🎿❄️Skiing in Austria 2023

🎿❄️Skiing in Austria 2023

The slopes are calling! When skiing is firmly established as a hobby in the family, this enthusiasm gene for "wanting" to ski is likely to be passed on to the children. No matter how expensive lift tickets are, we have tried to save what we can with fewer ski days, buying equipment at flea markets, cheap holiday accommodation with self-catering options. The main thing is to get on the slopes. Ski school is also quite expensive, so we only used it in the beginning.

Remark at the beginning: The original post is in German under “Almuts Anekdoten” and I did my best to make it understandable to non-German speaking people here 😊.

Because of this need to save money, one day only the father skied with a changing cast of our four sons. At the same time, I could oil stairs or paint doors in the family's absence. My urge to ski was somewhat dampened by the compulsion in childhood to use the ski lift ticket, no matter what the weather was. As a result, I haven't missed skiing for the last 20 years. I have the memories of days when you have to take kindergarten children somewhere to ski school and pick them up again, push the little ones around somewhere in between, then you don't really get to ski without grandparents looking after them. I found all the packing and cooking with the children very exhausting. The teenage years followed with the school ski trips. Cancellation because of the costs was out of the question, so we had to save money elsewhere. One adult son even had the idea of accompanying other school classes with his friend as a chaperone and thus also came to skiing holidays, even though he was no longer at school.

Somehow it didn't occur to me to go skiing again, especially since I heard here and there among my acquaintances that someone had torn a cruciate ligament, and then there were all the environmental problems with the snow-making machines. The children were used to their father going with them for a few days, ideally. And then 20 years are simply over.

As is so often the case, the impulse to rethink one's principles and habits comes from outside. My boss told me in Italian class why winter sports were so important to him. He said that it is precisely because you drive to work in the dark in winter and come home in the dark again so that it is a blessing to exercise in the combination of snow and sun in the fresh mountain air. In his opinion, this avoids depressive moods and his anticipation is so great that he is in a good mood days beforehand when he thinks about it. He would rather give up a summer holiday than go skiing. Another acquaintance came back from his ski week beaming and said that the best moment was when he took the chairlift out of the thick fog and suddenly into a blue sky with sunshine. At that very moment, by chance, two of the now grown-up sons asked if there was a joint ski event. However, it was only a long weekend and this time in March due to the study work. And also only in good weather, so that it would be worthwhile. When that word "sunshine weekend" came up and we'd just had a week of high fog "winter soup weather", I spontaneously thought, "I'll come along!" You should have seen the faces. From amazed to "no, really?". After all, none of the children had ever seen me skiing. At the beginning, I wasn't sure if I could still do it in my late 50s after 20 years, in terms of fitness and ability, and if the saying "you never forget how to ski and cycle" was really true.

My obstacle: my 40-year-old classic skis with the straight tips. Can a ski service still get such old skis going? Is it worth the effort? There was good persuasion from all sides that I should rent new skis, also to see if it still works and is still fun. Hm, this change from 1.70m classic to 1.50m short carving skis, will that go well? The skis certainly behave differently.

As it turned out, this was not the only thing that changed in downhill skiing after 20 years. The innovations were also evident in other points where I felt like I was in the film "Back to the Future II".

In the ski rental shop - ski boots and skis 2023

Arrived in the ski resort of Warth/Austria at the ski rental shop at the valley station. An employee directs me to two screens with keyboards. Aha, digitalisation in this area too, how nice. On the screen I enter my address, age, weight and ski knowledge to adjust the ski bindings. Next to me, an elderly gentleman nestles out his reading glasses before he can type in his data with a single-finger system. With the receipt, it's off to the waiting bench. Because of the sunny weather, it's busy. A staff member comes around the corner with ski boots and puts them in front of me to try on. My first feeling: as awkward as 20 years ago, you can hardly get in, they are still clumsy and heavy. The employee insists it's the wrong technique, I just have to pull out the front strap hard enough before I step in with my foot. At first I think I'm somehow too clumsy or too weak to pull "right". However, the next day I see two more women who are having a really hard time getting into these shoes. One of them sums up their desperation:”Those stupid shoes. By the time you put the shoes on, you´re already exhausted.”

