The insider’s guide to the tirolean alpine winter 2013

MY TIROL 02 · 2013

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The Insider’s Guide to the Tirolean Alpine Winter

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Edition 02 · 2013

MY TIROL The Insider’s Guide to the Tirolean Alpine Winter

Sports & Lifestyle: Joy of Vedeling from Early til Late page 18 Enchanting Nights in Tirol’s Mountains page 30 Nature & Pleasure: Keeping Healthy = Cross Country page 46 From Piste to Playroom page 54

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The new Tirol Collection Tirolean Alpine Winter 20130328_Tirolwerbung_200x265.indd 1

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· Tirol Shop Innsbruck · Maria-Theresien-Str. 55 · 6020 Innsbruck

Editorial

Josef Margreiter

CEO, Tirol Tourist Board

My Tirol My own holiday paradise in the heart of the Alps High Happiness, Gigalitz, Useless, Rooster’s Comb, Witch’s Head, yes, even Evil Woman.

Those are their names, the mountain peaks of Tirol. In wintertime, they flash their beauty, wreathed in their most beautiful white gowns. Practically invite you to come and take possession of them. To savour their charms. Personally, I succumb to those charms with joy. A day out in wintery Tirol recharges me to the utmost. Sports. Lifestyle. Feeling a mountain. Enjoyment. What are your vacation days filled with? “My Tirol” tells the best stories about our whitemantled mountains. Let the snow crystals seduce you. Inspire you. Enchant you.

Kindest regards, Josef Margreiter

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My Tirol

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Sports & Lifestyle 7

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Tom Dauer Stories of an Alpine Winter

Overview Conquering Tirol

Freeriding Free on the Mountain

Tales about perfect ski runs for the whole family, about city life at the foot of mighty mountain scenery, adventurous ascents through the snow, and the joys of cross-country skiing on far reaching trails - four episodes of mountain winter in Tirol

An interview with Olympic winner, triple World Champion and overall World Cup victor Stephan Eberharter. A wintersports land in statistics.

An interview with freeriding pro and adventurer Matthias Haunholder

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Snowparks Poised for the Leap

28 Skiing Adrenaline Kick on Two Slats

Spectacular ski runs to inspire racing feeling

Boarding legend ‘Gogo’ Gossner reveals the key factors of a good snowpark 30

18 Skiing Joy of Vedeling from Early til Late

Being first on the mountain... or the last to depart: unusual ski experiences at unusual times of day 20

Where are the most stylish stopovers after a day of skiing?

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Super-modern technology in Tirol’s ski areas.

And: the history of the Hahnenkamm race.

24 Backcountry touring Experience the Mountain

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Tirol’s Glaciers White Giants

Skiing How Fast am I?

Photographer: Josef Mallaun

Igloos and chalets: an overview of unusual accommodations

Après-Ski Celebrating as a Tradition

Fun on the slopes in the eternal ice.

Tirol’s five glaciers: a portrait.

Cover: View from the Arlberg

Accommodations Enchanting Nights in Tirol’s Mountains

What you need to take along on a ski tour

34 Items Close to my Heart

Tirolean short skis, backcountry snowboards, powder guide 36 Tips & Info

Where do you get all the info about Tirol’s ski areas?

What is the next upcoming event?

Contents

Nature & Pleasure 40

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Overview Savouring Tirol

Winter magic Idyllic Winter Wonderland

Printing information

“The high alpine pastures are power spots.” An interview with hut host Jakob Prantl. Statistics about heightening winter enjoyments.

Full-moon snowshoe hiking and other ways to feel wintery nature.

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Family vacations From Piste to Playroom

54 Second time around What is Learned, Sticks

How taking up skiing after a long pause becomes child’s play

Action for the kids on and off the ski slopes 56

44 Enjoyment skiing Moving into the Sun

Sun terraces and deck chairs. Offers for people hungry for snow and hungrier for enjoyment.

Tirolean Advent The Silent Season

The diversity of Tirol’s pre-Christmas markets is mind-boggling. And: how ‘Silent Night’ made its way from Zillertal out into the world.

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Cross-country skiing Keeping Healthy = Cross Country

Items Close to my Heart

An interview with sports physician Wolfgang Schobersberger.

Plus: what are the various techniques?

Sports sled, kids’ caps, Alpienne lip balsam and culinary delights 60

49 Alpine Wellness Weightless

Tips & Info

How do you find the right ski school?

Fascinating tid-bits about customs and culture.

Rejuvenating body and soul at Aqua Dome 50 Winter magic Relaxation Included

Report of a typical winter-enchantment vacation

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“Papa, how long will it take til we get there?�

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Stories of an Alpine Winter

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And he’s not in love, either!

By Tom Dauer

It is mid-December. I am being whisked up to Grubigstein, high above the Lermoos valley floor. The ascent is flying by much too fast for me on this six-seater chairlift, the splendid panorama is pleading with me to slow down.

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o the north, the Zugspitze sits grandly on its throne, a colossal hunk of rock, radiating an image both charismatic and cloddish. And then, separated only by the slim landscape sluice of Gaistal valley, the Ehrwald Sonnspitze gropes skywards.

The two mountains stand next to each other like two highly contrasting brothers, each highly individual, adding up to more than the sum of their parts.

I still recall the days when a sturdy single chairlift was the only elevator leading up “Second, I had just fallen in love and would have wished to snuggle up to my girlfriend.”

from the valley floor. Back then, a good twenty years ago, an ascent was doubly dubious. First of all - the opposite of today - it went much too slowly for anyone impatient to touch the fresh fallen snow on the ski runs. Second, I had just fallen in love and would have wished to snuggle up to my girlfriend.

pierces the air: “Papa, how long will it take til we get there?” Patience was never the strong point of this little human being. The odd thing is, he doesn’t even care whether there is fresh fallen snow on the slopes or not. And he’s not in love, either. He’s at an age when he turns around and flees from anything resembling a girl. But skiing, now that’s something he hungers for. And he knows the ski runs in Lermoos are perfect for him: not too flat, not too steep, plenty wide, always well groomed and most of all, never overloaded with people.

Since I don’t answer him immediately, the little human being’s mother says what adults always say in such situations: “We’re almost there.” Then she adjusts the little “I try to lock her gaze through the mirrored images in her ski goggles. ”

human being’s helmet, cleans his nose and wraps her arm around him. I pinpoint her gaze in her ski goggles and she smiles back.

My girlfriend of long ago has become a mother. If I get my wish, we’ll return to Thus do I bask nostalgically in bygone mem- Lermoos one day to go skiing with my ories until suddenly a voice next to me grandchild.

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Tom Dauer

Mountaineer, author and filmmaker

Tom Dauer was born in 1969, grew up in Mexico City and Munich. His parents taught him to love the mountains. Later on he spent many years traveling and climbing in the Alps, Andes and Himalaya.

Nowadays a literature specialist and graduate of the German Journalism School, more than anything else he loves working in the mountain ranges of the world where he joins his passion to his profession. He contributes regularly to GEO, GEO Special and National Geographic and is a columnist for Active Life and ALPIN magazines. He has also published several books about mountains, mountaineering and adventure. As a climbing expert he writes scripts and directs documentary films.

In 2012 he was awarded two distinguished prizes: Tirol Tourist Board’s ‘Berg.Welten Prize’ for a GEO report and the Graz Film Festival’s Golden Alpine Camera for his documentary ‘Petit Dru, the fallen mountain’.

Tom Dauer lives in a lonely farmhouse between Munich and the rim of the Bavarian Alps.

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“I find peace and quiet in the elements…”

Adventures in White It’s mid-January. I am following the track my friends traced through the dull, deep white. We’ve been trudging uphill for nearly two hours, but where are we? Not a clue.

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owder tends to smooth out all the irregular gullies, knolls and bowls that ordinarily lend a structure to the terrain.

A gusty westerly wind gives rise to twisting snowy-airy fountains surging vertically from the snowpack. Dense fog curtains are draped between peaks and low lying cloud.

We’re in the middle of whiteout!

Nonetheless I am enjoying this ascent on backcountry touring skis. I know when we are scheduled to reach the ridge and that we ski down the other mountain flank only for a few hundred meters before we hook up “That gives me a feeling of security, whereas treading across outlying terrain through this white infinity stirs slight shivers of uncertainty.” with the prepared ski runs of Hochfügen.

That gives me a feeling of security, whereas treading across outlying terrain through this white infinity stirs slight shivers of uncertainty. I find peace and quiet in the elements, even though my eye searches in vain for something to latch onto.

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Just less than half-an-hour later, we reach the high point of our ascent. We rip the skins off the ski bottoms and loop our way down to the lift terminal. Although it is very early in the season, the runs are superbly manicured and groomed: not too “After a somewhat, but not overly adventurous ascent, a swift and sportive descent.” soft, not too hard, perfect for wide, swooping turns in a nearly unpopulated arena. I admit it, it makes my day: after a somewhat, but not overly adventurous ascent, a swift and sportive descent. Whoever craves that combination - which, incidentally, works just as well the other way around, taking the lift uphill, then skiing down through the outlying terrain - is in the right spot in Tirol’s high altitude ski areas.

And because we haven’t had our fill yet, we purchase a ski pass valid from 1:00 pm at the lower station ticket window in Hochfügen.

After all, it would be a pity not to enjoy every – possible moment in this powder.

Stories of an Alpine Winter

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Not Made for Eternity It’s mid-February. I’m strolling down Innsbruck’s magnificent mile, Maria-Theresien-Street. I’ve been enjoying long, full-to-bursting ski days, I granted myself a break today.

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leisurely stroll about town, stopover at a coffee house, maybe catch a flick at the cinema, later on a good meal, then to a bar and the prickly stimulations this alpine metropolis promises.

A Baroque structure across the street just caught my eye, the Servite Church of St. Joseph. Immediately adjacent to it, my gaze settles on a totally modern facade, a shiny, silvery cube that somehow - especially directly next to the elaborate facade of the

The sports shop cube was conceived and designed by Andreas Orgler, who was killed while hang-gliding a few years back. The architect who hailed from Stubaital left his mark in many spots in Tirol: Haus Orgler in Telfes, where he lived, looks like a cablecar station. The glacier terminal in Neustift is another example. And the elementary school in Sautens, the MPreis supermarket in Silz, the park garage in Fulpmes, the technical college in Kufstein. And, not to be overlooked, his many first climbs up the

cliffs of the Stubai Alps, in the Karwendel and Kalkkögl ranges.

It was never Orgler’s aim to create monuments, but rather vibrant, elemental buildings whose lines moved with the times.

My stroll slowly winds to a close, twilight is settling in. The cube on the promenade is now illuminated from inside. I walk up and touch the building. Yes, that’s just what Orgler would have wished me to do.

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“Immediately adjacent to it, my gaze settles on a totally modern facade, a shiny, silvery cube.” old ‘Taxis’ Palace - seems like an ice block just chopped out of a glacier. A sports shop is inside the building: it appears hermetically sealed on the outside, but inside is flooded with light and transparency. An alien object in the inner city? Somehow it fits into the historic architectural scenery where exciting and stimulating specimens have been designed and plunked into the ensemble again and again during the last century.

“...the prickly stimulations this alpine metropolis promises.”

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Landscapes in Kodachrome It’s the beginning of March. I am trying to pinpoint and recognize structures in the landscape.

I get the feeling they’ve been painted in pallid lacquer.

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can look wherever I choose, there is no green, no blue, not even a brown.

Only divergent degrees of brightness: the white of the snow which is easily two meters deep. The black of the few trees, along the branches of which hoarfrost has accumulated in the shape of barbs, banners and beards. And everywhere I turn, the pale gray sky that blankets the whole land as if the Good Lord had emptied a cup of thin cream over the Kleinvermunt.

