Austrian Gemütlichkeit
by Ted Heck
Austria's role in the history of skiing has been chronicled throughout the 20th century. Museums in many resort villages have exhibits about pioneers and heroes of the sport and the development of equipment and techniques. And the friendliness of the après-ski scene has been saluted in literature.
Ernest Hemingway wrote, “I remember the snow on the road to the village squeaking at night when we walked home in the cold with our skis and ski poles over our shoulders, watching the lights and finally seeing the buildings, and how everyone on the road said 'Gruss Gott.'
“There were always country men in the Weinstube with nailed boots and mountain clothes and the air was smoky and the wooden floors scarred by nails.We drank together and we all sang mountain songs.”
Hemingway found the Montafon Valley a good place to work more than 75 years ago. Modern day skiers can still pick up some of that flavor, particularly in the Hotel Taube in Schruns, where he hung out. They can build their own memories.
THE MONTAFON VALLEY
Skiers in the United States identify their resorts by the names of mountains or towns they hover over. European skiers often think in terms of valleys, which can contain nearly a dozen ski areas along a relatively short drive.
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One valley well-known to continental skiers is the Montafon in western Austria's state of Vorarlberg, a diversion to the right shortly after entering the country from Switzerland and before rising to the Arlberg pass. In the summertime this is the popular scenic Silvretta high alpine road; in winter meters of snow form a barrier at the far end of the valley. Between the autobahn and Partenen are small villages and large ski areas, some of them dwarfing anything in New England. In addition to Hemingway's Schruns there are Tschagguns, Gaschurn, Gargellen, St. Gallenkirch, Gortipohl, Sibertal and Vandans.
More than 70 lifts serve 125 miles of maintained runs, mostly intermediate and advanced, with some vertical drops almost a mile high. And there are many opportunities for off-piste adventure, including a back-country trip around the Madrisa Horn mountain from Gargellen to Klosters in Switzerland.
The editors of The Blue Book visited the Montafon and stayed in the village of Gaschurn. Frau Sohler, owner of the Hotel Pension Nova, checked them in, told the group where the best conditions were on the mountain, had a cup of coffee with them after skiing and retreated to the kitchen to chop the fillets for the Fondue Bourguignone dinner she personally served. The editors felt they were part of the family.
Such friendliness is one of the reasons the Madrisa Hotel in Gargellen is full most of the season with guests who return year after year to the Montafon's highest resort. Hans Karl Rohmberg is the owner, who cruises the dining room and lounge, but he is also the porter who schlepps luggage to a guest's room.
SHAMED OUT OF THE SAUNA
I remember Rohmberg as a helluva skier, but my chief memory of the Madrisa Hotel was indoors-in the nude and mixed sauna. With American decorum, I went into the sauna in sneakers and wearing a bathing suit. The stares of other males, sitting naked on hot wooden seats, made me feel less than macho. I withdrew.
The next day I quit skiing early, figuring to have the sauna all to myself and avoiding any condescending glances. I was five minutes into sweat when the door opened and a vision of loveliness entered. She stepped by and took a seat in the row up and behind me. And she engaged me in conversation.“How was the skiing? Where are you from? Do you like Austria?”
It was more challenging than skiing the toughest slope in the Montafon—trying to talk to a naked lady without looking back up over your shoulder. For the second time I had to flee.
When I entered the dining room that night, the lady from the sauna smiled as I passed her table. But I am not sure she recognized me with my clothes on.
OPTIONAL EQUIPMENT
On an earlier visit to Austria I was in a van with a group going to Zauchensee, one of the resorts in Sport World Amade in the state of Salzburg. The driver jammed on the brakes as he stopped short of a fir tree that had fallen across the road, probably yielding to a ton of new snow.
What do we do now, facing a foot-and-a-half thick tree too heavy to move? But a Mercedes sedan drove up and its owner climbed out to survey “Was ist los?” followed by “Moment, bitte.”
From the trunk of his car he took out a chain saw. In less than 10 minutes he cut the tree in three pieces, which we dragged to the side of the road. We thanked our rescuer profusely and he drove away.
Over lunch, forking Kaiserschmarren chopped-up pancakes from a gigantic community pan, we talked about how a hospitable native had saved the day. But we wondered: is a chain saw standard or optional equipment in a Mercedes.
