We woke up to snow falling ... after a late lay-in we eventually rolled out rather than spend the first day locked up .. We had selected a simple tour up the old toboggan run to Grabs - a small village in the woods looking down onto Tschagguns below.
This village was the location of the very first ski lift/ area up this valley, but is now just a memorial.
We started in the pasture directly opposite the apartment, and up through the village to the return route for the Golm Piste. We had followed this last year on route to the Lindauer hutte
The route follows a well worn path from the last house in the village.
The track from here was also used as a Rodel track and hence was pisted.
There is a point where this track separates into two tracks (one each side of the river). At this point there is also a parking station for toboggans rented from places down each fork.
here we were passed by two vehicles at separate ends of the spectrum ... the first must have been an early prototype for the universal skidoo, whereas the second was more like an arctic explorer cat-trac.
Once up a short steepish slope and into the upper pasture area there was a junction. We took the spur that headed across the fields up and into the clouds.
The cloud was very low and route finding was complex in the meadows, as there was a multitude of old descent tracks covering any markers of the main track.
At the top of the pasture we encountered a more obvious road/ track heading in the correct direction. This was a relief and a nearby sign post indicated we were where we needed to be.
following the track all the way around to Grabs ... the village still hidden in the clouds
There were occasional farm houses beside the track.
Stopping in a farm house porch next to the old cable lift - now just the towers remained.
We had a bit of lunch and took in the ambience in place of the view.
There was also a sculpture of old Dachstine gloves in a tree like structure.
Striping the skins off and heading into the clouds, and flat light ... across the fields to start with (to avoid poleing on the track) was a little hard work as the fresh snow and lack of gradient, however once on the track after the flat section, it sped up as we shushed down, around the hairpin bends and through the trees.
The cloud was rising very slightly and by the time we got back to the upper pasture area we had dropped out of it.
We cut down right at a convenient point where most others had done previously and flew down the open pasture past a number of chalets.
This was heavy snow, but not clingy, and the gradient was slight enough so that turning was a case of standing on one leg or another.
This series of open fields and houses cut through the fields, over a little stream before coming out at a track much lower down the valley than we had started out.
The route certainly added some excitement and interest to the last section of the descent.
Crossing the main valley river by an old water powered saw mill, we had to walk up the track a way before cutting across the fields back to the apartment.
the fields opposite the apartment ... the snow was very wet and sluggish.
Looking at the pension - we were in the middle window on the lower ground floor
Grabs is at the left edge of the ridge, with the track lost in the trees.
Dinner was the first of our "self catering" gastronomes,, pork cutlets and tomato sauce with rice
