KSC Alpenverein Tour of Mayrhofen / Zillertal

I finally got to go on an alpentour with the famed KSC Alpenverein, the touring club of the KSC. Fantastic day, and even more fantastic to see that the Alpenverein on this day was mostly over-50, with a significant number (maybe 20% or 25% of the skiers) were over 70. To see that much gray hair climbing 4000 feet in a day and then skiing the hell out of that kind of terrain showcases the obvious health benefits of the alpine lifestyle. A few of the oldsters were a little shaky on the "down", but none had any problems whatsoever with the "up".

Take a look at these photos. Then go to any American shopping mall and view the kind of flesh (of every age) whose fitness limit tops out at getting from their car into the cookie section of Wal Mart.

The Alpenverein hired two professional mountain guides for the day to keep us all out of trouble.

The Mayrhofner Bergbahn rises a little over 3000 feet and is the largest-capacity cable car in Austria. The cars are roughly about the size of two Greyhound buses, and each holds 160 people.

Check out all they gray hair. Of the 6 KSC skiers in the foreground, the youngest is 65, the rest are 70 or older. Amazing fitness and a testament to the alpine lifestyle.

That big honkin' peak on the left is where we're going.

Ted seems excited about climbing all the way up there.

This brings to mind a saying about dogsledding: The first dog gets a great view for 2000 miles. The 5th dog spends a month with nothing to look at except the ass of the dog in front of him.