Schönjoch sits at 2400 m asl above the massive Austrian ski resort of Fiss-Serfaus. I take the cable car up to get ready for an early start. Hefty thunderstorms have been forecast for the early afternoon.
I launch and easily make some height, but not much. I make a go towards the East nonetheless. The Inn -the valley I’ve been following all day yesterday- loops northeast to Landeck and only then turns back East. Not a detour I feel like making. There is a valley heading due East, but I don’t have the height to comfortably cross and reconnect with it. I try nonetheless.
Arriving low, there is some lift, but not enough for my patience. I violate one sacred rules, “when you’re low, never leave lift to search for lift”. I pay the price and decide to slope land and hike up what’s missing. What takes 10 minutes in a weak thermal can be hiked in an hour. Lose another 25 minutes packing and unpacking.
Once high enough -I wish I knew the definition of “enough” in this case- I unpack on a classic line-snagger slope covered in low brush. I hurry to get back in the air. Now the thermals are cranking. I follow the ridge west and eventually cross towards Wildgrat. I’m flying at 3000 and wearing nothing on my legs except board shorts on my legs that I try to keep tucked away in my harness’s wind skirt.
I enter Ötztal high. The flying is spicy, the atmosphere brimming with energy ready to explode.
About 20 km up the valley, the Ötztal narrows, sandwiched between mountains 3500 m high. Landing opportunities become scarce, and I expect there’s a nasty strong wind down there.
Over Sölden the first rain drops hit me. Time to get down, fast. Lift everywhere I go. With big ears (a maneuver to sink more) I push the speed bar all the way. I see a generous patch of landable green in Zwieselstein and spiral down. I realize this is a terrible place to land, with a fight between powerful gusts of valley wind, a southerly wind pouring across the pass in the opposing direction, and thermal bubbles sniping left and right. I’m amazed at how well the Zeno handles. I land safely. Tomorrow I’ll take a break.