It doesn't matter, you have to accept winter weather variations as they appear. So upand-away, give yourself a little shove. It’s worth it. Because even if the cross-country skiing trail tends to get lost in the unending white, about halfway along it - at latest between Galtür and the Silvretta reservoir - the first sunbeams will pierce through the fog. And the diffuse white-gray light of morning will splash into wild kodachrome colors. Okay, okay, I’ve talked myself into it. Get out the narrow slats, the long sticks and move onto the track. The trail leads for nine kilometers into the valley between the high peaks, then nine kilometers out again.

You will warm up, I tell myself, there is no doubting that.

“The terrain demands a well-meted outpouring of strength and sensitivity, of equilibrium and dynamics.”

As a matter of fact, the action doesn’t require long to get underway on this roundabout trail. At Wirl Pond, the first ascent, followed by hills rolling up and down, you actually

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need to concentrate. The terrain demands a well-meted outpouring of strength and sensitivity, of equilibrium and dynamics.

It’s not exactly simple, this cross-country skiing. But once you find your rhythm, get gliding, the feeling is uplifting. That’s when physical constitution, skiing techniques and equipment meld and transform into forward movement. As of that moment, you don’t feel cold air whooshing into your lungs anymore. That’s when strenuous effort mutates into a form of well being.

The really wonderful part of it is: on the Silvretta-Bieler Höhe ski-hiking trail there are people so young and so old, women and men, couples and families, ambitious “A cross-country ski trail is not discriminating. It is democratic.

Every person goes just the way he or she pleases and finds his or her own breed of happiness out there.” athletes who measure their run with a pulsekeeping watch, nordic cruisers that take it easy but continue on the whole day long, occasionally abandoning the track to meander out across a snowfield. A crosscountry ski trail is not discriminating. It is democratic. Every person goes just the way he or she pleases and finds his or her own breed of happiness out there. And I do too, in fact. Although I did need to force myself in the early morning hours to penetrate the infinite whiteness. But now, the radiant sunshine glitters everywhere, drenching the landscape with its glory. It’s good to push yourself outdoors, to just do it....

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Stories of an Alpine Winter

“But once you find your rhythm, get gliding, the feeling is uplifting.�

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Sports & Lifestyle

Overview page 14 Adrenaline Thrust on Two Sats page 16 Joy of Vedeling from Early til Late page 18 White Giants page 20 How Fast am I? page 22 Experience the Mountain page 24 Free on the Mountain page 26 Poised for the Leap page 28 Enchanting Nights in Tirol’s Mountains page 30 Celebrating as a Tradition page 32 Items Close to my Heart page 34 Tips & Info page 36 Like nature’s ancient pyramid, the Olperer watches over the Hintertux Glacier ski runs

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Stephan Eberharter Olympic victor

He numbers among the most successful Austrian skiers of all time. Stephan Eberharter talks about the sport closest to his heart, about winterland Tirol and about a perfect day on the ski slopes.

What role does sport continue to occupy in your life? It still plays a very important part: the urge to get out and move has been ticking inside me since I was a child. Sport is a passion, and it continues to pulse even after your days as a professional athlete are over. I approach everything in a more relaxed way nowadays, without pressure or urgency, and from a different perspective.

My three-year old son is already making his first turns in the snow. For me that is beautiful, when I can spend a relaxing day with him out on the slopes.

Without barriers Tirol is attempting to get rid of all barriers: thanks to modern, handicap-friendly lift systems, helpful personnel and descents for every imaginable level of ability and style, many areas now offer unlimited and unhindered ski fun for monoskiers. › www.tyrol.com/wihout-barriers The Olympiabahn of the Axamer Lizum ski area whisks boarders and skiers directly to the 14 Mycross Tirolof the Hoadl, 2,340 meters. summit

Sports & Lifestyle

“Sport is a passion” Interview Daniel Naschberger

How did skiing become your foremost personal passion? My parents always loved to take part in sports and frequently took me along when they went skiing, So it was part of my childhood from the earliest moments I can remember. My brothers and I weren’t bad at it, we were natural talents.

At age six I took part in my first race and a certain ambition developed already then.

Very early on I felt it was what I really wanted to do, and as a teenager it was clear to me that my hobby was destined to become my profession.

We sit together in good spirits and have fun.

Depending on what mood captivates you, I might then head back to the ski slopes for another few runs.

What are your favourite Tirolean winter sport hotspots? In the Zillertal I have three great ski areas right at my front door, and 99 percent of the time I ski in my home town at Kaltenbach-Hochzillertal, but besides that, Zell am Ziller and Mayrhofen also offer top conditions. I also love the Arlberg, it‘s a dream-come-true for deep powder specialists; and the ski areas in the Ötztal and all What is your image of a perfect day in the around Kitzbühel are also superb. The best mountains of Tirol? I get up early to take prepared cross-country skiing trails are advantage of the untouched virgin snow. around Pertisau - I love skating my way into Two hours of skiing are now quite suffici- the Karwendel range. ent for me, then I make a stopover, enjoy an – easy going coffee break and meet friends. Thank you for the interview.

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i Tirol – the winter sports country Diversity guaranteed A skier or boarder who wants to experience Tirol to the hilt has to have only one thing, besides a certain endurance: time! More than 100 ski areas guarantee unlimited variety. Anyone and everyone can find his or her own favourite fun.

Add to that a well conceived and implemented infrastructure, extending from modern lift systems to professional ski instructors all the way to more than 30 snowparks that entice freeriders and boarders to the most creative jumps they can imagine. › www.tyrol.com/skiing Conquering the 3000-meter peaks

One for all

As far as the eye can see

The Tirol Snow Card transforms the entire countryside into one huge ski arena. With a single ski pass winter sports lovers have more than 4,000 kilometers of ski runs and 1,100 lift systems in nearly 90 Tirolean ski areas and glacier regions to choose from. › www.snowcard.tirol.at

Regardless whether ‘Top of Tirol’ on the Stubai glacier or ‘BIG3’ in Sölden, mountains harmonize superbly with architectural highlights. Tirol’s summit platforms promise unforgettable panorama views of all the surrounding peaks, far and near. › www.tyrol.com/architecture

Precisely 573 summits in Tirol tower higher than 3,000 meters. Some of them can be easily ascended with ski lifts. The majority of the 3000-meter giants are reserved in wintertime for backcountry tourers and mountaineers.

Sports all the way All regions also have a series of spectacular events dotting the season, from redhot openings to winter launches to competitions in alpine skiing and freeriding all the way to wildly exciting snowboard contests. › www.tyrol.com/events

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Adrenaline Kick on Two Slats

By Klaus Erler

A large number of high-challenge runs are lurking at the ski areas notorious beyond Tirol’s borders as something to test the best.

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ue to their steep gradients, they are highly difficult to ski. Absolutely unsuited for beginners. These are truly extreme runs and their overall distinguishing category of ‘black runs’ doesn’t tell

the whole story. Pros find the conditions they crave on these stretches, namely, extreme situations to challenge their mettle and their ability, and force them to sharpen up – both.

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Boasting an average gradient of 78 percent, the ‘Harakiri’ run in Zillertal is unique in Austria, pushing even the best of skiers to their outer limits.

1 Steep in Ischgl On ‘Black Run 14a’ in Ischgl, veritable racing feeling takes over. Down a gradient of 70 percent, this route even requires its own special snowcat vehicle complete with winch attachment. Those who are not so much interested in pure speed, but in qualitative challenge to their skiing ability will find it at the mountain terminal of the Höllspitzbahn. The mogul run that starts here guarantees demanding skiing experiences at their scintillating best, a stretch which quickly separates the wheat from the chaff.

2 High above Innsbruck Equally demanding technically is the ski region on the Nordkette above Innsbruck. The sign says it all: ‘Only for experienced skiers’ is no joke, nor is it posted by coincidence on the Hafelekar, the point of departure to the steepest ski run of the Nordkette cablecars. Whoever skis here is rewarded by a tough, sophisticated run, a superb mountain panorama and a city view next to none.

3 Challenge in Hochfügen Also at the ski area in Hochfügen im Zillertal, a truly defiant ski run at the mountain terminal Zillertal Shuttle beckons skiers to come and conquer.

The ‘Obitraudi’ reveals true-grit character: it is sportively sophisticated, entices the best skiers with its spinetingling gradients, and rewards them with unbeatable views over the mountains of the Zillertal.

4 Harakiri in the Zillertal That kind of challenge is also on offer in Mayrhofen. The most challenging ski run in Mayrhofen - the Harakiri on the Penken - is not only Austria’s steepest ski run, it even lets the very best skiers and snowboarders quiver and perspire a little, with a gradient of 78 percent. Whoever needs a few spectators while bravely mastering the bumps and grinds of this run will spot gaping passengers on the nearby chairlift. And for those daredevils who wish to be photographed in action, the harakiri photo-shooting team performs

just that once weekly. Incidentally, the Harakiri was awarded the distinction of The Best Black Ski Run of 2012 by the greatest test portal of ski areas, Skiresort.de.

5 Extremity in Kitzbühel Big name, big promise: the Streif on Kitzbühel’s Hahnenkamm is one of the world’s most difficult ski runs. But when World Cup races are not going on, it is open to all the world’s winter sports lovers. Not only the steepest section - known as the mousetrap - is extreme, with a gradient up to 86 percent. There are a total of three sections in this descent recommended only for experienced skiers, numbering among the most demanding spots in the world.

Joy of Vedeling from Early til Late

By Barbara Wohlsein

Heading up the mountain at first light, zooming down floodlit runs at night... that’s for people more than merely enamoured of skiing, that’s for the impassioned.

Tirol is open practically round the clock. Special packages offer ski experiences at unusual times of day.

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or those who can haul themselves out of the feathers early, a reward beckons.

Through campaigns known as ‘early bird’ and ‘first-track’ you are the first one on the mountain and get a head start on splendid sunrise scenes and draw the first traces through fresh powder.

First one on the mountain Once a week, Serfaus-Fiss-Ladis region launches a run to the cottonpuff-covered slopes in ski heaven for 30 snow-hungry enthusiasts as early as 7:30 am on the Schönjoch or Komperdellbahn. Together with the team that operates the cablecars and ski instructors, you get first crack to lace your line through the snow, long before the cablecar doors open for the remainder of the guests. The only thing you need is an early reservation, a valid ski pass and the physical condition to master red ski runs without a problem. Included in the price of this incomparable experience is a guided tour and a splendid breakfast at the end.

In the Zillertal, too, early risers are rewarded: whoever has been the very first person to draw ski tracks through untouched virgin snow at 3,000 meters altitude will never forget it as long as he/she lives.

Already at seven o’clock in the morning, early risers can trace their tracks through 18 My Tirol the snow in some Tirolean ski areas.

On the Hintertux Glacier from mid-April to the beginning of May, ski fans start as early as 7:45 am on the ‘early bird’ run up to a marvellous day of deep powder. Included in the price is a brunch at Hochleger Sommerberg restaurant.

Be the first - in springtime and in autumn In March and April, Zillertal Arena says ‘Good morning’ as early as 6:55 am to guests who have reserved a very special, early morning ski experience on Thursdays and/ or Sundays. Stubai Glacier is a popular meeting spot for skiers avid to get started into the new season in autumn and early winter. But only those who shove off early have a chance to swoop through untouched snow. From mid-October to mid-November, Stubai Glacier will open its turnstiles as early as 7:30 am...and no special booking or ticket is necessary. The motto is: whoever comes first has the best chances of virgin snow. In Hochfügen on weekends in January, ardent and snow-hungry skiers can launch their ascent on the 8-seater Jet as early as 8:00 am and the 4-seater chairlift Hochfügen 2000 as early as 8:30 am. They are rewarded by an experience of a special kind: the pristine white, smooth-as-silk – slopes belong to them and them alone!

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f, just if, following a marvellous day out on the slopes, you still have a craving to round out the day in a special way, there are various ways to cap it off with nighttime skiing. Brightly floodlit ski runs and a sea of pixel lights down in the valley turn the night into day.

