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VISITING
AUTHOR/EDITOR ARTICLE
SEPTEMBER
2009
Innsbruck
& the Alps!
Forwarded
From Trenton Donauschwaben
by
Mike Lenyo
Earlier this year in April my daughter Lyla and I took the train down
from Munich to spend some time skiing and snowboarding in the Alps.
For those who have not been in Innsbruck, it lies in a valley
surrounded on all sides by enormous alpine peaks. It is quite a sight
to behold with beautiful views in all directions. After a bus transfer
Lyla and I approached our pension house. I suddenly realized why our
lodging costs were relatively low; location, location, location.
Dragging my luggage through the street and up a steep incline, only to
turn up the street to tackle an even steeper, longer hill, we made it
to the house. Over my wheezing I heard our host tell Lyla our room was
on the top floor, 40 more steps up. As I lugged everything up to the
top at least I worked off some of the extra calories from all the beer
consumed in Munich throughout the first part of the week. Now the
mission was to develop our ski plans for the next few days.
We recovered from the long trip and strolled down into the
center of town to the tourist center to gather some information and
formulate our plans. Lyla already knew ski parks at Nordpark and
Patcherkofel in Innsbruck were closed for the season, but the Olympic
hill Axamer Lizum and certainly the larger glacier mountain Stubai had
to be open. Our young tourism desk attendant promptly told us that
Axamer Lizum was closed for the season, and Stubai would also be
closed all week due to storms…..Say What!! Things suddenly looked
very grim as we struggled to rationalize how I could have traveled
half way around the world to ski while never bothering to check on the
availability of the slopes! It was a gloomy few hours as we thought
about how to spend the next few days. We decided to call the slope
itself to double check the information but no one answered. Things
were not looking good. After dialing an alternate mobile number listed
on the map someone did answer. When asked if they would be open the
next day the gentleman snickered ‘Ja!’, as in ‘Why wouldn’t we
be open, you dope?’ Lucky for us, we had apparently stumbled across
a most ill-informed young tourism desk attendant who was completely
incorrect in all information provided to us. With disaster averted, it
was time to ski!
Lizum is the mountain that hosted the 1964 and 1976 Innsbruck
Winter Olympics downhill runs and a few other events. The weather was
warm and the snow was slushy, which did not concern me nearly as much
as the sheer steepness of the runs. For comparison a ‘black’ run
(expert) at Lizum would be a black run in the Poconos. A red run
(intermediate) at Lizum, also black in the Pokes. The blue runs
(beginner) at Lizum, yeah, that would be black too. Steep, long runs
were the main course for the day. Yours truly being a mediocre
intermediate skier at best felt as if each run was battle, fighting to
keep control and stay upright. Lyla, who has vastly improved her
snowboarding skills (this was her 9th day this season in the Alps),
was aggressively mowing down the snow with a fearless approach.
Despite some spills she persevered. We did increase degree of
difficulty and conquered a few intermediate runs, but by early
afternoon, this middle-aged skier was losing confidence quickly and
decided to take an early exit as Lyla continued. Overall, it was a
challenging but exciting day. That night we hit the Innsbruck
restaurants and cafes with vengeance and had a great time sampling
local fare at the Tapas Restaurant, enjoying dinner outside in the
mild temperatures along the river bank. Our language limitations were
apparent as we somehow managed to order three dinners for the two of
us, but we ate them all. After some hot sake at the Japanese
restaurant Nara we finished the night at the very hip and crowded
Maria Theresia Brau micro brewery, where I was easily the oldest dude
in the room. We needed to relax and recharge after our long day, since
the following morning would bring a much bigger challenge: We would
attempt to conquer the big boy, Stubai Glacier.
There is an actual glacier under the snow in the Stubai
Mountain basin, which guarantees snow through June. A 90 minute bus
ride dropped us at the base. As we headed up in the gondola I was
absolutely stunned at the sheer scope and size of this ski area. Up
and up we went, and after transferring to another lift, eventually
made it to an elevation of 3333 meters, or over 11,000 feet! It seemed
like the top of the world. The 360 degree views were something
everyone should experience, with snow-capped peaks as far as the eye
could see. No picture can capture the depth of the awesome scenery.
Now, the time had come to man up and hit the slopes! Stubai,
which is higher in elevation and deeper into the range than Lizum, had
much better quality snow with very little melting despite the warm
temperatures. I felt like a much better skier this day, descending
many trails mostly at the intermediate level. Despite its larger size
the runs just seemed easier. Steep, long, but loads more fun than
Lizum. It was awesome! We wrapped it up around 2:30, fatigue getting
the best of us and we relaxed outside one of the lodges. No coat
required as the temps were very mild. If you ever go, we recommend
Stubai very highly.
A slow bus ride home and long walk to our house had us
exhausted. On this last night together we again hit the town one more
time. The Swiftskeller restaurant provided great pot roast and the
tasty Augustiner Bier was the perfect end to a perfect day. The next
morning we headed our separate ways, Lyla back to school in Graz, and
I up to Munich then back on the plane to Jersey. I think I’ll ask
Lyla to spend another semester in Austria, just so I can occasionally
‘check in’ and see how all that hard studying is working out. All
in all, it was one great trip with memories for a lifetime.
by
Mike Lenyo
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