A Mountain Adventure

What we call "sledding" in America, is called "Rodling" here in Austria. And believe me, it is quite a different experience. I went Rodling for my first time Friday night. This is what we did for the our Christmas party with the leadership team of the church. First of all, the Rodl is very different from the sleds we are used to (see the picture below). You sit on the top, or lay down if you want to go faster and steer with your feet. It takes a while to get used to it, but it's a blast when you do. Secondly, a major part of this experience is walking up the mountain, in the snow, pulling your sled. I find it amazing that an entire culture thinks that this is fun. When we walked up on Friday, it was snowing, with already a good 2 feet of snow on the ground. You usually hike up about 3km (about 1.9 miles). At the top of the mountain there is a restaurant with amazing food, fireplace and a great view. You then slide down all the way to the bottom. That is the fun part. That is what is supposed to happen.

Now for my experience. The plan was for us to take a ski lift 3km up the mountain and then walk the remaining 3km tot the top. When we got there, we found out that we had missed the lift and we would have to walk the entire 6km. The locals didn't even hesitate because they have been doing this all their lives. I on the other hand am not used to doing this, nor am I in the kind of shape that I would like to be. After about 15 minutes of walking, I am having serious doubts about whether I am going to make it to the top. Then it happened. Like manna in the wilderness, a taxi passes us on the road! We flag him down and pay him to take us to where the lift would have dropped us off. This was definitely a good thing for me! So we continue on up the mountain. It may have been the most miserable time of my life. We arrived at the top and I felt like I was going to die. I was dehydrated and my legs were cramping severely. We get to the lodge and I could not eat because I was so nauseous. I will spare you some the graphic details, just know that it was not fun. We then start to head down the mountain we realized that it had snowed so much that the rodl just sunk into the ground when we sat on it. We were able to sled down about half and had to walk the other half. I have never been so happy to go home and get into bed! In retrospect, most of this misery could have been avoided. Not realizing how intense and exerting it was going to be, I had not eaten or drank anything since breakfast and we started climbing at about 6pm. Next time I will be more prepared. Enjoy the pictures from my adventure!


Here is a typical Rodl

Our taxi sent from heaven

Me recovering in the Lodge

Having some fun on the way down