Langlauf in the Kotschactal

Off the beaten track - January 2011

By the riverside in the quiet valley

Come on - keep moving!

One disadvantage of downhill skiing is the need to wear many layers of clothes, clip on heavy boots and to carry heavy skis. Going cross-country skiing you only wear thin clothes and the boots and skis are lightweight.
Cross-country does have a plus point after all!

The valley stretches out ahead

So suitably attired, or unsuitably as is turned out, we headed for a favourite valley the Kotschachtal for a bit of cross-country. We should have known it would be cold, the sun doesn't find its way here until midday at this time of year.. We set off up the valley; the snow was soft and powdery with no prepared tracks. No tracks was a bit of a shocker!

TW is freezing!

When TW was here before, last year, it was all beautifully prepared. Today, we had to make our own way, forming personal tracks in the virgin snow. This was actually rather enjoyable. Unfortunately we could not go as far as we would have liked as barbed wire halted our progress up the valley. This was probably a blessing as, by this time, TW was starting to shiver. She headed back at full speed to the Sonnschein Restaurant for a Kaiserschmarren, a traditional pancake dish she likes.

The Sonnschein

Happily thawed out we headed back on the bus to Bad Hofgastein and to the open fields behind our Apartment. They were bathed in sunshine and the tracks were well prepared.

So why didn't we go there in the first place? Beats me!

Bad Hofgastein - looking towards Kotschachtal and the Tauern Mountains

Back in the warm sun in our wide Gastein Valley

Back on track in Bad Hofgastein

Graukogel - our stand-alone ski mountain in Gastein

When you go skiing at Graukogel you feel that you should really be lacing up your leather boots and strapping on a pair of wooden ski’s using cable bindings. It seems as though you are going back in time to a more unpressurised era.
 An era that existed before multi-kilometre ski circuses and linked resorts spread across the Alps. Graukogel is a place where you take a couple of leisurely chairlifts lifts to the top of the mountain and then take your choice between steepish blacks, an undulating red or a blue down a forest track. Or you can ski down, and T-bar back up, a wide red slalom training slope. There is no man-made snow, no snow guns spewing their icy shrapnel across the pistes. This is probably to avoid contaminating the special Gastein Water that is sourced from deep down in the mountain. It means the snow cover depends on the weather and you feel you are only having the very lightest touch on the environment. Even the slow chair lift means you have time to study the animal tracks and the wonderful zirben pines as you climb.

As you would expect in Austria there are a couple of mountain huts, one at the top and one half-way up at the middle station to refresh and refuel..

Scandinavian tour company in residence
 at the half-way house

Even getting there from our modern resort of Bad Hofgastein is a journey back in time. The Lackner Bus leaves every hour and winds its way up the Gastein Valley through Bad Bruck, stopping along the way to pick up locals going shopping or tourists staying out in the sticks. The driver might stop on the way to buy smokes, or if you catch the 11:30, he might just drop into the Kindergarten to pick up some wee tots to share your bus. The bus will stop in Bad Gastein and wait for connecting buses and pick up other skiers. But not too many skiers; Graukogel is a place without crowds. Most skiers don’t take the time venture away from the main area, often you can complete a run without passing or being passed. The corduroy often lasts all day.

It’s rumoured that the area is uneconomic and the lifts might close which would be tragic. It would mean taking to Alpine Touring Ski’s or snow-shoes to enjoy the winter splendour of our little old stand-alone ski mountain in the Gastein valley. It would still be worth it.
Look back in time....
1958 World Championships on the Graukogel and a new lift in 'Hofie'

Winter Snowfall in Bad Hofgastein

Snow has been falling slowly for the last few days. Its not been a blizzard, there has been no wind. The fields around the village are under a foot of powder. Up the mountain the snow is much deeper. A common sight today has been a group of skiers looking for a lost ski in the deep stuff, an exhausting occupation. The visibility has not been great and, after the piste has been cut up by slower skiers and boarders, its a bit of a lottery as you you feel your way across the humps and grooves.

After-Work Experience – the remake

2011 The Ski Odyssey

GDC on the Schlossalm

We again have had a youngster over here for a week. At the ripe old age of 59 and three-quarters, it was time to give GDC some more preparation for Retirement day. Just as youngsters get the opportunity to experience and endure the disciplines of the work-place for short periods prior to leaving full-time education its equally important that those nearing the end of their working life get an insight into what is in store for them.

Fitness.

I cannot see it!