Sports & Lifestyle

Night owls Ever since the Reitherkogel in Alpbachtal has illuminated its ski slopes with newly constructed floodlight systems, the slopes have been populated in the evenings. Not only visitors from the nearby surroundings, also numerous guests from Germany take advantage of the opportunity to enjoy a few delicious hours of evening skiing in Alpbachtal. The floodlights blaze brilliantly every Tuesday, Friday and Saturday from 6:30 until 9:15 pm, with the 8-seater cabin cablecar, the Nordlift drag lift and the Brandachlift draglift open. The ski runs in Söll, Brixen and Westendorf are also brightly lit in the evening, drawing skiing fans away from the cosiness of the couch out onto the slopes. While a small stretch is floodlit every day in Brixen, and in Westendorf a descent 500m long is illuminated every Tuesday, Söll offers a real choice: Wednesdays and Saturdays ten km of ski runs are open and illuminated.

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Wonderful ski nights Night skiing at the Bergeralm ski area in Wipptal also numbers among the top choices to aim for: it is centrally located and can be quickly reached from Innsbruck.

Night owls can enjoy four different descents comprising nine km of floodlit skiing which is sophisticated enough for competitions.

That’s why the Bergeralm is surely one of the most popular evening skiing arenas in all of Tirol. The ski area in Hochzillertal is another hot candidate for top slot: the highlight there is an eight-kilometer long Stephan-Eberharter Gold run. Every Wednesday and Friday, sports fans can enjoy it to the hilt from 7:00 pm until 10:00 pm.

Wonderful white nights of skiing can also be had in the Ötztal in Obergurgl on the Festkogelbahn slopes. Night owls can savour eight kilometers of floodlit, superbly illuminated runs. They are open every Tues– day from 6:30 pm until 10:30 pm.

Every Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, the Patscherkofel cablecars are open for evening skiing.

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White Giants

By Daniel Naschberger

Deep powder, assuredness of snow, crisp air, a panorama outdistancing anything you’ve ever seen - all that, and more, is what you enjoy on the eternal ice at 3,000 meters altitude. A portrait of Tirol’s five glaciers.

Kaunertal The icy whippersnapper

Pitztal The gentle giant

Calling it Tirol’s youngest glacier is less The Pitztal Glacier is Tirol’s highest. a statistic than praise. At the far end of a Absolute tops is the Wildspitzbahn which picturesque glacier road, the freeriding and opened in 2012 and whisks you in just snowboarding scene meets at Snowpark six minutes up to 3,440 meters. With its Kaunertal. Every year in October the futuristic architecture, the mountain legendary Kaunertal Opening throws a terminal fits beautifully into the glacier party full of contests, joyfully letting loose world. Visitors can stare agog at more than in a spectacular festival where all stops 50 surrounding 3000-meter peaks. It’s best are pulled. In spring the party enters its at ‘Café 3440’, Austria’s highest altitude café. second phase. Those seeking peace and quiet Highlight events include Tirol’s highest savour the other-worldly panorama from glacier festival, the cross-country opening the Karlesjochbahn platform at 3,108 meters near the middle terminal and the freeride which includes three countries: Austria, competition ‘Pitztal Wildface’.

Italy and Switzerland.

Elevation: 2,180 – 3,108 meters Special: Snowpark Kaunertal with ki-

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cker lines and rail areas, 30 kilometers of freeriding descents and highly varied backcountry tours › www.kaunertaler-gletscher.at

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Sölden The inexhaustible Regardless whether for the joys of winter sports or for the parties - Sölden’s glacier provides countless possibilities to fill your free time. Ski runs in all grades of difficulty beckon you to let go as you’ve never done before, and include three 3,000-meter peaks you can actually ski on. The architectural dazzler of this glacier region is the Gaislachkoglbahn, which whisks 5,000 people every hour. And this well-chilled hot spot is especially renowned for its never-ending events. Every year the season on the Rettenbachferner the alpine World Cup opens with the Grand Slalom competition for women and men.

Elevation: 1,740 – 3,440 meters Special: Wildspitzbahn (Austria’s

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highest cablecar), Café 3440 (Austria’s highest café), 41 kilometers of freeriding and numerous freeride lines › www.pitztaler-gletscher.at

Elevation: 1,350 – 3,340 meters Special: Summit platforms ‘BIG3’ (lifts

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and cablecars up three 3000-meter peaks), entertainment that cannot be beaten, events and après-ski. › www.soelden.com

Sports & Lifestyle

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i All.together.now!

Views like this one are found throughout Tirol’s glacier world.

Stubai Friend of the family

Hintertux The insatiable

The Stubai Glacier has received a highly coveted award several times: the ADAC Ski Guide declared it the 'family-friendliest ski area in the Alps’. Austria’s largest glacier ski area covers 700 hectars (1,730 acres) and wins acclaim for its wide ranging special offers and children’s supervision, e.g. the BIG Family Ski-Camp. That ensures not only contented young guests but also relaxed parents. Action lovers also find what they seek: special checkpoints, maps, route videos and runs as GPS download supply all the kicks and thrills that freeriders yearn for.

Hintertux Glacier was the first to open for skiing and is Austria’s only year-round ski area, with 100 percent assurance of snow on 18 kilometers of ski runs. During the winter months, skiers enjoy additional natural runs, untouched deep powder slopes and tough-and-demanding mogul slopes. Above and beyond the snow guarantee, free stylers and boarders treasure the hot zone.tv Park Opening which launches the action-filled winter season. Magical excursions into walkable glacier crevices of Nature Ice Palace provide another aspect to the adventure.

Elevation: 1,750 – 3,210 meters Special: Snowpark Moreboards Stubai

Elevation: 1,500 – 3,250 meters Special: Austria’s only all-year-round

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Zoo, Powder Department Stubaier Gletscher, Summit platform TOP OF TYROL with 360-degree panorama views, Gourmet Restaurant Schaufelspitz › www.stubaier-gletscher.com

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There is also a ticket called White5 which is valid on 314 kilometers of ski runs on all five Tirolean glaciers. The ski pass entitles its holder to ten days of use between 1 October 2013 and 15 May 2014 and is utterly flexible, i.e. can be used piecemeal rather than in one stretch. In addition, the Tirol Snow Card is also valid on all five Tirolean glaciers. › www.tirolergletscher.com

ski area, Nature Ice Palace, the Spannagel caves nature monument › www.hintertuxergletscher.at

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The mountains are different every time you see them. The performances of skiers and boarders are also ever-changing and well worth seeing.

How Fast am I?

BY Klaus Erler

Higher, further, faster - in Tirol, skiers are always striving for the very best. And thanks to modern technology, the heroes are precisely in the clear about where they stand in the white powder.

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fter many days out on the slopes, it’s easy to lose perspective: how many kilometers and meters of altitude did I really do? Numerous Tirolean ski areas have now launched a cooperation with the online portal Skiline.cc, which permits you to determine and display the number of lifts used, kilometers of ski runs and altitude meters covered in one skiing day as an altitude diagram, simply by typing in your ski pass.

terminal. Apart from that, at Skiline you can shoot your own film on the ski slope. A HD movie camera films the skier throughout his/ her descent and the film can subsequently be called up on the Internet or at the Skiline terminal at the ski area free of charge.

Touching your limits Whoever can’t get enough of collecting meters of altitude is at the right spot in Mayrhofen: the altitude meter-eater round The diagram can be called up either online via leads from one summit to the next. Those the Skiline portal or be obtained as a print- hungry for new experiences can let loose out in select ski areas at the on-site skiline over more than 13,000 meters of altitude

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along red and black ski runs. At the end of the round, the total meters of altitude are verified with a keycard at the ticket window and the skier receives a certificate.

Even genuine racers are goggle-eyed at the the things they experience at Tirol’s ski areas, especially when they find out just how fast they really were moving along the fluffy white surface. Ski speeds can be ascertained by every alpine go-getter at the Speed Skiing on the Daunferner of the Stubai Glacier along a 100-meter long stretch.

Speeds up to 100 km/h are easily possible

Sports & Lifestyle

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i A race of fast-moving tradition Every January, the elite of the ski racing world meets anew to take part in the most spectacular event in the world of Alpine Skiing World Championships: the Hahnenkamm race. This race has not attracted athletes and visitors only since recently, on the contrary, it looks back on a long and illustrious history: 80 years of pure tradition.

on this well-secured and perfectly smoothed surface. You can also discover your own private descent statistics at Actionpark Galtür: after a wild ride on the Speedway speed-measurement route, each racer can find out the results of the rapidissimo exercise.

At SkiWelt Wilder Kaiser - Brixental there are a number of speed measurement routes for all the speed freaks out there, and apart from that, your own ski movie stretch where you are filmed in action. In St. Johann, leisure skiers can gape at their personal efforts on a wide screen. On a professionally prepared ski-cross course with ski-movie run, your own ability is tested and captured for eternity on video. You can see the results yourself as soon as you are finished.

Tip: Apart from the many useful tools to measure meters of altitude and speeds, one thing you should never be without: the Tirol Snow App pulls winter right down into your iPhone and supplies you with notices of new fallen snow, route photos, ski slope conditions at your favourite ski area and coming events. This app is only available in German. › www.tirol.at/apps –

Mousetrap and speeds of up to 140 km/hr reached in the finish line stretch, the overall route is reserved only for top specialists.

When no races are taking place, however, anyone can give it a whirl. The so-called Streif family downhill route circumvents the most difficult parts, is categorized as a red route, i.e. medium difficult.

Way back during the winter season 1930/31, top athletes gathered at the start of the Hahnenkamm to test their mettle and their ability in downhill and slalom races.

The ‘International Hahnenkamm Race’ as it was originally called, took place along a variety of runs throughout the ski area in those early days. As of 1932, a special women’s race was also conducted. Today’s run on the Streif (downhill) and the Ganslernhand (slalom) first got established in the 1940s.

In 1966, the Hahnenkamm was host at the birth of the FIS Alpine Ski World Championships and is part of that circus still today. On 22 January, it was decided on the Seidlalm, which is located directly on the Streif, to create an international Alpine skiing competition.

In the following decades, the routes on the Hahnenkamm were expanded and sharpened section by section. Thus, even today the race offers two of the most demanding, sophisticated and spectacular runs in international skiing. Most important, the Streif has the worldwide reputation of being the most difficult downhill competition on earth. With a steepness gradient of 85 percent in the

15 January 1956: Kitzbühel’s Toni Sailer at the first of his three Hahnenkamm victories

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How should I prepare for an alpine backcountry ski tour?

Interview by Klaus Erler

without training are informed briefly about current dangers. An avalanche camp such as those offered at SAAC or the Alpine Club is highly recommended to learn the variable parameters and be able to put together a detailed danger map of the chosen route. Out in backcountry terrain, basic training is a big help to be able to assess prevailing weather and snow conditions correctly, thus making sure your tour proceeds safely.

Christine Lang

Nationally certified mountain and ski guide

A staff member at the SAAC avalanche camps hands on some tips about how to make a backcountry tour a safe experience.

How should I prepare for a ski tour in outlying alpine terrain? The first thing to do is read the avalanche report for Tirol (also published every day in English). Check the Internet at www.lawine.at. An overview can also be obtained on the phone at the local freephone number +43.800.800503.

Can beginners also understand the avalanche report? Backcountry tourers

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What preparations have to be made before starting the tour? The most important thing is careful planning. The following questions have to be answered before starting: What is the avalanche danger level? How steep is my tour? What aspects are my selected slopes? What is the weather forecast? Where are the avalanche prone locations? Who is accompanying me? Does the emergency equipment function perfectly?

As to equipment: what safety equipment is essential to take along? An avalanche transceiver or beacon, ideally a modern 3-antenna device, a probe at least 240 centimeters long, a shovel of hardened aluminum, a first-aid kit, a mobile phone and possibly a bivouac sack. Highly recommended is also an ABS avalanche airbag backpack and a helmet.

