A long and rainy November, which washed away almost all the snow from the mountains, resulted in great plans for the end of the year. The winter room (1387m) situated close to the Krn Lake, surrounded by great mountains on practically all sides, was the joker I pulled out of my sleeve. Just to make sure I wouldn't be going alone, I invited 8 friends to join me on a 4-day ski-touring paradise. However, big plans sound very attractive, but in reality proove to be harder to carry out. So in the end it turned out that only Artač and I were going, while Prti was joining us the next day.
We quickly left the snowless valley Lepena and were waiting for the snow to thicken as we gain on the altitude. However, only around 20-30cm were waiting for us at the hut and we were left disappointed as we gazed at the surrounding mountains that seemed only lightly powdered by snow. We threw off our heavy backpacks (ok, they had around 30kg and "heavy" is probably an understatement), and jumped to see the frozen lake, hoping to find more snow in the valleys above. The lake, with broken ice floes crowded together, was simply magnificent.. yet there was still little snow. We enjoyed long afternoon cooking and when the temperature dropped below -10, we quickly hid in the winter room, where the thermometer stopped at +1 degree Celsius.. almost perfect for a good night sleep. Tired and cold, we jumped into our sleeping bags at around 17:30 and "slept" there for almost 13 hours, while this was probably the longest sleep I had in my life. But what can you do, when it's dark from 4 o'clock in the afternoon till 7:30 in the morning. We were hoping to find more snow in a long valley Northeast of Krn, and when we passed the lake everything turned white and we found ourselves in a snow paradise. To make things even sweeter, I am talking about well-compacted snow covered by a few centimeters of powder. We felt like two kings when we reached Batognica (2164m).. and all the worries of the world were quickly forgotten, or at least pushed somewhere aside!
Prti (Buco) arrived on the next day, and you must understand that when you give this guy skies and put him on the snow - magic happens (it sometimes reminds me of a young boy getting his first bicycle). He quickly jumped on a nearby hill to silence his hunger with a few jumps and turns, while he returned to the hut exhausted, thirsty and hungry like a lion. We were cooking, eating, drinking and after a few hours laughed ourselves to sleep.
Next morning it was time to conquer another mountain and Montura (1958m), hanging above our winter room, was probably the best choice. Due to small quantities of snow, midget piners were still enjoying freedom, giving the surrounding a very green look. As we ascended past the abandoned military facilities of WW1, it wasn't long before we reached the top of the mountain, which is positioned perfectly for a 360 degree view. Bad weather was aggressively pushing from the East, and we quickly tightened our boots and skied into the valley. It was one of the most playful descents in my life, as we had a very dynamic course full of small jumps, drops, natural half-pipes and not to forget ambitious piners. Prti was our playground instructor and you can't imagine how agile 100+ kilograms of pure mass can be;) We packed our things and.. one, two, three.. we were back in the valley! The Krn Lake and its mountain company shall definetly see us again - but not before a few more meters of white powder hit the slopes.
I wish you all a happy new year! And remember to stay healthy, positive and to enjoy life like we enjoy snow!
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