Sonntag ganztags, 17.-19. Juli 2009

(Ersatztermin bei Schleckt Wetter: 24.-26. Juli 2009)

Freitag, 15:00-19:00 und Samstag / Sonntag ganztags, 18.-20. Sept. 2009

(Ersatztermin bei Schleckt Wetter: 25.-27. Sept. 2009)

Kalymnos: Klettern Einführung und Personal Training (auch Multipitch)

30. Juli bis 30. August 2009

Kontakt

denkundstein / Kletterhalle Salzburg

Joe Fratianni

Avalanche Accident

Two weeks or so ago, 14^th February, there were two avalanche accidents within a few kilometres of each other in the foothills of the North Eastern Alps near Salzburg. In each accident, one person died.



Both accidents occurred within spitting distance of where I was working as a ski instructor. In one accident the victim skied from the small ski resort into steep wooded terrain alone. There were various small avalanches in the area and he was presumed to have been caught in one of them. He has not been found. The other accident was on a tour that is clearly visible from the ski resort.

I would like to make some comments about the ski tour accident just outside of the Gaissau / Hintersee ski area.



The mountain "Regenspitze" is a small mountain that reaches an elevation of about 1700m or so. Pretty tame. A report about the accident (in German) can be found at http://www.lwz-salzburg.org/ereignissedetail.asp?ID=54.

The avalanche level was at “High”, level 4. There is very specific and carefully chosen wording that is used to describe the risk associated with each level of potential danger at the corresponding hazard level in the evaluation of avalanche danger. At hazard level 4, the following standard phrase is used to characterize the level of risk: “A slab release is already likely with a low amount of additional stress on a slope”. (...ist bereits bei geringer Zusatzbelastung eine Auslösung von Schneebrettlawinen wahrscheinlich.)

On the Saturday in question, there was heavy snowfall, strong winds and very poor visibility. This means that during the day avalanche danger would increase, new snow deposits would develop, there would be limited, if any, ability to see terrain (slope angles), pillows of wind deposited snow and potential rescue efforts would be severely hampered.

The accident occurred on a northwest slope that was 35° steep. The initial slab released in an opening on a slightly wooded slope that funneled into a gully. A second fracture followed from a deeper buried weak layer. The height of the crown was 80 to 90cm and 150m wide. The length of the slide was about 400m. Three people were caught. One died from trauma inflicted during the avalanche, one person was severely injured and buried up to the chest and shoulder and the third person was unhurt.

Using various avalanche risk evaluation methods (i.e., Munter 3X3, Stop or Go, etc.), backcountry skiers should stay on slopes that are not steeper than 30° when there is a high (4) avalanche level. Secondary factors such as new snow, wind, poor visibility and questionable terrain features add to the potential risk. Additionally, 65% of all avalanche fatalities occur on slopes with a north-facing aspect.

In hindsight, it is clear that the decision made by the group to ski this line was poor – whether or not a slab released or a death occurred.

In the mountains, people are generally lucky. In other words, they get away with making poor decisions and do not suffer the associated consequences whether they are ski touring, ice climbing, mountaineering, etc. This leads to a false sense of security and a thought process of, “we did this last time and nothing happened”. Furthermore, many back country skiers think that there are tours or slopes that are avalanche prone and others that are “safe”.

When people make questionable choices in the mountains, they get away with it because they were lucky. Just because nothing happend does not mean the right decision was made. What makes a ski tour or slope safe is not the tour or slope itself, but the conditions in which it is skied on and the manner in which it is skied.

Gaissau Ice

Heavy snow over the last couple of days had brought the avalanche danger level up to 4. So on Saturday the 21st, my partner Toni and I went in search of some (hopefully) unclimbed ice. Our first destination was a nearby gorge at the end of the Wiestal reservoir. The gorge is well known to canyoneers in the summer. We knew before hand that getting to the potential ice would be difficult and complex.

We wallowed around on steep wooded slopes over the gorge trying to find a descent route in which we would not have to rappel. The snow was mid-thigh to waist deep. Toni was using snow shoes and I was on short approach skis. Toni definitely had made the smarter choice for the approach. That meant he got to break trail.