Thank you for the interview.

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Sports & Lifestyle

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i Experience the Mountain When your equipment is right, ascending and descending backcountry terrain becomes an unforgettable experience. Here is a little checklist for backcountry tourers.

Touring skis: Should be neither extremely light nor heavy. Size and width need to be suited to your own ability and the use and terrain planned. The rule of thumb is: the tip should reach to the height of your chin/forehead.

Skins for ascent: These should be stretch-and-adhere skins fitted precisely to the ski length.

Binding: Must have a special uphillwalking mechanism. There are various systems available, each with its own advantages/disadvantages.

Have an expert dealer explain them to you.

Ski boots: Should have an uphilladjustment. Regardless whether three-buckle or four-buckle boots are preferred, what matters is the intended use and terrain. The former are better suited for ascents, the latter for descending more dynamically.

Backpack: Should have a capacity of 25-30 liters and be fixable to the waist. Protector pads for the back are not imperative for average tourers.

“The most important thing is meticulous tour planning.”

Christine Lang, Nationally certified mountain and ski guide

Safety equipment: Besides a beacon worn on the body, you need a shovel, an avalanche probe and a first-aid kit in your backpack.

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Matthias Haunholder Freeride pro

He is the old breed of adventurer, he skis the mountain only where it is untouched and untouchable. Matthias Haunholder speaks about his sport, about freeriding in Tirol and about safety on the mountain.

“And when I manage to carve my line down through the snowy wilderness, it is simply indescribable.�

Matthias Haunholder, Freeride pro

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You are a professional skier, not for prepared ski runs but in high alpine outlying terrain. How did you find your way to this unusual profession? I tried out every different aspect of skiing as a sport. I was an alpine racer and ski-cross competitor. Even as a child I always loved to venture beyond the prepared slopes, I just liked it better than ski training. At the end of the 1990s the freeriding trend came to Europe from the U.S. and the bug bit me. The fascination of this sport hasn’t let me go since then. In the interim I made freeriding my profession, which makes it the most beautiful job imaginable.

Sports & Lifestyle

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i Safety in backcountry terrain Avalanche courses

Free on the Mountain Interview by Daniel Naschberger

What makes freeriding such an unparalleled experience? Every single time, it’s a brand new adventure, even if you have frequently skied a given mountain. You go through places where no one goes. You feel special when you ski through deep powder all alone. On top of that, it is a sensational way to experience backcountry nature. It gives you an inner satisfaction that is unbelievable. You are also constantly aware of the dangers, a respect for the mountain fortunately never leaves you.

What is required to conquer the mountain that way? Freeriding descents are very complex, very steep and laced with many jumps. The overall experience has to be carefully planned. The safety aspects alone make an optimum plan and fastidious planning essential. It isn’t something you tackle in easy-going fashion. That’s why I feel the adrenaline thrust every time I launch my descent. And when I manage to carve my line down through the snowy wilderness, it is simply indescribable.

What is important for freerider rookies?

First of all, you have to have substantial

skiing ability and be able to ski safely through outlying terrain. Second, the subject of safety is important. You have to deal with many potential hazards and the avalanche peril in particular. Your behaviour out in backcountry terrain has to be trained. That’s why I organise freeriding camps together with other freerider pros.

Special safety training is also on offer from the SAAC avalanche camps.

What are the most important freeriding places in Tirol? I’m from Fieberbrunn, that’s where I started my own freeriding evolution. And in the meantime it is one of the most popular stops on a freeriding world tour. Fieberbrunn does a fantastic job, everyone pitches in to create a top event each year anew. The organisation is superb.

The Arlberg is actually the original mecca of Tirol. But also Innsbruck and its immediate surroundings. And Hochfügen also has magnificent lines. In my opinion, all of Tirol is an unimaginable paradise for freeriding, there is everything here from forest routes to stretches in high alpine terrain.

Thank you for the interview.

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Numerous Tirolean ski schools offer beginner’s courses with freeriding guides. In addition, ongoing SAAC basic camps are also conducted in wintertime.

At these free-of-charge avalanche camps, nationally certified mountain and ski guides teach you about alpine dangers, equipment and the right conduct in backcountry terrain in courses lasting two days. All skiers and snowboarders aged 14 and over can take part who have high enough skiing ability for outlying terrain and register in time.

Since a free SAAC camp is no more than a first step to understanding avalanche hazards, freeriders should also deal with the subject in depth on their own.

Experienced mountain guides recommend at least one avalanche training course annually to freshen up and deepen your knowledge of avalanche perils. In Tirol the Alpine Club and Friends of Nature give avalanche courses regularly.

Tips by freeriding pro Stefan Häusl of St. Anton am Arlberg: “The right equipment is imperative in freeriding. That includes an LVS beacon to help search for and find someone buried in an avalanche, a shovel and a probe, and a first-aid kit. You should also have a mobile phone along. You need to carefully analyse the weather and avalanche reports and plan your day in such a way that every contingency is given due consideration. It is important while skiing to keep your head clear and concentrate on each aspect, every step of the way.”

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Off to the Park!

By Daniel Naschberger

Freestyle action as far as the eye can see: whoever seeks it can find it in Tirol, where at top parks you dare jumps over the kickers to your heart’s content.

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ans Penken Park in Mayrhofen is one of the best snowparks in Europe. It wins the acclaim of every freestyler, from beginners to internationally recognized pros, across 120,000 square meters. The surface area is subdivided into six zones, aimed at different levels of abilty. In Westendorf, on the other hand, you can catapult over the legendary 28-meter kicker known as ‘Big Mama’ through the air or slide down the handrails towards the valley. At Boarders Playground, ‘Gogo’ Gossner has created a veritable paradise for the freestyle scene.

Boarders and freeskiers can test their skills on three lines - easy, medium and pro - and in two different areas.

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At the heart of Austria’s largest glacier ski area is Funpark Moreboards Stubai Zoo. From the month of October, snow depths are assured. The Kaunertal Glacier area numbers among the great classics, with two parks and, as a result of its very long season, is a popular meeting spot for freestylers from the scene.

Film highlight The Snowpark St. Johann wins kudos for its extra-long “freestyle bridge” where the riders can have a movie shooting them in action along a ski-movie route. There are ten obstacles which have to be mastered in the most spectacular way possible. The film can subsequently be viewed in the Internet

and shared with friends. In Paznaun there are no fewer than four funparks. The most impressive is in Ischgl: the Playstation Vita Ischgl Snowpark is subdivided into three zones, providing action for beginners and pros alike. In the furthermost western region of Tirol, St. Anton am Arlberg, freeskiing aces demonstrate their stuff at Snow and Funpark Rendl.

180-meter superpipe Nine kickers, measuring from 3 to 14 meters, are available for freeskiers and snowboarders at Almdudler Snowpark in Sölden. And to calm down after the spurt of adrenaline you can head to the park’s own Chill-Out Zone. It’s small but

Poised for the Leap Interview Daniel Naschberger

an overall symbiosis. The steeper the jumpoff, the steeper the landing ramp has to be. Nothing can just stand there without a purpose, you have to be able to go through it all fluidly.

Reinhard Gossner Boarder legend

exquisite - and snow is guaranteed: that’s the best way to describe the K-Park in Kühtai. It was built for the first Olympic Youth Winter Games in 2012 and in the meantime is now available to everyone. The 180-meter long superpipe is one of its special attractions.

Unique in the world is the site of the Nitro Skyline park on the Seegrube located like an eagle’s nest right above the city of Innsbruck. Boarders and freeskiers can savour city views while flying through the air. The park has set new standards in its design, inspired by a skatepark. And in East Tirol there are four funparks, e.g. Yellow Snow Park in Sillian, to satisfy the wildest – of freestyle desires.

Numerous snowparks spread throughout Tirol are the right address to head for, regardless whether on snowboard or skis. Boarding legend Reinhard ‘Gogl’ Gossner explains the idea behind these parks.

How should a snowpark optimally be designed? Ideally, there is a whole variety of elements designed for varying grades of ability. Not everyone is on the same level, the target audience at a snowpark is highly diverse. Safety of the users has the utmost priority. The progression of different elements has to be spaced well, with sufficient possibilities to circumvent the one or the other. Also jumps, landings and flight curves in the diverse elements have to fit together and the composition and size form

What maintenance is necessary for a snowpark? Only a perfectly shaped snowpark is a good snowpark. That’s why it has to be manually and mechanically groomed and prepared every single day.

If visibility is poor on a given day, certain obstacles have to be closed.

What role does safety play? A snowpark is not a ski slope! For park users it is important that no boarder or skier simply cuts in from the slope. That could prove very dangerous, since it is frequently difficult to see ahead on landings after an obstacle.

Every user bears personal responsibility for him/herself because there are always safety risks.

What tips would you give snowpark users? If someone is a little too ardent or overestimates his/her own ability, it can lead to accidents and injuries. A snowpark is not a test of bravery! The most important thing is to adhere to the rules, i.e. to examine the obstacles beforehand; to be considerate of others; to maintain distance from the person ahead of you.

Thank you for the interview.

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Enchanting Nights in Tirol’s Mountains

By Sylvia Ainetter

Barely have the temperatures dropped, the peaks been blanketed in deep snow, when extraordinary igloo villages fashioned of snow and ice pop up in Tirol.

They are marvellous icy structures emanating a very special fascination: warm, soft translucence, cool air and an intense experience of pure nature make guests feel utterly transformed after just one overnight stay.

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Romantic touch at 2,000 meters At the Hochoetz snow village guests can find adventure and/or silence at 2,000 meters altitude, depending on what is desired. Generously proportioned igloos for four persons, the snow village even offers a special candlelit dinner complete with champagne as a send-off into a romantic night in your personal ice hut. And for those who have the urge, they can even build their own igloo under expert instruction.

Snuggly sleeping caves in Kühtai Every year in Kühtai ten overnighting igloos, one igloo bar and one igloo dining room are built out of about 15,000 cubic meters of snow. A snow artist decorates each one with elaborate relief sculptures and wall murals.

The multi-functional igloo can be used for celebrations of every sort.

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Tirol’s highest igloos The ‘alpine igloos’ near the Glungezer Hut offer memorable mountain experiences for winter fans. Ten igloos at 2,610 meters altitude are available for guest occupancy, complete with breathtaking views. At the snow bar, you can savour it all.

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Zillertal igloo magic Whoever overnights in the igloo village on Geniesserberg Ahorn will be able to chat about unforgettable nights in the artistically designed igloo suites in the White Lounge of Mayrhofen. Additional attractions are: dinner in romantic ambience, a torchlit hike through the deep snows of the surrounding landscape and a cracklingcampfire beneath the crystalline, star-studded winter sky.

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White village on the mountainside A unique world of snow in the Kitzbühel Alps forms the backdrop of an alpine igloo village at the mountain terminal of the Hochbrixen cablecar. The white village includes 18 igloos and a matrimonial igloo chapel for weddings.

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Innsbruck

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Sports & Lifestyle

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i Onto the slopes in early morn Igloos are not the only spectacular way of overnighting in Tirol. Chalets in Tirol’s top winter resorts, elegant and luxuriously appointed holiday homes are often located on gorgeous sites immediately adjacent to the ski runs.

Kitzbühel/Kirchberg The Ski Resort Maierl-Alm & Chalets situated directly on the ski run of the top ski area comprises five exclusively appointed and cosy chalets.

Walchsee At the Mountain-In-Chalets in the village of Walchsee, you can stretch out on two floors or a panorama bay window bench and enjoy amenities such as TV, Internet, corner bathtub and equipped kitchen.

Kals am Grossglockner Located inside the ski area GrossglocknerKals-Matrei, the resort offers pure luxury, a spacious wellness zone and 110 kilometers of ski runs immediately outside your own four walls.

