The pleasure of winter in springtime

Evening shadows over the cross-country circuit

No sooner than most visitors have packed their skis into the roofboxes and driven off home, out come the snow shovels again to clear away the few centimeters of snow that appear each night.

We thought the spring had come but in Embach it is winter once again. The cross-country circuit and ski hill look in good shape. Ski touring is still popular and from Embach the Anthaupten at nearly 1924m is a regular goal beginning directly from the village.

However, the March sun is warm and the snow quickly retreats. Those visitors remaining are often to be found on south-facing benches, faces upturned to the sunshine keen to be able to show off a tan when they return home.

 

Ski trails on the way home from the Anthaupten

It’s been an up-and-down season, with cold snowy days followed by unseasonally warm ones. But as always there are some of those brilliant days where the sky is incredibly clear and blue, the snow sparkles and glistens and locals as well as visitors can’t help exclaiming how lovely it is.

The lighter snow cover has made the marked winter “wandering” trails more enjoyable and accessible for a stroll than usual. The cold tingles on the cheeks, and anyone coming from a city, as many visitors do, must wonder at the sheer unsullied purity of each gulp of air as they pant up the hill. The sound of snow crunching under foot and the long views down the valley complete the sensual experience that even a modest walk comprises

It’s been 13 years since I came to live here but still there are times when the phrase I used so often at first, comes to mind again: “I can’t believe I live here!”

The long view west along the Pinzgau valley