Nordkette, the north race

2011 Oct

No mountain or mountain bike race was ever like this. The story of the world’s toughest downhillers on the world’s toughest downhill: the Nordkette

This is not just another mountain. The Nordkette, at the north foot of the city of Innsbruck in western Austria is so vast, huge and intimidating it determines the lifestyle of a city.

Rising from the river Inn, the rock face towers all the way up to the horizon. Whenever an Innsbruck local steps outside his porch, he faces the rugged mountainsides of the Nordkette leading up to the peak, 2,334m above sea level.

Locals fear the Nordkette as much as they love her. They climb her, they hike her, they ski her… Sometimes they’re rescued by helicopter from her hard shoulders. This, truly, is a mountain you can die on.

Through the centuries the locals have learned to live with her; they’ve even tried to tame the stone-cold lady who’s so much bigger than any mere human endeavour, bigger even than the city in her shadow. Franz Baumann
tried harder than most.

Read the full story on Red Bulletin: www.redbulletin.com

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