Zams Not a chalet, nonetheless the perfect place to relax: that is Venet’s summit hut high above Landeck. Situated at 2,212 meters altitude, the summit hut has rooms for 2-6 persons in three categories.

Cool accommodations at Kühtai: the igloo door is made of wood, the rest is snow and ice.

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Après-Ski in Style

By Sylvia Ainetter

Winter sports and convivial stopovers simply go together in Tirol.

True connoisseurs discover après-ski locations either of archaic/old-fashioned or of noble/refined style crowned with culinary highlights!

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illertal, the epicentre of Tirol, has longstanding historic traditions of hospitality. One culinary highlight in the middle of Zillertal’s mountains is the Kristallhütte. The quality of the cuisine has already dazzled scores of celebrities who return to dine here time after time.

Wedelhütte, located at 2,350 meters altitude, the highest point in the Hochzillertal ski area in Kaltenbach. It combines traditional architecture using nature’s best raw materials, noble design and the comforts of a five-star hotel. For acoustical delights: DJs at the new ‘Sunbed Area’, a hot spot for everyone craving a bit of relaxation after a refined evening dinner to the melodies of specially-selected background music.

and after skiing, while the eye-popping cuisine impresses their taste buds. Once weekly there is a candlelit dinner on offer at the Verwallstube, when visitors can ride up the cablecar at night and enjoy flickering candles as they dine in the heights. You can leave your tie and suit in the closet, sportyelegant is the dress code. Also in East Tirol Living room with alpine views you can enjoy feel-good atmosphere far Yet as a culinary apogee, the Kristallhütte removed from everyday alpine clichés. At offers much, much more: long lists of the Adler Lounge in Kals am Grossglockner, exciting events, classical music concerts, Culinary summits two things become immediately evident: DJ acts instead of run-of-the-mill hit Verwallstube Galzig in St. Anton am Arlberg the unbeat-able Grossglockner itself and the music or folk songs; a whirlpool bath on the has big ideas and big plans. At 2,085 meters modern architecture of the lounge. A highterrace; and a genuine lounge area. The noble altitude it is one of Europe’s highest toque- light is the Adler Lounge cuisine, a mixture ambience and relaxing lounge sounds can awarded gourmet restaurants. The dream- of traditional hut dishes and refined culinary best be described as ‘a living room with come-true surroundings in the heart of the treats. It has been awarded a toque by the › alpine views’. Also in the Zillertal is the mountains dazzle guests visually during Gault-Millau gourmet guide.

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Sports & Lifestyle

A Top Mountain Star in Ötztal managed to ensconce itself on a narrow ridge at over 3,000 meters altitude.

Culinary paradise Winter fans seeking a real 'high’ will find it on the Wurmkogl in the ObergurglHochgurgl ski area. At no less than 3,080 meters altitude, the Top Mountain Star juts high into the sky. This architectural jewel invites one and all to relax and abide awhile, where feelings of freedom above the clouds appear downright limitless. At the ‘Gipfelhaus’ you savour roundabout and far reaching views over the Ötztal Alps all the way to the Dolomites. In the Lower Inn Valley, relaxation is writ large: the Angerer Alm is not merely the oldest high alpine pasture hut on the Kitzbüheler Horn, it used to be the highest altitude farmhouse in St. Johann in Tirol. Nowadays it has only one ambition: to provide incomparable charm for its visitors. At 1,300 meters altitude, located on the ski run of St. Johann’s cablecar, it offers superb views of the Wilder Kaiser and celebrates the culture of slow food to round out your skiing day. No alpine clichés, guaranteed!

During the day there is hearty everyday Tirolean food on offer, in the evening the kitchen mutates into a heaven for gourmets with three and five-course meals.

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Après-ski – celebrating with tradition Getting together in convivial ways after a strenuous-but-satisfying day of skiing is hardly a new invention. Quite the contrary!

Shortly after World War One, the French term was ‘imported’ to Austria and became popular. Winter tourism attained unforeseen heights. Après-ski became something that no one wanted to do without. St. Anton am Arlberg made an important contribution to this development of fine eating, fine drinking and fine experiences after a rip-roaring day of skiing. At Hotel Post, après-ski as we know it today was created and soon began its march of victory around the mountain world.

Comfortable lounge chairs at the Kristalhütte in Zillertal entice you to linger awhile.

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Items Close to my Heart Edited By Daniel Naschberger

The Tirolean Alpine Winter wears sporty garb.

So that every challenge can be met, you need a few stalwart accoutrements.

Snowcat bike The men’s bike MTB 26" with snowcat by Tirolean manufacturer EHLINE is unique in the E-bike market repertoire. Its wheels can easily be turned into snowcat traction and skis in wintertime. A power battery makes distances up to 100 kilometers possible. The bike is available in three frame sizes and, among other features, has a lockable forked sprocket and disc brakes. › www.ehline.com

photo: EH Line

On board, on tour

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Snowboards capable of mastering backcountry tours, so-called splitboards, are becoming ever more popular. The Burton ‘spliff’ splitboard is manufactured in Austria. It can be split-in-two for ascent and used just like a pair of touring skis.

For descent, so-called nug technology enables you to used the board optimally in deep snow despite its shortness. › www.burton.com

photo: Tyrolia

Tour guide

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Lorenzo Rieg, Marius Schwager and Lea Hartl introduce the best local freeriding tours in their Powder Guide Tirol. A total of 50 highly select deep powder backcountry tours in Tirol for freeriders, snowboarders and backcountry ski tourers are described. They all have short, lift-assisted ascents and long, especially rewarding descents. In German. Lorenzo Rieg, Marius Schwager and Lea Hartl: Powderguide Tirol, Tyrolia Verlag. › www.tyrolia.at

Sports & Lifestyle

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Kitzbühel Chic Summit knowledge More mountains than are offered in the App PeakFinder for iPhone, Android and Nokia are unknown even to the greatest connoisseurs.

Simply point your mobile phone with activated PeakFinder to the mountain range and from any spot the program displays a 360° panorama with the name of all prominent peaks. A digital set of binoculars makes viewing well known summits even easier. › www.peakfinder.org

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High quality materials, handcrafted workmanship and a love of detail distinguish the collections by Frauenschuh.

The ski jacket “Ronja Multi” with a waterresistant outer shell, very light padding and warm inner lining is ideal for cold winter days. Available at Frauenschuh Shop in Kitzbühel and online. › www.frauenschuh.com

photo: Frauenschuh

Ski slope vantage point The gloryfy GP3 is the newest model in the Goggle collection of Tirolean manufacturer gloryfy. The anthracite-coloured, particularly contrast-rich and of course unbreakable double shield provides top viewing in all light conditions.

The frameless design makes maximum viewing fields possible; the light weight makes wearer comfort complete, also in combination with a ski helmet. › www.gloryfy.at

Glor yfy

Snow gliding The firn-snow gliders by Kohla, sometimes called ‘figln’, are traditional Tirolean shorties. In springtime they provide endless fun in the soft, slippery firn snow. Made of stable aluminum so that little stones can do them no harm. The pair weighs less than two kilos, measures 60 x 12 cm, making backpack transport easy. › www.kohla.at

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Tips & Info

Skiing & Snowboarding

Safety

General

Tirol Snow Card

Daily avalanche report

Comprehensive details and statistics about Tirol’s ski areas, including infrastructure, cablecars and lifts, kilometers of ski runs, current snow depths, etc. › www.tyrol.com/skiing

The Tirol Snow Card turns the entire countryside into one gigantic ski arena. With one sole ticket winter sports lovers can ski more than 4,000 kilometers of runs at nearly 90 Tirolean ski areas and glacier regions. › www.snowcard.tirol.at

The avalanche report informs you in detail about the situation all over Tirol each day anew. It is a must for every freeriding descent and backcountry tour in the snow. › www.lawine.at

Snowparks Here’s where to find out everything about Tirol’s 30 snowparks, where free skiers and boards can really let loose. › www.tyrol.com/snowparks Barrier-free Many Tirolean ski areas are endeavoring to get rid of barriers for handicapped athletes.

They offer quality-tested, unlimited ski slope fun for mono-skiers. › www.tyrol.com/without-barriers

The Five Glaciers

Alpine Information

On Tirol’s five glaciers in Kaunertal, Stubaital, Pitztal, Hintertux and Sölden there is snow during nine months of the year, on the highest glacier all year round. › www.tirolergletscher.com

Nationally certified mountain and ski guide Michael Rutter gives you information about the conditions on the mountains, please consult him at +43.512.587828-25 or via Mail at info@alpine-auskunft.at › www.alpine-auskunft.at

Build your own skis

Well equipped

Whoever has at one time or another dreamed of his/her own custom-made skis or snowboard can fulfil that dream in Tirol. A small Innsbruck company offers skibuilding workshops. › www.spurart.at

Rapid assistance in case of accident is possible by calling the Alpine Emergency No. 140 or with another free-of-charge emergency app of the Mountain Rescue Tirol. It helps when reporting emergencies and immediately transmits your location via GPS. This app is only available in German. › www.bergrettung-tirol.com SAAC Basic Camps

Barrier-free chairlift

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Snowboarders on Ötztal Glacier

Each winter numerous SAAC Basic Camps in several Tirolean regions take place. At these free-of-charge avalanche camps, certified mountain and ski guides teach you in two-day courses about alpine dangers, equipment and responses in outlying terrain. › www.saac.at

Sport & Lifestyle

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Events

How to get here

Specials

Sport highlights

Arriving relaxed

Top Offers

All Tirol’s regions have a vast agenda of sports-oriented events throughout the season, from openings to winter launch to competitions in alpine and freeriding skiing all the way to exciting snowboard contests. › www.sport.tirol.at (German)

Countless train connections from most European towns and cities make it possible to arrive at your Tirolean holiday destination utterly relaxed and at low cost. With the regional trains and buses, all winter sports lovers get to their own favourite ski area, in some cases free-of-charge. › www.tyrol.com/arrival

This website gives you an overview of the best offers for your winter holidays in Tirol. › www.tyrol.com/offers The best offers in the glacier regions can be found at this website: › www.gletscher.tirol.at

Still have questions?

Tirol Info

Merely one of many top events: Shred Down Austrian Masters in Innsbruck

Maria-Theresien-Straße 55 6020 Innsbruck · Austria +43.512.7272-0 +43.512.7272-7 info@tirol.at www.tyrol.com

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Overview page 40 What is Learned, Sticks page 42 Moving into the Sun page 44 Keeping Healthy = Cross-country page 46 Weightless page 49 Relaxation Included page 50 Idyllic Winter Wonderland page 52 From Piste to Playroom page 54 The Silent Season page 56 Items Close to my Heart page 58 Tips & Info page 60 Mountain restaurants like the one here in Ischgl are just the right place to replenish energy, whether outdoors or in.

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Sledding fun for the whole family: the Gleirschalm in Sellraintal can be reached on foot in 30 minutes.

The best ski schools

Mardi-Gras, the next generation

Nativity scenes in Tirol

Since 1921, when the very first ski school was established in St. Anton am Arlberg, a lot has changed. In the interim there are now about 6,000 ski instructors in Tirol who teach about 70,000 visitors, young and old, to ski each season. In order to sift out the best of the best, the 'Quality Award’ is given by the Tirolean Ski Instructors Association only to the schools which fulfil a long list of quality criteria, currently 34 ski schools. you consult the list at: › www.quality-award.com

Mardi-Gras in Imst has been celebrated since the 17th century. The traditional festivities before Lent have even been designated ‘Cultural Heritage of Humanity’.

In olden days the colourful parades and rogueish playfulness served as a fertility rite and drama to drive out the demons of winter.

