Kitzbühel - Fun for early risers !

Hello from Austria,

Kitzbühel is such a big resort that a week probably won’t be enough to see it all.

This morning we decided to take the 8:35 train , right in front of our superb

Hotel Henri Country House in order to be on the slopes

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early enough to enjoy the best conditions. It was an excellent decision: by the time we said it, we were already at the top of the A1 gondola which serves the famous

Streif where the Canadians Crawford and Alexander ruled the roost in January.

It is worth noting that all the cabins (99 counted) are identified with a skier who has distinguished himself in Kitzbühel. We found Ken Read’s and Steve Podborski’s , but we couldn’t find one for Todd Brooker. We’ll have to go and find out if it’s somewhere else in the resort.

Let us remember the exploits of our Crazy Canucks who won the main event of the World Cup downhill for four years, between 1980 and 1983. This period remains unforgettable for us, and today we are here to take the full measure of these exploits.

We were able to ski part of the Streif which goes through runway 21 in several places. Even the regular runway, a simple red one, is impressive in places. So imagine the race! Runway workers were still dismantling the safety barriers. It was really impressive to see.

For our part, we were planning a more modest and more touristy day, but still very interesting. Indeed, we had noticed on the map runway 76 which started from the top of the G7 to go all the way down to the base of the G1. Yesterday we had done part of it and it was already quite long. So we had to do it from one end to the other to be able to appreciate the whole distance.

Yet another very good idea! It is true that it still takes a lot of time to get there and back, especially because you have to go through the Fly 3S to change areas. In reality, this escapade took us almost the whole day. But what an unforgettable experience.

The 76 is a beautiful blue, very wide and just steep enough to do some nice carving . The panorama is striking like everywhere on the domain and the conditions this morning were perfect. A beautiful groomed firm and fast, with a temperature of about -6 C in bright sunshine. We couldn’t have asked for better for our experience. We put it well, skiing is often a matter of timing. Today we really hit the jackpot.

Having reached a little lower than the G6, where we had dinner yesterday, track 76 turns into a long, but very long and winding forest path in the mountains. It is so pleasant and the bursts of laughter can be heard everywhere. We returned to our childhood during this escapade that will remain etched in our memory. The effort was really worth it, and honestly what would travel be if we didn’t take the time to do these little follies from time to time?

The return was just as pleasant even if we took the wrong path on two or three occasions … because yesterday we had returned directly without any problem. It seems that we were even more amazed by the panorama and a little less attentive.

😊

Our day was simply wonderful , and we must also highlight our beautiful discovery B2 and B3. Tracks 25, 26 and 26a were magnificent. More beautiful, well-worked, wide and steep slopes, which allowed us to have fun at high speed at the start of the day, alone on the mountain, in perfect conditions. We can accept mistakes like that every day!

So what more can we say than that Kitzbühel is a ski paradise that would take us weeks to discover. Now we just have to visit the mountain chalets and the Après-Ski. That will be for a future column.

Enjoy skiing in the beautiful snow in Quebec!

Helene Racine and Philippe Laporte

Reporters – Ski Media

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