Innsbruck - Kuhtaï - On the roof of Austria in great weather!

Hello from Austria,

Still from Innsbruck where we are for a few days of skiing and cultural visits, we are heading towards a new resort in the region this morning, towards Kuhtaï

Located about 35 km from the city center, it took us a little less than an hour’s drive to get there, very easily with our small front-wheel drive with winter tires. Nothing was complicated and when we arrived on site, we were able to park for free, a few meters from the main lift. We could also have taken one of the shuttles that serve the resort from Innsbruck.

The journey on the small winding roads is very pleasant, especially with this majestic landscape. We went from one valley to another with the mountains on each side, covered in beautiful fresh snow that fell the day before. It’s fantastic and yesterday’s big storm left us with more than 50 centimeters of beautiful powder

We were actually supposed to come skiing here yesterday, but the storm was so intense that the roads were practically closed and probably impossible to maneuver with our little car. In town in Innsbruck, it was pouring. Heavy autumn rain all day long, but we took the opportunity to visit museums and churches with our guide Monica who explained to us large parts of the history of Innsbruck and Austria in general. It was just as exciting.

So the wait was definitely worth it and today, we have the great privilege of going to tread this new snow in bright sunshine.🌞 We simply have an absolutely perfect day!

Kuhtaï is the family resort par excellence in the Innsbruck region and it is very popular with local residents. At least, everyone we spoke to about it praised the quality of the snow there, the infrastructure and also the terrain. Kuhtaï is in fact the highest resort in Austria with a base at 2,020 meters and a summit at 2,520 meters. It is therefore on a height difference of just over 500 meters that we were able to have fun as we wished, and this on both sides of the valley which are accessible by ski at all times.

Arriving from the road, we found ourselves at the bottom of this valley and we passed through the friendly village of restaurants, shops and hotels until we arrived at the parking lot (P1, P2 or P3) located at the base of the ski lift, the Dreiseenbahn . The panorama is once again striking, and with the sun and the sparkling snow, we feel like we are in a movie set. It is just perfect! Happiness and calm after the storm. Skiing at its best: we couldn’t have come at a better time.

So quickly, we get dressed and go up to trace this beautiful snow. The piste workers have already groomed it between the markers, but we have plenty of time to go and trace the powder between the pistes. It’s magical!

We stopped at Kuhtaï , but note that two or three kilometres further on is another resort in the valley, Hochoetz , which you can also ski on the same pass. Today we didn’t have time to go there, but for those who would like to stay here for a few days, the entire area is accessible to you with a shuttle between the bases of the two resorts.

So we went up by the quadruple chairlift to 2,410 metres and we did two or three descents in this sector of beautiful reds, full of new snow. It’s rolling and it bites hard! The snow is so abundant that already around 10:30, we were starting to see big bumps forming in the steepest parts. The snow is soft, and it flies in all directions when you hit the bumps head-on. Bliss!!!

Arriving at the bottom of slope 10, we passed near the restaurant and the trail takes us a little further, and a little lower, making us pass through a small tunnel under the road, to go to the Kaiserbahn lift , a gondola that serves the opposite slope, the one that is already exposed to the sun this morning.

We can already see that the snow has started to transform, but the conditions are still very good. As we climb, the sun ☀️gently warms our shoulders, and the light fills our eyes. In Europe, we always feel like we are spring skiing like in late March in Quebec. The cold of -20 C, the people here simply do not understand that we would want to ski at this temperature.

Once at the top of this summit, we can now see the whole village from a completely different perspective. It’s even more moving… We attack this new terrain which is made up of both large boulevards and small steep basins. You have to know how to adapt to the relief, but don’t worry, the snow is soft and the skis bite without reserve .

We have done all the slopes on this side and we have taken all the ski lifts, up to the highest peak of 2,520 m at the top of the Hochalterbahn chair.

Arriving at lunchtime, after all these emotions, what could be better than a little stop in the mountains at Zum Kaiser Maximilian ? A beautiful typical mountain pub with a festive atmosphere and the most traditional Austrian meals. We really feel like we are on vacation… it’s absolutely perfect!

Afterwards we returned to the first slope by passing under the road again, but this time at the other end of the village between Kuh-Teppich and the Gaiskogelbahn lift. The latter takes us to a sector of beautiful black slopes, always filled with a ton of powder. We can see all these new tracks and hear the skiers’ cries of joy.

At the end of the day, I allowed myself to go explore the area with more black and bumpy slopes that I had seen out of the corner of my eye since the beginning of the day: Homemutbahn.

This quadruple chairlift takes you to the top of the area, and from there you have access to a beautiful winding and steep black, today filled with bumps. In addition, you can ski the inter-piste where it is also filled with beautiful powder. It’s unreal! I did several, one after the other without stopping, to get to the end of this memorable day.

Kuhtaï is definitely a place to visit and given its altitude, snow is guaranteed between December and April. You can stay there for a few days in one of the hotels on the edge of the slopes and we also find several restaurants and shops for après-ski. We can understand why the locals appreciate the place so much.

Back in town we ended the day with another excellent dinner but this time in a small vegetarian restaurant on the old town side, on the other side of the Inn, at Das Blum . It was quite an experience and all the dishes were tasty, surprising and very refined. We highly recommend it!

Our stay in the Innsbruck region will remain etched in our memory and we will certainly return for a longer period to visit the other resorts including Patscherkof where Franz Klammer wrote history in 1976 as well as Stubai Glacier which we have heard so much about.

Happy skiing in Canada!

Helene Racine and Philippe Laporte

Reporters – Ski Media

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