I wonder why the ski boots with the rear entry, which were still available in the 90s and early 2000s, are no longer available. That would make them easier to put on. Maybe there were too many men in the material test who had no problem pulling out this strap with enough force and at the optimal angle. I guess not much has changed after 20 years. 

No adjustment if you don't meet the foot standard, if you have particularly wide or narrow feet or a high instep. Or your calf width in relation to your foot size is different from what the ski boot manufacturers offer. You have the choice between foot toe crushing or them flopping around inside and you have to strap everything around the ankle and calf until the blood stops. The staff member keeps stressing that it's important for proper support that the toes are in contact with the shoe. That's definitely too tight for me if I ride longer and my foot sweats and then it gets even tighter, no, I'd rather get a size bigger and tighten everything up at the top. A colleague later said that there are alternatives in the high price range with individual adjustment of the foam to the foot, but hardly anyone can afford that, it starts in the three-digit range. In the beginning, the colleague was able to get hold of a pair of rear entry shoes via online platforms, but now the last pair has fallen apart. That's why she always borrows shoes, as these shoes have already stretched other people before her use.

Now I went to the staff member with the skis. I am presented with a list of price categories, 1 plus to 6 plus (or 7, I can't remember). Which one would I like. I am completely taken by surprise with the question. After all, I've indicated that I'm a medium rider. Somehow it doesn't occur to me to ask what the difference is between the categories apart from the price and I take the golden mean. In the length selection, there is a pair of skis in 1.50m in bright pink. A name sticker is stuck on it so that the skis don't get mixed up by mistake. Great, now everyone knows my name. An interesting way to get to know the person next to you on the chairlift. Then there's a barcode with a number on it for returning the skis later. It doesn't matter which ski hire shop you go to, whether it's up here on the mountain at the various lift stations or down in the valley. That saves time. Great. Adjusting the bindings is also a breeze. And once again I'm amazed: I had expected the new skis to be lighter these days. But they're not. When I walk a certain distance with them, I have the same feeling as before: "Hopefully I'll soon be able to strap them on and won't have to carry them any longer."

Lift tickets 2023

After 20 years, the next novelty for me is the lift pass. After cardboard cards that tanned men and women cut off with a punch, weekly cards with printed dates and genuinely developed (!) passport photos, and later the first cards with printed dates and codes, some of which fluttered in the wind on the outside of the jacket with zippers, the card is now reusable. Apart from a beautiful mountain panorama and the Arlberg, there are no more details on it. In the past, you could still read how long the card was valid, but today you have to remember that. The deposit for the card is 5 euros. I don't want to know how many people take this card home in their jackets after skiing and only discover it again the next winter.

 

Card reader 2023

On the way to the first chairlift, I wonder why most people are waving their left arm at the post and roaming along. Standing right by this metal post, I unpack my card as I used to and hold it up to a small box with a window, which I think might be the card reader. A few attempts fail until a skier behind me offers assistance: "No, that's a camera. Keep going down to the left,... now further up,... a little further, ..just like that!" Aha, the card reader is integrated into the inner wall of the post. I wonder if small children can reach it without having to be lifted up. The narrow metal grille in front of me opens. And now I also see that the others don't take the card out at all, but carry it in their left sleeve zip pocket. I discover a zip like this on my jacket, which I got hold of as new at a clothes swap party. I had never noticed it before. Perfect. That takes care of the card retrieval. I consider this a great achievement, as it shortens the queuing time considerably and queues dissolve very quickly. Back then, there were often delays when someone first had to take off their gloves and fumble their card out of their jacket.

