Day 5: The Yeti

Stage 5: Prettau im Ahrntal/I – Sand in Taufers/I


Vertical distance: 1800 meters ascent, 2098 meters descent
Horizontal distance: 34,10 Kilometers

Always providing a view of the mountain chain of the Zillertaler Alps in the North, the 5. stage of the Transalpine-Run, with an altitude difference totaling 1800 meters and a distance of 34 kilometers, leads into the heart of the Rieserferner group of mountains in the South of Ahrn Valley. On this stage, too, the route expands into alpine territory and is second to none when it comes to scenic beauty. After a short downhill stretch to Durra Alm, the long cross way to the southern slopes of Rein Valley delights runners with perfect running ground. The unique climb along the Reinbach waterfalls toward Sand in Taufers wraps up this beautiful stage.

The Yeti:

"The Yeti or Abominable Snowman is an ape-like cryptid said to inhabit the Himalayan region of Nepal and Tibet. The names Yeti and Meh-Teh are commonly used by the people indigenous to the region, and are part of their history and mythology. Stories of the Yeti first emerged as a facet of Western popular culture in the 19th century."

 

So - nothing to do with that stage today, correct?! Well, almost. The weather conditions were very harsh once more today. Wet, cold, windy - not the most enjoyable circumstances to crawl over the Alps. But I can assure you - we did not see the Yeti! Come on guys, it's impossible - the Yeti lives in Tibet and not in the Alps. Be a bit more realistic! On the other hand... we are in Südtirol/ Italy now - which is the home of Reinhold Messner. They say. You heard that rumour?! That one Yeti is meeting the other one somewhere up in the mountains and is saying "Hey man, I've seen Reinhold Messner!". The other Yeti answering "C'mon dude - he REALLY exists?!".

Hmmm...oukei, very funny :-) The stage - where did we stop?! Correct, it was cold. Very cold - as you can see from the pictures above. Not much more to tell about that stage. It was originally planned to be a pretty easy and short one, but a landslide caused additional 5k and 300m elevation gain for us. In combination with the weather, this was the perfect set-up for another painful stage.

At the foodstop on top of the climb I was so frozen, that I was dreaming about  something hot to drink - and the angels at the station had hot tomato-soup ready for us... WOW! I did not know, how happy one can be, just getting a hot cup of tomato soup :-) Thanks again, that was the party of the day.

Once we survived the peaks and the coldest sports, the final downhill was cool! We met - as almost every day - the team from Israel, enjoyed a scenic run down to Sand in Taufers. A real hot shower was the highlight, as Ruben managed to organize a good camping site once more. Pasta party, no briefing again (sorry *hihi*) and early to bed. Life can be so simple... it will be pretty hard to get back in the normal life after the Transalpine Run! And hey - only 3 moredays to go - and no doubt at all, that we will grab our second Finisher Shirt Satuday evening in Sexten! Cool!