New Austria Stuff Part II

This is my second post today so I can fit in all the pictures I want.

Our second full day on Innsbrck started with an early wake-up to go paragliding. We met our guides and took a cablecar up a mountain to about 2000 meters elevation. From there we had to lug duffle bags of equipment larger than me up about another 100 vertical meters. Let me tell you I now have a newfound respect for Everest sherpas because that hike just about killed me. Thin air and weak quads do not make for a good climbing Mike. Once they finally told us we could stop we turned around and the lunacy of what we had got ourselves into finally hit us. We stood on a steep mountainside overlooking the valley and town of Oetz below. In a few minutes we would be in gear and harness (attached to our guide of course) and be asked to run at full speed off the side of this mountain. Gabe, Mike, Landon and myself got suited up in jumpsuits, gloves and helmets (saftey first when jumping off mountains!) and were soo strapped in to our harnesses with our guides tied in behind us. Gabe and his guide were set to go first and when he gave the command gabe ran at full speed down the mountainside. After about 15 yards they got airborn and began to sail... then the parasail turned left and they came down and had to roll to come to a stop. "Wow," my guide said as he looked on from behind me, "that crosswind just came up and messed that up. Happens sometimes. OK, we're next." We're next?!?! HELLOOOO! Those two just took a tumble down that hill stopping just soon enough to avoid crashing down on those rocks and trees and you are ready for us to go try the same? But at that point I was tied in and was pretty much commited. Besides, I had confidence in my running ability. Once we got a sufficiet head wind he gave the command and I was off sprinting. After ten steps we were yanked up into the air by our sail. We lifted almost straight up and once we were a good 30 feet off the ground he gave me the OK to sit back in my harness. "Perfect takeoff," he said. Once comfortably situated I was able to look down at the valley below and at the mountain ranges atretching out in every dierction. The world is quite beautiful from 1000 meters up. The 20 minute flight was amazing. It came as close to my dreams of flying as I could imagine. I reccomend it to anyone. We have pictures but I don't have them on file right now to post.

After four successful landings we thanked our guides and took off for our next activity: moutain biking. In many way this was more dangerous than the paragliding. For starters we would be on the bikes alone instead of trusting our fate to an expert who had as much interest in continuing to live as we did. Secondly, none of us were in biking shape. Sure, we figured that biking would be easy but for whatever reason we failed to account for the thin air and steep grade of the trail we selected, one that took us up a windy mountian road to a lake. My breathing in this video is not an act, I was really winded.

After some struggling and ample breaks we made it too the lake. Once we set eyes on the lake we knew we had made the right decision not to turn around when the biking got tough. The lake, flat as glass with pines trees surrounding and mountains in the background, looked like something right out of a Bob Ross painting. Happy little trees everywhere. There was a pavillion with a deck and lots of local austrians swimming and picnicing along the shores.
Hot and sweaty form the biking we were more than ready to jump in the cold lake. We walked along the shore trail until we found an empty spot. None of us had planned on swimming so we hadn't brought swimming clothes much less a change of clothes or towels. The other were content to jump in with thier shorts on, but I was not too keen on another hour of biking with wet shorts as I knew that was an invitation for rashes to form. Confident that I was out of sight of all the picnicing locals I made sure the trail was clear, asked my comrads to avert their eyes and left all my clothes nice and dry on the lakeside. As we swam and cooled off in the lake we began to notice that the people walking by on the path would stare at us. Pretty typical since most places we seem to get looks from locals once they hear our accents anf realize that we're americans. We swam more and the stares continued, sometimes accompanied by giggling from the young women. I was not until Gabe got out of the water fisrt and looked down from the path at the rest of us that we finally understood. Crisp, fresh alpine water is ALOT clearer than the murkey water of kentucky's lakes that we were accustomed too! So the whole time, even though I was swimming a good 30 yards offshore, I had been giving quite the show to any onlooker willing to watch. I just hope Austrians have heard of the George Costanza theory of caold water. The guys had a good laugh at my expense but I got the last laugh as I was the only one with dry shorts for the rest of the day.

Thats me on the right. Don't look too closely.

The trip down was easier but more dangerous as our bikes skidded frequently on the gravel. At the bottom we took another trail (this time a flat one thank god) that followed a raging tributary of the river we had rafted the previous day. Here ore some pictures and video:

It was a great weekend and I think Innsbruck was my favorite city of the trip.