50 | March• 201841 HOURS ALONE IN THE SNOWFRIDAY, MARCH 4,2016,had gotten
off to a good start, with beautiful
springsunshineandperfect,pow-
dery snow. The winter sports en-
thusiastsfromRadolfzellSkiClub
inGermanyweremakingthemost
of the glorious weather at the An-
dermatt ski resort in Switzerland.
At around four in the afternoon,
skiinstructorDanielPetekreturned
to the summit with ten members of
the group so that they could ski the
popularGuspisfreeride–tenkilo-
metres off-piste to Hospental – one
last time.
Niciisnewtothegroup,andat
age 18 he is its youngest member.
Heisalsotheonlysnowboarder
intheparty.Butthatisn’ttosay
he’sinexperienced–hisgrand-
fatherstartedtakinghimontrips
to the Valais Alps at age 11. “Wintersportsaremylife,”saysthebio-
chemistry student. “Both skiing and
snowboarding!”
Duringalengthytraverse,here-
alises that his board is long overdue
foragoodwaxing–itkeepsstick-
ing,andintheendhehastogetoff
andtrudgethroughthedeepsnow
whiletheskiersglideacrossthe
slope with ease.
But where are Dani and the oth-
ersnow?Theycouldhavecarried
on straight down, but then again
theymighthaveturnedoffover
thereontheleft.
Nicolas’s father Bernhard Junge-
Hülsing–adoctorbyprofession–
should have been with the group,
too. But he was still suffering from
astubbornboutofthefluandhad
toldhisson,“Yougowithout me. I
don’t feel up to it.”“HELLOOO!” NICOLAS JUNGE-HÜLSING
shouts down into the valley at the top of his voice.
“Daaniii!Whereareyou?”
“Niiciiii!” Daniel Petek bellows up at the mountain until
he’s practically hoarse. “We’re over here!”
Itmayseemasiftheyareansweringeachother,buteach
iscompletelyoblivioustotheother’scalls,thankstoahefty
downdraftblowingviolentlythroughtheUrserenvalleyand
whippingupsnowontheflankoftheGemsstockmountain.
The sudden gale drowns out every sound, completely
hiding every shape behind an opaque white veil. The tracks
in the snow are first obscured by the winds, then completely
erased seconds later.PHOTO (PREVIOUS SPREAD): COURTESY NICOLAS JUNGE-HÜLSING