Chairlift 2023

The next surprise awaits: Anchor and double chair lifts are probably discontinued models, at least here in the Arlberg ski area. Express lifts are on the way on the large-area ski slopes, with chairlifts that hold up to 6 people. In the past they were hard seats, a member of staff wrapped us in a blanket when the weather was bad, which enabled us to survive the cold on the ride reasonably well. Today the seats are padded and heated in the cold. In strong winds, you can also pull down an acrylic glass dome for protection. What a luxury.

The construction for putting down skis during the journey still has to be folded down by hand. A team task for 6 people, so that everyone can lift the skis at the same time. There are now two versions of this construction: the classic "ski fully on the left or right on a pole" and then a version in which the pole runs down between the legs, the racks consist of two small plastic triangles and one ski is placed on the right and one on the left. I have no idea how the snowboarders manage this with their wide boards. 

I feel like I'm in an adventure park when conveyor belts appear behind the little red barriers and pull me and my skis to the ideal "sit-down" point for the chair. When I imagine how often you used to have to slide to this point yourself really quickly and if you somehow missed the moment, the lift landed ungently on your knees. Speaking of knees, it's worth mentioning that if you're short or of medium height, the arriving seats are at the ideal height; if you have long legs, the seat can sometimes hit your calf a bit uncomfortably if you don't bend backwards in time. Here I am probably in line with the standard to which the seats are set. I find it interesting that carrying backpacks on the back is prohibited on some chairlifts and not on others. Although the chairs don't really differ visually. Of course it makes sense to take off the backpack when the backpacks are fully loaded and the rider is only sitting on half of the seat. And so when the handle holder is folded up shortly before getting off, he is then floating half free over the abyss.

Because of the new skis with the much wider kochlöffel round tips, I concentrate very hard on keeping the skis parallel and slightly apart on the conveyor belt. And lo and behold, it works well. I'm amazed at how many new learning experiences I can process in one day. After another four hours of skiing, towards the afternoon, it happened. After the chairlifts stop more and more frequently because someone is lying on the conveyor belt or standing the wrong way, and I think to myself, "Boy, is that frequent", I cause exactly this situation through a moment of inattention. It couldn't be more embarrassing. I slide through the closing barrier with my skis, I don't know how, but I'm too late for the chair in front of it, I slide uncoordinatedly into the conveyor belt zone, my skis overlap, I fall completely over onto my side. The next chair threatens to catch me. Although my first thought is: "How embarrassing", I smile inwardly at the sliding. It's not every day that you get that feeling of sliding along on a conveyor belt, almost unable to move. The crowning glory of the situation: one of my sons, who has caught the chair in front, wants to signal to the employee with his ski pole that he should please stop. His ski pole is lying on the armchair of the free seats to his left, he pulls it forward and just at that moment a woman wants to sit down, is then pushed forward again due to the force of the ski pole and is also completely thrown out with it. It's certainly very funny for the outsider - a double ejection. The employee presses the emergency stop button.  I'm so happy when, after several attempts, I come to a halt again. My stomach muscles aren't what they were 20 years ago and handling the poles on this holey conveyor belt is somehow difficult. And although I can easily get up from a crouch without ski boots, it's a different challenge to get up with ski boots. Now I can also understand how older people feel when they can't get up themselves after falling down. A mixture of "damn, now I don't have enough strength to get the necessary momentum and all my muscles are shaking" and helplessness "what do I do now if I can't get up?".

I find the differences between the ski lifts in the Warth area with Salober, Steffisalp and Jägeralp and the ski lifts on the Lech side very interesting. There you can see adverts for luxury goods such as Rolex watches on the steel bars of the chairlifts. Due to the many high-end car brands parked on this side, this is probably the target group. Large posters advertise a free-standing bubble bath that looks like a Fabergé egg in camouflage colours. Right next to the mountain station of the Kriegerhorn cable car, a small car-sized Christmas bauble with a closed glass door and glass windows with a panoramic view of the mountains stands in the snow. The inside is covered for a meal for two. Has the Bachelor already been up here with a date? 

