Ski tour Pleisen

Putting on the touring boots becomes a balancing act. The terrain at the Axamer Lizum car park is partly as smooth as glass. And the boots are cold: so move your toes diligently, unload your touring skis, strap on your rucksack, perhaps get some cold protection cream from your rucksack if it's part of your equipment, or better still, leave your gloves on so that your fingers stay reasonably warm.

The numbers on the dashboard in the car show 10:00 and minus 12 degrees before we get out. What's more, there's a breeze blowing right now. But the sky is bright blue and the day further up the mountain in the sun. Cautiously we move across the parking lot with the use of sticks. At the first white stripe we strap on the skis. Before we start, Rico is allowed to take a start photo without gloves.

At the foot of the Herrenabfahrt, we turn right at a small house, follow the signpost and the moderately steep section: perfect for entering, because the pulse does not immediately skyrocket compared to the really steep finish slope of the Herrenabfahrt. The trail passes the toboggan run, which leads to the Pleisenhütte in about 35 minutes on foot.

After the first stretch of trail, we turn into the forest and stay on the signposted official ascent trail. After a good 15 minutes we come to a connecting path. We leave the forest because the sun is smiling at us from the east and we now finally want to fill up on vitamin B. On the men's descent we struggle up a short steep section. Direttissima. The skins have a top grip and the sun is our constant companion from now on.

We stay to the right on the edge of the Herrenabfahrt until we come to the Pleisenhütte. There, a few nature lovers enjoy the morning sun on the east-facing wooden bench. We pause and drink tea from our thermos flasks. All in all we are noticeably warmer.

On we go. We climb into the slope below the Pleisenlift and follow the well made track there. It leads in nice serpentines, perfect for practicing hairpin turns, to the draw path that connects the descent from the Pleisen and the Herrenpiste. The path goes north and then joins the Pleisen ski slope to the west. We walk again along the edge of the piste to the terminus of the Pleisen lift.

The last slope to the summit is also easy to climb. The reward of the ski tour is a really beautiful view to Kalkkögeln, Hoadl, Axamer Kögele and down into the Inntal: so a 360 degree panoramic view. Since the distance rules are also lived at the summit, there is not so much space for newcomers. Therefore we shift our rest further down to the Pleisenlift, which is not in operation.

In general, there are numerous variations on the descent, but the slopes in the open terrain are not avalanche-proof today. So we stay on the well-prepared slope. Therefore, we can also make fine turns with the touring skis from top to bottom. All in all we spend a super half day on the mountain, because at 13:30 Rico, Lisi and I are back at the parking lot. The possible stops at Sunnalm, Pleisenhütte or in the bistro bar "der weiße Rausch" remain unfortunately in the lockdown. But the take-away Liz has opened, which satisfies the sport hunger from portion of fries to Roastbeff sandwich.

The Pleisen is a top alternative to the piste ski tour on the Hoadl. It has a pleasant gradient as well as length. In good weather it is mostly in the sun: welcome on colder days. On the last ascent to the summit, there is even an open-air ski tour feeling, because the chairlift cannot go there. And the all-round panoramic view opens up mountain worlds.

• Start:
  • Parking lot Axamer Lizum 1.530 m
  • Parking fee 6 Euro for the whole day, free with leisure ticket
• Destination: Pleisen 2.236 m
• Altitude difference: 700 hm
• Difficulty: easy
• Walking time:
  • easy: 2 hours
  • for racers: under one hour
• Ascent:
  • easy: towards the north, in the forest and under Pleisenlift
  • sporty: completely on the edge of the men's slope up to the draw path in the direction of Pleisen
• Safety:
  • on the ascent generally problem-free, if pistes are officially open
  • on the descent pay attention to the avalanche situation, slopes off-piste can be dangerous, on the piste without problems
• Predicate: comfortable, worth seeing, pleasant
• Info about the current situation: For piste touring you do not (currently) need a negative Corona test! But please always inform yourself in advance about the current Corona measures of the government.