These big boys are great for fluffy days, when you don’t need to hike much (but still some), that’s why I also took my brand new G3 Minimist skins, which are lightweight, compact and quick-drying. I’ve only had good experiences with the G3’s so far and they still stick to the skis nicely after three years, with proper storage in the fridge of course.

Fresh snow was sorely needed to justify unpacking these monsters. While everyone here was already moaning and complaining about the sun and the warm weather, in central Austria, somewhere between Kufstein and Zell am See, a small snow storm was brewing. Destination: Kitzbühel. Everyone that’s familiar with the area knows that even the low-lying ski resorts like Westendorf and Alpbachtal offer a ton of powder shredding possibilities amongst the trees.

With the stormy weather and low visibility, we would probably have to stay below tree line. The forecast was showing heavy snow all through Saturday. More of the same on Sunday.

I must admit I’ve been avoiding Kitzbühel the last couple of years. The terrains are easily accessible and the “Little Canada” backcountry is not exactly the hidden gem it used to be. With all the Germans crowding the area, you could compare it to Zauchensee and the flocking masses of Slovenians.

Side by side, Kitz still holds a big advantage. The terrain is considerably larger. When you factor in the laziness of your average ski-lift assisted powder chaser, it turns out you just need to keep going an extra 5 minutes beyond the last tracks to find virgin slopes. Since it’s been a while, I’ve forgotten where the best rides are myself, so this was a perfect opportunity to seek them out again.

Heading towards Kufstein, the first impressions weren’t particularly promising. It was raining. What happened to all the snow that was supposed to fall? Some sad remains from the night before were lying by the side of the road. Temperature had risen to 3 degrees Celsius early in the morning and the humidity did the rest. The overall excitement level dropped. By the time we reached the Fleckalm ski lift parking lot, I was still toying with the idea of just taking my old pair of skis, but Tobi, our local buddy, somehow wasn’t concerned at all.

We hiked deep into the southern side of Kitz, towards Little Canada and the rain was increasingly turning into a proper snow storm. Somewhere around bear mountain we headed into the woods. After the first couple of turns, the situation was crystal clear. 15 cm of fresh powder had fallen overnight and a perfect base layer underneath. Nothing was peeking through. We let ourselves loose and smilingly rode down into the valley. After reaching the plains, we ran into a creek that we had to cross. Our expertise in the special discipline of ski flinging and wading through water in ski boots really shone through. Somehow, we all made it over in one piece. At least we did the first day.

On the second day the joy continued. After our pleasant expedition the previous day, it had started to snow heavily and, much to our delight, dropped another 20 cm overnight. We started early in the morning when it was still foggy but we were hyped. The bad weather apparently chased all the other treasure hunters away, so there was absolutely no stress. Contrary to the weather forecast the clouds dispersed around midday. Winter fairytale. Clear sight all the way from Weissensee up to Dachstein.

It was time to find the tucked away, hidden slopes. We took the 3S ski lift that cuts across the valley, similar to how it’s set up in Whistler, and headed up to a ridge. We stopped after half an hour of hiking. Apparently, around here somewhere you can find merry forest couloirs. The mythical kind you can ride from top to bottom. Great test for my new setup. The G3 Minimist skins and the SHIFTs performed admirably, although I have to say I struggled a bit with the pin mechanism while ascending despite the fact I checked them out beforehand. The skins were easily attachable.

The tip and tail connectors are made from a plastic / silicon material that’s easy to attach even with gloves on, something I wish I could say about my previous skins because taking your gloves off constantly for every little thing can get quite annoying. Despite the weight of this monster freeride setup the skins were gripping nicely even on the steepest parts and the snow was not sticking too much.

After reaching the summit, we were ready to descend. Our two guides led the way. The slope seemed like it could fracture and the top new layer, that hasn’t settled yet, might form a small snow slide. Once we made sure it was stable, the fun began. As usual, my GoPro battery was drained by the time we were really enjoying ourselves, so there’s no footage, but the memory remains. When we got to the lower part we strayed into a narrow runout and the accumulated sluff was slowly picking up, so the last couple of turns, before entering the beautiful, open plain below, were a bit faster.

At the bottom our companions also …………………………, something that I’ve been known to do unwillingly every so often. Not today though :P. It took us around 15 minutes to get to the taxi-shuttle station and we headed back to the ski lift from there. We repeated the whole thing two more times. When we were parting ways, I did some thinking. Bivacing, a ski touring alpine ascent that I’ve been planning for a while now, and fresh powder in the sun on top of that, like we did on Christmas. Despite the weather this winter, if you choose your destinations well, you can still find it. I got in my car and drove back home, off to my next adventure.