Spring

There isn't a season featured more often in poetry - probably because spring is the season we wait hardest for. We yearn for the sun and can't wait to see the world come alive again with the first flowers and green leafs sprouting everywhere. Winters can be long in South Tyrol. In our valley we have a saying that goes "We get six months of winter, and six months of cold.". Fortunately, that's not a hundred percent true. It does, however, explain why spring is so eagerly awaited.

Springtime is special in so many ways. It's a new beginning, and every year Mother Nature boldly and creatively reinvents herself. Slowly but surely the time will come when Alpinists stash away their skis and ski skins, their snowshoes, their ice axes and crampons, and take out their climbing shoes instead. After the long winter break, the first routes are climbed in indoor and outdoor climbing facilities. As soon as the rock warms up enough, mountain lovers rush for the sunny southern rock faces. The scrunching winter melody is replaced by a clicking springtime tune.

However, we do not say goodbye to snow and ice completely in spring. High up in the mountains, and in the shady depths of some side valleys, the frozen elements rule a little while longer. This is the time for great tours on old snow, and challenging climbs on ice walls and icefalls. While snow and ice have long molten in the sunny main valleys, we know where winter stays just a bit longer, and we can only smile at teasing questions such as "How far did you have to carry your skis today?"