Page 338 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Austria

336  TR A VELLERS ’ NEEDS

OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES

With its snow-covered mountains, rolling hills by ramblers, while the Tyrolean Alps are a
and countless lakes, A ustria is a veritable paradise for rock climbers and mountaineers.
adventure playground for sports enthusiasts. In a land locked country, water-lovers head
Snow sports, naturally, dominate: both Alpine to the lakes, which are perfectly suited for
and Nordic skiing prevail, with snowboarding, water-skiing, sailing and windsurfing.
cross-country skiing and sledging also Throughout Austria there are also superb
popular. Some 14,000 km (9,000 miles) of facilities for more unusual sports, such
walking trails across the country’s pictur- as glacier climbing, snowshoe walking,
esque hills and mountains are well-trodden bungee jumping and paragliding.

Skiing
areas, all sharing one lift pass.
No nation is more serious about Saalback-Hinterglemm, for
its skiing than Austria, the home example, has 270 km (168 miles)
of racing legends like Franz of groomed slopes.
Klammer and Toni Sailer. From Taking the lifts, from swift six-
week-long “ski safaris” through person chairlifts to quaint
wild terrain and nighttime skis, funiculars, can be an adventure
to “bunny runs” down the in itself. The cable car from
gentlest of manicured pistes, St Anton am Arlberg to Valluga
there are slopes, resorts and ski only holds five skiers and you
schools to suit the needs of must be accompanied by a
every visitor. mountain guide.
Austria leads the world in Langlauf, Nordic or cross-
glacier skiing resorts, guarantee- country skiing, is also well
ing some of the best snow in catered for in Austria, with
Europe. The best areas are in numerous attractive routes, A skier studying an information board in
Upper and Lower Austria and in called Loipe. Almost all cross- the mountains
Styria. Around Innsbruck, one of country routes have sprint
Austria’s largest winter sports sections, where you can try Snowboarding
areas, year-round skiing is poss- out your steps. Snowboarding is one of the
ible, for example on the Stubaital, Austria’s real charm comes most popular winter activities
Glungezer, Axamer Lizum and out in the lower-altitude family- in Austria, after skiing. The sport
Mutterer Alm. Pitztal, Sölen and orientated resorts, most of arrived in Europe from the
Hintertux all attract World Cup which are found in farming United States and was originally
teams training outside of the villages. Here, slopes are gentle no more than a teenage craze.
normal winter season. and rolling, and largely It has long since turned serious
Across the county, villages are uncrowded, and are perfect – Austria was one of the first
linked together by ski lifts to for first-time skiers taking their countries to hold contests in
form huge, interconnected ski first steps in the snow. the discipline, and the annual
event in Seefeld, Tyrol, has
become a meeting ground
for the world’s snowboarding
elite, and something of a
snowboarding paradise.
Young people from all over
the world come to participate
in the Powder Turns, in Kaprun
or Saalbach-Hinterglemm.
Fun parks, as snowboard “play-
grounds” are known, abound
and Ischgl has one of the best,
with areas for both pros and
beginners, not to mention
a nearby obstacle course.
“Carving” , where boarders
don stiff boots and gouge out
deep ruts at high speeds down
hard-packed pistes, is a popular
Downhill skiing – Austria’s most popular sport spin on the sport.

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Eyewitness Travel LAYERS PRINTED:
Practical template “UK” LAYER
(Source v1.6)
Date 7th January 2013
Size 125mm x 217mm