Duck is the Bacon of the Bird World: Yrup 2012 (40 years after?)

[Buster Highmen]

Looking out the hotel window on the first morning:



Didn't take many pictures the first 2 days. It snowed over 2 feet and was nearly completely whited out. I did manage to hit a drift and double eject, so there's that.

Advertising in the hotel:



Yuros have some odd ad tastes. At least it's a real Spatula.

Am@ is limited to scores of questionable maidens singing in high falsetto and sopranos about their underwear being too tight, being tickled and some warbling germanic concern about the cold water.

The guys seem limited to gregorian choruses which I assume is some group moan about constipation or other teutonic potty gruntings and too much cheese in their rosti.

Someone told me it was Wagner. ???



On the first clear day after the storm, we ticked off Felsental, the Giraffe and the Guspis all in one day.

On the way to the Felsental. Note the horrendous crowds:



In the top of the Felsental.



It had some tracks at the top. But this was 2 days after the storm had ended and we got lots of uncut on the way down.

Towards the end of the Felsental:



This was take on Thursday. On Friday, this face across the way in the shade above ripped out and swept somebody into the gully and killed him. The slope was West exposure and the ground was warm, so one could see slides at low altitudes in sun exposed areas all around.

After Felsental, we did the Giraffe which involved a fairly interesting traverse over increasing exposure to a ridge, then a thoughtful rocky chute.



If you look caredully, you can see my line traversing from the main chute slightly on viewers right across and then down before the tracks in the center. It was spicey.


Another view, slightly right of the above:



Some scumbag scandi chicklet tpes straightlined it. What a waste!

After the Giraffe which involved a monster travers to skiers left to get back to the tram, we went for the Guspis, an even bigger valley West of the Felsental:

.

This thing was massively long, maybe 6 or 7 miles with a perfectly tilted road out that ended in a perfect pow field right above the town of Hospental. Rack after rack of booblike powder.

After a beer in an 18th century bar, we took the train (part of the Am@ lift ticket) back to Am@ (land of tgr chickens).

Hospental is the village about 5 miles W. of Andermatt into which the Gupis valley drains. The Guspis run is longer and wilder than the Felsental and is accessed by dropping into a little cirque S. off the top of the Gemsstock. skiing into it's gut, then skinning or bootpacking 10 minutes to a ridge bordering the cirque on the West.

Here's a picture of the Hospental medieval tower taken from the train station:



Here's a map of the area:



On Friday, we did the "right" Giraffe which is called Hans im Glugg (lucky Hans).

It too was massive and held a ton of unskied tracks.

Here's some images:

"Basket Case" entrance into Alpenstock which we booted out of going back up to the ridge accessing Hans im Glugg. We named it basket case since a party member snapped his pole on the Giraffe traverse and we repaired it with a duct tape basket on the spot. It lasted all the way down.



Near the top after dropping in off the ridge:



Exit couloir:


The exit was steep and hairy, the picture doesn't do it justice. It was followed by a long miserable pole/skate/boot out that took an hour.

Sunday we were back at Andermatt after a freshing of pow. We didn't do any more of the bigger sidecountry routes and just stayed more or less "inbounds".

Here's a couloir that dropped into the St. Anne Glacier side of the Gemsstock at 2 in the afternoon, my tracks on the viewers right:



And a view of the ridge from the "Russi" side of the main ridge (other side from St. Anne Glacier). I found a perfect drift along the edge of one of these couloirs and serrated it with short turns. Some guys from W/BC saw me do it from below and caught up to compliment me later.



A ton of faceshots this day too.

Sunday night was the last night in the Aurora Hotel in Andermatt. But we wanted to hit Disentis and so got up early Monday, packed Rusty's sled and rallied to the Andermatt train station for the 7:30 train to Disentis.

Buh-bye Andermatt. Note the garish developement going in which is going to change things there:



Notoriously dangerous lift at Disentis, the only lift connection from the tram to the upper lifts:



At the terminus of the upper t-bar at Disentis, looking up at the Oberalpstock. One option was to tour up this thing and head for a 6k+ vertical foot descent down to Bristen. Other party members were less enthusiastic than I about this option involving 3 hours of skinning and climbing.


So we chose a 1 hour skin to a couloir off the Gendusas.

Rusty posing at the top @ 2900+ meters:


Into the maw of pow with the valley floor about 1 km away:


Halfway down:


The last section above the valley floor:


Looking back up Val Strem from about 1700 meters elevation:


Some old fart:





And these 2 vids comprise only the first half of the run

After Val Strem ended in Sedrun, we rode the train back to Disentis and had enough time for 1 more lap along the other side of the area from Val Strem into Val Gronda:



Birdo challenged me to a mogul off down in the mangled gut exit of this thing. Nobody won except the bumps.

