It’s Friday, time to carbo up for a weekend of human powered vert. My destiny with pastries this year seems to be one of basics — kind of “Lou’s pastry land revisited” or something to that effect. Perhaps that’s because I didn’t explore any Viennese coffee houses in Austria. But hey, why worry? After you’ve hit some good vertical there is nothing like pounding down major sucrose in varous forms. Thus, who’s first to name those below (as seen in an Austrian gasthaus, slice to right should be an easy call, both are torts of course)?
Austrian mountain pastries.
These goods were obtained at Gasthaus Wegscheid, at the base of the touring trails when we skied the Steinbergstein. It's amazing how these restaurants are located at almost every trailhead. On top of that, for some economic reasons that mystify me, the food is reasonably priced considering the location. More, the unassuming exterior usually hides quite a nice layout and interior finish. And the people. Sometimes the place is quite, other times filled with raucous Austrians, Germans, and more. You sit down, next thing you find out the guy next to you has solo climbed a couple of 8,000 meter peaks. Makes for interesting conversation.
WildSnow.com publisher emeritus and founder Lou (Louis Dawson) has a 50+ years career in climbing, backcountry skiing and ski mountaineering. He was the first person in history to ski down all 54 Colorado 14,000-foot peaks, has authored numerous books about about backcountry skiing, and has skied from the summit of Denali in Alaska, North America’s highest mountain.