World Traveller December 2018

INNSBRUCK
Credit: The Sunday Times Travel Magazine / News Licensing
experience beneath the Hafelekarspitze
the next morning. That walk along
the ridge I mentioned earlier was just
the overture. Sebastian, my guide and
guardian angel, somehow got me through
it, and together we wobbled on for five
minutes until the path dropped down to
a gap between the crags – and I caught
my first sight of the view south.
Holy Mother of Mountain Scenery: I’d
never seen anything like it. It wasn’t so
much the distance that made it special.
It was the sense of depth. Sealing the
horizon, 30km away, was the central
spine of the Alps – the one that forms
the border with Italy and snakes all the
way to Mont Blanc. Immediately beneath
my boots, plunging down toward the
city limits, was the steepest slope I’ve
ever attempted – and there, in a deep
gutter of green, spread the streets of
Innsbruck, glinting in the sunshine.
‘Is this the only way down?’ I asked.
I’d heard that this area, the Nordkette,
was steep, but after my ego-boosting
day on the Stubai Glacier, I thought I
needed a challenge. Now I wasn’t so
sure. What if I fell? By the look of it, I
wouldn’t stop rolling until I was back
in the Maria-Theresien-Strasse, lying
outside Manna Delikatessencafe.
‘There is another route,’ said
Sebastian. ‘But it’s steeper.’
Then I realised something. I wasn’t
scared anymore. Those powerful gusts
of wind had been shocking at first, but a
couple of days of art galleries and Gothic
architecture had sharpened my appetite
for adrenaline. And knowing what
(largely edible) delights were awaiting
me back down in town, I steeled myself.
‘Ready?’ asked Sebastian, after I’d clicked
into my skis. I nodded, and we were off.
An hour later, I was back on the streets
of Innsbruck once again a lone skier in
a sea of busy city folk. But this time, I
didn’t feel ridiculous, I felt victorious.
There was snow on my boots and a smile
as wide as the Nordkette plastered across
my face. I could have hugged every one
of them. Instead, I went to Manna’s
and ordered some apple strudel.
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World Traveller 55