Early season conditions for the first tour of the season and I joined the Alpenverein for tour+hike to the Kitzsteinhorn summit. Nice to see the top of a peak I'd skiied beneath so many times before, but also covered in an obscene amount of metal cables. Sometimes the Austrians go a little too far..
Stupendous ridgeline ascent of Traunstein Südwest Grat with Matt Blackmore after waking from our bivy on the Barmstein in the morning. 500m of vertical climbing in just over 2 hours across some very atmospheric pinnacles and ridgelines, not bad for a man who twisted his knee six days before (Blackmore, not me)! The next day the winter snows arrived, what a way to finish the summer rock season.
Another trip up my favourite local scramble to the summit of the Kleiner Barmstein, this time with Erinna and Blackmore for company. We took bivy gear (including sleeping bags this time...) and awoke after a -8° night to a beautiful sunrise on the summit. Great to have Sweep the dog for company too. Woof.
