Snow is fun - but it does not necessarily take skis or a snowboard. With these ten alternative winter sports, you can also get into the fresh air and do not have to do without the adrenalin kick:
Fatbike driving in Styria: twice as thick
Fatbikes take cycling fans where normal mountain bikes get stuck - even in the snow. Thanks to the wheels, which are about twice as wide as ordinary wheels, fat bikers can enjoy snow-covered hiking and sledging trails, downhill runs, singletrack and toboggan runs.
One of the most beautiful areas lies in the Schladming-Dachstein region. There, Michael Stix of "Alpine Fatbike" offers tours for downhill pros and pleasure cyclists (from about 69 euros for a two- to five-hour tour).
The tours are partly suitable for children under ten years, some are also possible as a night tour. For this the participants get a helmet headlight in addition to the equipment. Start is at 18 o'clock. After exhausting hours on long runs and through narrow trails, there is only one thing left to do: end the day in an alpine hut with Kaiserschmarrn and Kasnocken.
Snowshoeing in the Allgäu: on giant slippers through the snow
Only a crunch can be heard when the snow gives way under the giant lugs. And only the traces remain in the snow. Around Oberstaufen, vacationers can take snowshoe hikes off the beaten track.
Not so lonely is the snowshoe festival in the nature park Nagelfluhkette (149 Euro per person). From 15 to 17 February, guided tours are on the program - from an eight-hour hike with a summit climb, a snowshoe tour with avalanche prevention to a short snowshoe tour with an igloo building. In the evening there is Kässpatzen, a headlamp hike and a sleigh ride.
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Alternatives to skiing: fat bikes, iced waterfallsIce climbing in the Pitztal: thrill at the frozen waterfall
When temperatures drop in autumn, frozen climbing trails grow out of the waterfalls. Then climbing the ice formations with pimples and crampons attracts more and more mountain sports enthusiasts.
The Pitztal mountains in Tyrol have developed into an ice climbing center. Beginners and climbing pros will be exploring their limits from December to the end of March at 45 ice falls. Beginners can expect varied routes, while professionals can enjoy spectacular ice walls up to 190 meters high.
Bizarre structures made of ice, an overhanging bouldering wall and basecamp atmosphere await the participants at the "Ice Total Climbing Festival" from January 18 to 20 in St. Leonhard in the Pitztal (58 euros without travel, accommodation and meals). For two days, athletes can test the latest ice climbing products there and, together with state-certified mountain guides, dare their first moves on the steep ice.
Dog sledding in Finland: on paws through the snow
The snow crunches under the runners, the huskies pant in the winter air, the sled glides over snow-covered bogs. For a dog sledding course in northern Finland, winter holidaymakers feel like Jack London in the "Call of the Wild" for a few days. If you take part in an eight-day dog sledge safari on Huskyfarm Hetta, about 300 kilometers north of Rovaniemi, you will be driving through the loneliness of Lapland every day between 30 and 50 kilometers.
After an introduction to dog sledding and a briefing on safety and survival under Arctic conditions, the approximately six participants will start with sledges, animals and two guides. The demanding tours require good physical condition. But being together with the dogs with grooming, feeding and the long tours let the dog sled drivers forget their efforts. Slept and eaten in log cabins - partly without running water (an eight-day tour costs 1775 euros per person).
Snowtubin g in Switzerland: Departure in Gummi-Donut
Photopress / Adelboden / SRT
The pleasure on the rubber donut is called Snowtubing. Big and small whiz down the valley on a prepared track on an inflated tire at speeds of up to 40 km / h. About snow waves and ski jumps it goes downhill.
In the snow tubing park Engstligenalp, above Adelboden in the Swiss canton of Bern, there are several tracks to choose from: a high-speed channel for speed junkies and more leisurely tracks for those who prefer to glide slowly downhill. Fun for families or friends is a ride in a convoy of several tires. The park can be reached by cable car (combined ticket including cable car ride and tires for four hours for 36 euros).
Bobsleigh in Innsbruck: goose bumps in the ice channel
With Karacho racing bob rushes through the curves, the wind whistles and it tingles in the pit of the stomach. Since the 1976 Winter Olympics and Stefan Raab's Wok World Cup in Innsbruck-Igls, the Olympic bobsleigh run has been a cult feature. In the four-man bob you can race down the ice channel at up to 115 km / h (100 Euro per person). It takes about 60 seconds for the 14 turns.
Somewhat shorter, but no less adventurous is a ride in the "Gästebob" (from 35 euros per person). Five guests and one pilot start at the women's start in turn 5 and race through the 800 meter long track at up to 100 km / h. Then we go to Bob Café K14 - there are drinks and a window with a beautiful view.
Sledding in the Salzburger Land: Curves on the record toboggan run
Bryan Reinhart / Wildkogel Arena / SRT
The railway in Bramberg am Wildkogel is 14 kilometers long and overcomes 1300 vertical meters. This makes it the longest illuminated toboggan run in the world. Even with a wooden sledge from the hardware store you can get there up to 40 km / h and in about 30 to 50 minutes with floodlights through the night rush (the single ticket costs 12.50 euros for adults, for children 6 euros).
In January 2017, 508 interconnected sleigh riders set a record as the longest toboggan chain and are even in the "Guinness Book of Records". Half way there is the après-ski hut Zwischenzeit. After a pause it is then crash helmet again, string in hand and just do not fly out of the corners.
Snowkiting in the Black Forest and in the Alps: Dance of the colorful kites
Airpass, Bar and Chickenloop - these are not secret codes for a barbecue, but technical terms of the Snowkiter. With the "snow kite", kiters can use their snowboard or their skis to wind their way over deep snow slopes and frozen lakes, or sail several meters through the air.
On the plateau of Feldberg in the southern Black Forest near Freiburg snowkite schools offer courses of all levels of difficulty (for example, a two-day course including equipment from 219 euros). So Christoph Volk, owner of the kite school Skywalker, raves about the jumps that are possible and the freedom offered by the sport. Volk is not only present on the Feldberg with its Snowkiteschule, but also on the Swabian Alb, in Austria on the Loferer Alm and in Zell am See.
Snowquad tours in the Erzgebirge: adventures on four wheels
Quad biking can be addictive. Even crazier are Snowquad tours over mountain and valley, through snow and over icy roads and paths. It does not depend on the speed, but on the metered accelerating (the one and a half hour winter tour costs 79 euros).
A suitable area offers the ski resort Holzhau in the Ore Mountains. After an introduction to the handling and technique of the four-wheeled quad, the group starts with a tour guide to ride through the woods to the Czech Republic. There are cafés to warm up along the way.
Winter paragliding in Tyrol: floating above Alpine peaks
Active Center Zillertal / SRT
The tandem flights are mainly carried out in the Zillertal Arena ski area in the own flying area on the Zellberg. From fast banked turns to calm gliding everything is there. And whoever dares, he is allowed to direct himself. Up to the launch site it goes with the Arena gondola (starting at 2200 meters costs 130 euros per person, start at 1300 meters costs 85 euros per person). Incidentally, children from the age of three may also fly along.
Toy-small, the white winter world looks lofty. Such a paragliding flight over covered treetops and mountain slopes is possible from the Aktivzentrum Zillertal in Tirol. A tandem pilot with many years of flying experience takes over the steering.