Saturday 24 September 2011

Signs of the season



























The weather caught us all on the hop this week. On Saturday we were sunning ourselves in the garden by Monday the garden was under 20cm of snow. Three days later it was sunbathing again. 

Even by our standards this was an earlier burst of winter than usual. Flowers, bushes and trees collapsed under the weight of the heavy, wet snow unless shaken free. Before long the snow ploughs were out and it was possible to get about even with summer tyres.

A common sight at this time of year is tractors with trailers leading a long column of crawling traffic. This is the modern version of the Alm Abtrieb, the bringing of cattle from the high alpine summer pastures back to the valleys before they go into the stalls for the winter. Once this was done on foot, the cattle dressed in crowns of wild flowers and carrying enormous bells but now that is more commonly done for the tourists and today most cattle ride down with a trail of frustrated drivers behind them. Here in Embach the sound of cowbells can be heard day and night.

Beside the roads, ladders lean at crazy angles against trees while the precious rowan berries are harvested. The poisonous  red berries make the best Vogelbeer Schnapps and there will be much distilling going on in the farms following this year’s bumper crop.

Up here, we often catch the early morning sun while beneath us, in the valleys, they awake under a thick blanket of cloud. Early morning views of the mists below and the sun beaming between the mountains are especially lovely.

Above:The view towards the Tennengebirge from Embach Urbar
Below: Early morning here on Embach's "Sonnseite"

Sunday 11 September 2011

It's not (just) about the distance

In this part of the world a hike or a bike ride is not only measured by how far one has travelled, but also by the “Höhenmeter” – the vertical height climbed.

Embach is just 6km from its bigger sister village, Lend, but it also lies 400m higher. A 6km bike ride on the flat is within most people’s capabilities, but to pedal from Lend to Embach is a serious challenge as half the distance is a 12 per cent climb, with hairpin bends and significant drops to one side,

Yesterday’s bike ride took us past the Dachstein mountain range. The 77km circuit began with a long and steady climb from 710m to 1200m – but after that there were ups and downs for the rest of the way. In total we climbed 900 Höhenmeter.

How do Austrians know how many Höhenmeter they have climbed? Well, for a start the legs give some idea – the knackerdness factor. But today many active people have watches or bike computers which not only tell the altitude, but calculate the total climbed in a certain period too. They are surprisingly accurate – I can tell from my Suunto if I am upstairs or downstairs.

We have ridden along the road past the Dachstein a good many times but I can never resist taking photos of its huge, grey cragginess rearing out of the dark woods, and to wonder that in the past few years I have been able to climb to three of its summits – something I had never imagined I’d be doing before coming to Austria.

Friday 9 September 2011

Bogenspergers back in the news

Bogensperger, Irmgard’s family/maiden name is back in the local news. Her father grew up in a house squeezed on to a small plot between the river and a bend in the road. Though the house has long since disappeared, the bend continues to be known as the Bogensperger Kurve. Immediately on the opposite side of the road the mountain rears almost vertically upward - the Bogensperger Palfern (Palfern meaning a bare rock wall).

Some days ago a great chunk of this wall, 40m wide, collapsed across the road and into the river. This road is in frequent use for local traffic and is part of the popular
Tauern Radweg, a long distance cycle route
used by thousands of cycle tourists each summer. Fortunately the road was clear at the time and no-one is under the huge mound of rock.

It will take some time to clear as the whole mountainside has be secured. Meanwhile cyclists have to climb the hill along the main through route (special signs warning drivers about the cyclists have been erected) and local traffic is also diverted.

It is a stark reminder that the landscape around us cannot be taken for granted. It is not only when climbing in the mountains that accidents can occur but while going about our daily lives.