An article for the indecisive: For all those who can never decide on beautiful spring days whether they'd rather tackle a jagged firn ski tour with an early start because a stable one is just turning the avalanche report green. Or would you rather sleep in and enjoy a leisurely sport climbing session in the sun? Here's a practical solution: simply combine the two sports and, hey presto, decision bypassed! Sounds brilliant, and it is, just a little more effort. But if you're looking for unforgettable experiences, you have to invest.
Off to climb with the skis, photo: Simon Schöpf
Snow and rock in the Imst vacation region
For a successful ski & climb expedition, you need, as resourceful readers have already guessed, good snow and warm rock. There should still be enough snow in the landscape to allow you to set off on skis from the parking lot. And the rock should be exposed on the south side if possible, so that you can climb comfortably in a T-shirt and get a good complexion at the same time. Perfect timing is essential for Ski & Climb, and a perfect spot in Tyrol is the Muttekopf area in the Outdoor region Imst, because it is high up and blessed with great rocks.
A good view: The mountains in the Imst vacation region, photo: Simon Schöpf
Out and about with a mountain guide legend from the Outdoor region Imst
Approach ski tour at the Ski & Climb in the Outdoor region Imst, photo: Simon Schöpf
And another important ingredient for a successful day out: having someone with you who knows their way around rock and snow. "Look at the Guggerköpfle east face, the crack that runs diagonally from right to left. That's where we made our first ascent in 1981, a wild story, we secured ourselves with self-carved wooden wedges," Alfred Flür tells us during our first breather. Alfred is our local for the day, the man from Imst really knows every pebble here: he has been a mountain guide in his home area for over 40 years, in winter and summer, and has just completed his extensive research for the new climbing guide to the Muttekopf area. In recent years, he has also invested countless hours of work and sweat in the renovation of many alpine classics, and instead of rotten wooden wedges, stainless steel bolts can now be used for carefree belaying. This is also the case on the piece of rock of our choice for today: the Melzerplatte high above Imst.
Mountain guide Alfred Flür knows the route in his homeland, photo: Simon Schöpf
We started our combined tour at the middle station of the Imst cable cars, at the Untermarkter Alm. The ski area has already closed, the chairlift is running through the revision, we stroll through this magnificent landscape completely alone. We leave the Muttekopfhütte, a perfect base camp for the summer months, to the left and climb up to the right towards the Hinterer Plattein (2,723 m). Where there is an impenetrable belt of mountain pines in summer, winter has still stretched out its large, white sheet. We march comfortably over it on our skis, the hard spring snow under our skins slowly beginning to soften in the sun. And on this April day, none of the large gravel cirque has yet been tapped out; the gully is constantly steepening, and halfway up we mount the crampons under the bindings for a better grip.
Ski tour to the rock of the imposing Melzerplatte in the Outdoor region Imst, photo: Simon Schöpf
From ski boots to climbing shoes and back again
Material ban or "choose your weapons". Photo: Simon Schöpf
Arriving at the foot of the wall, even Alfred is amazed: "Wow, such brutal snow this year. Look what's there, probably four meters." The start of the routes is a few meters above summer level for us today, we start somewhere between the second and third bolt. But that's not the only change: putting on climbing shoes also needs to be practised when you start directly from the snow. Alfred takes a pragmatic approach and climbs the first few meters of the butterfly dihedral (5a) in his ski boots as a clever mountain guide, then changes his footwear on a small platform in the dry. Even though it takes quite a bit of motivation to change directly from sweaty ski touring socks into tight climbing boots.
Often a challenge: getting to the rock in the first place! Photo: Simon Schöpf
But as soon as you have completed the first few moves, you know that it was worth lugging the heavy rucksack with the double ropes up here: Below you is the vast white of the snow cover, above you endless rock.
And the greatest reward for all the effort comes at the very end: After a few enjoyable pitches on the Melzerplatte, we abseil straight down to our ski depot, set the bindings to downhill mode and enjoy wide turns in the firn snow, all the way down to the car. It's a good thing we didn't have to choose between climbing and ski touring today.
Comfortably back down again: Descent after climbing, photo: Simon Schöpf
Info about the Ski & Climb in Tyrol
What do you have to watch out for if you combine ski touring with alpine climbing? Imst mountain guide Alfred Flür gives tips for the motivated.
1. snow & avalanches:
It is essential to be familiar with the snow situation and to understand the daily avalanche report.
2. steepness of the base of the wall:
The slopes below the base of the wall can often be steep, as on the Melzerplatte, so a solid hairpin technique and experience of walking with crampons are the ski touring prerequisites.
3. time factor:
Most of the time, you are looking for sunny faces in south-facing terrain, where the risk of avalanches increases in spring as the day warms up. In other words: start early, leave early!
Information about climbing in the Muttekopf area
Climbing in the Outdoor region Imst, photo: Simon Schöpf
In the immediate vicinity of the well-known, completely renovated and well-maintained Muttekopfhütte, there are a number of possibilities for visitors with an affinity for rock climbing: Eleven climbing gardens with very solid, holey conglomerate rock as well as 42 multi-pitch routes on smaller as well as higher walls and ridges. Among the climbing gardens, the beginner-friendly, family-friendly sectors "Felswurm", "Teufelskralle", "Schafkopf" and "Silberwurz" are particularly popular, with the latter now probably the most visited with 27 routes. If you are looking for higher difficulties, the sectors "Fölsefescht", "Rammstein" and the hard rock sector "Rote Wand" are ideal, while the 130-metre-high "Guggerköpfle" and the "Blaue Köpfe" also have some really challenging routes. New guide 2019: Climbing in the Muttekopf area near Imst
256 pages, including alpine history, geology, an introduction to the Muttekopf rest area and of course: with many, many routes and the most accurate topos! Available from the end of spring 2019 in bookshops, various sports stores and climbing gyms. Author: Alfred Flür.
