Taschach Gorge: Alfi and the icicles

A true winter wonderland for ice climbers is nestled in the breathtaking landscape of the Pitztal valley: the Taschachschlucht ice world. On the way with the operator and mountain guide Alfred "Alfi" Dworak , who almost died here last year.

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Preserving the imagination over the years. That's good and important. That's why Alfi says as we enter the Taschach Gorge: "I've always imagined a wonderful world of ice here, icicles everywhere. Like in a fantasy movie.

Because Alfi not only has an imagination, but also tackles things concretely, there is now something in the furthest reaches of the Pitztal that comes very close to this fantasy: one of the largest ice climbing parks in Europe, the Taschachschlucht Ice World. The icicles are not yet everywhere, but they are almost everywhere, and climbers with ice axes and crampons are hanging from the walls of the gorge almost everywhere this Sunday. "We'll create almost a hundred routes when everything is ready," enthuses Alfi, and in view of the many ice climbers here - on this day probably almost as many as routes - he adds: "But there could be many more!"

The wonder of the Taschach Gorge

Alfi's full name is Alfred Dworak and he has been a mountain guide for almost 30 years. As we descend into the gorge, he is limping and leaning on two ski poles, his ankle is still bothering him. The fact that Alfi is able to enter the gorge again at all is half a miracle. Last winter, Alfi fell during maintenance work, "from up there", as he points with his stick, "and landed in the river below". "Up there" in this case means a free fall of twenty meters, followed by weeks in intensive care, operations, therapy ... but no reason to give up the dream of the ice world in the Taschach Gorge. "I'd rather fail at some point because of the bureaucracy," he laughs. On this day in mid-December, he is back in the gorge for the first time since his accident, even if he is still physically limited. All the more practical when you have a son who is a professional climber and mountain guide in training: Louis Gundolf is lending a helping hand today and is leading the ice routes for his dad. Haku the dog, a Japanese Akita Inu with a thick fur coat and curly tail, is also there.

Setting up routes, which in this case means artificial irrigation. In the Taschachschlucht gorge, frozen water has been pisted down for as long as the sport has existed. But further back, where the natural waterfalls are. But space was becoming increasingly scarce and ice climbing increasingly popular. Alfi could no longer find a suitable place to hold his courses as a mountain guide. So he got active himself, the idea of irrigating the Taschach Gorge had been haunting his mind for many years. Initially, he experimented "secretly" at the Luibis Falls further down in the valley, as diverting and transferring water in winter is anything but trivial. "It's a steep learning curve until you get it right outside. Because the water doesn't always just flow straight downhill, as you would imagine. It's half a science," says Alfi.

But eventually he gets the hang of it and transfers his knowledge to the Taschach Gorge, where he sees great potential. He acts with a mixture of idealism and self-interest, because as a mountain guide he creates his own job, so to speak. But it's more than that, it's also the need to give the world of ice climbing a new playground. "I'm all the more pleased that the concept is working," he smiles, looking at the many climbers. And gladly accepts the thanks for all the work in the gorge, but adds: "The best way to say thank you is at the donation box at the back!"

The Taschachschlucht concept only works if every ice climber makes a voluntary donation into the red box. A third of the costs are covered by the tourism association, a third comes from partners such as Austrialpin, who also contribute material for high-quality bolts and belays, and a third has to come from donations. "I'd rather not add up all the unpaid hours I've put in over the last few years," laughs Alfi, "but if the ice park is still going to be there next year, then we need the donations." And, especially since his serious accident, Alfi also needs the active support of fellow mountain guides in the valley and his son Louis.

From rock to ice

Alfi never thought he would one day become an ice park operator in the Pitztal. Alfi is actually a keen rock climber and says of himself: "I don't actually like the cold that much". The native East Tyrolean came to Pitztal for love, although he had always sworn to himself: "If I leave East Tyrol, I'll go somewhere warmer! And now I've ended up in Austria's Siberia," he can only laugh about it. At some point, a mountain guide friend asked him if he could stand in at an ice climbing competition, and it obviously worked out quite well, with Alfi achieving several top 10 placings in the World Cup. Since then, he has been considered an ice climbing pro in Pitztal.

He now also says: "It's amazing what fascinating shapes you can get yourself into, what incredible places you can find when ice climbing. And when the light is right and everything shines so blue ... it's amazing!". That's the fascination of ice climbing - it's the imagination. That's why it's so important to keep it.

More info: Taschachschlucht ice world with all information at climbers-paradise.com Alpine Adventure: Website of mountain guide Alfi Dworak with the "ice news" (current conditions in the Pitztal) so appreciated by the community

Important rules for the Taschachschlucht ice world Operating hours from 09:00-17:00 - for safety, environmental and maintenance reasons. No lighting or sound systems. Please maketop-rope ropes available to all other ice climbers if you are not climbing with them and possibly use their ropes in return. This will save you a lot of rope conversion work. This also applies to mountain guides and alpine schools! This could be a really cool way of working together in the ice world without stress on lines. Alpine schools and mountain guides with guests please contact me Alfi at +43 664 2346 199 for organizational reasons. Of course, the entire installation (pipes, fixed ropes, etc.) must not be touched or tampered with and there must be no rope contact with lines or fixed ropes! The belays installed by Alfi will consist exclusively of a yellow static rope from Petzl and rapid links from Austrialpin or Grivel. Many thanks for that!

Please use the topropes that you use more than once with your own carabiners and use the rapid links for dismounting. No additional knots in the ropes installed by us! If you think you need a redundancy, please build it yourself and remove it afterwards. Do not block two top stands for one line. Please keep a safe distance from the wall with regard to icefall. For lines that are sometimes very close together, always start together so that one climber does not throw ice down to the other. After fresh snow, please shovel out a large area at the start so that you can enjoy the full length of the individual lines throughout the winter (bring avalanche shovels). Shovel out the snow cleared from the wall immediately. If you don't do this, we will have to do it and can only open later. This would also be a collegial cooperation. Everyone shovels out two lines and everyone has something to climb immediately Ask the hikers to communicate whether they can pass, as the climber can stop for a short time or the hikers have to wait a short time due to icefall. The hikers cannot estimate how wide the spread of the ice (icefall delta) can be. Very important for safe walking. From this year, there is even an avalanche commission up to the Taschachalm (a good tip for a lunch break or an apreclimb).

Taschachschlucht open from 14.12.2024.

Please don't forget to pay at the red ticket office. We ask for a voluntary donation of 10,- per person and day. This is the only way we can make this huge effort to get the best out of the ice world for you so close to the parking lot.