Let it Snow: Alpine Tour April/May 2006

As we continued to go deeper into Austria, we had a few more, tougher passes to climb. We were still in the low hills, and since climbing is not my strength, it was still a challenge.

As we got to the peak, we could still see the winter snow.

A few days earlier, we had to turn around from one path because there was just too much snow, and there would be no way that we could make it through. Late April in the Alps definitely adds a different weather challenge.


After the downhill, we had some nice flats before we had to climb again. This time, it was a pretty challenging climb. If I remember correctly, it was about 10km at about 5%.

We decided to stop at a bakery at the base of the climb and get some calories and caffeine in us before the climb. As you can see below, I'm really looking forward to the climb.


Rene having his cake and eating it too!


Atop the pass we climbed the following day. I think this turned out to be one of the longer and more challenging climbs of the tour. The downhill was awesome! But, then again, I don't think I've met a downhill I didn't like. We were close to our goal for the day, which lay just after the downhill. It was a small town called Deutschlandsberg (funny name for a town in Austria). We were going to stay at the hostel in town.

Little did we know that the hostel was basically brand new. For 30 EUR per person, we got our own room with a bathroom, including an amazing breakfast with eggs, sausage, and just about everything else you could possible want for breakfast.


If you've ever stayed at hostels in Europe, they can really vary. This one was basically brand new. They had a self serve bar and a Kegel hall (a German version of bowling). Our accommodations the next day would prove to be a bit different as compared to this posh hostel.