There’s a mountain in Gastein called Graukogel (2492m). It has old fashioned skiing with no snow-making. A leisurely two stage chairlift takes you up to around 2000m and from there you can take black, red or blue to the middle station. The runs are lovely as they are through the trees and it’s just so very, very quiet! It doesn’t link directly to any other area so it’s a standalone recreation area only a 10 minute bus ride from the bustle of Bad Gastein. It’s popular area with Alpine Touring skiers. They forgo the lifts and walk on their skis to the top. They put seal skins on the bottom of their skis so that they ‘get a grip’ on the way up. Once at the top they stop at Toni’s restaurant (which is excellent) and then, with skins removed and bindings reset, they whizz down. Not sure how the resort gets revenue though because no lift pass is required? When the moon is full the Tourers have a race where the participants go up and down solidly for 24 hours. It’s a massive test of endurance, makes the London Marathon look like a walk in the park.
There is also an abundance of walking trails and climbing on the mountain. For a bit of variety, TW and our friends took one of the walks from Bad Gastein to the Grunen Baum. Called the Hardtweg it goes around the mountain through the trees. Have to say it’s a bit slippery at the time of year, looking forward to doing it again in the Summer when the ice has melted.
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| At the Winidschgratzhohe - just above Bad Gastein |
Lunch was taken at the Windischgratzhohe, mmmm nice salad with bacon. We passed another gasthof ‘Rudolfshohe’ en route that was closed but looks worthy of further investigation next time we are wandering past.
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