Page 339 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Austria

OUTDOOR A C TIVITIES  337

Alternative Snow Sports
As well as skiing, almost all
Austrian winter sports centres
have facilities for bobsleigh
and toboggan rides. Resorts
such as Ischgl, in western Tyrol,
are famous for their excellent
tobogganing facilities. One
of, if not the longest prepared
runs is the 14­km (9­mile)
Wildkogelbahnen, above
Neukirchen in the Zell am
See region.
If you’re not too keen on
racing down the mountain,
you could try snowshoeing. Ramblers on one of the many mountain trails in summer
Most resorts offer guided
snowshoe tours far into the accommodation in mountain don’t trust your map­reading
high Alps, as well as short huts. There is also a meteoro­ skills, you can always hire
walks for the less ambitious. logical phoneline, giving infor­ a mountain guide or join a
The activity requires very mation about current and rambling group.
little training and, apart from expected weather conditions,
the cost of snowshoe hire, is including any avalanche warn­
relatively inxpensive. ings, which allows rock climbers Cycling
to make the appropriate arrange­ On the flat, bicycles are an
ments for their expedition. ideal and inexpensive way
Mountaineering Fans of scaling rocky heights of getting around. In the
Wherever there are mountains can also try their hand at ice mountains, cycling becomes
you will always find rock climbing, in the wild or on more of an endurance test.
climbers and mountaineers. In artificial ice towers. Nonetheless, mountain biking
Austria, the largest organiza tion is popular and every holiday
for climbers is the Österreich­ Walking resort and most hotels offer
ischer Alpen verein. It has more bikes for hire. Among the most
than 190 regional divisions all Rambles on the mountain trails attractive areas for cyclists are
over Austria, with its head­ are a popular activity, enjoyed by the Lake Constance area, the
quarters in Vienna. Besides Austrians and visitors alike. The Alpine passes, along the Danube
selling maps, books and guides, Rosengartenschlucht, a ravine and the Salzburg lakes. Cycling
the association also runs a northwest of Imst whose sides routes are well signposted and
library and hires out equipment; reach 100 m (328 ft) in height, appear on most maps.
maintains mountain hostels and is a particularly attractive walk; E­biking, where a normal
walking trails; organizes skiing you walk along the valley of the mountain bike is fitted with a
courses; and runs a school of Ötz river and get to see the battery, reduces the hard
mountaineering. Members of Stuibenfall, Tyrol’s tallest waterfall, work for those with lower
the Alpenverein enjoy many created by a fallen rock. Many fitness levels. There are specific
discounts, for example on rambling trails can also be found E­bike regions around the
in the region of Eben im Pongau. country; Kitzbühel’s E­Bike
In Kleinarl, one of the attractions World offers 1,000 km (620
are the Fackelwanderungen, miles) of marked trails.
nighttime walks with torches.
In the Salzkammergut, a lift takes
visitors to the top of the Grünberg
or Feuerkogel mountains, where
many long tourist trails grant
walkers views of the fairytale
landscape of the Alpine lakes.
There are walking trails all
over the country, and they
are all clearly signposted and
marked on tree trunks by black­
and­white signs. As with
ski runs, the level of difficulty
is indicated by a colour. Local
Mountaineering – a sport for the brave tourist offices have detailed Visitors on a winter mountain-
and determined maps of the area. And, if you biking expedition

336-337_EW_Austria.indd 337 12/09/17 3:05 pm