Life without glasses

I am writing this post without wearing contact lenses or glasses. My vision is a bit blurry still, but I am able to see better than ever. If anyone has ever felt like that their glasses are an obstacle I can only recommend this operation. I am going to write a sort overview of how I perceived it and hopefully more and more people will have the courage to go for it.

I flew home on Wednesday last week and had an appointment at Terveystalo Tampere for the pre-examinations on Thursday. After few hours of different eye related tests I was approved for the operation which was scheduled for the next morning. 

I have to admit I was a tiny bit tense the night before and it took some time to fall asleep. Operation rooms as such are not that unfamiliar to me but this felt somehow different. Luckily the staff at Terveystalo was really professional and helpful. I was explained all the steps and felt confident when stepping into the operation room. The surgery itself is extremely quick: all-in-all approx. 10mins per eye. Throughout the operation I felt uncomfortable about 20 seconds per eye which is not a bad trade-off for what awaits the next morning. I sincerely want to thank all the staff members and my doctor Mr. Tero Pajari for all the effort and expertise. 

I had some problems with my right eye now a week after and really appreciated the fact that I could call Tero and ask if there was something to be worried about.

I am really looking forward for next weekend and getting back to skis. Hopefully there is some snow left from the huge dump Austria had this week.

Dolomites vol. 2

The last trip to the Dolomites was such an eye-opener that we demanded for more. There is something so special about those magical mountains that it haunted me throughout the whole week. On top of that it was supposed to snow - a lot. For me this trip had a bit more of meaning as it was deemed to be the last bit of skiing I would be doing with my eyes as they were. Few days before, I had made an appointment for a Lasek-surgery. I was finally going to get rid of my glasses and all the contact lens hassle. Therefore I was skiing with my glasses under my goggles (I can't understand how anyone is able to ski like that?). Nevertheless it was a small price-to-pay for the, literally, bright future.

The drive itself was epic. As soon as we crossed the border to Italy all the darkness of Austria changed into piles of snow next to the roads and snowflakes crashing into the windshield. It was the first time, since October, I had to drive on snow. It is kind of amazing that there was a jump from grass to 30cm of snow in just 1500 meters.

We started the day off with consulting a local ski instructor about personnel attitudes considering skiing on closed slopes and jumping over fences. With a mixture of Italian, English and German we were able to get thumbs up and skied some nice runs in the trees. The snow was rather heavy and the best way to ski was basically straight-lining everything. I wasn't on the top of my game but boys were having so much fun trying to spend more time in the air than on the snow.

Next setup we found turned out to be one of the best terrains I have ever skied in the trees. It was steep enough to gain speed to bust trough the heavy snow and had plenty of different shapes and possibilities. 

Me and Rupi were able to get into a slightly idiotic spot yet again. We were trying to ski a nice ridge between 2 different cliff faces but somehow got lost on the way. I still have a clear image of Rupi going first, stopping to have a look and charging down while yelling "Don't ski it." Next to Rupi's line was this extremely narrow shoot. From above it seemed rather scary as there was no end to it - Just a narrow line between rocks. Somehow I failed to push rec on my GoPro and thus am only able to share my feelings of skiing it. The wind had filled the shoot with snow and the first turn I managed to make above the entrance released loads of sluff. As I had no clue where the shoot would lead, I side stepped down as long as my skis didn't fit between the rocks. From there I had no other option than turn my skis down and let them lead me. Those few seconds were definitely the best part of the whole weekend. 

This time we were an hour earlier than last time and were able to eat the well-deserved pizzas. We were tired but happy. The drive back was filled with the sounds of me and Bernie singing and rear seat snoring. It felt great to have such a good ski day before the few weeks of resting my eyes. Next time I will find myself at the mountains, I will hopefully have the vision of a hawk.

Dolomites

The alps, especially Austria, is going through such a dry season that it makes people (mostly skiers) miserable. On Christmas Eve the Föhn-wind was heating Innsruck up to freaking +16 Celsius! The snow pact is extremely thin and rotten. Thus skiing hasn't been as amazing as last year until this weekend. Due the weather systems running more from south Dolomites have worked as a barrier to block the snow from reaching Tirol. This Tuesday it snowed the first time in Innsbruck since November. It seems like we will have a winter after all.

