Because of the forecast being as mixed as it was I would not be heading to Tirol this weekend. Sometimes you have to take some time off and take a little break. I decided to just head home. Late on Friday, after the conclusion of the 10th Slovenian mountain film festival and a interesting lecture of pro climber Hazel Findlay, I headed to Maribor. But one adventure would definitely have to fit into this weekend.
Early on Satudray, with the Maribor boys, we would head out to the Austrian ski resort of Petzen close to the boarder and only 45 minutes away. The conditions would be tricky and Peca was the only mountain in close range with the altitude and a little bit of fresh snow.
But do not think of this one lightly. Peca can be a tricky mountain that should not be underestimated. Stories of avalanches are many and usually have a bad ending here. On the other side is a shear endless potential, a mini Alaska waiting to be discovered. So we would go there to hunt for some freshies. I had had a long week with lots of training so I was looking for a really mellow day. But being the way we are, after a few easy runs at the top lift to check the fresh snow on top of the settled pack, we were motivated to leave the resort and at least check out the top.
Peca is interesting. From the top of the resort you have two valleys. To the south in the direction Slovenia you can find a nice valley that descends trough some woods and comes out at the downhill ski run. It is very popular with touring skiers so there were some lines in it already. Because of that we decided to continue to the top of the first peak to the south and drop into that valley from there. At the top it looked ok but there was one problem.
The snow-pack had not bonded well. The temperatures were barely minus and it had rained all the way to to 2000m a few days earlier. Wind was also starting to pick up. I decided not to take the first chute I had spotted on the southern peak as I did not trust the “white shimmer” and we took a line to the north side into the valley. A bit of a more conservative approach was smarter today, I thought.
On the lower part after a few turns on a steeper flank I stopped. I told the boys to wait and take the flank one by one. I was expecting something to go off. Nothing big but all the indicators were there. The bonding of the snow pack was really bad and the fresh powder from the night before was just to fluffy to connect. I started my turns and on the second one I triggered a slab avalanche around 20 m wide that took out the flank. It was not deep or fast but it was a warning.
The exposed snow under it confirmed that it had rained all the way to the top a few days earlier. Still lower in the valley we managed to get a few good turns out of it. It was all good until we got to around 1500m after that it was like riding woods at the end of April.
On our way back up Smole and I decided to return to the top while Boštjan and Alen, hungry from our southern valley descent, headed for a schnitzel. It had gotten really windy and the lines from the tour skiers at the top were disappearing by the minute. Finally some expedition extreme feeling, I thought :). We reckoned that we could score a few more turns on our way back down. While gaining altitude it was starting to fog up and the wind speed was increasing. A cloud-front was pressing hard to get over the mountain. Regardless of this the higher we got the more drawn to the valley in the north we became. The forbidden valley I like to call it.
Every time I had been to Peca the right side wall form the resort was there. A mini Alaska of sorts facing east with nice chutes and steeps. But as of yet I have rarely seen anyone go there. Sure tons of giant avalanches but no ridden lines. I had been drawn to two particular chutes for a while but since the gradient was steeper then on the flank I had triggered earlier with the same orientation those would have to wait for another day.
Still that would not stop us from checking them out from the bottom. The untracked valley bellow this mini-Alaska wall was inviting us in. And that invitation we would follow but on a safer route. We passed some ruins from a house to check the lines from the bottom. Scouting. It was so peaceful and serene back there. The world and our troubles seemed like at least a continent away. The snow was really good on the north side we descended. It had bonded better then in the southern valley from the morning.
Not wanting to risk crappy woods we decided to track back up to get back to the ski resort. Going up those tree lines looked quite epic. Good terrain. They reminded me of Schlick in Tirol. If another 50 cm would fall and the snow would settle this place would be great fun.
After we made our way back up the lifts had closed. It was 4 pm already. Time flies when you are in the world of the mountain. I wanted to get that schnitzel the others raved about but the hut had already closed. Such a tease. Kinda like the whole day. Lots of potential to go big, but the conditions not quite there yet and since it is 16 degrees outside now, a day later when I write this, I reckon they are not going to be for quite some time to come.