March 4, 2017 (Tirol, Austria)
Innsbruck is a great place for people wanting a ski or snowboard holiday. The town is located in a valley surrounded by skiing areas and within a short distance to ski resorts. So our dilemma was choosing which mountain to go snowboarding on. We started asking some locals (anyone that would talk to us about skiing really) which mountain they recommend.
On the day we set out with our snowboards, we decided on a mountain with long ski-runs called Axamer Lizum, which is only about 30 minutes away by bus from Innsbruck. Just to let you know, there are buses that are sponsored by the ski areas to take people to the mountains for free, as long as you are dressed and looking like you belong on a ski slope (in Europe a lot of times that means head-to-toe technicolor neon nylon/polyester). But on this particular morning, the conditions were so bad, extremely windy, that the only place open was Kühtai. And the bus drivers all had first-hand knowledge of this before anyone else. Because we’re still beginners, this option did not appeal to us, as Grant had reviewed the different ski areas and saw that Kühtai was full of advanced and intermediate runs. With our hearts beating in our chests, we still got on that ski bus.
“What are we going to do if the runs are too hard for us?” asked I to Grant. To anybody that has snowboarded, an awful feeling is being caught in the middle of a ski run that is too difficult and having to make your way down, while constantly falling and hoping you can make it without breaking a single bone. When you’re at the top, and are willing to swallow your pride and the judgement of everyone else who can see you, you can convince the lift operator to let you on the ski lift back down, but you have no other options when you’re already part way down. Grant’s answer? “Oh, we can just drink hot chocolate and wait for the bus to come back at the end of the day”. This did not seem like fun at all sans book, smartphone, or Nintendo DS.
The ride up was nice and we got to see little Austrian villages and the snow-cover growing as we made our way up the mountain:
Kühtai means “Cow Alps” and I can see that in the spring and summer, this area must be lush with pasture vegetation. This is an advantageous moniker and provides an obvious mascot, which was exploited. All of the souvenirs had cows on them. I can also see why Kühtai was left open while the others were closed, it’s kind of sheltered in its own valley, like a bowl, and allows the ski slopes to face each other. It’s nice to look across the valley and see all the other skiiers and snowboarders coming down the other side towards you. I’ve never seen that at other ski resorts.
When we got to the mountain, there was a decently steep blue run (easy level) that was near the ticketing booth. It was called Startbahn, “starting lift”, and was short but offered a steep enough incline to practice on. I’m more advanced than Grant is but I didn’t want to abandon him on this run so I mostly worked on my technique here, Grant worked on “not falling”.
The day started out very windy but we did see a thick cloud coming towards us. Grant and I were able to calculate its approximate speed and beat the others in taking shelter before the restaurants, bars, and cafes got crowded as everyone tried to wait out the mini-snow storm (our excuse to ourselves: we need a spiced-wine break). A comforting drink that Grant and I found, typical at many ski slopes in Switzerland and Austria is a Glühwein, which is served warm and perfect for heating up your frost-bitten hands (ok, ok, creative license here). Think of a combination of red wine, sangria, and cider warmed to perfection and served right when you most need it, that’s Glühwein.
We hope you enjoy our video of Kühtai:
All-in-all, we had a great day. We liked Kühtai a lot and were happy that the weather conditions forced us out of our comfort zones. There definitely are more intermediate runs here and would be perfect for the intermediate or advanced skiier or snowboarder. We enjoyed the cafe and restaurant, and we can’t wait to try out the other runs once we’re at “red run” level.
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