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Ortler Traverse
Although some of the strategically located huts started as military bases, they are anything but Spartan. The Ortler traverse is sometimes known as the Cappuccino traverse, the Italians know how to live well. Good food, good drink and comfortable rooms are the trademark of this tour. Many nights we will sleep two people to a room, sometimes even with your own washroom. All huts have showers.
Dates: April 4-10, 2010 Includes:
Does Not Include:
Good skiing ability, good-excellent physical condition, able to do kick turns. Ortler Gear List Ski touring in the Alps offers the unique advantage of being able to ski with light packs and arrive at a well-provisioned hut for the night. While food and blankets are provided at the huts we are still in the high mountains and must bring clothing to deal with any weather conditions. We can be baking in the hot sun or on a windy ridge in a blizzard. Many days in the spring start with cold mornings and icy snow, then turn hot as the day progresses especially when we ski down to a low valley. One of the keys to enjoy ski touring in the Alps is to make sure that your pack is light, preferably under 20 pounds. While the weather may be severe, we are seldom standing still in cold weather and the huts are warm. Try to minimize the amount of extra gear that you bring. The Ortler trip has huts that are much nicer than others in the Alps. The huts all have showers and there are less people to a room. You can drive or take a taxi to our first hut. There is a room where you can leave luggage that you will not be taking on the tour however I would not recommend leaving valuables. The ski between huts is relatively short on this tour (2-3 hours), so weight is not as much of an issue, but it is still best to have light packs Technical Gear
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The
Ortler-Cervadale group lies in northern Italy, just below the Austrian and Swiss
borders. This area is the border between Italian and German speaking areas and
was the front line in World War 1. Evidence of the battles can been seen at some
of the passes with barb wire and machine gun placements. Large parts of this
range are now protected in a National Park. Although this is a high, mountainous
and heavily glaciated area, there are no peaks above 4000m. This makes the area
less famous and less crowded than the nearby Haute Route. 
This
tour focuses more on skiing, than traversing from one area to another. In fact
the tour starts and finishes in the same town, Santa Caterina. There are many
high peaks to bag and long ski runs down. We seldom have to carry our skis and
we often spend two nights in the same hut, which eliminates the pressure of
having to make it to the next hut. There is a lot of skiable terrain in this
area and many different options for loops. When the tour is finished you can
visit the 2000 year old Roman baths in Bormio.
Requirements:
Note:
People often ask whether they can do the trip with telemark gear. While it is
possible for a very strong skier to do the trip on telemark gear, it is not
recommended. The sometimes difficult snow conditions, deep heavy snow or
wind crust, make it much more difficult without the heel locked down. It can be
done if you are a strong skier but it takes a lot more energy, especially with
your pack. Another difficulty is finding ski crampons to work with a telemark
system. Ski crampons are necessary on steep icy slopes especially in the
morning when the snow is still frozen hard. Manufacturers do not make ski
crampons for telemark systems. The ski crampons for telemark that I have seen
are adapted from alpine touring systems. One possibility is using a Dynafit
binding plate on your ski, which will fit Dynafit ski crampons. I have yet to
see a telemark ski crampon that works as well or is as easy to change over as
an alpine touring system.
Personal
Equipment
