Fit for ski touring:
Preparation, tour and refreshment stop tips
When you’re out on a ski tour, the day doesn’t begin with your first step in the snow, but weeks beforehand – in training, in planning, in choosing the terrain and where to stop for refreshments. In the valley of tranquil slopes and sweeping lines, the Windautal, this principle really comes to life: here, it’s not the big ski lift that counts, but the ascent, the deep-track descent and the destination – a place to stop off where you can truly be at one with yourself. In this article, you’ll find three essential elements: how to get fit beforehand, which tours the area has to offer – and where you can stop for refreshments afterwards. This way, you’ll not only be active in the snow, but do so mindfully and with enjoyment.
Why fitness is crucial for ski tourers
1. Strength: Climbing on touring skis mainly works the leg and core muscles.
2. Endurance: Long climbs up the mountain put your cardiovascular system to the test.
3. Balance & coordination: Stability is crucial, particularly when skiing down in deep snow, to ensure you can navigate the slopes safely.
4. Flexibility: Smooth movements reduce the risk of injury when subjected to sudden strain.
The perfect ski touring workout at the gym
1. Leg strength: Your engine for the climb
- Squats: Perfect for the thighs and glutes. Vary your routine by using barbells or the Smith machine
- Lunges: Promote stability and specifically strengthen the legs.
- Leg press: Allows you to work with heavier weights and build strength.
- Calf raises: Essential for the often-neglected calf muscles.
2. Core stability: The key to balance
- Plank variations: Promote stability and work the entire core.
- Russian Twists: Help build the rotational strength required for ski touring.
- Cable Woodchopper: Simulates the lateral load experienced during descents or balancing manoeuvres.
3. Endurance training: Your foundation for long rides
- Stepper or StairMaster: Simulates climbing stairs whilst strengthening the leg muscles.
- Treadmill with incline: Perfect for practising walking uphill.
- Rowing machine: Improves endurance, whilst also working the arms, legs and back.
- HIIT workouts: Interval training boosts your endurance and helps you cope with changing paces.
4. Balance & Coordination: Staying steady on any slope
- BOSU exercises: Squats or lunges on a balance trainer improve your coordination.
- Slackline: Ideal for improving balance and body awareness.
- Single-leg exercises: For example, single-leg deadlifts or one-legged balances to improve stability.
5. Stretching & flexibility: your protection against injury
- Stretch your thighs, calves and hip flexors.
- Use foam rollers to loosen up your muscles and relieve tension.
Fitness tips for preparing for a tour
- Train functionally: Focus on exercises that simulate the movements involved in ski touring.
- Build up gradually: Increase weights or intensity step by step to avoid overexertion.
- Combine indoor and outdoor activities: Supplement your gym training with walks or short ski tours to get used to the physical strain.
- Make sure you allow time for recovery: Give your body plenty of rest – this also helps to strengthen your muscles.
Your reward: feeling fit as a fiddle on the peaks
The combination of targeted strength and endurance training will get you fit for the challenges of ski touring. With every day you spend training at the gym, you’ll get closer to your goal: enjoying pristine powder snow, breathtaking views from the summit and an unforgettable descent into the valley.
Pack your sports gear and get going – the mountains are waiting for you!
Tour tip:
White lines, sweeping slopes – ski touring in the Windau Valley
The Windautal is one of those valleys that doesn’t clamour for attention. It lies to the west of Westendorf, stretching deep and tranquillously into the Kitzbühel Alps, and in winter feels like a small cosmos of its own, made up of snow, shade and sunshine. It is precisely this combination that makes it one of the most exciting ski touring areas in the Northern Alps – not overcrowded, not over-the-top, yet full of routes that get your heart racing whilst helping you unwind at the same time.
Walks that give the Windau Valley its character
The valley offers a wide range of peaks – from gentle to challenging. There’s no need to list them all, but a few mountains are simply part of the character of the Windau Valley:
Lodron (1,925 m)
The classic. A steady, rhythmic ascent over gentle ridges and vast alpine pastures. The descent: playful, open, ideal for enjoyable turns. Perfect in fresh snow – and a favourite destination for many locals.
Steinbergstein (2,215 m)
Significantly more alpine. The ascent is a bit of a slog; the final metres to the summit feel like a short ridge walk into freedom. The descent delivers on what the ascent promises: powerful, long slopes with the potential for some magical powder skiing.
Gerstinger Joch / Gerstinger Hörndl (just under 2,000 m)
In shape, it’s more of a broad ridge than a pointed summit – but ideal for days when you simply want to get into the flow. A superb tour for beginners and after-work outings, and often a safe bet in terms of safety.
Kröndlhorn (2,444 m)
For ambitious days. Longer, more secluded, wilder. The ascent takes you across a variety of terrain, and the summit rewards you with a panorama stretching far into the Hohe Tauern. The descent is varied – wide slopes, ridges, hollows and small gullies.
What these tours have in common is what makes the Windautal so special: the routes often run across expansive alpine pastures, which are perfect playgrounds for descents – sometimes fluffy powder, sometimes butter-soft spring firn. At the same time, they are nestled within terrain that never feels threatening, but rather inviting. The Windautal is not a high-alpine region, but an ideal ski-touring area for people who take nature and exercise seriously – without having to push themselves to the limit.
Perfect slopes, ideal lines – the ultimate terrain for ski touring
In winter, the valley swallows up all sound. Only the wind, the poles in the snow, the soft clicking of the bindings. The north and east-facing slopes retain powder snow for a long time, whilst the south-facing slopes turn into perfect firn surfaces by spring at the latest. It is precisely this mix of exposures that ensures good conditions for almost the entire season.
You realise straight away: the Windautal is not a valley for show. It is a valley for people who really want to ski.
A place to stop for a bite to eat: Gasthaus Steinberg – where the day ends just as it should
Right next to the ski touring car park lies the valley’s culinary highlight: the Gasthaus Steinberg. The owner and head chef Michael Grafl, who trained under Alfons Schubeck amongst others, serves up cuisine that perfectly suits the valley: regional, precise and without any frills.
The game comes directly from the Windau Valley, whilst the vegetables and meat are sourced from the surrounding area. As chairman of the ‘KochArt’ initiative, Grafl is a strong advocate for provenance, quality and sustainability. Anyone who stops off here after a tour will quickly understand why the Steinberg is part of this valley’s DNA.