The Tyrol massif in steep is one many riders tend to overlook. The rather mellow rock and tree filled slopes of the Ortles mountain (3390m) do not really inspire fun and fast skiing. We took this weekend to explore the most overlooked section of the massif, the high altitude area on the East edge of the map. The expedition was undertaken with Japanese free-rider Kitano who rides the 2017 K2 Poaches (96mm). To start this journey we made our way to the East Hut Complex in Ortles which are the eastern-most Huts in the massif. These two huts served as the basecamp for our skiing exploration.

Sending it from the roof on a foggy morning

On the first day the weather tide was low and the cloudy weather and flat light limited us to skiing around the huts where the options are still plentyful. Just North of the huts there is a waggon which serves as a good pad to send some backflips and a 30 foot cliff which leads into a forest with tall, perfectly spaced trees. The day ended with sends from the roof of the hut (see picture above) where the Armada Tracer 118’s really did not shine at landing flat from the 15ft high roof.

The next day the weather cleared out and fresh, wind-blown powder had covered the surrunding peaks. It was exploration time! After plenty of scoping we were led into an amphetheater surrounded by 60+ft cliffs and mellow colouirs where riding straight lines and sending massive grabs would be on the menu for the next two days. Hiking all the way up on the top of the slope at +3370m give the rider plenty of options. A mellow (40°) powder-filled colouir graces the middle of the slope with a sharp cliff ridge on the riders left and massive +90 footers on the riders right.

Under the Amphitheater

After a few variations down the slope it was decided that the area under the big rock (viewers left from the colouir) would become the area of contention for the rest of the day. Both me and Kitano took big cliff sends to the next level by skiing the over the large cliffs on both sides of the section. The one on the riders left side has a very technical ridge traverse until the rider stands above a 60ft high where he has to straight send down the cliff. The riders right side is less technical but it is very difficult to land correctly. Both Kitano and Me took freeriding to the next level by skiing very fast and landing very big tricks. The Shark-fin (riders left) is a classic big mountain style cliff; akin to those in the Becc De Rosses (Verbier). The double cliff on the riders right is a reminder of classic Julian Carr big cliff style.

Kitano sending the shark-fin

The day on the mountain is long and tricks get landed and missed. The most we were able to land was a Lincon flip tail-grab off the shark-fin and a 70ft backflip off from the double. The options are however plentifull. A small spine up on the top section and the rocks above allow riders to combine multiple tricks before leading up to the shark-fin or to the double. However, we did not only ride big cliffs but also steep and narrow shutes around the amphitheater. The day turned to dusk and after a few sunset turns down the side colouir we were led back to the hut from where we will continue our adventure up some of the Tyrol classics.

Sending it off the double