Cog teeth in the railway:


Map of Disentis. We rode the Pez Ault lift:


Next up: Engleberg.

[Buster Highmen]

Engleberg: Rusty drove like a champ through yet another snowstorm to the Hotel Bellevue-Terminus.

Across the street:



Tuesday morning socked in liftline:


It was bitchin cold and whited out so we did the tourist things with 1/20 of China's population in the Ice Caves at the Titless Top. Too bad it wasn't the Topless Tit.


Walked outside to find ourselves on site for Ice Station Zebra:


I was strangely drawn to this thing called the Pista del Slitte, but there were warnings:


Paxti from tgr was brave enough to rsvp and take us on a tour (those Am@ magnions are scardycats). He took us to another icecave with impressive icicles about 30 feet long:



Looking W. to Murren/Wengen/Eiger from the top of the Titless:



Patxi showed us around the Brunni in the morning with the swift and elegant La Zapatilla where we got a ton of great pow runs ending the early morning with a sneak down through farmers fields to the access road and a taxi ride.

The afternoon was filled with wondeful pow lines around the Jochspass and a run down the glacier under the summit Rotair:



Finally a shot of the ceiling in the old dining room of the Bellevue:



Yrup r00lz.

[tone capone]

Nice to see a good old fashioned TR around here.

[Karl Stall]

Fucking Pimp, Bruce. Well played, good sir! Jealous does not begin to describe my emotion. You just ticked off some of my life's list. Congrats on the big score! -R

[Hugh Conway]

Looks like a grand old time

[BobMc]

Whoa, nice. Someday.

[dos bolsas]

Prudy Powder Pics.

[Meathelmet]

Money!
Thanks for sunday morning stoke.

[Ripzalot]

central CH = $$$

i was just saying yesterday that in spite of the epic euro season, not many TRs have come out of it. danke vielmal!

[Jiehkevarri]

Thanks for the stoke.

I like Andermatt...good combination of relaxed freeride, some touring and even steeper lines/ slightly "hairier" traverses & entrances etc. (like Giraffe traverse...but not that much Cham like really scary/high consequences stuff).

[Pinner]

CAW, muthafugga!

[Alkares]

And finally the mystery is revealed as to your true identity... I remember you from Silverton now, that hat and beard combo can never be forgotten... Are you still living in Seattle? Glad you enjoyed Yurp, give me a heads up next time you are around!

[SimB]

Nice pictures! Disentis is one of my favorite small resorts in the alps, really need to get back there soon.

[Buster Highmen]

And finally the mystery is revealed as to your true identity... I remember you from Silverton now, that hat and beard combo can never be forgotten...

And here I thought it would be my goofy ski style.

Are you still living in Seattle?

Yup, or thereabouts, except for the time I'm in S'ton.

Glad you enjoyed Yurp, give me a heads up next time you are around!

Oh man, did I evah!

Best ski trip of my life.

Don't know when I'll make it back that way since I've got parental d00ties, but we shall see. The only other place in N. Am. I've been that has that kind of environment is the high San Juans.

[h-atlas]

Very cool. I'll be there March 10th in any locals want to show me around! Similar agenda - Andermatt, Eberg, Disentis, because of proximity to Zurich - unless Cham or Verbier get considerably more snow for some reason. Can't wait!

[Buster Highmen]

Am@ is limited to scores of questionable maidens singing in high falsetto and sopranos about their underwear being too tight, being tickled and some warbling germanic concern about the cold water.

The guys seem limited to gregorian choruses which I assume is some group moan about constipation or other teutonic potty gruntings and too much cheese in their rosti.

Someone told me it was Wagner. ???

Didn't hear from any real skiers there except the ornithician.

[Scotsman50]

Glad you had a good time Buster....sure looks sweet. Great TR.

[LaZapatilla]

Bruce, it was so much fun skiing with you, Rusty and Brian! I am sorry I couldn't join you in the afternoon; Patxi said the snow was great on the Wasserfall that day. Glad you had a good Eurotrip and I hope our paths cross again soon.

with the swift and elegant La Zapatilla

I blushed

[gpcharles]

that's a great trip!

[Hayduke]

He shoots, he scores!

Glad you got it so good, what a great trip.

[ACH]

Epic TR Buster...

[Ottime]

Thanks for sharing the stoke

[Aldo]

What a nice trip. Thanks for letting me get a fat toque on your pure stoke.

[Mofro261]

Excellent TR Buster, glad that the goods were gracefully gained.

[Rusty Nails]

Buster slayed pow from start to finish. He put me to shame with his endless stoke and endless drive. We had a blast. I can honestly say that maybe no one has as much pure love for skiing as he does. B, it was the trip of my lifetime and thanks again for being the ultimate ski partner. Patxi and Zap - hopefully will be up your way later this winter/spring. B - See ya, somewhere, next winter!