Getting ready to leave Memminger Hutte; Ruaridh cleans his teeth
Saturday 19 July 1980 - diarist: Martin - Memminger Hutte to Ansbacher Hutte
The sojourn at Memminger
Hutte was hot, and even our socks started to dry out. Self cooked breakfast was
more appetizing and cheaper than the average hut's fare. We left in a leisurely
manner after a buxom fraulein had prostrated herself on a mattress next to
Colin, and the customary readjustment stops - Colin (to adjust his clothing),
Nick (to keep face) Dave (to degaiterise), Ruaridh (ice-axe installation)
enabled me to speed ahead as usual.
By 11 o'clock we had descended (slid) down to where route 601, our 'path' for today, crossed the Parseirtal. A brew and much washing of feet etc was most welcome as the path had been unusually muddy and very liable to subsidence. Dave had another spectacular slide, this time down a tree trunk. He is now very muddy.
Black lizards,
gemser, a marmot, and a plethora of alpine flowers complemented the alpine
scenery. An hour was spent brewing and Nick disappeared for a bath.
The long ascent to Griessl Sch. (about 800 metres) became very difficult as the snow deepened and it became apparent that no one had attempted the route before us. At this point Dave had a slide and a rest over a 10 ft drop with a thin layer of snow - previously Nick had been dragged out of this hole by his rucksack. Some difficulty was encountered in safely negotiating the massive cornice at the top of the slope. At this point we did not partake of a third lunch, but traversed through deep snow towards Winterjochl.
Amazingly, an
isolated section of scree revealed a red path marker. We were still on route
601! After a Mars bar each, and much relieved to know we were in the vicinity
of the path, we traversed from Winterjochl past Stierkopf to the col leading to
the Ansbacher Hutte. After more deep snow, and red path markers, we reached
this broad col (at which point RMP produced the highest level 'sausage' of the
holiday to date - 2400+ m), from which the panoramic view stretched far and wide.
The two glaciers
on Hohe Riffler were prominent, and the hut was visible. A further traverse
brought us to the hut - a high one at 2376 metres. The warden was a little
surprised to see us and confirmed that we were the first to walk this section
of route 601 this year. "The English Pioneers." A satisfying meal of
goulash soup and meat and vegetables and noodles was soon provided.
Other events of the day included Dave smashing Colin with his ice axe, Nick trying to extract his jaw with his ice axe, everybody falling down lots of holes, and Nick's expletives.
Deep snow was today's dominant feature. Everyone, except of course Dave, feels like taking a rest after several hard days.
Historical
notes:
1. The warden
informs us that the snow is worse this year than any year since 1930.
2. The hut was
built in 1906 and has not (unlike Memminger) been extended since then. Our room
would have been cosy if it had been heated, with very pleasant wooden panelling,
and gas lights - there's no electricity here.
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