THE ZILLERTAL
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Another valley visited by The Blue Book editors was the Zillertal, less than an hour east of Innsbruck in the colorful state of Tyrol. It is a ski region popular with Germans, whose country abuts Austria on the north.
The Zillertal has impressive statistics. Between the Innsbruck-Munich autobahn and the Hintertux glacier to the end of the Zillertal are 11 ski areas offering a total of 282 miles of ski runs, 197 Nordic miles, 14 cable cars, 47 chair lifts and 88 drag lifts. Major ski areas include the nearly two-mile-high Hintertux glacier, where you can ski all year long. Most Americans are not familiar with names of other areas, such as Krenzjoch, Hochfügen, Spieljoch, Penkenjoch and Rastkogel.
Mayrhofen, one of the best-known villages in Zillertal, is popular with ski groups, who seek a combination of excellent skiing and a lively après-ski scene. However, throughout the valley a skier can detour to almost any other kind of winter sport, plus indoor games like squash and tennis.
AN EDITOR'S VIEW OF THE SKIING
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Richard Muello's responsibility in this book is the section on Italy. But he remembers the Zillertal well: "The Alps reach heights of over 10,000 feet, while snow cover and terrain often vary from groomed to powder to forgiving moguls—all on the same wide slope. Advanced skiers have the opportunity to experience the thrill of glacier skiing at Hintertux, where national ski teams train during the summer."
"Brendt, our genial Austrian guide/ instructor from the Mount Everest Ski School in Mayrhofen, many years ago was a race coach in Stowe, Vermont. He escorted us on a memorable day of skiing on the glacier. The 50 miles of ski runs covered steep, wide slopes from the summit, mogul lessons for the hardy, and a number of fast, challenging runs on the far side. And everywhere the view was fantastic."
ANOTHER EDITOR'S VIEW OF THE APRÈS-SKI SCENE
The streets of Mayrhofen seemed deserted at night, but in the several fine hotels, such as the Alpenhotel Kramerwirt, guests danced in the bar area before and after dinner. Behind many a pub door was lots of action--disco music in some, oldies and soft piano in others. And in the Tirolerstube country music was on tap for anyone wanting to try a Texas two-step.
Editor George Schissler is big on France, but wrote about his Austrian experience this way: "Americans are discovering these valleys with their vast and varied ski terrain, excellent accommodations and friendly atmosphere. There is a laid back attitude and a sense of appreciation for the natural surroundings and Austria's glorious past."
INNSBRUCK, CAPITAL OF THE TYROL
You can do so some serious skiing in the eight ski areas around Innsbruck in a region that boasts of 200 lifts, 300 miles of well-maintained pistes and 300 miles of cross country tracks. Among the downhill slopes is the twisting, wooded trail on the Patscherkofel Mountain at lgls, above the town. It was the venue in two Olympics that Innsbruck hosted in 1964 and 1976. Television viewers in the past two decades have seen many replays of Franz Klammer's careening run for the gold in '76.
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Farther from town are many choices at Axamer Lizum, including the mostly treeless, wide track of the women's downhill. It passes along spectacular cliffs and is a comfortable intermediate run—unless you go into and maintain a tuck.
On the Stubai glacier in another part of the region, it is possible to ski year round. Even low intermediates feel like Olympic racers on many wide and gently pitched slopes.
Innsbruck is certainly not a ski in/ ski out place, something a compulsive skier may insist on. Free ski buses pick skiers up near their hotels and transport them to the day's choice of areas. But compensating for this is the opportunity to live downtown with history, to tour castles and museums.
When Doctor Johann Carnmerlander, owner of the Goldener Adler Hotel, points to freedom fighters pictured on the dining room wall, he says, "Just after you won your independence from the British, we lost ours to Napoleon, but only temporarily." He also directs attention to the list of nobles and celebrities who have stayed in his hotel in the last 450 years. Fifty yards up the street is the Golden Roof, where Emperor Maximilian waved to his people at a time when Columbus was talking to Indians.
The opportunity to blend art, architecture and history with exciting outdoor adventures is one of the reasons your editors frequently recommend Innsbruck as a ski destination. It is a cosmopolitan city of 128,000 inhabitants, a quarter of whom are university students. The culture and the shopping are especially interesting to mismatched couples, i.e. when one spouse or friend does not feel it necessary to devote every daytime moment to a search for the perfect turn.
