 Poster: A snowHead
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Just back from a great six day group ski tour from Vent in Oetztal, with Alpine Guides from Otley.
Day 1: Vent to Martin Busch Hütte.
Day 2: Martin Busch Hütte to Similaun Summit and back.
Day 3: Martin Busch Hütte to Hochjoch Hospitz, via the location where Oetzi the 5,000 year old iceman was found.
Day 4: Hochjoch Hospitz to Langtaufererspitze and back.
Day 5: Hochjoch Hospitz to Vernagt Hütte.
Day 6: Vernagt Hütte to Vent, via Hochvernagtspitze.
Our guide was shocked at the lack of snow - said it was more like May than March on south-facing slopes in particular. We had two or three bare sections of skis on packs and hiking on grass and rock as a result. And one of the glaciers we crossed was very bare for the time of year - lots of grey bits and rocks.
Nevertheless, we had a brilliant time. The hüttes were all very comfortable, with great food and great company, and the weather was amazing - wall to wall blue skies for the six days. Downhill conditions were very varied, with some tricky breakable crust and granular mush in places - though (as an absolute bonus) we did manage some fantastic fresh tracks each day. Descending untracked, deserted glaciers was just brilliant.
It was a tougher tour than we anticipated though, with up to 5hrs of climbing daily. In total, we covered just under 100km on skis and climbed 6,500m. Also, some of the summits we climbed took us out of our comfort zone - roped up and crampons on along precarious ridges. We've never regarded ourselves as winter mountaineers (more like normal UK hillwalkers), so it felt like a great sense of achievement when we'd done them.
The hüttes were quite busy but we didn't see too many other tourers on the trail - mainly just a few groups who were doing a very similar itinerary to us.
All in all, a fantastic trip 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Did a similar tour but the other way round (ie Similaun was the last summit) a number of years ago. As you say, lovely area, nice huts and a few interesting moments getting to the summits!
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Only been to that area once, most impressive.
You know the history of the Busch hut, what it was previously called?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Thanks for that Weathercam. Very informative.
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| Quote: |
| Did a similar tour but the other way round (ie Similaun was the last summit) a number of years ago |
I'm sure it would be equally as entertaining doing the hüttes and summits the other way round
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@mountainaddict, I think the Martin Busch hut was closed and that influenced our decision
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FAQ
...Was it originally named after Martin's sister Kate? 
