It’s one of those ordinary Thursdays: I’m sitting at home on my sofa after work and letting the evening TV program wash over me.
But this time it’s a little different: my mind is already in nature, enjoying the babbling brooks and climbing mountain peaks. And I don’t have to wait much longer: a few weeks ago, we organized a competition together with the Innsbruck region. The winners can now look forward to an exciting hiking weekend in the capital of Tyrol – and I’m in it! 🤘
Innsbruck – not just worth a trip for outdoor fans
Innsbruck, which incidentally takes its name from the bridge (= Bruck) over the River Inn, is ideally suited for this event.
It is easy to reach by car, train or plane and offers something for everyone with its cozy city life and breathtaking mountain scenery – whether for mountain bikers, hikers or climbers.
The five mountain ranges that surround the region can be easily reached by several cable cars. On the Innsbruck Trek, all the surrounding mountain massifs can be explored on a circular tour in just a few days. And the Karwendel Nature Park takes anyone seeking peace and quiet into a unique alpine wonderland.
The cafés, bars and stores in the university town also offer a welcome change from sporting activities.
Outdoor heart, what more could you want! But I’m not in Innsbruck yet. And while my barrel travel bag is patiently waiting to be filled, I print out our packing list for short hiking trips. In no time at all, the bag is equipped with the most important items and ready for the big hiking adventure.
The Barrel Sports and travel bags made of easy-care Tarpaulin 1000 material (“truck tarpaulin”) and with stowable backpack straps.
In different colors and sizes!
When I finally stow away my travel documents with the red Innsbruck logo, my anticipation starts to rise again rapidly.
No wonder, because the program put together by Innsbruck Tourism promises to be great fun. In addition to delicious food, hikes and overnight stays in mountain huts, there are special team challenges on the agenda. An attractive prize awaits the winning team at the end. But more on that later.
Off we go on a hiking adventure to Innsbruck
The next morning: I type the address of my destination into my sat nav, choose the quickest route and set off. Bright sunshine, over 30 degrees and a lack of air conditioning make the journey a challenge. Was this supposed to be the first challenge? 🤨.
After around
2.5 hours, my sweating comes to an end and I arrive in beautiful Austria.
In the hotel lobby, I am immediately greeted by Alexandra, Antonia and our guide
Christian give me a warm welcome. But there is no time to get to know each other
time to get to know each other, because the first challenge begins
in just half an hour.
Hurry up
now. And once again I start to sweat a little as I rush to my room
and put on my hiking clothes.
To everyone’s surprise (except me, of course 😉), our new Tatonka Skill 30 hiking backpack with Recco reflector is in the room. A welcome and lightweight companion for the next few days. And Innsbruck Tourism also has a welcome surprise for us in the form of a cool jute bag with a few goodies.
Our Skill 30 RECCO with ventilated carrying system, extra lightweight materials and integrated RECCO reflector.
Back in the lobby, I get to know the other participants and am amazed at how likeable everyone is! They have all traveled different distances. Martina and Julian come from Hamburg, Uta and Maik from Hanover and Berlin respectively, Karin and Sebastian from Nuremberg. Blogger Katharina Steglegger has made the journey from Munich.
We shake hands, introduce ourselves to each other and chat a little about how to get there and more, but we’re not here on vacation 😉. Alexandra from Innsbruck Tourismus and Antonia from Linking Brands split us into teams of two and explain the first task.
Challenge #1 – Over the Golden Roof to the Umbrüggler Alm
The first challenge immediately puts our hiking skills and sense of direction to the test. We receive a city map and a hiking map as well as a postcard with clear instructions: “Find your way to the Alm and read the hiking map! – Destination: Umbrüggler Alm.“
To keep things simple, all groups are given an additional task: our route must take us past the Golden Roof, the symbol of the city of Innsbruck. We have to take a selfie there and upload it to Instagram.
Together with Katharina, I will fight for Innsbruck’s crown! We immediately grab the hiking map and get to work.
Of course, we first have to find the mountain pasture on the map before we can find a quick route.
What we know from Alex: The mountain pasture is located in the north of Innsbruck.
We also assume that the mountain restaurant can’t be too far away, as it’s already too late for a hike lasting several hours.
After a few minutes, we locate the mountain pasture on the map, check the different routes and decide on a mixture of forest road and path.
The city map helps us to find the Golden Roof in the old town.
So that not all the teams set off at once, we start at four-minute intervals.
