Strahlen 2018

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After a wonderful spring and early summer with almost perfect weather, over weeks and months, nothing and no one could keep us in the valley. The bivouac had to be set up and everything made ready for the summer.

 After the weather was really warm and very stable, we decided to choose a similar starting date as last season. Surprisingly, there were some! Meter more snow and somehow, after seeing the glacier covered with wonderful snow, I felt more like doing a ski tour than Strahlen. The first weeks of the season felt like ages. Until August our area where we have plant to work where still covered in snow. In addition, due to the extremely warm temperatures in the valley in contrast to the large amounts of snow in the high mountains, we had fog almost every day from noon. After about a month in our place without significant success, we decided to tackle various areas we had never visited before, but never got out of our heads. In the region around the Lukmanierpass, we followed a few clues from old books, which led us after a few days to a place with vertical clefts and absolutely brilliant skeletal crystals up to 20 cm in length. The motivation was back .... As a result, the weather should remain incredibly stable and warm, so we went back to our bivouac full of hope. Most of the snow had melted and our two spots from the previous year were free. Just below an old cleft from 2017, we had the huge luck to find a completely clay-filled cleft where all the crystals have already been detached from the ceiling. It is hard to believe how patiently you can drill around in the dirt for days with a wooden stick ;-).

In the last few weeks into October we were allowed to fill our backpack one or the other time and spent an unbelievably nice time on the mountain. The big finds did not come, but we are satisfied, after all, it is not only the crystals that matter. We wish you a nice winter, health and a successful Collector / Strahler Season 2019. We can hardly wait for it. Patrick & Tobi

 

Here is our film / slideshow about the season 2018. As always unfortunately without sound because we can look for crystals but seemingly unable to talk about something clever - maybe next year.