What you can do besides skiing and snowboarding
Everything revolves around winter sports
The very idea of racing down a slope standing upright on two skis without brakes makes you dizzy. You don’t even really know what a snowboard is – and you’re not really interested in this fast sport. But your partner really wants to go on a skiing vacation in Austria with you. What alternative activities are available to you on your winter vacation?
Tobogganing may be fun – but tobogganing through the countryside every day is more for children. You would probably be embarrassed if you were asked at après-ski what kind of winter sport you do. But what else can you do high up on a snow-covered mountain?
Your partner would like to go on a skiing vacation in the Stubai Valley – “the kingdom of snow”. As a passionate skier, he swears by the Stubai Alps because there is guaranteed snow from October to June. He has already made some suggestions on how you can have fun while he lets off steam on the 110 kilometers of slopes on the Stubai Glacier.
As an alternative to the ski and snowboard trails, there are groomed pistes for cross-country skiers. This Nordic sport has less to do with adrenaline kicks and more to do with consciously immersing yourself in winter nature. In addition, cross-country skiing gently trains numerous muscles in the body – a great way to build up your stamina and give your fitness an update.
Snowshoeing is also a relaxing alternative on a winter vacation. Hiking between animal tracks across untouched snow fields or photographing the bizarre drifts of powder snow is more of a nature experience than a sport. Some participants of snowshoe hikes in the Stubaital can still clearly feel their leg muscles the next morning.
Not in the mood for sore muscles? Then winter hikes in the Stubai Alps are just the thing for you. On around 80 km of winter hiking trails through the most beautiful landscapes of the Stubaital, you can leave the stress of everyday life far behind you. Every step opens up new views of the mountains sparkling in the sunshine.
Ice climbing promises an adrenaline rush without the risk. Perhaps you should give it a try: first, of course, with a trial lesson at the 20-metre-high Gamsgarten ice climbing tower near the Stubai Glacier. Under expert guidance, you will learn the basic principles to find your way safely over icy slopes and frozen waterfalls.
Excursions on touring skis are just as exciting. Ski touring is a popular sport in Austria. There is no better way to train your fitness during your winter vacation. You ski uphill and downhill through the landscape on short, wide touring skis and special equipment – similar to mountaineering. Due to its shape, touring skis do not reach high speeds.
Geocaching is the magic word to lure internet-savvy couch potatoes into the great outdoors. A treasure hunt is something exciting for everyone. On the Stubai Glacier there are several caches with small treasures hidden by participants in the game. On Geocaching.com, interested treasure hunters can find the exact rules of the game and the approximate coordinates of the hiding places.
If you want to experience something really special, take a trip to the Jochdohle, the highest restaurant in the Alps. Just a stone’s throw away is TOP OF TYROL, the 3,210-metre-high summit platform on the Stubai Glacier. It is one of the ten most spectacular viewing platforms in the world and offers a view over 109 three-thousand-metre peaks as far as the Dolomites.
Another unique vacation experience: a visit to the ice grotto in the heart of the Stubai Glacier. It can be reached in a quarter of an hour via a winter hiking trail from the Eisgrat mountain station. A 200-metre-long tour leads through the eternal ice 30 meters below the ski slope. You can have your photo taken as the Snow Queen or Snow King on a throne carved out of ice.
There are so many alternatives to snowboarding or skiing in the Stubai Valley that really everyone can have fun on their winter vacation. What’s more, almost all hotels there are equipped with well-maintained wellness centers that invite you to relax. So a skiing vacation is also something for people who don’t like standing on slippery boards.