Its great to report that following last year’s report GDC has made great strides in building his fitness. His right hand dexterity when operating his PDA has improved markedly, he clearly has worked long and hard at perfecting the necessary finger flicks and dabs. Unfortunately, due to time constraints, with the demands of family and work, he was unable spend as much time in the gym working on the remainder of his body. However one fit hand is indeed remarkable progress and does show what he is able to achieve when he puts his mind to it.

Strong flavour

This year’s walk to Schmaranz was completed in pouring rain without complaint but we believe GDC had in mind a devious plan to thumb a ride home from our fellow diners. This does demonstrate a new resourcefulness and the pensioners freebie frame of mind. Anyway, thanks for Organic Beers and Meal, it was great (even though we probably chose the wrong item from the menu this time).

GDC in training

Time-keeping

Again, GDC showed animal cunning and adaptability by visiting in early January, when the days are shorter, rather than March. This enabled him to get an extra hour in bed. In this way he was able to overcome previous time-keeping concerns but one can’t help thinking that this was a little bit devious!

Mobile phones and gadgets

Ready for the off on the Stubnerkogel!

GDC carries his HTC PDA thingy everywhere. As it purports to be a phone, satellite navigation system, web browser and camera it is never far from eye or ear. His concern when he falls skiing is not for life or limb but for the thingy in his pocket. We believe his concerns are misdirected and he should develop the retirees obsession with health matters. I’m afraid that he needs to understand the importance of ailments when interacting socially. ‘I fell and broke my HTC’ doesn’t mean anything to anybody. A spell of gout or pains or possibly an allergy should be simulated; perhaps even development of a rare syndrome should be encouraged.

Alcohol Consumption

GDC is clearly well practiced in this aspect.

Even though alcohol is indeed a necessary and mandatory item for a retiree, a modicum of restraint should be observed in the future. A favoured expression of ‘noch einer’ should perhaps be more often replaced by ‘nein danke’.
This is purely for financial reasons. The  beneficial effect of ‘one more’ beer on one’s skiing ability is well proven.

By the way, TW does have a regular habit of hiding the alcohol, it’s not only our young guest who sees the wine bottle whisked away at the end of a meal. Tip: Eat slowly, and ask for seconds!

GDC leaves the Jagerhutte
(He only had a coffee)



GDC arrives at the Jagerhutte



Snacking

Clear improvement was seen in this area. No more Mars or Twix! The progression to Cadburys Dairy Milk Chocolate Bars shows that GDC is developing an appreciation of history and the finer things of life.

In conclusion

We still believe that GDC will become a valuable member of the retirement community but he needs to be more realistic in his expectations. Food and drink on demand, easy and flexible transportation, will have to be replaced by discipline, fresh air and exercise.

GDC was again a pleasure to work with and we wish him well for the future. This time, we hid the Visitors Book. His gushing and over the top praise for the chalet girl and the ski guiding last year was a little sycophantic we felt. Anyway, we enjoyed your visit, thanks for meals out and keep up the good work.

GDC at Fulseck

Beautiful Bad Hofgastein - mine is a Stiegl

GDC and Berwyn

Snowshoe in the sunshine of Bad Hofgastein

TW leads the way!

Barstein Alm

A sunny Saturday in January, TW decided to take me on a snowshoe tour. This was my initiation to snowshoeing having purchased a pair back in December.

We took the Schlossalmbahn lift up to the middle station at Kitzstein and then turned left down towards the Barstein Alm and a closed ski run towards the village of Bad Hofgastein. It was well before the 'beering hour' so we did not stop at the Barstein but waddled on past in our size 30 shoes. You just clip these monster snowshoes to a normal pair of walking boots and off you go. Going up or down a slope proved to be quite easy, our shoes have massive metal teeth underneath. The trickiest manoeuvre seems to be traversing across a steep slope, as you would when skiing. I abandoned that as I got used to the ‘big feet’.

Look I have size 30 feet!

Anyway, it was a cracking day, sunny but cold. Once we had left the ski lift behind it was so quiet. Only the crunch-crunch of our footfalls on the snow could be heard. We did see two groups of three skiers but they were lost and well off track. They had to climb over barbed wire fences as they scratched and scraped their way back to the village. We felt quite superior on our snowshoes, the last thing you need to look for is a prepared piste! We meandered down to the village through farmyards across fields of untrodden snow and along forest tracks until we reached the railway line and the home run piste. By this time we were confident and stable so we walked straight down what is quite a steep piste to the bus stop. Ready for lunch!

Overview of Bad Hofgastein

TW amongst the snowflakes

Looking South towards the Tauern Mountains

A glorious winter's day

Cross-country skiing in Bad Hofgastein

Fear and Falling

It doesn't look steep

After downhill skiing for about ten days I decided to take a break and try my hand at Langlauf (cross-country skiing).
A nice leisurely ski Sunday up the Angertal valley and back was what I envisaged.

