Weekend trip to the Alps

This did not happened yesterday but the alps are not outdated and skiing season is still on. At least for a couple of weeks more. Some months ago I went to Kitzbüehl in Austria for a ski trip. I had never been to Tirol before and like every skier that is a must visit place. I flew to Munich and from there I took the local train so it was a very convenient trip.

Ski area Kitzbüehl

I stayed at a really nice hotel within walking distance from the main gondola in the center of the village. I thought the skiing area would be rather small and that you could easily cover it in a day but it was much bigger than that. All 94 slopes were open when I went there and of course I didn’t manage to try out all of them but the majority. I did though missed an app like the Skistar one where you can track which slopes you skied in and get some stats. I liked the resort and it is perfect to cover during two days of skiing.

Skiing in the alps during covid

Austria has been very strict on wearing masks throughout the pandemic and also in the ski lifts you needed to wear one. The first day weather was terrible. At many places there were almost no sight, windy and snowy so it wasn’t a pure pleasure taking of the cap, helmet, googles, pull off the buff and gloves to put on the mask every single ride up. But when traveling the rule “do as the locals do” is always a good one so after a couple of rides I skipped the mask aswell and no one said anything. Bingo! Then it was skiing as usual.

Kitzbühel during winter

Kitzbühel are like most alpine resorts also turning into a year around destination so if you don’t like skiing you can always go in the summer for hiking. If you love to take selfies the destination also highlight that they have two spots for taking the perfect selfies at the website. But best of all, they offer 200 days of snow each year. In the valley there was no snow when I went there and I think that cross country tracks were closed also but they have some. The area is rather wide spread so you need to watch out which slope you are taking down when it is closing time. I made the classic one the first day and took one which lead me to another village. There is though a well developed network of busses in between so it was never a problem getting back to the hotel.

If the weather the first day had close to 100% more to offer the second day started off a bit grey but the ski patrol had done a great job during the night with preparation so it was a pure pleasure to ski. Not like the day before when it was icy and at most places off pist like conditions in the rides.

Top of Austria

Its not the highest altitude ski resort in Austria but it is really a great place for an easily accessible mountain weekend. Kitzbüehl valley offers a wide range of restaurants and bars and there are also many places in the skiing area where you can stop by for food and drinks. Price levels are far beyond the neighbors in the Swiss alps. I liked the place. Not the best skiing area I been to in my life but due to the variety of rides, accessibility and short ques I would recommend it.

But what is not to recommend when days look like the below? Who can resist sunny skiing days with perfect prepared slope and no freezing winds. That is almost as great as 30+ degrees and long sandy beaches.

Closing date for the season 2022 seems to be after Eastern so still a chance to get the last rides before it is time to store the skis for the summer.

/ Pernilla that love skiing