On October 4th to 6th, we organised an international study visit in the beautiful Rax-Schneeberg mountains joined by fellow hikers from Slovakia and Greece!
Main goal of the study visit was to experience various hiking trails in Austria and mountain huts in order to collect inputs for the 3HUTS Survey – which focuses on monitoring how men’s and women’s needs differ when hiking and to what extent they are met. We stayed in Raxalm Berggasthof for the duration of our visit and hiker in the surround area on the Rax plateau.
On Friday, the group reached Raxalm Berggasthof by cable car and visited nearby Ottohaus, ending the day with a nice dinner and discussions about promoting hiking among women complements by brainstorming how hiking can be made more attractive for them.
On Saturday, a morning hike started in the direction of Preiner Wand (1.783 m) and a nice stop at Seehütte for lunch. While hiking along the Kammweg trail, the participants had from time to time chance to observe beautiful views of the valley, despite foggy weather. After lunch, the group hiked the Ho-Chi-Minh trail all the way to Losbühel and then returned back to the hut. Although the day was largely shrouded in fog, the women had the opportunity to experience hiking in Austria and visit several huts along the route. The day finished with interactive workshop teaching women how to tie knots which might come in hand during their future endeavours in the mountains.
On Sunday, the group departed in early morning and hiked down from the plateau into Payerbach to catch a train back to Vienna.
Exploring hiking infrastructure and mountain huts
One of the main aims of our study visit was to explore and assess the current state of the hiking infrastructure in the Austrian mountains and to gather insights from women regarding how their needs were met during this hiking trip. To achieve this, the event was designed to include visits to a mountain hut over the course of one weekend and various hiking trails across the Rax-Schneeberg mountains, enabling the participants to experience as much as possible and provide their feedback afterward.
This event was organised as part of the 3HUTS project, promoting hiking among women and aiming to make this activity more inclusive to both women and men alike.
If you wish to contribute to our survey, you can do so by completing a short form about your hiking preferences and habits: https://bit.ly/3HUTS_survey
This event is co-financed by the Erasmus+ Sport programme.