Austria

So, after 2 long years, I finally managed to make my way back to the mountains. Back in 2018, the plan was to find some work over summer and head back out for another season, however, I soon found myself getting a job and questioning... what my next move should be. The longer I left planning my next trip, the further it seemed from being viable.

Now, at the beginning of 2020, I told myself I would do things differently. It didn’t take me long to reach out to some friends I’d met on my season and book myself some flights to go back to Mayrhofen, Austria. Upon hearing my plans my friend Jack decided he would tag along and head back out with me.

Fast forward a month, after a quick flight we land in Innsbruck to be met outside by our friends, it already started to feel like we never left. It was cloudy and the forecast for the week wasn’t looking at its best… but we had gone out with such optimism and energy that we were definitely not deterred.

Despite the cloudy weather and generally icy conditions, Jack and I made the most of the first couple of days riding, spending most of our time in the park. There was a learning curve (for myself anyway) on how to ride snow again, taking a whole heap of easily avoided slams.

On day 4 we all woke up and look out the window to see very dark skies and forecast high winds. Now, there had only been 1cm of snow forecast for that night and this information combined with the weather conditions in the morning lead to the conclusion that there was no rush to go and ride as conditions were probably not great. In true British fashion, we sat around drinking tea, waiting for a break in the clouds.
Eventually, we headed up the mountain, expectations low, only to find thigh-deep powder covering the mountain. By this time in the day, we could see all the easy access powder had been ridden, so we took a moment to curse ourselves for our decision to take the morning slowly.
Determined to find some Unridden powder Jack, Wendy and I hunted around eventually finding some of the nicest powder we had ever ridden (I’m sure we say this nearly every time there is powder, but this time we mean it!) leading to by far one of the best days.

In the last couple of days, we tried to seek out any remnants of the powder. When the powder was no more we spent the rest of the time trying to gather a bit of footage “for the ‘gram”. For the last day the sun finally came out, the snow softened up and vibes were good, making our reluctant departure even harder.

This trip has reignited my ambition to see more of the world and go on more adventures.

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