Four families live in Marlstein, one of which runs a small hotel. Thanks to this, the settlement is easily accessible all year, and the road is cleared regularly even in winter. But Albert and his wife Vroni also run a business – albeit mainly in summer. Right at the end of the road, you will find the ski guide (Vroni) and the mountain guide on their ranch. They train horses, have a Berber breeding farm and do horse therapy. This summer they expanded the ranch and built their own home. Their previous home, the 365-year-old farmhouse, is now rented out to holiday guests. Visitors can book this gem in connection with a ranch visit (if one of their horses is visiting for training, schooling or therapy) or independently for a holiday stay. In winter, due to the altitude and the associated weather conditions, they do not provide care for guests’ horses.

«The credo of Liberty Ranch: Experience freedom with horse & man.»

LIBERTY RANCH MARLSTEIN & BERBER VON MARLSTEIN

Albert is a man with many talents. In addition to being a mountain guide, another passion is ice climbing. He has achieved several first ascents in this discipline and is considered one of the best ice climbers of his generation. In 2005, he won the bronze medal at the World Ice Climbing Championships. Due to time constraints, he is currently less able to pursue this passion. The same applies to windsurfing, which he also does fanatically.

«Water in all its forms fascinates me.»

In addition to his formation as a ski and mountain guide, he also studied glaciological meteorology in Innsbruck. Until a few years ago, Albert did this job on a very small pensum (in addition to his work as a mountain guide) at the weather service of the Central Institute of Meteorology in Innsbruck. This was under the wing of weather legend Karl Gabl, who is well known to mountaineers and mountain expeditions for his alpine forecasts. At that time there was still a telephone hotline which was extremely popular with mountaineers. Today, this information can be accessed online. However, when Vroni and Albert opened the ranch about seven years ago, this work in the valley was no longer possible. Occasionally, however, colleagues still call Albert and ask for his assessment. This specific knowledge he also passes on in the mountain guide training, along with many other learning contents.

Actually, Albert hoped to be able to pursue skiing professionally. He started skiing at an early age, was in the C squad of the ÖSV (Austrian Ski Association) and won various awards in his favourite discipline, slalom. He was Austrian Youth Champion and took 3rd place at the Junior World Championships. However, the internal competition in the country was fierce and so he fell out of the squad and had to reorientate himself. At that time, Albert was already regularly on the move in the mountains, including climbing. He intensified the latter when he began his glaciological meteorology studies. With several goals in mind, Albert additionally started to train as a state ski instructor and then to become an Austrian ski guide, like his father once did. Shortly afterwards, he trained to become a mountain guide. He mastered all of this alongside his studies. But Albert is far from making a big fuss about it; he didn’t mention it in this interview at all.

«Keep calm in any situation and make clear decisions.»