Skitouring trip Totes Gebirge

A ski touring trip to the nearby Dead Mountains – the Totes Gebirge – is a popular combination of skinning and freeride around the Wurzeralm resort.

02/2026

That is what we read in the catalogue. The February dates invite warming up at lower altitudes before the days get longer in spring and the time for higher mountains arrives. Well… that would require having something to ski on.

A week before the trip, I follow the forecasts and search for snow on the webcams. It is rather a sad view into brown scenery. “What are we going to do there for four days with the clients?”

On Thursday morning, we load up at the Prague meeting point and head for the mountains in a large car. The temperature feels more like spring. Our next pick-up point is in České Budějovice, where around noon it is almost T-shirt weather.

In fact, we are two trips. One is intended for beginners and the other for slightly advanced participants. We share accommodation and all logistics, so in the end we let the participants decide which group they nominate themselves for. Some probably did not even notice and signed up for a different group than they intended.

The meeting point with all participants is the parking lot below the lift of the Wurzeralm resort. We arrive with plenty of time to distribute rental avalanche equipment and gather all our sheep. One has been skiing the slopes since morning, another got stuck in traffic, others arrived at the hut an hour ago, and someone runs up along the slope on foot. I would run too, but I have to take the lift properly with the others.

By the way, the ticket for the Standseilbahn Wurzeralm funicular is only three euros more expensive than the pedestrian entry fee to the area. So much for the growing popularity of fitness ski touring on groomed slopes. A larger “Petřín-style” funicular takes us to the center of the local ski area, whose strong point is certainly not the number of pistes. If there had been two more meters of snow, the surrounding forests would have been full of freeriders. At the moment, we are happy for the little snow on the piste that allows us to slide down to the hut. The view of the grassy slope opposite adds a few wrinkles to my forehead.

“And tomorrow we are going… where?”

Linzer Haus is a hut of the Austrian Alpine Club currently occupied by sixty Austrian teenagers. For us, there are two beds fewer than we need, so my instructor colleague Johanka and I voluntarily spend one night in a nearby lodge, where we are taken by snowmobile after dinner. This way we strategically avoid the final disco of the primary school students, but in the morning we have to ski back before breakfast.

Overnight about ten centimeters of snow fall, so the grass we walked on during a short reconnaissance walk before dinner is nicely covered under a white blanket. Before we finish our breakfast cocoa, the sun comes out.

For the first tour, we choose the direction along the Freuenkarabfahrt slope. We reach it on flat terrain and soon warm up while ascending through the forest along the red slope. Both groups stay together. Our advanced participants and Vlasta’s beginners. The essential skill soon proves to be jumping over branches and optimizing the route through dwarf pines. I do not always manage to keep the ideal track.

On a sunny clearing, during a snack break, we give a short instruction on working with avalanche transceivers. During the demonstration of precise search, I manage to fall through up to my waist. So there is snow here, just somewhat unevenly distributed.

We approach the goal of the tour, the peak Eisernes Bergl (1955 m), clockwise. The western slope, which is usually used to reach the summit cross, is completely bare. Even so, the traverse along its base becomes a game of hide and seek. I would rather not remind anyone that we are moving in a karst area. Various sinkholes between limestone rocks and other “Cinderella traps” are nicely disguised by snow bridges with load capacity suitable perhaps for a rabbit weakened by winter sleep.

Fortunately, the control sheep count matches, and after traversing a steeper slope below the north face, we reconnect to the ascent route and shuffle back to the slope. Some choose a quick descent to the first refreshment stop at Bärenhütte, others enjoy the afternoon sun with another climb to the upper lift station. Such views are unlikely to happen again before Sunday.

The topic of the first evening lecture is avalanches, and it is my turn. This year’s winter, so far rather poor in snow, has already filled the black chronicles quite intensively since its beginning. Persistent weak layers are treacherously waiting under a thin cover of mostly wind-drifted snow. They are invisible until a snow slab starts sliding on them with an unsuspecting skier. And we will continue trying to avoid that, even though our tours are becoming a competition in searching for snow.

On Saturday, we try to ascend Rote Wand. The summit is visible practically from the hut, but the route leads around via the saddle Hals-Sattel (1599 m). We reach it relatively easily, with occasional grassy sections, and a short steep section between rocks follows, which we complete without skis. Soon we are taking photos at the summit cross on Mitterberg (1695 m). Continuing further is not possible in the current snow conditions. Psychologist Vlasta convinces even an enthusiastic explorer who disappears somewhere in the bushes and shouts that everyone should follow him.

We ski and climb back to the saddle, from where we at least enjoy a short descent on a few centimeters of powder.

We can still afford the nearby Stubwieswipfel (1786 m), whose impressive southwest face Johanka and I had studied from the hut terrace as theoretical climbing lines. From the other side, the ascent is relatively comfortable, except for the final hundred meters where the slope steepens.

Another runaway explorer calls in fright from a dwarf pine labyrinth that the snow (the one blown onto the upper branches of low pines) is collapsing under his feet and that it must certainly be a slab. The quiet message reaches him that the guide has dug a snow profile and says it is fine. We meet again for a photo at the summit cross and count everyone again at the bottom. With such a group, I feel as nervous as a border collie when the flock starts scattering.

As it begins snowing again, we hide in the sauna before dinner and then continue the lecture show. Today I have the demanding role of a lying casualty while Johanka expertly demonstrates airway management and other rescue skills. Fortunately, it is only a demonstration, so I can rest on the floor and leave on my own feet.

On Sunday, it snows again overnight and continues in the morning. Visibility is not very good. We choose the familiar route to the saddle and ski from the opposite Halskogel (1868 m). In the remaining time, we ascend to Rosentalsattel and ski down to the meadow below the hut.

After lunch, fully packed, we walk to the upper station of the funicular and descend the almost empty slope to the car.

The trip over, everyone is safe, and next time we hope for a more generous snowfall.