“Men Without Nerves”, “Candle”, “Family Sunday”: the Pinnistal valley boasts more famous ice falls in a very small area than anywhere else in Tirol. Anyone who comes here will experience a unique blend of cosy mountain hut atmosphere and alpine adventure.
The Pinnistal is one of those places in Tirol that you don’t forget in a hurry. As a small side valley of the famous Stubai Valley, it’s often overshadowed, but that makes it all the more peaceful. And you need a bit of shade anyway if you want to do one particular thing in winter: Ice Climbing. And there’s hardly anywhere else in Tirol where it’s as good as it is here.
The Elferlift takes you up to the Pinnisalm in an hour’s climb. And an E-Bike – because ‘E-Bike & climb’ works just as well for some people in winter too; you just have to give it a go.
Christian Piccolruaz – Picco for short – is an alpine all-rounder: a mountain biking pioneer, Mountain Guide instructor, route developer and Austrialpin athlete. Above all, however, he is an Ice Climber through and through. How long has he been doing it? “100 years,” he laughs, hoisting his packed rucksack onto his shoulders. In fact, there are probably very few people in Tirol’s Climbers Paradise who have been practising this extreme sport for so long with such enthusiasm and skill. He has successfully retained his enjoyment of it over the years.
“Männer ohne Nerven”, “Kerze”, “Familiensonntag”: here, in such a small area, there are more prominent icefalls than anywhere else in Tirol. “A veritable Eldorado,” enthuses even Picco, who knows pretty much every spot in the region where water freezes in winter. We trudge up to the most prominent route here, the “Vorhang”: a massive wall of ice, rising 80 metres vertically between the Rock Faces. Even from the living-room window of the Pinnisalm, you can watch the climbers at work with their ice axes. Rarely do cosy mountain hut charm and alpine adventure lie so close together.
At the top, where the icefall begins, a unique soundscape unfolds: the cheerful laughter of children on the toboggan run mingles with the archaic sound of sharp steel striking hard ice. The fact that all this fun is, by definition, very fleeting is evidenced by the fridge-sized chunks of ice scattered at the foot of the cascade. “Even a helmet won’t help there,” comments Picco. But today the icefall is in perfect condition, the ice firm and grippy. Picco climbs the waterfall with ease and fluidity, driving an ice screw into the ice every few metres as an intermediate anchor – for him, it’s a walk in the park.
Ice Climbing is always something of a battle with the kit, but in this case the equipment didn’t have to travel far: ice axes, crampons and ice screws come straight from the Austrialpin forge at the entrance to the valley; Picco himself was involved in developing the ice tools. Metalworking has a centuries-old Tradition in the Stubai Valley, and the blacksmiths have made a name for themselves worldwide. Just like the mountaineers.
Picco has left his mark here with a number of difficult first ascents on the walls, bearing evocative names that carry a biographical resonance: ‘Iceman’, ‘Lasur d’Amour’, ‘Chief Pinnis’. Wild mixed routes where you have to climb both rock and ice using an ice axe and crampons. The routes are well secured with bolts, though, says Picco, “because I want to be able to say ‘see you later’ to my wife in the morning with a clear conscience – and really mean it.”
Back at the Pinnis Alpine Pasture, Christian, the landlord, in a checked shirt and lederhosen, whirls from table to table like a whirlwind. But he never fails to crack a cheeky joke. His father used to run the Alpine Pasture, and his mother still helps out in the kitchen. In any case, you can’t head back to the Stubai Valley without having tried at least one ‘Zirbila’ – a Swiss stone pine schnapps. ‘Donated by that very tree over there in the garden,’ Christian says with a wink, ‘which I’d like everyone to give a hug afterwards. Cheers!’
The ice-climbing paradise in the Pinnistal stretches along the eastern side as a huge rock face not far from the Pinnisalm. With around 20 ice falls, the Kirchdach base offers a wealth of impressive routes in an alpine setting.
For tours and ice climbing lessons with Picco: www.piccolruaz.at
Ice climbing equipment from Climbers Paradise Partner Austrialpin
