Antony Gormley: Britain's greatest sculptor comes to Austria

The only thing,” you say, in between sharp
breaths of delight, “better than this is…
flying.” You and your favourite person in the
world are sitting on a terrace overlooking a
sharp valley, a few clouds floating down below
you like cashmere. Next to you are two tough,
all-terrain bikes, which you have just climbed
off. On the mountainside above you is the trail
you have just ‘freeridden’ down, a dramatic
track leading from a top cable car station high
in the sky. You’re both breathing rapidly, not
so much from the exertion – although
freeriding a bike downhill demands more
from the body than you expected – but
through sheer adrenaline.
This is the essence of Saalbach Hinterglemm
(dubbed the Valley of Games) in summer: the
ultimate adrenaline rush.
But adrenaline doesn’t necessarily need
to be combined with discomfort. This is
Austria, after all, not some unaccommodating
distant mountainside. When you arrived in
the area the previous day, you might have
Saalbach Hinterglemm
Non-stop thrills
There’s nothing more refreshing than a break that involves a pure adrenaline rush. In Saalbach Hinterglemm, you’ll
find an array of activities to get your pulse rate going, and soothing spas to ease you back down again
been forgiven for wondering where any of
the thrills were going to come from. Yes, there
were mountains all around; but your spa hotel
seemed more concerned with reducing your
pulse rate than getting it going. Full-body
massages? Check. Skin soothing baths? Check.
Those beauty treatments you never have time
and anotHer tHing...
Nature and technology are
combined at Area 47 in the
Ötztal Valley. There is every
activity imaginable here for
adrenaline junkies from high
rope courses, climbing walls
and speed climbing routes
to kayaking and white-water
rafting on the Inn River. There’s
also a beach and water park.
www.area47.at
for back home, what with juggling work and
everything else? Check. Breathe out, slowly…
You came to Saalbach Hinterglemm
because you wanted a change of pace. Both of
you have full-on jobs; one of you is considering
a change of career while the other just wants
a break from the relentlessness of it all. You
wanted to relax utterly, which you did in the
spa, but you also wanted a thrill, for your
body to be charged with electricity for reasons
other than wondering if you’re going to finish
your Powerpoint presentation in time for your
next meeting.
And so, on the second day of your break,
comes the thrill. You’re met in your hotel by
your guide, Alex, who promises to be at your
side throughout the ‘Big-5-Challenge’ mammoth
freeride tour. It’s all about 5000m in altitude
and 57km of riding. Given that you’ve never
fancied yourself as a racing cyclist, you are
relieved that you go up by cable car, and down
by bike, and not the other way round. But still,
the butterflies start in the stomach as you head
a u s t r i a ’ s hi d d e n t r e a s u r e s 39