Canyoning in the Strubklamm gorge

Max Obermayr is an innkeeper, hotelier and state-certified canyoning guide. As a host, he had to jump in at the deep end. Not that he is a stranger to it. As a canyoning guide, he often does. However, the takeover of his parents' hotel and catering business, Gasthof-Hotel Obermayr on Wiestalstrasse, went faster than planned. That had consequences. Because being a landlord means less time out in nature for the passionate mountain biker and road cyclist, who as a family man doesn't have to worry about boredom anyway.

Somehow, you don't quite believe he's a landlord. Not that he couldn't do it. As a chef, he has learnt the necessary trade. It becomes obvious when Max Obermayr talks about canyoning or downhill mountain biking. Then he becomes more precise in his descriptions in a likeable, calm manner. Or how can it be that he keeps discovering new rock formations while backstroke swimming in the Strubklamm gorge (which is probably his second living room down there). Really crazy.

One thing is certain, the young Obermayr is a nature boy and it seems that he absolutely needs the "outdoors" to be able to endure the "indoors" at all. As the 3-star hotelier is also a state-certified canyoning guide, his life balance seems to be well balanced. The man from Ebenau does not bend over backwards for a life in the hotel industry. He is a representative of a young, self-confident generation for whom bed growth and value creation optimisation should not take precedence over their own quality of life.

It all started like this: the Kreuzbichler brothers, operators of a sports and canyoning school in the region, were initially looking for a base, a place where guests could change and where material and equipment could be stored. Max Obermayr agreed. What began as a logistical simplification ended in a complete takeover of the business, as the Kreuzbichler brothers wanted to withdraw from this segment. For Obermayr, this was a welcome ticket into a world that offered enough time and space for his passion for nature and canyons, in addition to the sweat of the kitchen. Training as a canyoning guide through the Salzburg Mountain Sports Guides Association also turns the "semi-legal outdoor fun" (original quote) into an official and legally protected profession.

Back to the Faistenauer Strubklamm gorge. Given its proximity to the city of Salzburg (approx. 20 kilometres), I wouldn't have thought the region capable of this. What an imposing, bizarre canyon with partly vertical rock faces. A primeval opposition of nature to the hectic inner-city grain alley. How beautiful. If only the Chinese and Japanese knew that.

It can happen that classic role models are reversed deep down in the canyon. Many a seasoned man or company boss, who confidently leads the way in front of his staff before entering, becomes much, much quieter in the face of the impressive immediacy of the natural elements and the initially rather shy employee unexpectedly turns out to be a jumping, whooping adrenaline queen. This is what happened in the Strubklamm gorge. Go and try it out.

We hope this article about adrenalin, neoprene socks, macho airs in the gorge and brave girls showing the boys the ropes in the gorge has whetted your appetite to try canyoning in the Strubklamm gorge for yourself.