Lenzspitze Northface

May had been a bit frustrating so far. Conditions for steep skiing were good in general but somehow it did not work out for the real big lines. Some weekends I misjudged the weather and did not even go, on others we did go, and the weather turned out to be worse than forecasted. While the snow is melting rapidly, the desperate feeling of having missed a decent season finish grows.

When the 4th of June brings some catholic holiday, I take the decision to go for Lenzspitze. It had been skied in excellent conditions the weekend before, and Dani's picture of the face taken from Nadelhorn looks very promising. To finally get my season highlight I even accept to carry the skis all the way up to Mischabel hut, even if I was by myself. However, it turns out that Javi, the only person even more desperate for a good tour, can finally take one day off from his domestic duties.

When we meet in Visp on Wednesday afternoon, the thermometer shows 32° C. Skiing? Really? Luckily the car's air con makes us forget about these doubts and once in Saas Fee we can even see some snow.... high high up. Mischabel hut looks as far away as always when we leave the Hannig gondola station with heavy backpacks. Luckely there are some clouds and a bit of wind. Without hurrying to much we make the ascent on the summer trail in about two and half hours. Still by far the longest ever approach to the snow for me. Well, well. Sitting home in despair is worse. We share the hut with two guys from Bern who aim for the Hohberghorn northface... without skis though. Good luck.
After a short night without much sleep, we start our ascent around 4am under a bright full moon. It's warm. Too warm. Already the first steep section to get from the hut to the glacier has deep, rotten snow. I think of the two pedestrians who had left an hour before. No chance without skis. And in deed, after half an hour we meet them on their way back to the hut. They had reached Windjoch but then turned because of the deep snow. We keep skinning up Hohbalmglacier to reach the plateau underneath the big white shield of Lenzspitze's beautiful north face. At 3600 we deposit all stuff we don’t need including avalanche gear and trainers, and prepare for the long bootpack up the face.

With surprisingly light backpacks we tackle the face at 6am. The bergschrund is big. About 1m wide and the upper lip1.5m high, the bergschrund spreads almost over the entire face. We spot a bridge on its very right. The snow bridge feels pretty solid when we traverse it but the real pain begins on the other side. A 15m traverse 2m above the deep hole brings us finally into the face. The sun is already strong on this east facing slope and the snow is soft, almost bottomless. I brake trail, leaving hip-deep holes, at times without bottom. I switch to walking on my knees to distribute my weight more equally. Finally we reach some old tracks that mount the face in one big diagonal line. The next two hours is not much more than an automatic sequence of axe, axe, foot, foot; 10 repetitions, then a quick break for sip from the camelback and to wipe the sweat out of my eyes. The snow is rather soft and the face – even though 50° in average- doesn’t seem too steep. What a difference in perception when I compare to my first ascent (without skis) 2010 with Salome. Impossible to ski I had thought that time - now I'm not even worried. Then I reach the north-east arête 50m below the summit. Here the ice is close below a thin layer of snow… still not a problem. Some easy mixed climbing finally brings me to the very pointy summit. What a feeling standing here with skis, knowing that the highlight of the day if not the season is still to come. Javi joins me 10minutes later, also with a big smile.

We keep the break short and quickly down-climb a few meters on the west arête till we reach a small platform to put the skis on. A last careful check of bindings and equipment then Javi takes off into the face traversing the upper part somewhere between 50 and 55°. I follow closely after. The face falls in one huge go 500 vertical meters to the glacier plateau. The grip is good and I dare the crucial first turn, directly followed by a second. The edges hold perfectly and now we’re ready to let it go. As the face is a bit concave the snow on skier’s right is rather hard and a bit icy. On skier’s left the sun has already softened up the snow quite a bit, so sluff management is important. Finding a good line between those two extremes it takes me only a few minutes until I’m down the first 300 meters. Wow, what a feeling. The sluff is rushing behind me while I ski the 50° slope in big turns, only pausing once to take a few pictures of Javi. Then the bergschrund – not a big obstacle for a skier with enough speed. A drop over the black hole and I’m on the slopes below the face. Some high speed turns in perfect corn snow bring me back to our stuff depot. What a feeling. Is it worth all the effort for less than 10minutes of pure adrenalin? Definitely yes.

I see Javi dropping the bergschrund in the same manner and when he arrives at our depot a few seconds after, one smile is bigger than the other. We congratulate each other on the best descent of the season.

What’s left? Well, another 1000 vertical meters of fine steep slopes, unfortunately in way to soft snow. We don’t bother; glad that we can at least ski instead of carry. At 2600 we make the last turn of the season and hike down the remaining 400m to the ropeway. A large beer and a basket of chicken wings on the terrace with view of the magnificent face that we skied only 2 hours earlier round up a perfect day.