It’s the second day for me at Kaunertaler Gletscher. We still have a lot of work to do by clearing the snow. The roof of the Ochsenalm restaurant, the Ochsenalm lift middle station or the kids playing place are waiting for us. I was impressed that all the available workers were involved, in front with the managers who worked side by side with us. From the beginning I found a relaxed working environment with friendly and open minded colleagues.
The days started to fly. For the first two weeks I was assigned to some indoor electrical jobs with Erdal, the “good at everything” electrician. Now the restaurant benefits of new, economically led lights.
The road before reaching the top at 2750 m
We start working at 8, but still a 45 minutes ride waits us every morning. The minutes waiting for the van is accompanied by the beautiful concert of the birds. As time passes and Spring is
closer, the song is stronger and louder. As for the trip, starting from 1200 m and ending at 2750 m, for me is a real geography lesson, passing through different vegetation levels.
Tree diversity and the glacier on upper Kauner valley
Being located deep into the mountains, with less inhabited places, wildlife can thrive here undisturbed. Until now I have spotted at relative close distance chamois, foxes, squirrels, roe deer and a lot of red deers that are coming every evening to a feeding place.
Chamois spotted near the Gepatsch dam.
Large carnivores such as brown bear, wolf and lynx are no longer present here, except for some occasionally visits from South Tirol. But, who knows, maybe in the future, these magnificent animals will once again thrive in these places, for a complete ecosystem.
As I said before, we start working just before 8 a clock, but after I arrive I take a look upon the rugged mountain peaks and crests that are touched gently by the first rays of sunlight. In January the Sun came up earlier so I could enjoy a beautiful color spectrum.
First rays of light touching the Kaunergrat.
After the accommodation period, the first days at the lift had come. Until now I passed to all tree of them: Norderjoch (the middle one in length), Weissseferner (the longest and highest one) and Falgin (the shortest one), where I also spend most of my days.
View from the Falgin lift cabin
From here I can have a beautiful view over the entire glacial cirque and the mountains that are surrounding it.
Weisssespitze, dominates the landscape. The Kaunergrat continues towards north with three peaks, over with, the Wildspitze can be spotted. More towards links comes the Bliggspitze, my favourite one, and a bit far the Watzespitze, the highest of Kaunergrat.
Bliggspitze, after a heavy snow
Until now I was lucky to experience mostly sunny, beautiful days, with pleasant temperatures. When foggy and windy is, as Andrew, my lift colleague said, you feel like being a researcher at the North Pole. Just you, your thoughts and the wind, into a sea of ice and snow.
Weisssespitze during Sunset
But, luckily, after cloudy and snowy days, good weather comes again. Now is the best moments to take pictures early in the morning. The temperature is low, the mountain crests are covered with a thin layer of dancing clouds and the side light is soft and pleasant.
Below you can see some of the photos I have taken during my free or working days up on the Kaunertaler Gletscher.
