There’s something magical about a trip to Kyutai. City life slowly transforms into a snow-covered playground as our bus ascends from Innsbruck and winds along alpine roads that gradually gain altitude.
At 2,020 meters above sea level, Austria’s highest ski village welcomes us with clean air and towering mountains, making it the perfect setting for a snowshoeing adventure. We meet our aptly named Belgian guide, Nick. follow me Ski school.
We are entrusted with experienced staff. He has worked in the area for many years and knows the area well. His respect for the landscape was also clear, and he assured us that our route had been chosen carefully, although he warned us of the increased risk of avalanches.
Putting on the snowshoes was relatively easy. These lightweight devices extend your legs like oversized paddles, and the included poles provide additional balance.
Nick patiently taught us the basics, including the all-important falling technique. Practicing falls seemed ridiculous at first, but the wisdom soon became apparent. Falling correctly can mean the difference between a funny anecdote and an unfortunate injury. The key seems to be to fall forward rather than sideways.
We set off into the pristine wilderness, snow crunching under our feet. As we went further, the snow got deeper, rising from ankle-deep powder to knee-high snowdrifts. But I only realized it when my foot sank unexpectedly. Thankfully we have been doing parkrun regularly for some time now so we are in relatively good shape. Englandso don’t think it’s too physical.
As I was getting ready to take photos, something unexpected happened. The snow beneath us has melted. In an instant, we both fell to the floor, revealing an incredibly deep cavity below.
There’s no harm in it and we had a good laugh about it, but my eldest son gets stuck a little and Nick carefully digs him out, not risking the snowshoe coming off when he pulls his leg up. This is because doing so may cause you to fall. irretrievably into the depths below. Instead, a slow and careful excavation process removed the snow, leaving the shoes intact and the feet free.
Nick was kind enough to retake the photo for us standing right in front of the newly discovered hole.
Forgetting the drama, we continued across the snowy area where Nick noticed a stream below. He goes first and then makes us follow him one by one from a distance. Fortunately, there was still a lot of snow left this time.
Having thoroughly enjoyed our little snowshoe adventure, we headed back toward the village.
Disclosure: Our trip was sponsored by Innsbruck Travel Guide.
paul johnson
Paul Johnson is the editor of A Luxury Travel Blog and has worked in the travel industry for over 30 years. He is a recipient of WIRED magazine’s Innovations in Travel “Best Travel Influencer” award. In addition to other awards, the blog has also been named “One of the World’s Best Travel Blogs” and “Best Luxury Travel Blog” by The Telegraph.
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