At one with nature
A picture-perfect winter morning. Around 20 cm of snow fell last night, and all of the Flachautal valley is now blanketed in white. Yes, this year truly is living up to the winter wonderland clichés. Old Mother Frost has been good to us and the conditions are perfect for all kinds of winter sports.
Today, for a change, I am not heading for the pistes or cross-country trails. Instead, I'm going to try out the snowshoe beginners' trail on Reiteck this morning. I am joining a group of young ladies to explore the beautiful countryside around Schloss Höch.
We head out into winter wonderland – in temperatures of a wintery -6°C
It is just before 9:00 am when our guide, Petra, kits me out with snowshoe equipment. I have made sure I have warm clothes, a hat and gloves. The rest of the equipment is included in the excursion. Since the terrain is not too steep on this beginner's walk, I, along with many others in the group, do without the poles this time. This proves useful when it comes to taking great photos.
For the first half hour, we walk at a leisurely pace behind Petra, who makes a track for us in the fresh snow.
A breather and a drink, and an avalanche lesson
We then pause for a breather and a drink, and Petra uses the time to give us some important avalanche tips. For example, she explains what all is part of avalanche equipment, and we try out the avalanche probe and dig a snow pit together.
Then we head off again, trudging through the beautiful winter scenery. Every now and then I stop to take photos: Flachautal valley is so wonderfully wintry that I simply have to capture the moment.
Things get entertaining on a downhill section. On the count of three, we run down a snow-covered slope – great fun!
Invigorated from the exercise and fresh winter air, and with some superb photos, we return to the starting point at the foot of Reiteck.
