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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