The so-called ‘Buabefasnacht’ festivities are special; they take place next on 9 February 2014. In this staging, the youngest boys don costumes and masks and perform their own version of the schemenlauf. › www.fasnacht.at

The Christchild’s birth has been depicted for centuries through endless forms of handcarved nativity scenes. An array of these Oriental or Alpine or modern Christmas manger scenes are shown to the public each year during Advent. In a number of Tirolean towns, local carving clubs organise exhibitions. In Fulpmes the Krippenmuseum is open all year round to display the most valuable works in exhibitions. In Imst, a so-called Krippenpfad (‘nativity scene trail’) leads the way. › www.krippenmuseum.at

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“An alm is a power spot” Interview Sylvia Ainetter

to accept that everything takes time, and that's a good thing.

How would you describe a typical Tirolean? A Tirolean is someone who lives in harmony with nature. When there’s bad weather, there’s bad weather, he simply accepts that. And a Tirolean is a man of the mountains, through and through.

Jakob Prantl

Innkeeper at a mountain hut

On his alm in the Ötztal he has preserved an age-old piece of Tirol. Together with his wife Daniela, he runs the Gampe Thaya at more than 2,000 meters altitude. He uses only regional produce and serves only Tirolean dishes. In an interview he talks about why he loves his alm so much.

What do you love about living on an alm? What’s so beautiful about living on the alm is the freedom and the up-close immediacy of nature. For children it is particularly beautiful. When we go up to the alm with our three kids, it’s like vacation for the whole family. Lots of people think I run this alm to earn money, to get rich. But what good would money do me if I had to spend it on psychiatrists and therapists? The alm is my own personal power spot, and it has the same effect on lots of other people, too. Up here, you can shake off your stress. On the alm you have

Why is the regional origin of produce so important to you? What is most important on that score is that we ourselves have a farm. And of course we use the produce from our own farm. That’s how we know what it consists of. Apart from that, we want to show our children that agriculture has a future here.

What do you suggest visitors to Tirol ought to eat? Kaiserschmarrn! We make our schmarrn on the alm fresh every time and it is served in the pan. It still bubbles when it arrives at the table. Every day we make a hundred portions, that’s how popular it is.

i Numbers Cross country Tirol provides the joys of cross country skiing along 4,000 kilometers distributed over 500 trails. About ten regions are distinguished as Tirol’s cross country specialists and provide absolutely perfect conditions. More than 180 quality-checked cross country skiing accommodations provide wide ranging supplementary services for skiers.

Sledding

What’s your favourite dish? Schelfeler served with a good, homemade cheese.

Do you know what that is? (he laughs) Schelfeler are unpeeled potatoes. I have to explain it often, since that’s the way it’s written on the menu.

Sledding fun on more than 250 sledding runs over a total of about 800 kilometers is guaranteed. About 40 illuminated runs ensure that the fun continues well into the evening and the glee on runners is extended after dark.

What is your advice to Tirol holidaymakers? Don’t just go where everybody else goes, seek out some of the lonely niches to experience.

Winter hiking

Thank you for the interview.

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Approximately 3,900 kilometers of snow-cleared and groomed walking paths in varying degrees of difficulty invite everyone for a wintery hike.

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What is Learned, Sticks

By Barbara Wohlsein

Did you learn how to ski as a child and then never went back to the ski slopes? Tirol provides those who want to return to skiing offers to make a comeback much easier. If you can’t fight them, join them! is the best advice we can give.

“I don’t want to purchase new ski “I always got cold when I was skiing.” equipment.” Whoever wants to try out Winter weather in Tirol can’t be changed, skiing again doesn’t need to buy new but a day of skiing nowadays is much more equipment. In Tirol’s winter sports resorts comfortable than it was 20 years ago. Ski you can rent all your equipment. Trained boot heating and heated chairlifts ensure personnel will see to it that you are given that you don’t get cold while on your way suitable equipment, including boots that up the mountain. Functional clothing prefit perfectly and poles that are just right for vents unpleasant perspiration and shivers. you.

Apart from that, there are cosy, snuggly huts everywhere to warm up in.

“I don’t want to make a fool of myself in a group.” Many re-visitation courses are “Skiing isn’t good for my general health.” designed for a maximum of two skiers. That Quite the contrary! Skiing keeps you way, the instructor can quickly correct all physically and mentally fit, reduces the risk errors. Since the basic techniques were of cardiac/circulatory illnesses, improves learned once-upon-a-time, usually just a your coordination, heightens your muscular few lessons are necessary to regain your feel strength and can even cut your cholesterol for the slopes. levels. Scientific studies have confirmed these beneficial effects.

“What if I don’t like the ski course?”

Numerous ski schools offer a type of “I’m afraid of carving skis.” Such anxieties ‘money-back guarantee’. In the region are unfounded. First of all, carving skis make Wilder Kaiser, for example, not-used ski turning and steering easier, heading into and tickets, instruction hours and rental costs out of curves is far simpler than it used to be. are refunded on request. Alpbachtal, Pitztal That can be proven: since carving skis were and Wildschönau have the same guarantee introduced, there have been 20 percent fewer – on offer. accidents on the slopes.

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A brush-up, if you please?

Numerous Tirolean regions have special packages on offer which make a comeback to the ski slopes much easier. With innovative methods and the support of superbly trained instructors, a perfect swing turn will be attained in the shortest imaginable time. And then there is nothing but pure pleasure on the ski slopes. › www.tyrol.com/skiing A relatively small, not-too-difficult ski slope is ideal for returning to skiing again, to re-gain your touch for snow and skis.

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Moving into the Sun

By Daniel Naschberger

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s winter slowly transforms to spring, skiing in the mountains of Tirol is even more fun. The sun is more intense and snow lovers don’t simply enjoy longer skiing days, lunch hour on a sunny terrace becomes a special pleasure of its own.

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At igloo bar ‘Cloud 9’ on Innsbruck’s Seegrube you’ll find a highly popular meeting spot for sun-worshippers.

Skiers also can enjoy firn snow, which provides a particularly stable and tactile snow surface to make every descent pure joy. Firn snow comes about when snow softens in the springtime sun, then freezes at night. These conditions are best enjoyed

during the morning hours; in the afternoon, the snow begins to melt again. That is the best reason to relax in a lounge chair or at the après-ski bar later on! With special package offers such as Flower Pow(d)er springtime skiing on Hintertux

Glacier or the ‘Ski.Firn.Events.Party’ package offer in Ischgl, the climax of the season becomes a sun-drenched, snowy luxury.

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Keeping Healthy = Cross Country Interview Sylvia Ainetter

that is the first argument: muscles and bones. The next part is of course cardiovascular: whoever goes cross country skiing regularly improves both strength and endurance noticeably. Supplementing that, your coordination also improves, namely, learning how to move dynamically and economically, which heightens the amount of fun you have as well.

Dr. Wolfgang Schobersberger Sports physician

For keeping healthy in the cold season, cross country skiing is the ideal sport. Sports physician Wolfgang Schobersberger, himself an enthusiastic cross country skier, explains why it is so healthy.

Cross country skiing is considered a healthy sport. What argument would you use to convince a non-sportive person to start out cross country skiing?

There are a whole slew of different arguments you can use. First, exercise out in the cold air, in nature and in a wintery landscape is very good for the psyche, that is something one doesn’t usually think of.

Then, there are many well known benefits to human health, for the body in different ways. The muscles are trained, although the right dose is important. Unlike running, many more muscles are used, especially the shoulder muscles, spinal muscles, neck muscles, hip muscles and of course leg muscles. If you use varying techniques, which many amateurs do, you can activate even more groups of muscles. So

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What fascinates you most as a sports doctor about cross country skiing? The variations which take place along the givens of a trail. There is not just one type of movement for hours on end. Sometimes you go uphill, sometimes you can ‘relax’, although you always have to be careful if a curve is ahead. That means you always have a different posture. The second thing is: if you go cross country skiing for one to oneand-a-half hours today you have performed ideal cardiovascular training. In other words, it is extremely time-efficient.

What are the medical effects of cross country skiing? They’re similar to endurance sports in general. What takes place is a maximum intake of oxygen, of course, which means how much oxygen can be used at maximum output. That relates closely to maximum performance levels. But lactate analyses have also been carried out, and lactate curves compiled. Whoever goes cross country skiing regularly produces much less lactate for the same output - a classic result of endurance training.

You also research physical activities which have therapeutic effects. If, for example, I am ill or injured or I have a chronic ailment, can cross country

skiing be a beneficial therapy? A therapy is quite possible, you simply have to distinguish between which illness or injury you are attempting to aid. For that, you need a specialist. The advantage of cross country skiing, as opposed to other types of sports, even to jogging, is that the muscle and joint output, especially for the legs, is less. That could, for example, be a great advantage for people who are overweight.

Thank you for the interview.

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Everything about cross country skiing Snow-guaranteed trails with breathtaking scenery in the background - cross country skiing in Tirol is an experience for connoisseurs of nature, of hobby skiers and pros alike.

Quality-checked

“Your coordination also improves, namely, learning how to move dynamically and economically, which heightens the amount of fun you have as well.”

More than ten regions in Tirol are widely known as specialists in cross country skiing. They have been distinguished by the Tirolean Cross Country Trail Quality Seal and boast a wide ranging network of trails at high standards of preparation and marking. Courses for beginners and advanced skiers, reliable service and advice, rental and sales are also essential parts of the whole in order to be awarded this distinction. In the quality-checked accommodations of the regions, cross country skiers also obtain all kinds of extra information and tips about the trails and stopover possibilities.

Dr. Wolfgang Schobersberger, Sports physician

Skiing-plus-shooting

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The combination of cross country skiing and rifle shooting is known to most people only from television, but anyone interested can try it out at the biathlon center in Erpfendorf. It goes without saying, you have trained and qualified personnel at your side to assist you.

Barrier-free cross country trails The Achensee, Seefeld and Kaunertal regions are making great efforts for their wide ranging cross country skiing repertoire to include sleds. › www.tyrol.com/cross-country-skiing

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It’s a question of technique

By Sylvia Ainetter

In the question of skating or classic style, it’s a matter of personal taste. Martin Tauber, pro cross country skier and fourtime Austrian National Champion, explains both techniques.

Skating

Classic

Skating is somewhat faster than classic style.

You don’t ski in a fixed track, but across a smooth snowy surface. The motion in skating is actually sidewards, you push off laterally on your skis in order to glide forwards, combine that with using your sticks. A good sense of equilibrium and good coordination are important, since you are more or less permanently on one leg.

In skating there are also a variety of styles, mostly distinguished by the ways arms and legs are used, e.g. one-beat, two-beat symmetrical, which requires a greater amount of strength, and two-beat asymmetrical, which is used for going uphill.

This is an age-old technique, it’s how cross country skiing first began. You don’t need as much a sense of equilibrium as in skating.

What is important is the active use of your sticks. You are in a fixed track and you carry out a diagonal kind of movement in order to move straight forward. In this diagonal movement the right arm and the left leg move back as the right leg and left arm move forward, and vice versa. You push forward via the feet. Beginners tend to start using this style. For untrained skiers, particularly the steep passages are easier with this style.

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The futuristic pools at Ötztal’s Aqua Dome located in the heart of huge mountains

bitte kurze Texte zu den Bädern in der Side-Info-Box. Danke.

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Weightless

By Sylvia Ainetter

Thermal water unfolds healing effects of well being throughout body and soul.

At Aqua Dome you can let yourself be pampered at the foot of the magnificent mountain world of the Ötztal.

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s far back as the 16th century, this source of thermal waters in Längenfeld was known to the population. To begin with, the Sodium-Chloride-Sulphate liquid flowed into a natural swimming pond at the edge of the village. Later, there were two small basins and a simple hut to change clothes in, that was all. Yet on some days as many as 300 visitors came to bathe.

The water was a soothing 37 - 38 degrees warm, a sublime immersion pleasure even in mid-winter.

inside the earth to the surface at a natural temperature of 40 degrees Centigrade. The sulphur contained in the water enhances the warmth and acts to inhibit pains in the body joints. Thus, sulphur baths are suitable for treating rheumatism, spinal illnesses, joint ailments and vertebral disc problems.

