A ski touring evening in Brandnertal

Each exhale forms a delicate mist in the chilly night. A brief hesitation - the gloves have to come off to attach the skins to the skis. Quickly put them back on before your fingers start to freeze. But the cooling is short-lived. As soon as we set off on the Tschengla, the cold melts away and the warmth takes over.

Three routes lead us up into the Bürserberg mountains in the evening: the Burtscha tour, the Faregg tour or via the piste. We choose the Burtscha tour, as the descent is via the piste that is open for the evening anyway.

There are four of us on the tour. Everything is twice as nice in a group - especially when a table is already waiting for us in the restaurant Frööd. These evenings together in the mountains are always a highlight. Do you know that feeling after sport? When the happiness hormones dance through your body like crazy? When you get to the top, exhausted and with burning calves, it just feels heavenly to stroll into the warm room, have a hot soup and a steaming drink in front of you and listen to the chatter of the others. And the anticipation of the night's departure? That's also part of the fun, of course.

But back to the ascent! Basically, a ski tour at night is hardly any different from one in daylight - apart from the special atmosphere of the night. Today we're doubly lucky: not only does a clear starry sky sparkle above us, but the almost full moon gives us its light. Sometimes we even switch off our headlamps just to immerse ourselves in the wintry silence for a moment and beat the light polluters. But not for too long - after all, we want to remain clearly visible to other night owls!

The way up is varied: sometimes through the forest, sometimes over the piste, then it gets steeper, icy here, powder there again. And the highlight? The torches that show the way in front of the restaurant and guide us directly to the entrance. After the refreshment stop, it's time to get down to business: the descent. It's not for the faint-hearted! Some take it easy, others let it rip. Admittedly, it has its own charm in the dark, especially because the slope is a little harder than during the day due to the cold. But one thing is certain: I wouldn't want to miss this experience again.