Ahh the Alpes. In Austria they breathe a special kind of atmosphere. High snow covered peaks and every now and then a little wooden house. If you enjoy hiking it’s a beautiful area to visit in the warmer months of the year. But in my opinion the best time to go is in the winter! Especially if you’re in for some winter activities like skiing or snowboarding. I’ve been snowboarding for almost 20 years and also tried France and Switzerland in the past, but I really prefer Austria. Everything is just right about that place. From the old kitschy apartments/chalets to the cozy restaurants near the slopes and of course the apres ski.
View of the Alpes
I just came back from a week snowboarding in Austria. Was there during new years in a little place called Obergurgl. It’s next to another village called Sölden which might ring a bell, especially if you’re from Europe. Or maybe if you've seen Spectre by James Bond, they shot some footage around this village =) I’d personally like to avoid staying in that place because there are way too many Dutch people. Especially if it’s a Dutch holiday.
The towns I just mentioned are part of the Ötztal. You can find it in the Tyrol area of Austria. This 65 kilometers long valley separates the Stubai Alpes from the Ötztal Alpes. For me it’s around 900 kilometers of driving to get there. But usually it takes some time because you will have to cross a mountain pass at the end, which can be pretty busy (depending on the weather and how many countries have their holiday). Due to this pass and busyness, travel time can variate between 11 and 14 or even up to 15 hours.
I’d personally like to go later in the year, say February or March. But circumstances made us go on this holiday around new year. We chose this place because the Ötztal has some pretty high slopes going up till around 3200 meters on the glacier near Sölden. Although nothing is for certain, you can kind of rely on the fact that there will be snow in this area during the winter period. I’ve been there before and know people who go every year, so I know a little what to expect concerning snow conditions.
Proper firework shows thanks to the hotels
Our first day we had nice sunny weather with no clouds, perfect to get into the game and to visit some look-out points. The next day it started snowing and from Tuesday till Friday it just snowed nonstop. I mean as I said, I’m snowboarding for almost 20 years now and I’ve never seen so much snow. At a certain point there was almost 3 meters of snow on the mountain and around one and a half in the village. The snow conditions were superb. We spoke to the guy who rented us the apartment. He lives in the village for more than 40 years and told us that he had only seen so much snow 4 or 5 times in that period.
View into Italy
We also went to Sölden one day because this year you can go skiing there without needing to buy a ski pass specifically for Sölden. They kind of added the Sölden area to the Obergurgl ski pass. Sölden has more kilometers of slopes than Obergurgl and, as I mentioned before, you can go up to 3200+ meters on the glacier. Sad thing is we couldn’t see anything of the surroundings because it was snowing all day with lots of wind. I guess a good reason to go back there again.
A gondola, they also shot some James Bond (Spectre) footage here
Later in the week they closed of some ski elevators because of the wind. It sucks but it’s just for safety issues. Although there was a high level for possible avalanches, there were some good possibilities to go a bit off piste between the slopes. Cruising through the forest with the snow up to your chest, can it get any better than that??
Poooooooowderrr (and me looking quite difficult)
My girlfriend and I hanging around between the trees
Luckily it stopped snowing on our last day and the sun started shining again. It gave us a proper window to get out of the valley without any (car) problems. It was definitely one of my better skiing holidays with so much snow. Really nice to be out there between the trees and the mountains, surfing through the snow. To anyone who has never tried skiing or snowboarding before, I definitely encourage you to give it a try. It’s a great holiday where you’ll be out in the nature all week doing sports.
If you’re interested in any of my previous work, feel free to check it out:
- Malaysia: visiting the Mossy Forest and Tea plantations in the Cameron Highlands!
- Visiting the ancient temples of Ayutthaya in Thailand
- Long exposure photography. What settings and gear I use. Multiple photos inside!
- Vietnam backpackers route for 4 weeks (part 2 of 2)
- Vietnam backpackers route for 4 weeks (part 1 of 2)
- Beautiful limestone pools and a crazy river. Semuc Champey (Guatemala) in one sentence
!steemitworldmap 46.872476 lat 11.026582 long Obergurgl d3scr