The heart of Aqua Dome is the crystalshaped dome of thermal waters called ‘Ursprung’ (‘Origin’) where two huge pools at 34 and 36 degrees invite visitors Skiers also met at these unusual natural to health-inducing bathing all year round. pools to relax tired muscles. Others filled In the outdoor area known as ‘Talfrische’ canisters with the waters at the drinking (‘Valley Freshness’), three futuristic pools fountain, once the healing effects had seem to float, giving visitors a feeling become known. Since 2004, in order to of weightlessness. This is reinforced by meet the expectations of modern wellness- underwater music and soothing lighting seeking guests, the futuristic Aqua Dome effects in the saltwater basin. across a space of 50,000 square meters has taken over this function, including 2,000 A stimulating waterworld awaits children square meters of saunas alone. and families in the form of two large swimming pools on a ‘ship’s deck’, a 90-meHealing Sulphur ter long slide and imaginative play spaces.

In Längenfeld in the Ötztal, the medicinal In summertime the young visitors also – waters flow from depths of 1,865 meters have their own outdoor playground.

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“This is our fourth day here and there hasn’t been one split-second of boredom.”

D

uring the night there was heavy snowfall, the mountain landscape is blanketed in puffy white this morning.

Like widespread icing of diamonds, it sparkles and glitters across the plateau of snow crystals, a few tufts of cloud meander across the azure blue skies. It is silent, not a breath of wind is blowing, the only thing you hear is the snow crunching beneath your boots. Irene inhales deeply, has a momentary feeling of weightlessness. Her cheeks are bright pink from the cold, her breath puffs out tiny white clouds from her mouth. She stomps through the winter wonderland with her husband, Martin. She is so happy she let herself be talked into going on vacation in winter.

“I asked him what we’re supposed to do in wintertime in Tirol. After all, neither of us ski!” she says with a grin when she gets back to the hotel. “This is our fourth day here and there hasn’t been one split-second of boredom.” Martin nods and adds: “It took a little bit of convincing, but the reward of my efforts is this...it’s great!” The couple wanted to have a bit of time for themselves, enjoy nature and simply forget everyday life for awhile. “And don’t forget, savour some great meals,” laughs Martin. “For us, that’s part of vacation.”

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Relaxation included

By Sylvia Ainetter

Just in case you think Tirol is always associated with skiing, it isn’t true.

We paid a visit to a few other spots of winter enchantment you might like to know about.

Martin and Irene knew Tirol only in you’ve been out in the cold,” says Martin, summertime before now. Last year they “and besides, we love to get massaged.” Irene came here on a biking vacation and were adds: “Yesterday I tried out a stone-oil bath, wildly enthusiastic about the landscapes, what a fascinating feeling that was, and Tirolean hospitality and the typical culinary today my skin is soft as a baby’s.” And what specialties they got acquainted with. This is her biggest pleasure of all: “I’ve finally time they decided on a Connoisseur Week found a little time to read. Back in everyday near Kufstein. Most of all, they simply life, it always gets the short end of the stick.” wanted to relax, but a vacation isn’t possible That’s why the quiet room with panorama for the two of them without a programme of views of the wintery scenery is such a cuisine and culture. “In the nearby vicinity perfect spot for the two of them to relax. we’ve found everything that matters to us.

But we would have been happy to try other That, in turn, is the best preparation for regions in Tirol as well,” says Martin. the evening agenda. At the inn, Tirolean special dishes they have learned to love await Charging up the batteries delectation: Käspressknödel, Tiroler They set out early this morning, right Knödel, Goulasch and the traditional snack after breakfast, to take part in a guided platter. “And I will need a schnapps to digest snowshoe hike all around Lake Thiersee, it all, for sure,” Irene grins. “But just one!” then up to the Dreibrunnenjoch saddle. The pipes up Martin. “We have to navigate our snowshoes and hiking sticks they rented. sleds downhill afterwards.”

They stomped through the deep snow, a little strenuous for Irene, but the breathtaking Martin and Irene still have things views of the Wilder Kaiser made every step planned for the last few days of their worth it. “For precisely that reason I wanted vacation: a horse-drawn sleigh ride and a to come here,” admits Martin, a long-time city tour of Kufstein are absolute musts. fan of the mountains.

“Unfortunately, there just isn’t enough time to take part in the Qigong hike, I would Now the time to relax has arrived. It was have loved to do that. So we’ll simply have important to them that the hotel they booked to postpone that until our next visit,” says had a well-equipped wellness zone, that Martin a bit regretfully. Irene sets down they knew from the start. “There is nothing her teacup and smiles: “That’s a very good better than one or two days of sauna, when reason to come back!”

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“For precisely that reason I wanted to come here.”

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Idyllic Winter Wonderland Text Sylvia Ainetter

A touch of romance, of enjoyments, of unforgettable nature: numerous Tirolean regions specialize in the more gentle kinds of wintery experiences in snowy landscapes.

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hoever prefers to get acquainted with - and enjoy - winter from its more gentle sides, takes advantage of the many opportunities of

a tranquil ride in a horse-drawn sleigh.

Nature lovers stomp through the forests of the National Park on snowshoes. Romantics meander through magical wintery

landscapes along snow-cleared trails. In Tirol the offerings are wildly diverse, here – are a few highlights.

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1 Naturparkregion Lechtal-Reutte On the scent of wild animals In Nature Park Tiroler Lech, nature lovers are titillated to their heart’s delight even in winter. On a hike through the snowy forests, the landscape seems to be deeply asleep. But numerous tracks of animals make it clear there is a lot of life popping in that idyllic scenery. › www.naturpark-tiroler-lech.at

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Tannheimer Tal Up, up and away In Tannheimer Tal, you can conquer mountain summits even in wintertime, namely the high alpine trail to the Neunerköpfle. The cablecar whisks winter hikers close to the summit, the rest you do on foot. When you arrive on top, a superb wintery panorama opens up to view and the prickliness of freedom makes itself felt. › www.tannheimertal.com

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Nauders – Tiroler Oberland – Kaunertal Tracks of a trapper It’s like a dream come true: on snowshoes with bow and arrows traipsing through the wintery Tirolean countryside from Pfunds. Along a hunting archery path, test your accuracy hitting the bulls eye. You’ll find that it touches deeply buried primordial hunting instincts. › www.nauders-tiroleroberland-kaunertal.com

Nature & Pleasure

Achensee Around Lake Achensee in a horse-drawn coach Very romantic! The twilight spreads its wings and radiates a magical atmosphere as the horse-drawn coach draws its line through the snow-blanketed landscape. The stillness of nature is only interrupted by the soft tinkling bells on the coach. › www.achensee.info

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Ferienland Kufstein Chinese winter Relax, let go, feel yourself again. In Holiday Land Kufstein the clocks tick a wee bit more slowly. On a winter hike using age-old Chinese relaxation technique known as Qigong, you not only enjoy the countryside, but also relax deep down to your innermost roots. › www.kufstein.com

Kitzbüheler Alpen Ferienregion Hohe Salve Part of the pack The feeling of Alaska, letting yourself be drawn through the deep snows in a real sleigh. Spending a day with a team of huskies, the cold air of nature stinging your cheeks. At the Husky Ranch in Angerberg, that very dream comes true. › www.husky.co.at

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8 Lienz

Sonnenplateau Mieming A night on the mountainside Quiet. Not a sound, only the crackling of a fire and a cup of tea. If you ever wanted to spend a winter night in a mountain hut, then a visit to Sonnenplateau Mieming is just the right place to start. Next day, you traipse on snowshoes through a sparkling wintery landscape, back down to the valley. › www.sonnenplateau.com

Osttirol Under a full moon Magical! On a nocturnal snowshoe tour through Hohe Tauern National Park you can immerse into nature in untried ways, discover new stimulations. While observing wild animals and finding their traces in the snow, a nature guide will even be able to point out (with a little bit of luck) the Tirolean BIG FIVE up close: chamois, ibex, spotted nutcracker, snow grouse and mountain hare. › www.hohetauern.at

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Joy in the Snow, from the Earliest Age Interview Daniel Naschberger

motion, they learn quickly and intuitively.

How long does a young child need to learn to ski? About four to five days until a child can snowplow and can handle stem turns.

That means the child can already master short descents.

Johann Schneider

Ski and snowboard school operator

Skiing is an elixir of life! A one-man ski school operator in Alpbach explains how children learn to ski and have the time of their life doing it.

What age is best to begin children’s ski training at a ski school? As of age three, you can launch children at a ski school, as long as they are properly equipped. A children’s ski school should have a quiet zone and a warm-up area so that the child is never stressed.

What’s a day at ski school like for children aged three to five? Instruction is daily for about four hours in a specially secured children’s playground park, where the kids get to know various types of terrain as if it were a game and become acquainted with skiing techniques.

Children have an inborn sense of body

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How can parents help their kids after they’ve finished a ski course? The most important thing is not to push them. Steep descents should be avoided to start with. For daily skiing, the rule of thumb is: as long as the child is having fun. Forcing longer ski days against the will and joy of a child is counterproductive.

How do children older than five profit from ski instruction? They, too, learn what skiing is all about - as if it were a game at so-called children’s fun parks or at suitable places. As of that age, they use ski poles.

Since they already have distinct physical characteristics, skiing is learned right with the first carving turns. That means that blue or red ski runs can already be skied, as long as the snow is good.

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t the so-called Murmlikrippe Serfaus, kids under age five discover a colourful programme of handicrafts and games.

Can ski equipment for young children also be rented or is it more sensible to If they are tired after skiing, they just curl purchase it? Renting equipment makes up in the nap-and-snuggle corner. The more sense, particularly for children at Sunny Mountain Club in Kappl entertains that age when kids grow so fast. Many ski the young ones with puppet theatre, schools and sports shops offer very good children’s parties and an adventure park boredom adieu! And those are but two of rental equipment at low prices. the many examples of children-friendly Thank you for the interview.

– offerings at Tirol’s ski areas.

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i Off the slopes Children’s cross country skiing

From Piste to Playroom

By Klaus Erler

Even the zippiest of ski rabbits gets tired after awhile. In order for vacations in the snow to stay exciting, Tirol’s ski schools, together with numerous ski areas, offer flexible child care at kindergartens and child care centres.

Who says that it always has to be a ski course? In Leutasch the youngest holidaymakers can also try out cross country skiing for the first time. A childrenfriendly practice course, including one for ‘bambini’ aged four to six, another one for kids aged six to twelve, ensure the best imaginable launch into the world of cross country skiing. The equipment can of course be rented.

Adventure swimming Of course you can also get away from the snow altogether, if you wish: in stimulating indoor pools such as Erlebnisterme Zillertal or the Wave Adventure Pool Wörgl, kids can let loose in the waves and on a pirate ship, while the parents relax in the sauna or enjoy a salt bath.

Cultural adventures

At the Kids Center of the Ski School in Alpbach, children’s cinema and cosy napping spots await the little ones. At the kindergarten at the Gamsgarten mountain terminal on Stubai Glacier, there is singing, crafts and exciting stories to listen to. Older children can spend the afternoon on a snowfox or snow tubing, in addition to skiing and snowboarding. The children’s programme can be booked by the hour or halfday, including lunch and beverages. Some

Tirolean regions, e.g. Silver Region Karwendel, even offer free children’s ski courses and kindergarten.

At the top of the list of children-friendly offerings are the Family Tirol Hotels, such as Hotel Moritz in Kühtai. It is located directly on the ski slope. That way, parents can fully enjoy their days of skiing while the kids stroll from the ski slope straight into the – playroom.

And for anyone who has a craving for culture between ski days, a day trip to Swarovski Crystal Worlds in Wattens or to the brand new Audioversum in Innsbruck is highly rewarding, full of special children’s programmes. Also Tirol’s State Museum offers learningoriented agendas for the whole family.