Eating at the valley stations, hut 2023

Speaking of food: we feel a difference between the Lech and Warth sides. The increased prices due to energy and inflation are present on both sides, but on the Warth side in the valley stations with self-service it is more affordable for our circumstances than on the Lech side. Because we cater for ourselves and also take a something to eat with us on the way, we only stop off at a hut once as a highlight to enjoy the hut feeling with the sun. All the outside tables are full, and the new arrivals cause traffic jams in the narrow corridors between them. The staff make their way. An annoyed "Get away, get away!" sounds next to us and a waitress comes by with a full tray. Since there are six of us and only a few seats are free, we need a little patience. After a few minutes we find a table where a group is leaving. 

At the next table, the waitress's tense voice can be heard again: "Do you want to pay separately or together?" We can all sense that she is stressed. While the other two waitresses just hand out drinks and food, smiling almost wordlessly, our waitress gets straight to the point. We are given the menus with typical Alpine delicacies, bacon, eggs, etc. Yes, of course, hut prices, one soup is enough. Our topic at the table: the girlfriend of one of my sons is vegan and is not sure whether the pumpkin soup contains cream or something similar. The waitress comes to our table and wants to take our order. My son asks: "Can we have the tagliatelle with tomato sauce instead of cream sauce?"

She answered briefly and succinctly, "We don't have it." - "Maybe with cranberries?" "We don't have it." I can clearly see from her facial expression that she doesn't really like these special requests and is pulling herself together. Since my son is at a loss and remains silent, the friend mentions that she is lactose intolerant and is vegan. What she can eat from this menu under these circumstances. Suddenly the waitress becomes friendlier and explains that soups and sauces always contain a dash of cream. However, she can offer the "Rösti" without anything else, so she would be on the safe side and there would be an extra price for it. The day is thus saved. When the plate with the impressively large rösti arrives, the friend notices that you could also ask for apple sauce. But since apple sauce is not on the menu anywhere, the risk of a "we don't have it" is too high, so we don't ask. It's a hut - they only serve what is on the menu.

Snowboarders 2023

A phenomenon. At the end of the 80s, snowboarders were still seen as troublemakers who absolutely needed a separate slope so that they didn't disturb the "normal" skiers. Back then, it was only young people who used them and they were rather small in number. Today, however, middle-aged people also make artistic snowboard turns. There are many snowboarders bustling around among the classic skiers.

Ski helmet 2023

The next thing that stands out: In contrast to the 90s, I haven't seen a single person skiing without a ski helmet. Bobble hat, headband with sunglasses and flowing hair, goodbye. Some ski helmets have an integrated polarizing visor with UV protection. I had recently bought a new pair of ski goggles because I liked the polarizing function. When you ski in foggy weather, you can see much better, that convinces me and the money is well spent. I can also easily wear normal glasses underneath. Cheers to this new innovation. We still have helmets from the children at home, they still do their job. As I notice on the slopes, most of the goggles are mirrored and the fairly uniform helmets, ski suits and gloves turn the riders into a uniform crowd. Many riders only differ in the style and color of their clothing. A celebration for any data protection officer, the royal family could ride here and hardly anyone would notice. Other nationalities are only recognizable when they are talking in the lift and a foreign language is heard. The ski equipment is quite ageless. If the ski helmets are taken off in the restaurant or in the hut, one time the flowing hair of a young girl comes out, and the second time the white hair of an older lady wearing a hearing aid appears. I find the "post-helmet" hairstyles when the helmet is taken off particularly entertaining. Particularly short hair lies in all directions and stands out in the most amazing combinations. Thanks to this helmet effect, these hairstyles are certainly worthy of taking part in an "out-of-bed" hairstyle competition. I still smile about it now. Many long-haired people save themselves with braids. The high-backed hairstyles from the 1960s, which were used to sunbathe in these ski huts - no longer conceivable with a helmet today. Some skiers who ski down the slope dressed as unicorns, cows or similar offer a change. Some in full costume, some with a colored helmet cover so that the groups can find each other better. This is particularly helpful when there are lots of people out and about. It's also particularly funny when communicating: "I'm where the unicorn is." I think that even more people go down the slopes in costume during Carnival, it's bound to be a lot of fun.

