When the lifts on the Brauneck stand still and the last skiers make their way home, Sepp Brandhofer's work begins.
He is a snow groomer driver at the mountain railway.
Lenggries
– Blue work clothes, sturdy hiking boots and a black and red cap with the inscription “PistenBully” pulled down over his face.
Sepp Brandhofer gets out of the gondola at the Brauneck mountain station.
It's 5:45 p.m.
He unhooks the four-seater cabin and switches off the cable car.
No one comes up here after him.
All skiers are in the valley and the Lenggrieser starts to work.
"The slopes have to be clean and good to drive on tomorrow," he says, hacking away at the snow with his shoe.
"The snow conditions are great at the moment, it will be a pleasant shift." Then he lights a cigarette and walks down a few meters from the cable car station.
Here are three red snow groomers parked one behind the other.
"Now we're about to start," says Brandhofer and puts out the cigarette after a few puffs.
He climbs carefully over the chains into the driver's cab of the red snow groomer.
"You really have to be careful, if it leaves you here, it hurts a lot." The 40-year-old points to the sharp edges of the snow groomer chains.
Then he closes the door and starts the 14-ton vehicle.
Clearing blade and tiller can be controlled by joystick
It's bearable in the cockpit: Sepp Brandhofer sits casually in a comfortable driver's seat with armrests.
The heating provides cozy warmth even at minus 10 degrees.
He puts his right hand on a joystick with which he can control both the clearing blade at the front and the tiller at the rear.
“You can use the snow blade to level the slope.” Then he carefully steps on the gas pedal, there is no brake.
"As soon as you take your foot off the gas, the caterpillar stops," explains the native of Arzbach, carefully checking the information on the screens.
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The high-tech snow groomers cost about half a million euros, reports Bergbahn employee Sepp Brandhofer.
Normally he only works with the machines at night.
© Felicitas Bogner
A digital display resembles the image from a thermal imaging camera.
"But that has nothing to do with it," he says, laughing.
"It's a snow depth measuring device, it shows me how thick the snow cover is." This allows Brandhofer to estimate well where he needs to put some snow for a smooth white slope and where there is already enough base.
"This is especially interesting on days when snow is made."
Brauneck mountain railway: "Pistenbully" with modern snow gauge
Tonight is such a night.
“Most of my colleagues start later – around 11 p.m. when the snow machines are ready.” The route for which Brandhofer is responsible only needs artificial snow in a few places.
"That's why I was able to start earlier.
The others have to carry more machine snow.” Brandhofer doesn't need a special driver's license, but he does need a great deal of instinct and experience.
"I got an introduction and you only learn the rest by driving." Over time you become more and more experienced.
No separate driver's license required for snow groomers
Brandhofer takes off his winter jacket.
"It's really warm enough in here now." He turns on the radio.
It's "Summer of 69" by Bryan Adams.
"It was my dream to be a full-time snow groomer driver," he says with a grin.
“It has always appealed to me to steer this giant machine on the mountain.
It must be a man thing.” Brandhofer shrugs his shoulders.
“In addition, I more or less grew up with the mountain railway.
My uncle is the lift operator on the Streidlhang.
I had a job there from an early age.” In 2009 he received an offer for a permanent position at the Bergbahn.
"Of course I didn't say no," says the mechanical engineering mechanic.
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On steep slopes and in slushy snow, the snow groomer is supported by a tow rope.
© Felicitas Bogner
For Brandhofer, his job is even “relaxing”.
Of course, there are demanding shifts and you always have to be highly concentrated.
But he always enjoys the view, the peace and quiet and driving a face-off.
"The moon looks really gigantic from here." Then Brandhofer unexpectedly takes his foot off the gas pedal and slowly brings the caterpillar, with which he drives at an average speed of 20 km/h, to a standstill.
He looks out the left window.
You can see two glowing dots.
They are tourers.
"It happens almost every night." He leans out of the window and explains to the men in a friendly manner that they should now drive down quickly before he immediately attaches himself to a tow rope with the snow groomer.
"It's incredibly dangerous when winter sports enthusiasts are out and about at night.
We work with ropes that have a few tons of pulling power,
if a ski tourer drives in there or the tow rope catches him, it can be deadly,” explains Brandhofer.
"It can tear your head off."
Rope with a pulling force of up to 4.5 tons
A few meters further Brandhofer stops again, opens the glass door of his driver's cabin, jumps over the chains outside and presses a yellow warning sign firmly into the snow.
He then heads for the edge of the forest, where he attaches the thick wire rope to a massive coniferous tree.
It supports the caterpillar with up to 4.5 tons of traction.
"Today we only need 3 tons of support," explains the snow groomer professional while maneuvering the vehicle down the steep slope.
"The steeper the slope, the more you need the support." The snow conditions also have an influence on this.
"In the spring, when the snow is muddy, you're more likely to slip away, which is why I attach the snow groomer to more places."
Lenggries: Some tourers disregard all warnings
The rope can be extended up to 1400 meters.
"A lot of people don't think about that either.
Due to the length of the rope, a snow groomer does not necessarily have to be in the immediate vicinity.
"I can't see what's happening a kilometer above me, so I can't react if someone crashes into my rope." Brandhofer shakes his head.
He is glad that nothing serious has happened to him so far.
"Once someone ran into my rope, but luckily it wasn't under tension, so it just threw him.
Luckily nothing more happened.
You can't get rid of that anymore." Some tourers are not interested in the warning.
Even if the 40-year-old can't muster any sympathy for this, good cooperation with the winter sports enthusiasts is important to him.
"I still try
meet everyone in a friendly manner and seek dialogue,” he says.
"We don't want to be an enemy."
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Despite the well-known dangers, ski tourers are out and about on the Brauneck every night.
© Felicitas Bogner
It's 8 p.m.
The initial twilight has turned into deep darkness.
Through the bright headlights, Brandhofer can see out clearly to each side of the caterpillar.
He leans back and relaxes and steers the heavy monster back up the cable winch.
The garland slope is already finished.
Now it goes further down - on the World Cup slope you can see the ski club training.
"We always talk to each other, of course the departure will only be made when the club is ready."
Lenggries: Night shifts at Brauneck to prepare the slopes
Depending on the weather, the night shift sometimes lasts until the early hours of the morning.
"When we're done depends on the snow conditions and whether snow can be made." The Brauneck team with its six caterpillars will be done by 5 a.m. at the latest.
"Sometimes we have a beer after work and then it's off to bed when others are up." Not exactly family-friendly working hours, is it?
“It has its perks because I have some of my kids in the afternoons.
When they come home from school, we often eat together,” says the father of three.
"In the summer I work quite normally during the day on the mountain railway." Despite the strenuous working hours, Sepp Brandhofer loves the winter and his lonely night journeys.
"Even after almost 15 years, I would never want to change my job." After a shift, it is the best thing for him
when he sees the slippery slopes.
"My cell phone is full of before and after pictures," he says, and gets out of the caterpillar, laughing.
It's 9:30 p.m.
Lunch break.
Brandhofer is waiting for his colleagues.
They arrange the shift in a conference so that everyone can start the second part of the night in their caterpillar from 11 p.m.
You can find more current news from the region around Bad Tölz at Merkur.de/Bad Tölz.