Turkey’s Little St. Anton

What do you really need for a short trip? First: Music. To me, travel and music are truly inseparable. It is the extra something I need for an exotic mix of memories. Every time I get ready for a trip, I delete my iPod and a friend of mine fills it up with 600 new songs. I always look forward to the new tunes and can't wait to find out how the yet unknown adventures and soundtrack will go together. Second: "gloves-beanie-goggles"! This is what my parents used to tell me when I was a kid and ever since it is one of the most useful lines when organizing a ski trip. Third: Jameson Whisky, my personal travel medication. Filled into a small flask for daily desinfection, it is also perfect for celebrating a summit ritual. One, two, and three – let's go!

I had just arrived at Björn's place in St. Anton when he showed me pictures of two lines that he'd skied the day before. Wow! I spent the last couple days in Southern Tyrol, shooting for the local tourism commission. Snowtubing. You can't always choose your job. Björn, Kathi and I are up early. I look out of the window and watch the first sunrays softly touching the peaks of the Arlberg mountains. Hmm, up there's a perfect line for today. My daydreams are abruptly interrupted by the noise next door. Björn and Kathi are getting ready, packing their bags. Yes, right, I forgot. We need to leave for Zurich airport in 20 minutes; destination Kayseri in Anatolia, Turkey. They say it looks like the Arlberg region.

I guess the line has to wait and I gather my gear, which I had carelessly spread all over the place the night before. Currently, they are supposedly constructing the largest Turkish ski resort in Kayseri, one of the Anatolian "tiger cities" at the bottom of Mt. Erciyes. It will be my very first trip to this country. I have no idea what to expect; I do not know the culture or the country itself. Sometimes it's an advantage to have no clue, because it's the best qualification to make new experiences. Finally we are getting in the car and leave for Zurich. Once arrived at the airport, I present my passport and ticket to the lady at the counter, sporting my nicest smile, although it's kind of hard after the early wake-up call this morning.

This sort of smile is crucial, because as a photographer I always run into problems with my luggage. If the atmosphere at the counter is bad, the overweight bags will cost a fortune. This time I am lucky and my smile does the job. We are checked in! On our first day, the weather cannot really compete with the Turkish hospitality. Zero visibility. So it's time for a little culture. Kayseri, the "emperor's city", is one of the oldest commercial centers of Turkey, so why not start with the local bazaar. To fulfill the cliché, we end up buying a carpet. Whether we really wanted to or whether it was the persistence of the salesman remains an open question.

The cup of tea right after is definitely our own choice and after doing some sightseeing, including a visit to a museum, we return to our small mountain hut, carrying two times three kilograms of wool, beautifully woven into typical patterns. Traveling to Turkey was originally Mehmet Eglenceoglu's idea, a Turkish man grown up at the Arlberg. When he got older, he decided to return to the country of his ancestors. Mehmet is now responsible for the development of the Erciyes ski resort. The "Tyrolian Turk" is always very pleased when people from his old home turf come visit. He's a great person, living and believing in the Turkish culture and hospitality, welcoming us with open arms. Mt.

Erciyes is a 3,917 meters tall dormant volcano that supposedly last erupted in 6880 before Christ. It's located 25 kilometers south of Kayseri in the Cappadocia area and is the landmark of the region. To date, the mountain offers five ski lifts; the development of the mountain foresees a modern infrastructure and a fully equipped ski resort. One of the people responsible is Mehmet, him being the adviser for the Turkish honorary consul, who is investing all his hope and quite a share of his money into the resort. In total, the plan includes 21 lifts and roughly 200 kilometers of slopes. In spite of the partial development of the mountain, the volcano will still offer a vast number of possibilities to go ski touring and enjoy untouched couloirs.

With a little bit of physical exercise, you can easily escape the predictable crowds of tourists once the resort is open. Wide mountain faces reaching into the seemingly endless desert-like surroundings offer plenty of space to hike and ride. The barren region is said to offer very reliable snow conditions thanks to its general altitude – the city of Kayseri is already located 1,000 meters above sea level. At last, the weather is showing some mercy. The deeper we enter the unknown and bizarre lava terrain and the higher we climb the more we let go of our worries, thoughts and doubts. Although we are so far from home and in total solitude, everything soon feels very familiar.

This is a state of mind that we always experience once we are traveling in the mountains, no matter where on earth. The growing distance to the oh-so-normal insanity down in the valley is yet again an indicator for how little we need in order to be happy and how little we miss daily life. We keep hiking, at first across some deeply blackened volcanic structures, and then the terrain starts opening up. The wide slopes are getting steeper and we quickly gain elevation. The views down into the Turkish plateau are so different from anything we've seen before. At the foot of the treeless volcano is flat desert steppe as far as the eye can see. It feels like a different planet, unreal yet beautiful.

We are captivated, and the following descent is just as spectacular. The terrain is not as steep as at the Arlberg, but the slopes are wide and offer free choice of endless lines, most of them probably never skied before. The environment and the mountain of "Little St. Anton" in Turkey, in combination with the openness and hospitality of the local people have left some unique memories. We would have never expected that Anatolia offers such a beautiful landscape and such great skiing conditions only a few hours away from home. Thank you Kathi and Björn for inviting me to join you on this trip. And thank you very much Mehmet for your support and helpfulness.