Up the Zafernhorn
One day with a Walser guide
Imagine you want to climb a Walser summit on touring skis - away from the tourist hustle and bustle. But you need expert company, because going on a ski tour alone is not recommended. The Walser Guides are an association of mountain and ski guides and will accompany you into the mountains of the Grosses Walsertal. Summer and winter.
On a Saturday in March, I pick up the phone and call the Walser Guides. As I read on the website, all the guides are state-certified mountain and ski guides, ski instructors, mountain rescuers and mountain rescue instructors. Their expertise is proven.
I tell them about my wish. Apparently another person has the same idea. I join in. I leave it to the professional to decide where the tour will take us and when we start. The weather for tomorrow promises sunshine, it's spring, it could be warm.
We meet at 07:00 in Faschina. My guide Stefan and another guest are already there. Stefan explains the route to us and tells us about the weather and snow conditions. After a safety check, we put on our touring skis and off we go. First on a goods road towards Zafernmaisäs, then up to the summit of the Zafernhorn. Further and further away from Faschina and up one hairpin bend after another. The sun is shining and we leave the hustle and bustle of everyday life behind us. Stefan talks about the Walsertal and his experiences. He talks about his high-altitude tours, which have taken him to the highest mountains in the Himalayas. The tour is entertaining thanks to his stories and explanations. After a while we arrive at our destination for today. We are standing on the summit of the Zafernhorn and have an incredible view of snow-covered Damüls and the surrounding mountains.
It is spring-like warm and a little windy. We enjoy the slightly warming spring sun, are happy about the vertical meters we've covered, ski down (remove the skins from the touring skis), set the touring bindings to ski mode and, keeping the safety distance specified by Stefan, we glide through the firn snow back to Faschina.
And thanks to Stefan's stories, I've already set my next goals: I'm planning to climb the striking Zimba together in the summer.
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