Rural customs and pre-Christmas atmosphere can be enjoyed at Tirol’s Advent markets, where children’s eyes get big and glow with happiness.

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Silent Nights

By Barbara Wohlsein

The pre-Christmas Advent season in Tirol is a very special time. In the weeks leading up to Christmas people meet at convivial, heartwarming markets, savour culinary Christmas treats, gaze at rural customs and are inspired to meditate a bit.

1 The cosmopolitan market Wedged between urban flair and overpowering mountain scenery, the five markets of Innsbruck turn the city into a magical world. No matter whether the one at the Golden Roof or along Maria-Theresien-Street, at the 180 Christmas booths there is literally something for everyone.

A special highlight is the huge Christchild Parade with more than 500 angels and shepherds.

2 The high-spirited market The medieval old town of Hall in Tirol provides a particularly high-spirited backdrop in the pre-Christmas season.

The facades of the buildings have overdimensioned Advent calendars projected onto them to shorten the waiting time until Christmas Eve.

3 The romantic market On your way through the romantic Scheulingwald forest, you learn lots of things worth knowing about the famous Christmas carol ‘Silent Night’.

At the forest festival square there are ancient customs, Zillertal handicrafts and traditional music to be enjoyed, of course non-electric.

5 The multi-faceted market Advent in the fortress town of Kufstein is a double pleasure. First, the Christmas market in the Stadtpark provides happy, spirited atmosphere. Then there is the enchantment of the Fortress, where under the eaves and vaulting of the Josefsburg and in the outdoor zone of the Fortress Arena traditional handicrafts are on offer.

4 The natural market Utterly without artificial lights, hard as that is to imagine, the Advent market in the tiny city of Rattenberg celebrates the holiday spirit. The pedestrian zone is illuminated with countless candles, torches and open fires. Add to that the spirited Christmas music and regional specialties to taste and the sum total is perfect.

6 The traditional market With open fires, regional delicacies to nibble on and lovingly decorated booths, the Advent market in Lienz entices you to revisit and rediscover the original meaning of Christmas. As twilight falls, night guardians stroll through the town to end the day.

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From Zillertal out into the world Every year anew, about four billion people all around the world celebrate Christmas. Sometimes it’s the Christ Child who places presents under the tree, sometimes it’s Santa Claus, but one melody unites people all over the world: nearly 200 years after its composition, the song ‘Silent Night’ is still the irreplaceable, indispensable sound of Christmas.

The story revolving around the creation of this song is well known. However, not so many people know that ‘Silent Night’ first had to reach Tirol before it could make its way out into the world. For the invention, and also for the distribution of this song, a defective organ in Oberndorf near Salzburg played a fateful role. Organ builder Karl Mauracher of Kapfing near Fügen in Zillertal was contracted to repair the instrument.

During the time-consuming work, he seems to have heard ‘Silent Night’ and brought it back with him to the Zillertal.

There the song pleased so many people that it was sung as early as 1819 during Midnight Mass at Christmastime.

Choirs and glee clubs in the Zillertal then helped ‘Silent Night’ to world renown. It was because of a performance by the Strasser Family Ensemble in Leipzig that the carol ‘Silent Night’ was printed for the first time. The slightly altered version of this orally handed down carol appeared as one of four ‘genuine Tirolean songs’ by a publisher in Dresden. Thus, the song could no longer be forgotten and it began its victory march across the globe. In 1839, just seven years after the first printing, the Ludwig Rainer Glee Club sang ‘Silent Night’ in front of Trinity Church in New York on 25 December.

Light projections across the house facades turn Hall’s old town into an over-dimensioned Advent calendar.

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Items Close to my Heart Edited by Barbara Wohlsein

Enjoying a Tirolean winter to the utmost is much easier with the right products, books and accessories.

Sporty classic There is no more pleasant or faster way to careen down towards the valley than seated on a Gallzein sport sled, a dream come true, made of local woods, with sailcloth stretched over it, with back protection sewn in. › www.gallzeiner-rodel.at

photo: Bäcker Ruetz

Christmasy The Christmas stollen from the Ruetz bakery is made with high quality dried fruits, spices and natural honey and is a genuine seasonal specialty from Tirol.

Available in all the bakery branches of Bäcker Ruetz. › www.ruetz.at

photo:

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This guidebook describes all the most important cross-country skiing regions in Tirol. Besides details about the individual courses there are also practical tips and maps.

In German. Peter Mertz: Loipenguide Tirol, Tyrolia Verlag › www.tyrolia.at

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photo: Tyrolia

All around Tirol’s cross country trails

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Refined sips What could be more appropriate than providing a custom-made vessel for the outstanding distillations of Tirol? The elite among Tirol’s distillers fill their refined brandies into special bottles. The ‘Tirolean schnaps bottle’ is available right from the distillers, at Hörtnagel on Innsbruck’s Burggraben and at selected SPAR shops. › www.amtirol.at photo: Agrarmarketing Tirol

Illuminated The kid’s cap called ‘StarKids’ lights up at night, thanks to fluorescent threads. And the sewn-in fleece rim is great protection against the coldest of winds. Available at Tirol Shop or online. › www.tirolshop.com

So you can kiss again...

photo: Tirol Shop

photo: Tirol Shop

When your lips are raw from the cold, Alpienne Lip Balsam, containing olive oil, beeswax, honey and propolis, is a great help.

Available at Tirol Shop. › www.tirolshop.com

Treasure Chest The loden bag is the perfect accoutrement for a relaxing shopping stroll through the streets of Tirol. Available at Tirol Shop. › www.tirolshop.com photo: Tirol Shop

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Tips & Info

Winter magic

Family

Culture & Good Eating

Specialists

Info

No mountains, Tirol nonetheless

Information about the winter regions, including highlights and valuable tips, is assembled on this page. › www.tyrol.com/winter-magic

Here is the site to consult if you seek info about the 23 Family Tirol Hotels. Apart from that there are loads of excursion tips away from the ski slopes. › www.tyrol.com/family

The online portal introduces cultural highlights in Tirol, sub-divided according to region or type of event. Apart from that, cultural special packages can be booked. › www.kultur.tirol.at (German)

Ski courses

Tirolean State Museums

This website of the Tirolean Ski Instructor Association gives you a complete listing of all snowsport schools in Tirol. It also has details about the right equipment and safety rules-of-thumb on the slope. › www.snowsporttirol.at (German)

This website provides the best overview of the Tirolean State Museum, the Armory (Zeughaus), Folk Culture Museum (Volkskundemuseum), Imperial Church (Hofkirche) and Tirol Panorama in Innsbruck. › www.tiroler-landesmuseen.at

Winter hiking Detailed information about winter hiking trails and snowshoe hikes, together with great offers for holidays away from the ski slopes. › www.tyrol.com/hiking-tours Sledding This page is composed and updated by an open group of sledders. It lists Tirol’s sledding runs. Various registered entries provide general information about individual sledding runs and current conditions and spots for stimulating stopovers. In addition, you can add your own comments on the blog and thus, find the best sledding run for every desire and every ability. › www.winterrodeln.org (German)

Architecture The online platform offers interesting tours to examine buildings in Tirol free-of-charge with architek{tour} tirol. Now available as an app. › www.aut.cc The inns of Tirol

Advent The seven ‘Advent in Tirol’ markets are spread throughout Tirol and adhere to very strict guidelines and requirements.

On the website, the individual markets are introduced. There is also information about inexpensive ways to get there by train. › www.adventintirol.at

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Ski course fun

This website lists about 130 different inns which all bear the quality seal “Tirolean Inn”. Here you can discover just the right traditional spot to taste your favourite Tirolean specialties. › www.tiroler-wirtshaus.at

Nature & Pleasure

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Cross country skiing

How to get here

Specials

Info

Arriving relaxed

Top Offers

Where are the best cross country trails?

Where are the best stopover possibilities along the trails? Who can provide the best advice and rental equipment? At this website, cross country lovers will find all the info they seek about Tirolean cross country specialists and quality-checked accommodations, as well as detailed trail descriptions. › www.tyrol.com/cross-country-skiing

Countless train connections from most European towns and cities make it possible to arrive at your Tirolean holiday destination utterly relaxed at at low cost.

With the regional trains and buses, all winter sports lovers get to their own favourite ski area, in some cases free-of-charge. › www.tyrol.com/arrival

This website gives you an overview of the best offers for your winter holidays in Tirol. › www.tyrol.com/offers

Still have questions?

Tirol Info

Cross country skiing in Pertisau am Achensee

Maria-Theresien-Straße 55 6020 Innsbruck · Austria +43.512.7272-0 +43.512.7272-7 info@tirol.at www.tyrol.com

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Printing Information

The snow-covered Rangger KĂśpfl, west of Innsbruck

Publisher and Editor: 5JSPM 8FSCVOH ѧ .BSJB 5IFSFTJFO 4USBžF *OOTCSVDL ѧ "VTUSJB Concept & Art Direction: $BNBP "( ѧ #VSHTUSBžF .VOJDI ѧ (FSNBOZ Photos: page 7 - Moritz Attenberger page 14 - private page 15 - Ötztal Tourismus page 16/17 - Mayrhofner Bergbahnen page 21 - Pitztaler Gletscherbahn page 23 - frischauf-bild page 24 - private page 26 - Josef Mallaun, Mirja Geh page 29 - Boarders Playground/Gossner page 31 - Iglu Village Kßhtai page 32/33 - Ötztal Tourismus, Kristallhßtte

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page 36 - Pitztaler Gletscherbahn, Josef Mallaun, Ötztal Tourismus, Klaus Kranebitter/SAAC page 37 - Deutsche Bahn AG, Boarders Playground/Gossner page 40 - Imst Tourismus page 41 - Gampe Thaya page 46 - ISAG/TILAK page 47 - Achensee Tourismus page 48/49 - Cross Country Academy, Ötztal Tourismus page 52 - Naturparkregion Lechtal-Reutte, TVB Tannheimer Tal, TVB Nauders – Tiroler Oberland – Kaunertal page 53 - Achensee Tourismus, TVB Ferienland Kufstein, TVB Kitzbßheler Alpen Ferienregion Hohe Salve, TVB Osttirol, TVB Innsbruck und seine FeriendÜrfer page 54 - private

page 57 - Stille Nacht Gesellschaft page 61 - Deutsche Bahn AG, Achensee Tourismus Texts: Target Group Publishing GmbH #SVOFDLFS 4USBžF ѧ *OOTCSVDL Austria Printer: Crossover-Mediagroup Druck und Veredelungs GmbH "EJ .BJTMJOHFS 4US ѧ .VOJDI Germany Translated from the German: Jeffrey McCabe Cut-off date: April 2013. All contents have been diligently comiled and verified, nonetheless no liability can be assumed for their accuracy.

Schöffel AZ

The new Tirol Collection Tirolean Alpine Winter 20130328_Tirolwerbung_200x265.indd 1

23.05.2013 08:22:10

· www.tirolshop.com

· Tirol Shop Innsbruck · Maria-Theresien-Str. 55 · 6020 Innsbruck

MY TIROL 02 · 2013

BmW xdrive

www.bmwxdrive-guide.at www.bmw.at

Sheer Freude drivingam pleasure Fahren

The Insider’s Guide to the Tirolean Alpine Winter

Spring, Summer, autumn and xdrive.

BmW xdrive – the intelligent all-Wheel-drive SyStem.

BMW 6 Series Coupé with xDrive: from 230 kW (313 hp) to 330 kW (450 hp), Fuel consumption from 5,7 l / 100 km to 9,2 l / 100 km, CO2 emissions from 149 g / km to 213 g / km.

Edition 02 · 2013

MY TIROL The Insider’s Guide to the Tirolean Alpine Winter

Sports & Lifestyle: Joy of Vedeling from Early til Late page 18 Enchanting Nights in Tirol’s Mountains page 30 Nature & Pleasure: Keeping Healthy = Cross Country page 46 From Piste to Playroom page 54