Katharina and I are the last team to throw ourselves into the hustle and bustle of the city and rush to the sight on swift feet. A short time later, we pose in front of the 2,657 fire-gilded copper shingles and complete our first challenge.
And on we go…
Our path takes us past St. Nicholas Church and the Gramarthof farm before we reach the path in wooded terrain. We still can’t spot any of the other teams. Is that a good sign? Have they lost their way or decided to take a different route?
It’s more likely that they’ve simply made up the minutes they’ve gained.
We are not deterred and continue on our way. Thanks to the map, we can’t miss the mountain pasture and after a good three quarters of an hour, it’s already in sight.
To our astonishment, Alex and Antonia come along the path just as we turn onto the home straight. Weren’t they going to take the train and get there before all of us? 😆
When we arrive, two teams are already rewarding themselves with a cool drink. And after the evaluation it becomes clear: we weren’t the fastest. Maik and Christian covered the distance in record time. Katharina, the other teams and I take it easy.
It is also interesting to note that all four teams had chosen a different route.
We round off the evening with dinner together on the mountain pasture with a view of Innsbruck.
By shuttle to the Axamer Lizum and on foot to the Birgitzköpflhaus
The next
We start the next day with a hearty breakfast. And we need it too.
Because the shuttle takes us to our first intermediate destination, the Axamer
Lizum car park at an altitude of 1,600 meters. Packed with our Tatonka skills, we head to the Birgitzköpflhaus (2,035 m), our place to sleep today and the starting point for
further destinations.
Challenges number two and three await us on the way there.
Challenge #2 and #3 – Herbs of nature and Innsbruck knowledge quiz
Hiking is nice. But learning something along the way is even better. And that’s exactly why we receive a piece of paper with questions about Innsbruck.
How many mountain ranges surround the region again? And which animals are native to the area? Hm … should we have paid a little more attention yesterday? 😉
We also need to keep our eyes open. Because on hikes in Innsbruck, you can not only marvel at the fantastic mountain landscape, but also discover all kinds of herbs and edible plants. You just have to know what they are and what they look like.
To avoid having to pick any plants unnecessarily, we take a photo that we simply show to our guide when evaluating the challenge. 🌿
Karin and Sebastian underline their plant expertise with countless photos and get full marks.
Challenge #4 – First a delicious meal, then setting up the tents
Although we are now at almost 2,000 meters, the heat is getting to us a little and we are all glad to finally arrive at the hut. We recharge our batteries with a cold drink and a delicious hut meal.
The energy reserves are absolutely essential, because the next challenge is really tough: now we have to set up a Tatonka 3-man tent as quickly as possible.
You can find tents for different numbers of people at Tatonka. Whether it’s a lightweight trekking tent for one person or a spacious tunnel tent for your whole family.
But first we make room for the tents in our Tatonka hiking backpacks and divide them up amongst ourselves. Because the challenge doesn’t take place in front of the Birgitzköpflhaus, but on the summit of the Saile (Nockspitze). For us, this means another 370 meters of ascent.
I have to admit that as a Tatonka colleague, I am naturally under pressure with this task. After all, if anyone should know the right tricks for the tents, it’s me, right? 🤔
We put one foot in front of the other over rugged and steep terrain and work our way towards the summit cross. Dragging the tents up is easier than expected and we reach the top after about an hour.
High above the rooftops of Innsbruck
After a short breather, each team receives a packed tent. On command, we all set off like a fire department, spread the tent out on the meadow, insert the poles into each other, push them through the channels with a jerk, tighten all the ropes and fix them to the ground with the pegs. But what can I tell you? Just see for yourself…
Phew, now I’m sweating again. Katharina and I stepped on the gas and were the first team to set up the tent in a stable and windproof position. But Julian and Martina from Hamburg were right on our heels and demanded everything from us 🙂
After work comes pleasure. We spend quite some time on the double summit. The Saile also has the name Nockspitze. Unfortunately, Chris, our guide, can’t tell me how this double naming came about.
One thing is certain: from both summit crosses, you have a magnificent view of the surrounding mountain landscape and the city of Innsbruck. From the summit of the Saile, we look directly at the Nordkette and the Karwendel mountains, which rise up directly behind it. Looking down, we can follow the course of the Inn through the region.
Challenge #5 – Who is the king of the mudflats?
After the sweaty tent set-up comes the fun. Mountain guide Chris gives us an introduction to the most popular card game in Tyrol, Watten. The somewhat simplified rules are quickly understood (even if we don’t always implement them correctly 😉) and so we test our strength at card games. It’s the last chance to score valuable points for the overall victory.