Getting to the Arlberg ski area 2023

On a sunny Sunday morning, long lines of cars roll into the three spacious parking lots on the Warth side. I haven't seen so many Teslas, Porsches, etc. at once for a long time. There will probably be a lot of day tourists. Three parking lot employees direct people so that no space is lost. Fortunately, a display on the street shows which parking lot is still free. This avoids some of the search traffic. The ski buses also come from the valleys at short intervals. I am pleased to see how many people use this bus and how well the bus transfer from the valleys is received. This is also a lifesaver for one of our sons, who leaves the very distant holiday apartment too late. When the parking lots are full, there is nowhere to park anywhere and you have to drive back down the road into the valley. By half past nine, all the parking spaces are full, we call our son and tell him to park in Steeg and get on the bus. Another advantage: you can get to the top no faster by car than by bus, and the bus parks right at the start of the piste, so you don't have to carry your ski boots and "stumble" across the long parking lot.

 

Ski slopes March 2023 Arlberg ski area

The ski area is the largest in Austria with 50 km² and is snow-sure, at least for the higher areas (the highest accessible point is 2645m high). We won't manage to ski everything in two days. I can't remember skiing on such "highway" wide ski slopes before. This means that the numerous skiers can spread out quite well. However, the huge number of snow cannons show that the great quality of the slopes also comes at a price. I don't want to know how much energy and water is used for this. I see very few photovoltaic systems, although the solar radiation is very high up here. The electricity may also come from waterworks, who knows. Perhaps a few years later there will also be options for the lifts to only run when people really want to use them. As we are only going for two days, the price of the day lift ticket is bearable, even if one of our sons rightly says: "Man, for that amount of 67 euros I normally have to work four hours." But there is a lot on offer. Because of the limited time, we concentrated on a few slopes and, thanks to the sun, we really had a lot of fun. The freshly groomed slopes are best early in the morning, when the crowds have not yet carved out any "tracks". There are no skiers to avoid, you can choose your own route. If the weather conditions are right, the "early" skier has a dream in white in front of him.

Fitness and skiing technique

Yes, I agree with the other people: you never forget how to ski. However, the new skis take some getting used to. And I also need to tighten up my ski boots a lot to get the ideal control over the skis. I have put aside my weaving technique with tightly closed legs and skis, which I was taught for years as a child, this time because I simply cannot be completely parallel with the thick shovels on the tips of the skis without the tips overlapping. This may require a different technique or more experience. I find it amazing how quickly the skis slide off. The first few turns are still highly concentrated and then it works like before. Even black slopes, everything is doable. I still don't like very mogul slopes because they are very hard on the knees. The difference from before: fitness deteriorates more quickly than when I was younger. Every now and then we split up and let the youngsters "go for it" or ski down a challenging route with moguls. Even back then, I didn't enjoy riding up the lift in the higher ski school classes just to be able to ski down in one go as quickly as possible. I like to stop now and then to calm down the increasingly strong trembling of my thigh muscles. I really don't want to fall. What did happen to me twice, however, and I really laughed about it: because of the sun and March warmth in the afternoon, the snow further down became quite sticky and there were cardboard snow hills in the rutted areas. When the others in our group stopped and I arrived quite quickly and landed with my toes in one of these cardboard snow hills, I simply fell backwards and just couldn't get back up straight away. Like in the lift on the conveyor belt, I laughed as I tried to get up. One son said I should use my poles more, hmm, my arm muscles aren't the fittest after such a long day of skiing. Then it just takes several attempts. I take it with humor.

In the end, I'm amazed that we were not only one of the first on the slopes, but also one of the last to leave in the afternoon. The on-off effect comes when you take off your ski boots, an "Ahhh!" rings through the rows, just like in all the years of skiing that I can remember. You've barely arrived at your holiday apartment, you shower, eat like a horse (I had already cooked the food in advance), we manage to play a board game and then it's time for a deep sleep, which only comes after physical exertion on a perfect day - completely happy.

