We are up early, and decide to eat on the "cheap side" of the kitchen, in a cafeteria setting. Someone thinks orange juice tastes like mould.
Later, we regroup in the lobby to meet with Jim Bay, our guide for two days. After sorting gear, we head down the road to the trailhead.
Jim says it should take about 3 hours to get up to the hut. In his mind, Phil thinks that is a bit ambitious for a 6.5km ski with a 3000ft
rise, and 13 people.
After a few miles, we emerge from the valley fog, into the sunny alpine. Once we are just past the "mouse-trap", a famed avalanche trap, Jim makes a suggestion. We decided that the faster skiers can take off ahead for the hut. Jim explains it is just above the final trees on the obvious ridge in front of us. So the group splits up.
Emerging from the fog.
What looks like a 1000ft ascent is obviously much more, and an hour and a half later, we still aren't near the hut. Among the first group of skiers, it turns into a silent and steady, yet unspoken, race. Tammie, Corinne and Phil vow for the lead... the glory of being the first to the hut. Other normally strong contenders like Eric, are held back by sickness. Corinne takes the early lead, and maintains it until we rise above the final trees. Phil finds a second wind and slowly catches up to her. On a tricky set of switchbacks going up a crusty slope littered with previous tracks, Corinne makes a critical mistake on the final switchback. Phil, taking advantage of the opportunity, cuts the switchback short, and skins up a steeper line to the next track, taking the lead. He finds that it is easier to edge where there weren't any tracks already.
Shortly before the mousetrap.
Phil keeps the lead and arrives at the hut 10 minutes later. The last hundred yards seem to take forever. The combo is entered on the door lock, and the moment of truth... it unlocks, and he enters. Corinne and Tammie follow closely behind, then Amos... (not Matt as was originally reported). It is important to note that Amos was heavily burdened by fresh (at the time) fruit, and an impressive amount of booze. For this, he earns many style points.
View from the hut, shortly before we went to retrieve the gear.
An hour or so later, Jim arrives with some news. Some of the slower people have left their packs at "the bottom", and now we need a group to go retrieve them. A task force is assembled, and we ski down quickly before it gets too dark. The snow is light, powdery and fast. We sense a worried look on Jim's face when he watches Lukas's at-the-edge-of-control antics. We ski down further than we thought, split the gear up, and begin the long climb back up to the hut in the waning light. The next day...