Massive snowdump in the Alpes in Europe and I went snowboarding
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:
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- 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
Looks so beautiful! and really nice with the gifs!
Thanks for you comment! Glad you like them. Sometimes they get pretty big in filesize. Hope they do not take up to much loading time.
Yeah i bet! No they are loading pretty good :)
Thanks for sharing. Leuke post! I also want to snowboard when I see the gifs.... 😭
Upvoted and followed. Nice to see good posts on our discord channel 'The Lions Legion'!
Thank you for the comment and kind words! Hope I won't disappoint you in the near future with my posts ;)
I wish someday, I gonna travel this part of Earth. Incredible and some breathtaking views.
You never know!!!
I am soooo jealous!!! I also prefer Austria than France... Weissbier and nice people :D
Haha I'm sorry for the post then ;D Indeed way better beers ;)
The Alps look so beautiful! I hope to visit one day. I live near the Canadian Rockies, I suppose it's a similar landscape but just the same, I always drool on adventures from the Alps. Looks like you had a fun new year! Great post, thanks for sharing with us! :)
Thank you! I can imagine the Rockies are pretty mighty as well. Do you go up the mountains sometime?
YES I DO. I have been up Banff's sulfur mountain and Jasper's Whistlers Mountain and other smaller ones in the Appalachian range(eastern Canada) I mainly do day hikes but I am planing a hike up the highest point in Canada, Mount Robson in the next couple years. I will be checking out base camp this spring or summer to get a better idea.
Wow, that sounds really amazing. How hight is this highest point? And basecamp? Highest i’ve ever been is 3979 meters in Guatemala.
23km hike to basecamp to a 800m elevation, the climb is 3,954 m or 12,972 ft el, I suppose it's around as high as you have been! the air would be pretty thin up there too. the highest I have been so far was 2 184 m.
Yes. I think around 40% less than at sealevel. You will feel it haha. But I’m not an experienced hiker or anything, so you will reach te top for sure =) Thanks for the responses!
Hey, I found out about your post thanks to the Steemit World Map, thanks for using it. Keep making amazing content! Cheers
Haha nice one! Were you looking because you’re going there as well?
Yesss this is cool stuff! Love your GIFs! I might come back to this post for tips if I ever go that direction, I love snow <3
Thanks!! Yeah they're crazy right haha. Feel free to dm me on Discord if you ever want to know anything about the area and such!
Yes, I will! Thanks!
Heya, just swinging by to let you know you're being featured in our Daily Travel Digest!
Always a pleasure to read a comment like this one! Thank you so much!
Looks like some serious mountainage! Nice shots
Thanks man! I tried my best to show how enormous these mointains are =)
Alps always are impressive.. by the way I am curious, is in the first and the third pictures 3200 m altitude or more ?
I shot the third one (the video) at the highest point of the Obergurgl area. It's shot from the Mountain Star, which is a glass look-out point/bar at 3.080 meters of altittude. You can find it in the Hochgurgl area which is connected with the Obergurl area. I have no footage of the surroundings at 3.200 meters because when I was there it was stormy and snowing all the time, so I could not see anything ;D
Thanks for your response ! It 's a pity you could not have any footage of the that because of such weather. Enjoy your trips!!