2021 - 2022 Far West Skier's Guide - 46

The
Wizard
of Ötz
By Jimmy Petterson
Skiing Around the World, Author
Phil Le Roux glides through the powder on the Gaislachkogel. Most of the difficult terrain in Sölden is on that mountain, while the
Giggijoch and both glacier areas offer excellent blue and red slopes. photos provided by Jimmy Petterson
How many times have you picked up a
ski magazine and browsed through an article
in which the writer and photographer just coincidentally
happened to cruise into the destination
resort on the first day of sunshine after
a huge dump of powder? They then, miraculously,
manage to link up with some local
Franz, Jean Claude, or Alberto, who, day by
day, run by run, proceeds to reveal to them a
selection of spectacular couloirs, a few routes
through the trees that even the local mountain
goats don't know, and every secret stash of
powder in the valley.
I have read such pieces of fantasy on numerous
occasions, and my reaction is invariably
the same. " Bull____! " I say to myself.
" These pretenders have been paid off by the local
chamber of commerce, wined and dined with a few
seven-course dinners, and offered the virginity of a
couple of local alm Heidis, " I mutter under my
breath. I imagine that the ski photos that compliment
the article were taken three years earlier
in an entirely different country, and I
doubt the entire journalistic industry.
It is, therefore, with great reluctance, that
I put my own credibility to the test in this
fairytale description of my experience in the
Ötztal. In early March, ski instructor, Phil Le
Roux, ski bum, Jonas Nilsson, and I drove
along the Inn Valley from Innsbruck, and hung
a left where the arrow pointed toward Sölden.
It was snowing hard, a weather condition
to which we were not unaccustomed, as it had
been dumping almost unabatedly in the Alps
for quite some time. Many mountain passes
had been closed for weeks at a time, avalanches
had careened down mountainsides
where they had not been seen in a century,
and the weather had played havoc with thousands
of holiday makers' vacations for over a
month.
The driving was slow, as the blizzard
whirled around us. Outside our SUV, the road
was slippery and white, the visibility was close
to nil, and I began to get hypnotized by the
snowflakes dancing in the light of our headlights.
I turned the wheel over to Jonas, and
fell into a magical white dream in the back
seat. I remember nothing of the dream but
that it transferred me to some enchanted land,
and when I awoke we had arrived in Sölden.
The next thing I recall of any significance
to this tale is shaking hands the following
46 Far West Skier's Guide 2O21 - 2O22
morning with Alexander Giacomelli, a mountain
guide who I had prearranged to ski with
us. Alex soon proved to be more than just a
guide. He is the third generation in his family
to assume the task of leading people to the
best possible snow in his beloved Ötztal Alps.
At the age of six, he already accompanied his
father on an excursion from Vent (1900 m.) to
the peak of Austria's second highest mountain,
the glaciated Wildspitze, (3774 m.) and way
back in 1985, at the age of 20, he had become
the youngest Bergsführer in Austria.
By now, Alex had many years of experience
but had maintained his youthful exuberance
and enthusiasm. These traits, combined
with the wisdom of his forefathers made him
part guide, part mountain goat, and part wizard.
He could not magically make perfect
powder appear or turn breakable crust into
pristine corn snow like some medieval alchemist,
but if any good snow could be found in
the valley, Alex would certainly sniff it out and
lead his guests to it.
Our first morning, the problem was not
to find the powder, but rather to be able to see
it. Fresh snow continued to pour out of a

2021 - 2022 Far West Skier's Guide

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