Snowshoe Tour, Obernberg am Brenner,
Tirol, Austria

by Diane Perry

Wendy Shipley and Duncan Melling teamed up again to lead five days of snowshoe tours from the wonderful Almi’s Berghotel in Obernberg am Brenner from 30 January to 5 February 2022. Requiring no previous experience, but a base level of fitness, two groups of 6 each were led expertly and safely each day through a winter wonderland enjoying stunning and varied scenery. Walks each day were based on weather and avalanche risk and the groups were not always the same. People could choose whether they went on a more or less challenging walk each day. On day one we all learned the basic skills of walking in snowshoes and also the techniques for use of transceivers to search and find in case of emergency of an avalanche. This was followed by a tour around Obernberger See.

With steady snowfall on days 2-4 we were treated to the enjoyment and hard work (thank you to Duncan’s group and Wendy) of making trails in fresh snow through the trees laden with soft snow and climbing as high as was safely within the group’s capabilities. Duncan’s group would normally have gone higher, but the avalanche risk was too high, as was the hard effort required to break trail after all the snow. It was an absolute joy to experience the freedom and peace that walking in snowshoes brings away from groomed pistes.

Walks included the Kasternberg Alm Circuit via Waldbauer and the Sattelberg loop from Vinaders (a short bus ride away), and this included a walk to the Italian border (Brenner pass), a visit to an alm and sledding back down. It was immense fun and I think enjoyed by all.

Our aim was to climb to Allerleigrubenspitze (2131m) on the last day. The snow finally stopped and the sun came out, and we climbed above the tree line onto crisp snow. After a short and steep but determined effort we reached the summit to be greeted with a great all-round view of the impressive landscape. It was joyous and brought a huge sense of achievement to all. It was an amazing week which combined a real sense of camaraderie amongst the group, excellent leadership, great accommodation and food, a perfect setting and snow at the right time. The week ended with great sunshine and, of course, Sachertorte.

If you think your skiing days are over but you still want to experience the beauty of fresh snow, beautiful scenery and all the benefits that being in the mountains brings, then this is to be highly recommended. If your skiing days are not over, it’s definitely worth trying something different. The Hotel has been booked for 2023 when Wendy and Duncan will team up again. Look out for the details as it’s sure to be booked up quickly.

Group on Allerleigrubenspitze
Photos by Catherine Botting

Breaking trail through woods

Sattelberg

Return to the top of this page, or to the complete Index, or to this section's Index.