HIKING is in the blood of Austrians. Doubly so for those who live in Tirol, Austria’s most mountainous province in the country’s west, where peaks rise above 3000m. Here, 1400km of signed and graded trails crisscross Kermit-green valleys all the way up to rocky snow-covered peaks – a magnet for lovers of the outdoors (i.e, the entire population). On weekends, families are often out hiking to a hut for lunch, sometimes with the family dog in tow. Like anywhere, there are tours that will show you the way, but this is a destination you can also easily explore on your own – the Tirolean way.
From Vienna it’s an easy four hours by fast train to Jenbach, gateway to Tirol’s Zillertal Alps. Here, the Ziller River has cut a mountain valley stretching 40km, sprinkled with villages and finishing in a dead-end that rises steeply to meet the perennially snow-covered Hintertux Glacier.
It takes less than an hour to transfer from Jenbach to my base at Chalet Anno Dazumal, midway up the valley. According