It had been warm on Saturday but cold overnight so perhaps I should have expected the track to be icy. I had only skied in soft conditions previously but it can’t be too difficult surely? So I headed off, initially in bright sunshine but soon the track was shaded by pine trees. Unsurprisingly the track is predominantly uphill as it meanders up the valley until the halfway point. The uphill was not a problem, it’s much easier than cycling uphill. However a new downhill section by a dam was a bit of an eye-opener. I set off downhill with my ski’s in the prepared tracks and, although I am quite happy down-hilling on the pistes at 60 kph, I quickly realised that this was a whole different game. With no parachute available I decided I had better have a controlled crash. TW had shown me the breaking technique for the descents on a previous trip but I hadn’t needed to use it. Jeez, did I need it today! Locked Into the icy track it felt like I was going like a bullet out of a gun.

The braking principle is that you keep one ski in a track and the other you take out and angle like a snow plough. This, when done properly, will slow you down. Taking one ski out when already shooting down isn’t easy. So anyway, I picked myself up and tried this new technique. I reached the bottom of this hill without any further mishaps and climbed on through the trees alongside a babbling brook. Idyllic certainly but, of course, every metre of altitude gained would need to be lost on the way back. I reached the furthest and highest point of the loop and it was time to start the descent.

I had hardly seen a soul to this point, apart from a couple of real experts who were using skating skis. Could it be that others had more sense? The journey back was painful! I slid bounced and dived my way towards lunch. When I did fall sideways it was always on the same right buttock, Forrest Gump would know how it felt. It’s surprising how abrasive ice is when you are wearing cycling trousers. Battered and bruised I staggered into the Waldgasthof, my hands shaking.

The Waldgasthof in the trees at Angertal

Have a nice ski dear said TW?

Day trip to Dorfgastein in January

January in Austria

Fifteen minutes down the valley by bus is the village of Dorfgastein. The skiing on their mountain is a little easier and there is also a link over to the next valley at Grossarl. On a ‘Dorfgasteiner day’ we typically spend the morning in the sun on the wide pistes in Grossarl and then, after lunch, ski in the trees on the Dorfgastein side.

Baaah in the bar

Jagerhutte in Grossarl

To get to the skiing it’s a comfortable gondola ride up to Fulseck. What a great feeling when you break through the cloud, into the sunshine, and suddenly you are surrounded by stunning views. That’s just what happened when we took our first excursion of the year.

As you would expect in Austria there are plenty of huts on the hills to get a relatively inexpensive lunch or to take a coffee break. We took our coffee break in the Jagerhutte. It is a self-service and its ‘claim to fame’ is a window through to the barn area where sheep gently snooze.

A good lunch spot is the Wengeralm which, despite the name, is rather good. GDC, being of the Gooner persuasion, insisted on going there for his refueling. He was enjojing himself but then the phone rang....

GDC insisted on going to the Wengeralm

 See the evidence...... 

 

....and then the missus rang!

On tour at Fulseck



The smallest pub on the hill, on the black run



Postcard from Bad Hofgastein in January 2011

The skiing has been great since we returned on the 4th January after our Christmas break.

Across the field to the Schlossalm

Ryanair flew us into Klagenfurt in the south of Austria. The airport transfer buses are irregular so we shared a Taxi (16 Euros)to the Railway Station with two young Austrian ladies from Lienz on their way back from the New Year celebrations in London.

The train to Bad Hofgastein took a very relaxed two hours. Using the Austrian Railway website it’s possible to reserve tickets and seats in advance. I reserved us a couple of seats in one of the old fashioned compartment carriages with just six seats. Bit of a dry-do because there was no buffet car. A guy with a trolley embarked halfway but by the time he reached us we were half an hour from home and by then I was looking forward to a beer in Hansi’s. This caused TW some consternation as she alleged that I had been whingeing the whole journey about the lack of a beer. To shut me up she claims she was driven to walk the length of the train in an attempt to find a buffet car. Anyway, Austrian trains are excellent.

The Bad Hofgastein Railway Station is out of town but the train is met by a Rainer bus that drops passengers off at their Hotels or Apartments.

So, we were deposited outside our Apartment within minutes – nice to be home!

It’s not surprising how quickly we get back into the Bad Hofgastein way of life. It’s just like getting back to work from a holiday and forgetting all about the trip by lunchtime. Except of course the work here in winter is skiing.

The snow conditions have been excellent. We started off on icy dicey conditions when we arrived but then the pistes softened up as some warm weather came through. A day of rain last Thursday meant a rest day was taken but the snow held up very well.