It is surprising how close these beautiful mountains are: It is just a bit over one hour drive to Alta Badia. It is astonishing how different the shape and colour of the mountains are compared to the other side of the border. In some mystical way Dolomites have the magic which has disappeared from the Austrian Alps. The Italian lifestyle is still visible: Restaurants are not open 24/7 and the whole hecticness and stressfulness of Tyrollean resorts shines with it's absence.


What struck me the most was the fact that such a huge resort as Alta Badia was rather empty and untracked notwithstanding that it had been already more than few days of the last snowfall. The area is massive: one could say it is a skier's paradise as there is everything from steep coulairs to excellent tree skiing.

The line we were heading for is the one with arrow on the right

The day was absolutely the best of the season so far. We learned a valuable lesson that there is no point following single skin tracks if you are not exactly sure where they lead. Even if some locals might say it is ski-able, we still should have the topographic maps and knowledge of where we are heading. Nevertheless, the hike itself was just great with its all components from shatting my pants and loudly expressing my feeling in Finnish.  Turning around has never been as easy as it was when looking over the edge down to the other side.



Skiing down the path we hiked up was also really interesting. Although, the run wasn't the easiest I felt rather confident with my new gear. Skiing with Dynafit -bindings and long skis feels great. The El Capos aren't the lightest pair of skis but the way they ride is unbelievable: the feel is something between a GS ski and a solid powder ski. It will take some time to adapt but I can already feel the benefits of having longer skis.

The coming weekend we are heading back to Italy and hopefully it will turn out to be another epic adventure. If and when it is snowing during this week, Alta Badia will turn to this huge playground with so many different features that a small mind will be confused! I am extremely excited for the next Saturday! The first real faceshots of the year 2014?

(Thanks Rupi & Bernie for the amazing photos!)

And to wrap everything up here is a clip from the first day of the year in Stubai! Pretty much sums up how the season has been so far! 

Boys' Nigth Out!

This weekend I was able to experience something interesting. After a long week of sitting in class, writing exams and listening to EU law I needed something to reboot my brain. The obvious method was going into the Limericks (Irish pub) and drinking beer until the small hours. Nevertheless, this time was different.


The idea struck me on Thursday-Friday night and it wasn't too hard to convince Rupi to join me. So after the Friday lectures I came home backed my skiing gear, sleeping bag and tent and headed up to Axamer Lizum. Snow wasn't that good but it was all about testing the tent and having a good exercise. The sky was clear and the moon was shining bright: Temperature was decline steadily and was just under zero when we reached the parking slot about 20 minutes past eight. It was almost full moon and therefor ascending didn't require headlamps.






We reached the valley in about one and half hours. My backpack felt so heavy that I wasn't able to keep up with Rupi (excuses?) There was absolutely no snow left from the snow showers few weeks back. We were able to build the tent rather easily without too much shovelling. After few photos and well deserved cans of beer we crawled into the sleeping bags and closed our eyes.



I haven't done overnight tours before and was surprised how well I was able to keep myself warm over night. Sadly it wasn't the case for Rupi... After few hours his sleeping bag was so wet that he had hard time sleeping when fighting the cold.

The moon looks like a sun! 

Around 5 am we decided to get going, stressed up and packed our skiing gear. The moon had gone into hiding and it was way more darker than the evening and so BEAUTIFUL. I am not sure if the night was some special occasion but I saw more than ten shooting stars passing by the atmosphere.
Our master plan was to hike up the massive coulair we skied last year but due to the amount of rocks and sharks we decided to go for the safer option. We had few hours before the sunrise thus we didn't need to hurry anywhere. The route up was one of the most uncomfortable once I have done: There was rocks everywhere. We reached the top early and waited for the sunrise which was a slight disappointment. Even so, it felt rather good to be up there waiting for the first lights to ski down.

Skiing itself was the worst this season but we didn't care. We got what we came for: a good exercise and especially an experience. Around 8 am we reached the tent, collected our equipment and head home. As we skied down the lifts were just opening and it felt weird to be heading home when all the others were excited to head up to the mountain. In conclusion, we had so much fun and learned valuable lessons for the coming trips!

Skiing in the Dark!

