“Actually, in my belief, deer are there to be eaten. And we so happen to make clothes from the animal’s skin”, Tobias Zant recalls his firm belief, standing in his Säcklermeister leather workshop in the small town Zell am See. “Hunters are actually a companion, a guardian of the wild deer. Only old and sick animals are being shot by us. However, our main task is to protect the deer as well as the forest they live in, and keep up a certain harmony with nature”, Gerhard Schaffer, responsible for the deer feeding in Thumersbach near Zell am See, lets us in on quite some contradictory beliefs.
What to think, then?
One thing’s for sure: The quaint little lakeside town Zell am See offers us a chance to meet all kinds of local characters. Take for instance young fashion designer Mirabell Plummer, who has made a name for herself starting with home-knitted woolly hats featuring the logo “Eat, Sleep, Ski, Repeat”. The team of hunters, or animal guardians as it is, enchanting both adults and children as part of a fascinating wild deer feeding. The Almhütten cosy alpine huts as well as the cosy Genusswerk bar & restaurant right in Zell am See, home also to the likes of Tobias Zant who love to rebel against cheap leather productions around the world. “I hardly have to leave my hotel walking around Zell am See, stories line up as if made for us!” I smile, thinking to myself. Then again, my eyes wander over the mighty mountains at our side, which we have come to explore in the two days that follow.
Let’s first take a step out and around Zell am See, shall we?
Arriving with a gentle view over lake Zell …
… means paying a fleeting visit to the old market square …
… as well as recent additions to Zell am See, such as the town’s new “Genusswerk” bar & restaurant.
A little later, we step into the leather manufacturing world of Tobias Zant …
… whose job & life passion is to produce real leather from animal skins “made in Austria” …
… turning them into Lederhosten that last (sometimes for up to several decades long).
Young fashion designer “Mirabell Plummer”, also “made in Austria”, or Zell am See, also jumps on the bandwagon of hand-made, cool stuff …
… visiting her at the local workshop in Zell am See.
In the evening, it’s time to head over to the new casino Zell am See …
… wondering if there’s any luck for our ladies ..?
If where you are headed is out of Zell am See, I cannot recommend Schmittenhöhe & Kitzsteinhorn ski resorts highly enough. Alternatively …
…you may opt for a ski tour. Locals tell us that the Ronachkopf mountain, about half an hour’s drive from Zell am see, is perfectly suitable. But be aware: You need at least some prior experience with ski-touring, as we unfortunately failed in our attempt to tour up the mountain due to icy bits and steep inclines. I am, however, very tempted to try again! Did you know that tour skis are first being “dressed with fur” for the climbing part, before turned back into alpine skis for the downhill part? Check this out.
Helmut Schneider helps us to “dress” our tour skis …
… with this soft layer of “fur”, protecting the skis from sliding down when climbing up.
Did you know all the touring equipment may easily cost up to € 1.000 or more?
Off we go on our trial ski tour …
… but icy conditions …
… make it simply to hard! I shall, however, try this sport again soon!
Thank God there is time for rest, right after at the Enzian-Hütte …
… and always lovely food available, such as Pinzgauer Kasnocken kind of local “cheese gnocchi”.
Last but not least, it’s time to stalk up some red deer and mouflon mountain sheep as part of our journey to Zell am See.
For right about an hour, up here at 1.500 metres above sea-level, all we can here is … the sound of silence. Outside, that is. We are inside a small, purpose-built little viewing hut, with tinted glass and sound-proof wooden walls, so that no sound can escape us and chase away what, or who, we have come to see: “Deer & mouflon sheep are extremely shy. The only noise they are used to is the tractor and the voices of our hunters during feeding hours”, Gerhard Schaffer and his team of young hunters tell us inside the hut. “The red deer which you can see here, is able to see the blink of an eye from a distance of 100 metres”. Incredible! My eyes widen, and I am shamed to think that not even my zoom lense camera is able to see THAT well. Respect for the life of mouflon sheep & red deer ahead of us rise, as we continue to watch more and more animals flock to the front.
Feeding during wintertime attracts animals from all over the forest …
… having come to gather …
… in front of our eyes …
… in a herd of young calves, grown deer and middle-aged sheep …
… what a sight!
Finally, do head over to my second snow post about the area around Zell am See, including alpine hut tips, our visit to the warm waters of the TauernSPA as well as many gorgeous sun-ski pictures. More of them are also available here:
Disclaimer: We have been invited by SalzburgerLand Tourism on this trip to Zell am See – Kaprun. All opinions are my own.