We woke to bad news: the forecast had changed, and the good conditions we’d travelled across half of Europe for didn’t arrive. Instead, heavy snow was on the way.
Our plan had been to ski tour up to the Bordierhütte and stay there for a few days, ticking off the Dirruhorn and Nadelhorn. But with the forecast turning, we decided to do a quick recce up to the hut to see how the conditions were shaping up.
We set off and made good progress. Barney and I had been touring the week before, so we were feeling fit and well acclimatised. But the snow was poor. We decided to continue for a bit — cautiously — avoiding anything too steep.
At around 2,500m, I skinned across a slope and heard the dreaded woomph under my skis. We didn’t hesitate — that was our turnaround point.
Radic and Jack skied down first. Barney and I watched, holding our breath, as Jack dropped toward the edge and threw in a turn just in time. For a moment, we thought he was a goner.
Eventually, we made it back to the car and headed into town for dinner. Radislaw and Jack decided to head back to Poland, as the weather wasn’t looking any better for the next few days.
Barney and I, though? We cooked up a different plan.
Sump To Summit 
Leave a comment