Today was one of my favorite days ever! My birthday gift from Candace was a day of snowshoeing in the Austrian Alps. I will never be able to adequately describe how incredible this day was! But of course I’m going to try.
Candace said last night that she wanted to see snow while we were here. Well, we saw TONS of snow. Candace had made a reservation with www.trekkingaustria.com and our guild was Yannick – a Frenchman who’s lived in Vienna for 15 years. After about an hour drive during which the snow got heavier and heavier, we arrived at the mountain. The mountain is called Stuhleck and is part of the Austrian Alps. We knew it was going to be very cold and windy on the mountain but we had no idea how crazy the weather would be. Honestly, we were scared as we got out of the van and were hit with freezing winds unlike anything I’d ever experienced before. So we bundled up as much as we could and set out. As soon as we got into the forest the winds wound down a bit and we were able to appreciate the breathtaking scenery. Because the weather was so bad, we were the ONLY ones on the mountain and all of the snow was absolutely perfect and untouched. But it was shortly into the trek when Yannick mentioned the day’s avalanche rating. Yes, they rate these things! The ratings fall on a scale from 1-5 and at 4 no one can be on the mountain. Well, the day’s rating was a 3! If we weren’t a little scared before, we were then… (don’t worry, Mom and Dad, the story ends well :))
The snowshoeing was HARD – it was odd because our fingers were very cold but I was absolutely drenched in sweat. It was exhausting in such an exhilarating way! We trekked for about 2.5 hours and then took a brief break in a hut just to get away from the wind before we made our way to the plateau. Yannick described the plateau as the top of the mountain where we could find a “hut” that was heated and we could get some hot soup and a bier. He also warned us about how cold and windy it would be once we reached the plateau. Well, I can honestly say that it was one of the most difficult hours of my life. But as we set out, Candace yelled, “We’re going to make this mountain our bitch!”. It was enough to get us giggling and give us the motivation we both needed to get to the top.
The winds blew at 50-60 miles per hour as we ascended and the temperature dropped to -22 degrees!!!!! There were multiple times where we really thought we’d get blown off the darned mountain! Only the thought of heat at the top – and imminent death – kept us going. Finally – we made it to the top of the mountain and the hut was such a welcoming sight. It was like a very small ski lodge with a few sweaty skiers and a bar that looked like heaven. We all sat down with our soup and enjoyed a well-deserved break during which Yannick gave us some great recommendations of things to do during our trip.
It was time to head back. Candace’s response was, “We have to go back down that thing??”. Yep, we did. We geared up and headed out. After only trekking about 100 feet, Yannick instructed us to put about 50 meters between all of us. We had no idea why but of course complied. Again, it felt like we’d get blown off the mountain and at one point the winds were so strong and the conditions so bad that I began to wonder about that 3 avalanche ranking. Scary!
But we got passed the plateau without incident. Yannick had decided at this point that we were “hard-core” and could try some fun things. We were instructed to try to “run” down the mountain in the showshoes. With the snow being about 3 feet deep, this was NOT an easy task. But once, and if, you got the hang of it, was really, really fast and fun! Unfortunately, neither Candace or I really got it and spent a lot of time on our bums. But the snow was so soft that it was really a pleasure to fall!
“Ok, let’s take the road less travelled”, Candace said once when Yannick took off between a bunch of evergreen trees when we could have stayed on the forest road. But when in Vienna, right?!
We finally reached the van and were absolutely exhausted but also exhilarated. We had done it! And loved (or struggled through) every moment! Of course a celebratory glass of wine was in order so Yannick took us to a guesthouse in the local village. No tourists were allowed here, he promised, so we felt special. We had some local wine and finally had the guts to ask him why he separated us at the plateau. He said that if there was an avalanche, at least one or two of us would survive. OH!
We had a nice nap in the van and headed back home. But we were both so jazzed up by the day that we weren’t tired. We had decided to try meet Yannick that night for a drink. It took us a while to finally find him – during which we got sleepier and sleepier – but once we did we settled into a Vietnamese restaurant for food and drinks. Yes, we travelled to Vienna to have Vietnamese food. But we really didn’t care at that point. And to replace all of the calories we’d burned, we had to try a chocolate cannoli with caramel sauce on it for dessert. Yum!
We almost passed out right after we got back to the apartment. What an amazing day!!!!! It really was indescribable and the best birthday present EVER!
Tomorrow we’re off to see a traditional Viennese mass with the Vienna Boy’s Choir. Stay tuned…