Lessons Learned From Climbing the Austrian Alps

Austrian loves skiing, even more so, they loveeeee ski touring.

What is ski touring?

For Austrian, ski touring is climbing the mountain by putting removable pieces of nylon fabric under their skis, allowing the ski to glide forward but not backward, then climb all the way up to the top of a mountain and ski down a path where rarely any one had skied before.

Since it was my first time, my friends took me to a skiing resort instead of the mountains where they usually go but instead of the day time, we went during the night at around 7pm.

I am a snowboarder, so I had to rent a pair of snowshoes and carry my snowboard on my back to climb my way up.

The sky was so clear, I could see thousands of stars in the sky. The moonlight was bright, it reflects off from the powdery snow and from the trees which was also covered in snow.

Surprisingly, the reflection of the moonlights allowed me see quite clearly and the view was breathtaking. (I wish I had a camera capable of capturing it!)

In the beginning of the climb, I was full of excitement and my board on my back didn’t seem so heavy.

As the incline begin to get steeper and steeper, my friends started to pull away from me. I was going slower and slower and my breath was getting heavier and heavier.

This was when disempowering thoughts and excuses started to show up in my mind.

“Everybody else are on ski and I got a heavy snowboard on my back. Its easier for them.”

“I only had a piece of cake for lunch thats why I am so slow.”

“I want some pizza now.”

“How many more slopes do I have to climb?”

“I am so out of shape I need a break.”

I stopped.

Took a deep breath.

I looked back behind me and what I saw was an amazing display of lights shining from the town below the mountain.

I looked up, even more stars appeared in the sky.

I was so busy complaining in my head that I missed all the beautiful things surrounding me.

So I took another deep breath and I said to myself, “Focus on your breath and take it one step at a time Brian.”

Started to climb up again and it became easier. I no longer care how far my friends are ahead of me or how slow I was going or how others thought of me.

All I care about was taking it one step at time and concentrating on my breath.