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ItalianoUpdated 28.06.2022
The extension of the Alpenrosenweg from the Almsteig to a barrier-free hiking trail represents nothing less than a lighthouse project for Ing. Bernhard P. Gruber, generally sworn and judicially certified expert for accessibility, as well as founder and chairman of the association "die Barrierefreien gem.e.V.". "From now on, the project at the Hahnenkamm in Höfen will enable disabled people to experience a unique nature experience in high alpine terrain, not just riding a gondola," says Gruber.
At the Hahnenkamm in Höfen, a barrier-free overall concept is currently being implemented step by step. Even before the construction of the barrier-free Alpine Flower Garden and the barrier-free circular path on the top of the dam of the new mountain lake has even begun, the first milestone has already been completed with the Alpine Rose Path.
The Alpenrosenweg was already inspected in 2015 for the purpose of a large-scale path renovation. A representative of the Reutten cable cars, Vinzenz Knapp (former mayor of the municipality of Höfen), Thomas Kerber (Head of Infrastructure at TVB Naturparkregion Reutte) and Ronald Petrini (CEO of TVB Naturparkregion Reutte) were present on the Hahnenkamm at the time. Several more visits followed until in 2021, the municipalities of Höfen, Lechaschau, Weißenbach, Wängle and Bergwelt Hahnenkamm, together with the project sponsor, the Tourism Association of the Reutte Nature Park Region, decided to implement the project. The costs for the approximately 1.8 kilometre long path, which was worked on manually with shovel, pickaxe and sledgehammer by the path construction team under the direction of Klaus Schwarz (Maschinenring Service Tirol), amount to about 60,000 €. About 50-70% of this amount is subsidised by the Landscape Service Tyrol, under the advice of Andreas Schreieck.
After the recent completion, a first inspection of the path could now take place. In addition to Bernhard Gruber, Stefan Posch, deputy chairman of the association and para-sportsman, Tyrolean champion and German runner-up in para-karting as well as mono-skier and handbiker, and Brigitte Posch, deputy secretary of the association, sports scientist and sports therapist at the AUVA rehabilitation centre in Bad Häring, also took part. The latter is also responsible for wheelchair training at the RZ and is also largely responsible for the development of the Austrian wheelchair rugby scene.
"In any case, the requirements for a barrier-free hiking trail are fulfilled here. The trail is barrier-free, but is classified as a difficult (black) route. This means that a traction device such as a Swiss-Trac is needed. Without a traction device, the trail can only be mastered with sporty pushing. The metres in altitude to be "done" are kept within limits by the ascent with the Hahnenkammbahn. As a wheelchair user, I experienced the afternoon very beautifully and emotionally touched. Our beautiful nature and the great mountain experience did my soul a lot of good," says the expert Ing. Gruber enthusiastically.
In addition to the already existing barrier-free toilet in the panorama restaurant at the mountain station, the currently still limited barrier-free toilet at the Lechaschauer Alm will soon be adapted, thus completing the barrier-free service chain.
"Our objective was to create a barrier-free experience for wheelchair users with a traction device and families with prams, starting from the mountain station on the Hahnenkamm. This has been achieved with the now possible access to the Lechaschauer Alm. Our thanks go to all the people and institutions involved in the implementation," says Ronald Petrini, Managing Director of the TVB Naturparkregion Reutte, expressing his satisfaction.
"the barrier-free" are a group of disabled and non-disabled people. They use their life energy for a holistic barrier-free environment from which all people benefit. More information about the association at www.die-barrierefreien.com
Tip: The latest blog article on blog.reutte.com, for which Bernhard P. Gruber, Stefan Posch and Brigitte Posch were accompanied on their first ascent of the Alpenrosenweg, also offers a lot of background information and deeper insights into the subject.