ARLBERG AMENITIES
Bus rides do not plague snow chasers in St. Anton, the mega resort in the Arlberg region, where the states of Tyrol and Vorarlberg meet. Boundless snow and lifts to carry skiers up over it are only a few minutes walk from many hotels and pensions.
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There are some aficionados who feel there is nothing in Austria to compare with St. Anton. From the top of the Valluga peak, which dominates the ski area, one sees endless snowfields, some still untouched, others engraved by powder skiers. Many smooth trails, scooped out of the deep, are stitched together by chair lifts, T-bars and cable cars. A common ski pass lets skiers ride 85 lifts in the Arlberg.
St. Anton hosted the World Alpine Championships in February, 2001, the same year that the Arlberg Ski Club celebrates its 100th anniversary. The town spent five years gearing up for the event, including uprooting the train station and railroad tracks and moving them to the other side of the road that leads over the Arlberg pass. The $100 million expenditure created a lot of open space in the middle of town and made access to the lifts much easier.
Town fathers may need more room for exhibits in the Heimat Museum, which traces the colorful history of St. Anton and its place in skiing. It was here that Hannes Schneider went into a crouch and introduced a new technique for turning awkward planks of wood in the snow.
The après-ski scene is action packed. The pedestrian zone at the end of the day is like Grand Central station during rush hour, but with people carrying skis instead of briefcases.
UP THE PASS A PIECE IS LECH
Across the state line in Vorarlberg is Lech, a charming village with its own group of dedicated fans. Some of them stay in hotels along the main street and stream; others opt for Oberlech. The hillside is studded with many hotels, several of which have sunny terraces where nearly everybody on the mountain seems to stop for lunch. The menu gets less attention than the elegantly dressed men and women, bronzed faces turned toward the sun.
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Many Oberlech hotels are connected underground by a tunnel in which electric carts move tourists' luggage and hotels' foods and sundries up from Lech.
Lech is a sometime day trip for expert skiers who drop from the top of the Valluga in St. Anton into ungroomed snow. But it is a one-way trip, requiring a bus or taxi for the return. More popular with skiers lodging in Lech is the opportunity to stay in the sun all day in a big circuit between Lech and the village of Zürs. They work the mountains on the west side of the main road in the morning and the east in the afternoon.
One unusual bit of après-ski action is an aerial tram ride up one of the Lech mountains. The cable car is temporarily redone as a bar and guests watch the sun set and drink champagne, while the car moves at quarter speed. The operator wears a tuxedo and becomes a croupier on the terrace above.
The gambling at roulette and blackjack is with funny money, given to passengers as part of their $35 ticket. There is legalized gambling in some Austrian resorts, but this is not one of them. What you lose goes to charity. Anyone who wins gets a voucher for a modest gift at a local shop or restaurant.
Lech and St. Anton are two of 11 resorts in four countries that promote themselves as "Best of the Alps."
MIXING SKIING WITH MUSIC
Another happy compromise, like Innsbruck, for couples whose thirsts for skiing are not a perfect match is the romantic city of Salzburg.
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In the state of Salzburg are 24 ski areas, some of them unknown to Americans, even though they are impressive in size. For example, the Sportworld Amade region, just one of those 24 areas, actually consists of 10 separate villages with names such as Altenmarket, Zauchensee, and Filzmoos. Another is Flachau, home of Herman Maier, skiing hero of the 1998 Olympics.
A Panorama Tour's program known as Salzburg Ski Safari picks skiers up at their hotels each morning for an hour's ride to one of the resorts. One route goes through the narrow enclave of Germany that juts down into Austria. Nearby is Berchtesgaden, where 60 some years ago Adolf Hitler in his mountain aerie covetously stared out toward Salzburg.
Another trip passes Hohenwerfen Castle, where segments of "Where Eagles Dare" was filmed. Remember that movie in which Richard Burton and Clint Eastwood wiped out the whole German army?
There are few après-ski scenes to match the color of Salzburg, Mozart's hometown. He got there before Julie Andrews. And although "The Sound of Music" is still heavily promoted, Amadeus's melodies get more attention. An evening concert of his music is a far cry from a disco and a different way to end a great day of skiing.
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