Bad Hofgastein – a Polar Expedition

A few of our ski lifts run in summer to get walkers and families to
the top of the mountain without too much effort. Once at the top, over 2000m, walks radiate in all directions and have varying degrees of difficulty, marked blue, red and black. Some of todays punters were quite happy sauntering around or having snowball fights or sitting on the sunny terrace with a beer and a strudel. Anyway, we set off on a walk down to the middle station. Its a bit late in the season so some of the mountain huts (Alms) are closed so we could not plan a route with nice lunch spot. Many of the farms in the valley take their cows up the hill to the summer pastures and a nice sideline is to open the Alm to serve beer and simple food like bread and cheese or ham. The weather has been bitterly cold the last few days so if the cows have any sense they have all scuttled down the mountain with their herders to a nice cosy barn!
The Hofgasteiner Haus was open but we decided to save that for another day. The Haus is a good ski coffee stop and will accommodate about 60 people overnight. It gets fully booked in winter and is good value at around 35 Euros half-board! Luggage is delivered on a piste basher as it stands alone at 1900m overlooking the valley. You get to see the sunrise in the morning, the stars at night and, of course, you beat the lift queues. Its more hostel than hotel and not for the chalet fraternity but we like it.
Today was cold but without a cloud in the sky and not a breath of wind. The snow was dry and crisp and every footfall brought that nice squanching sound that we rarely get with our UK slush.

With snow about a foot deep it could have been hard work but the snow was so light and powdery it was surprisingly easy walking. It took about 3 hrs, including our half hour lunch stop sitting on a rock eating marmalade sandwiches. Our rock was at the junction of one of the busiest winter ski runs but today not a soul could be seen and hardly a sound could be heard.
By 3pm we were back in the town, a youth football match was being fought out on the football pitch and people were sitting on park benches enjoying the autumn sunshine. No doubt the golf up the road was in full swing.

At home our balcony was still in the sun so sat and had a nice cold beer and watched the sun behind the mountain - cheers! A one-off ride on the lifts can be quite pricey but a 5 day pass costs about 10 euros a day which is fair value on a day like today. It opened up a winter wonderland of virgin snow and peace and tranquility. A Polar expedition just a 30 minute ride away.

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