It is ridiculous how quickly I lose interest in skiing if the snow is bad. This time it happened in Obergurgl: After the first run on the concrete packed snow I was ready to quit. "I will go to sleep in the car - this sucks." Luckily my skiing partners were able to convince me to continue for few more runs. It is kind of scary that I am already so spoiled even before the real winter...

In the end, we were able to find few excellent runs! Skiing untracked snow under the sun is something different. The bluebird does somehow enhance the experience of skiing. Doing few good in perfect light turned were able to cheer me up to another level! What caught me off-guard was the amount of sharks hidden under the first layer of snow. My skis took a real beating: The another ski lost 3cm*20cm are of base... Time for another day in the workshop.

Few days after Obergurgl I was playing around with my computer when Rupi suggested if we should go for a night tour. After few seconds of processing and stressing up I was picked up Rupi and we were heading to Axamer Lizum. 

It was DARK and I mean dark but so beautiful. The whole sensation was something I haven't had for such a long time: Absolute silence, clear skies and stars sparkling. The experience sucks all the negative energy out and leaves you in a peaceful state of mind. This is what I miss from living back in Northern-Finland. 

Hiking in the mist!

Mid-November has been as epic as last year. Only this week I have had three amazing ski days! First few days in Stubai and the climax of the week; first hike of the season in Kaunertal. The second day in Stubai was incredible deep. It proved my opinion of chest mount for GoPro faulty: there is no point filming when 60% of the time the camera is under snow. My new favorite is using the ventilation mount on backpack's shoulder pads!

Wednesday morning was one of the most foggiest drives up to a glacier I have had. Luckily most of the clouds were down in the valley and there was some visibility above 2000meters. Snow wasn't extremely fresh but we were still able to score some good lines. All in all, another great early season day!

Friday morning I wasn't expecting anything special - 10 cm of new snow at max. Yet again I was wrong, there was at least 30cm of fresh snow - Faceshots one after another. So much snow has its way of reminding you to not get too excited. Luckily the small mistakes done were not fatal, even though they left us with a scratched butt and a swollen knee.

Saturday was my first day in Kaunertal. The area has some really interesting terrain! Many accessible coulairs and other interesting lines. I was skiing with my Danish friend Martin and he completely crushed me. I have never felt so slow in my life. The first boot back was easy 10minutes for a great coulair with superb snow! (See video) The second line took us - or to be honest me - about 2 hours. And I have to say it was an interesting adventure. If I had known the terrain better I might have done different route choices! Nevertheless, it ended up to be a great peek into what the season is going to be all about!

A short and rough edit of the early season skiing! More and higher quality coming later this season!

- Pave

There is always something good about something bad!

The day started early.... apparently not early enough. Leaving Innsbruck with expectations of tracked runs and hard snow the first hurdle we met was lines. When I say lines I mean really long lines. The kind of line that even impresses the lift personnel.  People pushing forward where no way could be made shouting and muttering under their breaths in various languages the mood was low to start with. There is something completely European in the idea that to get ones own child in a gondola 3 minutes earlier, so that they can practice their shitty slalom technique, parents are willing to push 8-year-olds against concrete walls. These situations reminds me why I prefer to tour and be in the middle of nowhere, instead of being exposed to the absolute disregard of common courtesy that I witnessed today.

Skiing tracked snow makes me grumpy - there seems to be no explanation for the reason why. The guys have given me a motto: "If it's not over 20cm. I'm not into it." Thinking rationally, it is excellent exercise to ski bumps and avoid sharks. Ones brain has to focus way more on the terrain which in turn trains the "skier's eye." In addition, no matter what we do the society is pushing us more and more into communistic thinking. There is less room for being creative. Skiing in tracked conditions forces us to be innovative, to search for lines or even for small bumps to launch off from.

 
The funny thing is that when one is forced to be creative in order to have fun with enough effort and commitment forces us as skiers to find "fun" in the little things. That is what we did today, took all the bad and played with it till it became fun. We go skiing because we love it, days like today solidify that even skiing on rocks and bumped out snow, we at heart are skiers and what skiers do is ski. Its still early in the season and the days of sliding on snow that we are gifted now are a bonus to what is coming. I think that I learned a lot about being grateful for the little things. Three turns in crud are better then no turns at all.
 

It is a gift to be able to spend time with people who share the same feelings and opinions. That is the reason we will always be singing while booting up for a spot and smiling for the camera on the way home!