Where to Ski And Snowboard - Ötztal valley helps skiers remain upbeat

Ötztal valley helps skiers remain upbeat

14th April 2020, by Abi Butcher

Missing the mountains? Tales from the Ötztal valley can keep you upbeat and learning

While travel as we know it is not currently possible, “armchair travelling” is the new buzzword, and helping to keep horizons intact for those with wandering feet.

While some companies are offering live sessions on social media, where you can see the surroundings as if you were there, and others are posting pictures of the present and the past to inspire and keep your spirits up during these difficult times, one region in Austria is offering stories from the region so you can get to know the people in its mountains.

Ötztal is home to many of favourite ski resorts among British skiers, including Obergurgl-Hochgurgl, Sölden and Kühtai, among others. During the time of the coronavirus, the valley is sending out a newsletter filled with stories of people from the Ötztal area, stories from ordinary people, how they are coping with the situation and how they are learning from it.

The first one features a portrait of Jakob Prantl and farmer and owner of a hut in Sölden who says: “Relationships nourish us like food. Quality is fundamental in both.

“I’m sitting in the sun, up on the Gampe hut, looking at nature and thinking about the future. I’m sure that things will not be the same again – but I think that this is good and important. We all must realise that less is more.”

He finishes: “Things will turn out for the better. So, I’m enjoying these days. But I’m looking forward to the summer when I’m walking my livestock to the Gampe. The locals will love as well to hear their bells. It’s so quiet at the moment. The cowbells will reawaken all of our spirits.”

To read more of this portrait, and to sign up for this newsletter for more lovely tales from the Austrian mountains, visit oetztal.com