We were unable to find an adequate descent route, so we went back to the car and headed to our second choice for the day in Gaissau. The waterfall pictured above is what we ended up climbing. We climbed two distinct lines on the 30 meter ice fall, the left and right pillars. Behind the ice was a cave. The two pillars had formed a curtain-like structure of icicles that were hallow. the ice temperature was good and the ice was thick enough to always find good screw placements.

As in the Wiestal gorge, we were impressed by the amount of snow on the approach. What normally would have taken 20 minutes turned into a slog with a stream crossing over meter-high snow covered blocks. When we got to the base of the climb we were both wet from the consistent and heavy snow fall as well as from sweating.

Toni climbed first and had to do a lot snow removal at the top of the fall once he had cleared the steeper lower section. When Toni topped out, there was a piece of Kevlar accessory cord around a tree that some one had used as a rappel anchor. We weren't the first ones to climb here. Regardless, it was a nice climb on an ice fall that is not in a guidebook. We had to find, evaluate and make the climb based on our own feelings and beliefs. It also was the correct choice for a day with bad weather and high avalanche danger.

Equipment and Material
Most people climb water ice at the level of WI 3 to WI 4. What is the appropriate material and equipment for frozen water falls at this level? After a few years of experience, this is what I bring when I am expecting normal to good ice conditions in a WI 4 Ice fall:

• 12-14 ice screws - 2@ 22cm, 4@19cm, 4-6@16cm, 2@13cm, all Black Diamond Turbo Express
• 6 normal quick draws
• 2-60cm slings carried as quick draws
• 1 Yeats "Screamer" damping quick draw (All quick draws are with large wire-gate karabiners)
• 2-60cm slings racked with one large and one small screw-gate karabiner (total of 2 large & 2 small karabiners)
• 2-120cm slings racked together on a wire-gate karabiner
• self-locking belay device with two small screw-gate karabiners (I like the Petzl Reverso 3)
  
• 2 additional small screw-gate karabiners and one extra wire-gate karabiner
  
• 5 meters of 5mm accessory cord, 1m cord in a loop (5mm), Petzl Tbloc, Abalakov thread hooker (all carried on a wire-gate karabiner.
• Extra cord for rappel anchors, 7mm, carried on a wire-gate karabiner (ca. 1 meter for every expected rappel)
  
• knife that can be openned with one hand
• one 30cm sewn sling to tie-off screws if necessary

I climb with leash-less tools (Petzl Nomic) and Grivel Rambo 3 crampons. On my Black Diamond Blizzard Harness I have 3 fixed plastic material karabiners to rack all the screws; one on the left and two on the right.

Snow Conditions: North Eastern Alps

Today I got out on a favorite bad weather/unstable conditions ski tour in Berchtesgaden. 1260 meters of elevation gain and a bit less then 4 hours car-to-car. Throughout the tour it was snowing lightly and then by about 13:30/14:00 our forecast storm hit. It has been snowing steadily for the past 3 hours now and it will continue overnight and through tomorrow, increasing in intensity.

Last Tuesday was the last big snow fall; 80cm to 1 meter of new snow in about 36 hours. When this storm is done, we will get another 50cm and more is on the way at the beginning of the coming week.

On the roof of a mountain hut on an alm today there was 2.5 to 3 meters of snow. The alm was at about 1300m. The amount of snow that we have gotten over the winter will guarantee excellent conditions for spring skiing and ski mountaineering. Additionally, the steep north faces of many classic mixed climbs will be in excellent shape come May, June and July.

"Schilehrer"

Since the day after Christmas I have been working as a Austrian certified ski instructor at a small local ski area and at two different beginner hills. "Östtereiches Schilehrer" sounds pretty impressive, but in reality you don't ski endless powder runs or philosophize about the fine points of edging or weighting the skis.

First off, the work is demanding. Try to bring a four or five year old with zero experience to link turns with a snow plough in five days. Do it in a group of 8 to 10 kids and add some cold, wind and bad weather - that is more the reality of what a typical ski instructor does. There are also things that you don't even think about at first: getting into the bindings, riding a T-bar or chair lift, side-stepping, getting up once you fall over, etc., etc.

Last week I was rewarded with a good group of 10 and 11 year old kids who I could start getting to ski parallel and edge with their hips and knees. In addition there was fresh snow every day (20cm-30cm) and very few people on the slopes. I have to say that last week was more what I had always imagined work as a ski instructor would be like.