Pond with a view

What I really like about hiking is the hidden treasures you can find. Whenever I walk though nature in our Alps I always end up seeing something unexpected. Like this little pond in the Tuxer Alps, Tyrol. My way led up a grassy hill and I almost missed this water beauty. It must have been melted snow that built this pond. Although it was August there was plenty of snow in the heights, so no wonder there were brooks and ponds around. A year later I passed the same spot and there were no ponds anymore.

The photo is nice because it shows a reflection in the pond which is a good motif for itself. Combined with the mountains in the background it makes for an idyllic and wonderful alpine pasture. And besides, my wife Sylvia was skiing on that snowy slopes in the background while I was hiking and taking this photo.

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Follow the Light

What a glorious day out this was! Hiking with my snowshoes into this beautiful valley and enjoying the bright sun, fresh cold air and the quiet alpine scenery.

It's the Langental valley in the Sellrain mountain range, Tyrol, Austria. A small side valley seldom visited, in winter only back country skiers will walk here. That's because it is not accessible easily when all is covered with thick layers of snow. I guess I was one of the few people walking there in winter time.

After a two-hour walk upwards I stopped and walked back, but I could easily have walked for many hours more. The weather was gorgeous, although a chilly wind blew. Sometimes I had to stop and turn away from the gust blowing snow crystals in my face.

On my way back I walked past this wooden cross and then turned around to see my back view. I always do this to see if there's a good view backwards. Many people just walk ahead and never turn back - a mistake in my opinion. I then took this photo and I deliberately positioned the sun right into the picture. Often this doesn't work and just results in a great white spot or lots of lens flare, but this time it was perfect. The suns circle makes such a great motif.

I thoroughly enjoyed this day and I will recommend snowshoeing to everybody who loves nature. Unfortunately it's planned to build a reservoir and dam in that valley starting from 2011. It's sad, because another beautiful place is sacrificed for human needs.

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Winter Glory

This is the alpine peak Spitzmauer with a height of 2445m. It is in the Stodertal valley in Austria, a well known area for hiking in summer and skiing in winter. We are often there, especially in winter when Sylvia wants to ski. Because I don't ski I always walk around and take some pictures. As you can guess I already have dozens of images of the motifs there, but there's always something new to discover. For instance I like the Spitzmauer because it is such a distinctive mountain, you can recognize it from any angle.

When I took this particular image it was a cold winter day this January. After some days of bad weather the sun finally came through and the light was gorgeous. I also was lucky because most of the time clouds are around the summit. The look of the snow and rocks is great and the contrast to the blue sky works very well. It's one of the best photos I took of this mountain.

If you're ever in Austria you should visit this valley, you can do any sorts of summer or winter sports and the scenery is great.

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(Copyright Notice: All pictures and text are copyrighted by the blog's author. You may not download the images and use it except with written permission.)