surface - Dachstein walking trip
Chas Butcher
Quite a drive to Ramsau am Dachstein, aided by a [?] of beer and snacks. Once there we looked at the walk up, looked at the Seilbahn tariff, looked at the walk again and decided that 150 S would be well spent on a return ticket. The ride is very steep and goes up 1000m in a single span. The path looks appalling from the Seilbahn - very exposed & scree-covered. Besides it's better to save your energy for when you get to the top.
Most of the glacier is flat, mushy snow without crevasses. We took a walk up the Hoher Gjaidstein 2,7 hundred and something. Fine view of the Trisselwand and of Hoher Dachstein from the top. It looks quite easy to get up Hoher Dachstein so this must be done next time.
Doug and Andy W went to play on the bergschrund & Andy D and Chas found a snowslope to learn braking and glissading on. Standing glissade is really fun. We rushed back, missed a bahn by one minute and had to wait for the last one down - by this time the weather had really come down and the lightning was flashing. We met a real alpinist and his son, draped round with sitharnesses, chest harnesses, pegs, nuts, etriers, crampons, enormous coils of rope, u.s.w., u.s.w. A very good day out.
Chas.
P.S. the altitude (or something) made us fart like drains. We think methane comes out of solution at low pressures.