The Dachstein West ski resort, which hosts the Salzkammergut Trophy, is covered in places by more than two meters of snow, but the preparations for Austria's biggest mountain bike marathon on July 18 are already underway.
A course change will skip the Echern Valley after the long section along Lake Hallstatt. Instead the revised course will climb a narrow path with 13 serpentines - a former cart trail built in the mid 19th century leading to the oldest salt mines in the world. The trail passes the famous Hallstatt necropolis where archaeologists believe that there are more than 4,000 graves dating back to the Iron Age (800 - 400 B.C.). The vantage point will offer views of the lake and the surrounding mountain range. The steepest part of this trail passes directly the miners' refuge and has a 30 percent incline before heading back to Rossalm.
