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Alpine walking skills and equipment
On the Schwarzensteinkees glacier at the Schwarzensteinsattel (ZSTT Stage 7), with Gross Moerchner to the right (note the knotted rope)
How do the skills and equipment needed for walking in the Zillertal differ from those required for elsewhere?
Boots
A relatively stiff boot with good ankle support and a stout vibram-type rubber sole is essential. Many of the walks involve sustained hard walking over rocky slopes and glacial debris, and encounters with patches of old hard snow. It is important to think of your boots as tools that can be used to kick steps and jam into rocky cracks without causing damage to your feet. While bendy boots may be a bit lighter and more comfortable, they are no match for a good pair of four-season mountaineering boots when it comes to dealing with difficult ground.
Alpine walking equipment
Instep crampons or microspikes
While crampons are normally associated with climbing, a pair of these little tools often comes in very handy when the weather decides to dump some unseasonable snow in July or August, and they may just help provide that little extra security when you get up close to some old hard-packed snow.
Improvised harness
Many of the routes are equipped with fixed wire ropes to provide some support over bits of difficult terrain. While these may be relatively easy to cross, the consequences of a fall should be borne in mind. In addition, not everyone is vertigo free, and the use of an improvised harness helps to provide confidence and security of passage. Constructed from a 2.4m long by 10mm wide Dyneema sling, three or four overhand knots, and a large jumbo-sized screw-gate karabiner, this harness (pictured) will allow you to clip into those fixed wires whenever the need arises and arrest a fall when you least expect it.
Construction of a rudimentary harness
Trekking poles
Poles are almost standard accessories for most people these days, but in the Alps they come into their own – being very handy when crossing glacial steams and for traversing steep patches of old snow.
Glacier travel
The glaciers of the Zillertal are in the heartland of the Tyrol and the Eastern Alps. Quite a few of the mountaineering routes (‘Excursions’) described in this guide involve crossing or negotiating glaciers that can be crevassed depending on the time of year and vary from season to season. Indeed the ascent of the Grosser Loeffler (ZRR Excursion 3.1) is classed as the most crevassed climb in the Zillertal.
Although crevasses (Spalten) will be encountered they should not create a serious problem for the mountain traveller and most will be easily bypassed. As is common to most glaciers, the main crevasse zone is on the steep sections, at the edges, and where the ice breaks away from the underlying rocks to form bergschrunds (Randkluft). If difficulties do arise it will be in negotiating bergschrunds such as those that exist below the Grosser Loeffler on the Floiten Kees glacier.
In the route description orientation on the glacier is described as being in the direction of flow along the right- or left-hand bank. This means that in ascent the left bank will be on your right. To avoid confusion, as may happen when route finding in mist, a compass bearing has been added in the route description to aid direction.
While most of the Zillertal’s glaciers are relatively straightforward, they can vary quite considerably from season to season, the Floiten Kees and Schlegeis Kees glaciers being good examples. This scenario is further exacerbated by large temperature variations, generally because of the glaciers’ relatively low altitude. This means that while routes may be straightforward one year, with minimal snowfall in the following year, previously hidden crevasses may become exposed and enlarged. The result is that glacier travel becomes more problematic.
It’s better to practise this on safe ground before you go, rather than having to ‘practise’ in a real-life situation
The ideal number of people for glacier travel is four. Two is the absolute minimum, and solo travel should be avoided for obvious reasons. A party of two could gain some extra security by teaming up with a second party, gaining strength through weight of numbers.
Many of the Zillertal’s glaciers are dry glaciers at their lower levels and are quite safe to traverse unroped, as the crevasses are obvious and easily avoided. However, when crevasses pose a threat – for example where they overlap, are deep, and occur on steep ground, as is found on the Grosser Loeffler – then the party should be roped up. Equally, parties should be roped at all times while crossing glaciers that are snow covered, such as those on the Schwarzenstein Kees glacier on the approach to the Berliner Hut, no matter how well trodden the route. It is worth remembering that crevasses have no respect for people and can open up beneath the best of us.
For a roped party of three, the group leader (the most experienced person) is best placed in the middle, since it is the group leader who will contribute most to a rescue in the event of a mishap. The second most experienced person should take the lead position at the head of the rope in order to route find and the last person, preferably the heaviest, should take a place at the back to act as the anchor.
For parties visiting the Alps for the first time, particularly those of equal ability, some experimenting will be necessary to gain more experience. However, it is absolutely essential that you practise roping up and crevasse rescue before you go, particularly a crevasse rescue scenario in which the fallen climber is out of sight of his companions and another member of the party has to go to their assistance and enter the crevasse, as would be the case if your companion were hurt.
A tried and tested crevasse rescue technique
The following technique is suggested (only ‘suggested’ because the style varies between German- and French-speaking parts of the Alps). If you learned glacier and crevasse techniques in the Western Alps you may well have been taught a different but equally valid approach. This method works and will ensure that a group has a safe anchor at all times.
In ascent and descent the lightest person should go first at the front to route find. Should the route finder fall into a crevasse (unlikely) it is improbable that the rest of the group will be dragged in after them, but in a full-on fall you will be dragged off your feet. In case such a mishap occurs then the heaviest person is best placed at the back to act as the anchor. For a party of two the most experienced person should be at the back in both ascent and descent.
To rope up a party of three, the middle man (group leader) should tie on 15m from one end of the rope, with the rope leader tied on at the front end. The back man (anchor) should then tie on about 12m behind the middle man (group leader). The surplus rope at the end should then be coiled by the anchorman and carried over the shoulder and rucksack or, as the author prefers, it can be loosely coiled inside the top of the rucksack, from where it can be easily retrieved in the event of being needed for a crevasse rescue. In addition to roping up, two Prusik loops are needed for attaching to the rope by each person, to be stored in their pockets.
On most glaciers the party will move together, keeping a respectable distance between each person. When there is no crevasse danger