December 2015: perfect weather in the mountains, avalanche danger is low, but there is hardly any snow. Where do you go in these conditions? The answer was quickly found: high up to Glacier 3000 at Les Diablerets. This not well-known freeride area had been in my mind since a long time. The current conditions were perfect to get to know new challenging places like Les Diablerets. And when I say challenging, then it is almost an understatement for Les Diablerets. The longest descent via the Glacier de Prapio to Les Diablerets is alpine, difficult to find and has many terrain traps, but just a great experience! 

Im November führte ich eine Wanderwoche mit Gästen aus der ganzen Welt. Die Gäste kamen aus Vancouver, Sao Paulo, Kopenhagen, Brüssel, Malta, Tokio und Teheran. Übernachtet haben wir in der Stadt Luzern. Ausgerüstet mit dem Tell-Pass besuchten wir den Pilatus, die Musenalp im Engelbergertal und das Göscheneralptal. Schöner geht’s nicht mehr!

Der Sommer 2015 war in den Alpen ausgesprochen warm und trocken. Wegen der Hitze waren viele Hochtouren schon bald nicht mehr begehbar. Dafür waren auf den Felsgraten den ganzen Sommer über perfekte Bedingungen anzutreffen, so z.B. bei der Lenzspitze-Nadelhorn-Überschreitung (Ostgrat und Nadelgrat). Auch die Verhältnisse für alpine Mehrseillängentouren und Gratklettereien waren ideal. Und zwar bis in die späten Herbstmonate hinein.

Wegen einer Fingerverletzung beschränkt sich das Klettern bei mir momentan auf griffloses Gelände, sprich auf Plattenklettern. Plattenklettern ist ja bekanntlich nicht jedermanns Sache. So muss ich bei den Kollegen auch ein wenig Überzeugungsarbeit leisten, um sie für Klettertouren am Grimselpass zu begeistern. Enttäuscht wird dabei niemand, denn die Touren wie Fair Hands Line, Mummery, Siebenschläfer oder Lady Mary bieten einfach nur perfekten Granit in einer wunderschönen Gebirgslandschaft!

Im Bergell, oder genauer gesagt rund um die Albigna-Hütte, finden sich unzählige alpine Klettertouren in allen Schwierigkeitsgraden. Die bekannteste Seillänge des Albigna-Gebiets ist dabei die Länge auf die Granitnadel Fiamma hoch. Der Bergeller Granit eignet sich mit seiner hohen Reibung bestens fürs Klettern. Die Klettereien spielen sich dabei an Platten, Rissen, Verschneidungen und Kaminen ab und verlangen ein vielseitiges Bewegungsrepertoire.

Sometimes life offers great opportunities you had never thought about. And this is what happened to me this year. From a Japanese company I was asked to organize a trip to Iran, a country I have never been before and with people I have never met. Because travelling has always been a passion and because I love the unknown, I didn’t hesitate and went for it.

After a few meetings throughout Europe with the company, they offered me a trip to Iran. At the airport of Tehran Ali - a trekking guide from Tehran – picked me and was guiding me for one whole week. Thanks to Ali I got immediately in contact with the local people, the Iranian culture and their daily life. In this week we visited the surrounding of Mount Damavand and we climbed to the highest base camp on Damavand (Bargah Sevom hut). We also climbed Mount Tochal, an almost 4000m high peak just outside the hectic Iranian capital. And of course we visited Tehran. I’ve just got a short impression of this huge and fascinating country and its very hospitable people. I will definitely come back soon, maybe even in winter, because the terrain around Tehran offers steep skiing with cool lines! 

La Grave is definitely different and a unique place. The village kept his charm of a little alpine village. Once you have visited its neighbour resort Les Deux Alpes, you really appreciate to be back in La Grave. The skiing on the foot of La Meije is steep, alpine, serious and impressive. A visit to La Grave should be on every off-piste skier's bucket list!

Another nice area that worth a visit is Serre Chevalier east of La Grave. There are some long runs with easy access as well as some short but tricky ones for strong skiers.

“It’s deeper up here”, was the first thing I read on an illuminated signage at Terrace Airport, British Columbia. This is the slogan of Northern Escape, a heli ski operator in the north of BC. But this year it was definitely not deeper up here. Winter 2015 was on the whole West of Canada just far too warm and too dry. Canadian mountain guides told me that they have never experienced such a bad winter in their whole career. Considering the climatical facts we still had some really good skiing. In 2018 we will come back and hope that it will be as they promise: deeper!