Where Cross-Country Skiing Is at Home

Cool mountain air fills your lungs, snow crunches beneath the tips of your poles, and you keep moving forward through vast valleys, quiet forests, and sunny high plateaus.

Hardly any other sport combines dynamic movement and the enjoyment of the scenery quite like the powerful glide on narrow skis. In Austria’s Osttirol, fans of the classic style or skaters have access to more than 250 kilometers of groomed trails at elevations ranging from 673 to 2,052 meters above sea level.

At the Obertilliach Training Center, the region of 266 three-thousand-meter peaks is ready for Nordic winter sports fun as early as mid-November. With measures such as additional snowmaking systems, snow farming, and new trails, the region south of the main Alpine ridge—as one of the ten “Tyrolean cross-country skiing specialists”—is setting new standards for Nordic fans. langlaufen.osttirol.com

Cross-country skiingengagesjust about every musclefrom head to toe and really gets the cardiovascular system pumping—there’s hardly a better full-body workout. The sport is even more efficient at altitudes above 1,800 meters. At such heights, the oxygen content in the air decreases. The body has to work more efficiently to improve O₂ uptake.

Osttirol offers both professionals and amateurs numerous opportunities to benefit from this “natural doping.” Another advantage of the alpine location is the guaranteed snow. For example, the Dorfberg high-altitude cross-country trail in the mountaineering village of Kartitsch lies between 1,820 and 1,950 meters. The moderately difficult trail winds its way over ten kilometers in various loops, always offering panoramic views of the Carnic Ridge and the local mountain of this community of 850 residents.

The Obersee high-altitude cross-country trail at the Staller Sattel in the Defereggental valley, at 2,000 meters above sea level, follows a loop of just under six kilometers with an elevation gain of 196 meters. The starting point is also the turnaround point for the free ski bus from St. Jakob.

For some, it’s the battle for a coveted spot on the podium; for others, it’s the special atmosphere and the mere fact of participating in Austria’s largest cross-country skiing event: the Dolomitenlauf. Every year, more than 2,000 professionals and amateurs from 30 countriestake part in the freestyle or classic cross-country races, each covering 21 or 42 kilometers .

Those who are less physically fit compete in the Easyrace over five kilometers. What they all have in common is the 1,450-meter course through the hilly landscape around Obertilliach in the Tiroler Lesachtal. The Dolomitenlauf is part of the renowned Worldloppet Ski Association, which brings together the world’s best cross-country skiing races.

Participation in these races is documented in the Worldloppet Pass —an incentive to practice the sport internationally and earn recognition asa “Worldloppet Master.”Registration has been open since mid-August 2024.