In an exciting final, Uta and Maik prove to be the most hardened gamblers and win this challenge.
Sunset, stargazing and mountain fires
Even this day has to come to an end. But how, is simply magnificent and will remain etched in our memories forever.
We were lucky with the weather all weekend and were able to admire a magnificent sunset in the evening. After the last rays of sun have disappeared behind the mountain peaks, the stars begin to shine.
We grab deckchairs and blankets, put on warm clothes and enjoy the starry sky over Innsbruck’s mountains. Incredibly beautiful and impressive!
As if that wasn’t enough, we have another highlight to look forward to – the mountain fires! Anyone who is regularly drawn to the mountains will have heard of them. Once a year, at the summer solstice (around June 21), the mountains are literally on fire. On this day, numerous bonfires are lit on the peaks, ridges and slopes. With this custom, the Alpine countries welcome the summer and celebrate the longest day of the year.
The midsummer bonfires were actually supposed to take place a week earlier. Due to the bad weather, however, they were postponed and so we get to enjoy this exciting event.
We marvel at the many bonfires on the surrounding mountains and also spot a Sacred Heart bonfire. This is a motif in which the torches are arranged to form a heart with a cross on top.
Happy to be able to experience this event, we end the day with fantastic impressions and crawl under the comforters in our rooms.
Reading tip: 10 things you have to do in Innsbruck
Sunrise and a ride on the mountain carts
4:15 a.m. – my alarm clock rings. It’s time to get up. Please what? Normally, the most I do at this time of day is turn from left to right…but get up. It doesn’t help and so we get out of bed, still a little sleepy, and immediately put on our hiking gear.
Admittedly, this time it’s really worth getting up early. Guided by Chris, we hike to the summit cross of the Pfriemeswand (2,103 m), which is only about 30-40 minutes away from the Birgitzköpflhaus. We are joined on the summit by a few other mountain enthusiasts who have made themselves comfortable overnight with a bivouac sack. They are here for the same reason as we are.
At around 5:20 a.m., the sun rises over the last mountain range and illuminates the entire Inn Valley with its warming rays. We experience a sunrise that could not be more beautiful. None of us say a word and simply enjoy this overwhelming moment.
Unfortunately, every great event comes to an end. And so, after breakfast, we make our way down into the valley. Of course, we have another wonderful hike ahead of us, which culminates in a magnificent lunch at the Muttereralm. We enjoy delicious Tyrolean specialties one last time at a laid table.
As it’s hard to hike on a full stomach, Alex from Innsbruck Tourismus has come up with another fun idea: We don’t cover the rest of the route on foot, but instead race towards Innsbruck on bumpy and dusty (yeah!!! 🤘) mountain carts. I can only warmly recommend a ride on these three-wheeled vehicles to anyone. The rapid descent is a real experience for the whole family!
Once we reach the bottom, we head back to the hotel. There we present the winners with their well-deserved prize – a barrel full of outdoor gear.
Each team gave their all and it was a close result. In the end, Martina and Julian from Team #AlmMatrosen ⚓ were crowned Innsbruck’s best. Congratulations to them! 💪👍
My conclusion:
Three days in Tyrol’s capital have left a lasting impression on me. On the one hand, this was due to the participants and the organization, which made this weekend a unique and unforgettable experience. On the other hand, it was the flair that the city, mountain pastures and huts exuded. The warmth of the local people did the rest.
I would therefore like to thank everyone very much for the wonderful days! It was an honor! All the best to you and see you soon!
Mannerschnitzel #violent #supersach
You can read how Karin and Sebastian experienced the Innsbruck weekend and what impressions they gained in their article on Outside-Stories. At this point, a big thank you to Sebastian for the great photos.
And Katharina Steglegger describes the tour to the Saile (Nockspitze) via Birgitzköpfl in her blog post.
Further information about Innsbruck:
Top sights:
Karwendel Nature Park, Golden Roof, Innsbruck Old Town, Bergisel Ski Jump, Ambras Castle, Court Church, Imperial Palace;
Welcome Card Plus:
Offers numerous benefits and discounts in the Innsbruck region. Including free rides up and down the mountain on selected cable cars, use of public transport, discounts on admissions. The Welcome Card Plus is available free of charge from participating accommodation providers. There is also the option of upgrading to the Welcome Card Unlimited.
Innsbruck App:
Official app for the Innsbruck region with a wealth of information. E.g. comprehensive map material (can also be used offline) with GPS function for sights, restaurants, stores and the seven themed walks.
