Identities connected by a soft passion

BY GIACOMO FRISON – SALEWA EXPERIENCE

My life at the moment is a symphony made of different movements.

I usually find myself living three different situations: “Many people”, “Some people” and “Almost none”. During the year the three situations combine, but never get mixed up, even if they happen during the same week. For a few days I will definitely live on the “Some people” movement.

Ci siamo dati appuntamento in diciotto persone nel paese di Obergurgl nella valle di Otztal in Austria per quattro intense giornate di scialpinismo.

This morning I left home on tiptoe, crossed two bridges, took a few steps on the slabs of a semi-desert Venice and then drove for six hours.

I had an appointment with eighteen people in the village of Obergurgl in the Otztal valley in Austria for four intense days of ski mountaineering.

It’s true that we often fall in love with opposites, I love mountains and trying to push back my soft passion for fresh snow has become something so impossible for me so I’ve been enjoying it for years with skis and skins.

My main interest when starting a new adventure is to put people and their life at the center of my stories.

I believe that “reading the people’s personal journey on their face” tells something much more special. It adds that little extra. Ski mountaineering can surely be a place of deep solitude, but at the same time can be a moment of social interactions and humor.

It’s snowing outside while we’re keeping ourselves warm in the Langtalereck Hütte. There are six people at my table, coming from six different states and everyone of them is trying to communicate in English with his own accent. A Polish, a Swiss, a Czech, an Austrian, a German and an Italian. It seems one of those jokes where there is a person for every nation, but it’s the reality here!

Someone left his family at home, and for the first time in a long time, had a good excuse to be elsewhere by himself. Someone received the confirmation email of this experience and shouted all over the office offering coffees to his colleagues. Someone else moved near the ski slopes to teach ski. There are people like me who write and take pictures for some magazines about mountains. Some people haven’t been skiing on fresh snow for years, but spent the last few days transmitting their love for the mountains to their children. There are enthusiasts, girls with an excellent technique, young people with strong legs and people eager for adventure. A mix of perfect ingredients.

Wearing bright colors on the white snow we reached the Hinterer Seelenkogl (3472m), the Schalfkogel (3537m) and the Eiskogele (3233m).

Spending time on the highest peaks makes you realize how small we are. Wind and silence, a huge view. All these details can be noticed while slowing down in the effort to go back to the sky. The feeling at the top is like finally opening your eyes and finding the perfect atmosphere, it is not about the ideal snow conditions or the peak’s height; it concerns the people you are with and the joy of moment on the mountains.

The most beautiful thing about a group of people created at high altitude is the ease of becoming immediately friends in that adventure. You joke and make fun of each other, life is hard for the ones who never drink among so many grappa’s lovers, but when the climb becomes hard, the breath goes missing and the heart beats strong, everyone encourages you to go on.

Our guides Matthias, Anton and Gabriel have the right experience and energy needed to make the most insecure feel safe. They go straight, without zigzagging – or so they say, and every time we stop they repeat our names. They are really good at their work. Going downhill the “dust” is so strange that it seems to swim in it. As soon as we returned to the shelter we drank Himbeersaft’s shots, we ate excellent Strüdel and then celebrated with several rounds of beer.

Saying goodbye is never easy, especially if you’ve become a friend with Simon Gietl, one of the strongest mountaineers at the moment. In a few days a stranger can become a friend while giving you advices: you set up tents together and sleep under the stars taking important decisions while you share a strong passion. When you learn to understand how to relate to the group comes the time to hug and say goodbye. The hope is to soon ski together again. We certainly have this desire and the mountains are there waiting for us.