Fog wall effect

The next day, a cloud hangs low and heavy over the ski area, so that most ski schools stay down there and hardly anyone goes up. One of the sons wants to try cross-country skiing with me on skis that we bought second-hand. You can't get lost on a cross-country ski trail in the thickest fog because it is groomed. Let's get going! After the first few sliding movements, I notice that young people usually watch a tutorial for everything, but this time we just want to stand on it and glide away without any preparation. My son tries it first with arm strength on the poles, which is very exhausting. We can't imitate the skating step of the people overtaking us, we must have the wrong type of skis. So I try walking until we meet a woman who is skiing in the same track as us. What she shows us looks very exhausting. We try it, after 2 km we are drenched in sweat. A different kind of experience in minus 3 degrees. By now you can hardly see the next pole with luminous paint. Speaking of poles, I didn't notice them at all in the sunshine. Because of the luminous color in the fog, they are now the only way to get your bearings besides the trail. I haven't seen fog like that for a long time. Fascinating.

My husband swaps skis with my son so that he can try out the cross-country skiing experience, even though you can't really see anything of the surroundings anymore. My son uses his lift ticket to go downhill skiing again. Maybe the weather will be clear up there for skiing. You could have already seen from the empty chairlifts down below that hardly anyone is going up. So my son was able to experience the fog, that skiing in such poor visibility is no fun at all and you feel disorientated. In addition, we didn't know the direction of the ski slopes by heart in the short time, the tow paths were sometimes difficult, and my son is also afraid of sliding down the rocky abyss. In a situation like that, he has respect for nature. And what do you do when you're helpless? Like driving in the fog on the motorway: you join a group that knows the area better or has a better overview and follow them. My son is relieved when he can join a family that knows the area very well. And even this family drove very, very slowly. The main thing is to arrive safely. It takes a lot of concentration and so by midday many skiers have already returned to their accommodation.

The photos in this blog were taken on this foggy morning near Salober, when the fog had not yet completely closed in. When I was alpine skiing on the days when the weather was good, I didn't have my camera with me because I wasn't sure if I would fall.

The clouds are getting closer and closer and bizarre situations are occurring. A single walker no longer knows where he is and asks where the parking lot is. He is standing no more than 25 meters away from it. I can understand his uncertainty and fear of walking alone in the wrong direction. It almost feels like you are standing in the dark and you think you are flying blind and heading somewhere. Here and there I hear a "Where are you?" or "I'm going to the car now", but I don't see the people doing it. A very special experience. Since I have remembered the way to the trail pretty well, I simply trudge back along this path until my cross-country ski boot hits a piece of asphalt and it is easier to orientate myself with the road again. When we then go down the mountain and suddenly can see something again, it is clear that the mountain above is covered in a thick wall of clouds. A fast-spoken rap song is playing on the radio and my son asks what language it is. I immediately laugh heartily, the "nigelnagelneiefreindin" rap is officially called "Wigl Wogl", which is Austrian dialect. I love moments like that.

Conclusion: Despite the physical exertion that I can still feel in some of my muscles days later, I really enjoyed the three days and am proud that I didn't fall during the descents. I don't count falling over in the lift or while standing. It is fun to go in a smaller group or in pairs and to stop briefly to enjoy the view and watch the others. The exercise in the fresh air is very good. I can also see some merit in cross-country skiing. It would be quicker to do by train or bus here in the low mountain ranges, it would be practical and it would be more ecologically acceptable than the effort of driving to the Alps - that's the topic of sustainability. Alpine skiing still has its appeal, just in terms of speed, I can certainly imagine doing it again, until perhaps climate change makes it impossible at some point. I find the advice of an older lady very fitting: "Know your physical limits, everything in moderation, then nothing will happen." I see the happiness that skiers experience summed up in a sign: "Eat, sleep, ski". With that in mind, happy skiing!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Translation of post to be continued 😊