January 15 – 27, 2023
Objective: Combine skiing, wine and watching the renown Hahnenkamm World Cup downhill race in Kitzbuhel Austria.
Itinerary
- Jan 16 – Arrive Innsbruck Austria, shuttle to St. Anton
- Jan 17-19 Ski St. Anton
- Jan 20 – Kitzbuhel, watch Friday’s downhill race
- Jan 21 – Kitzbuhel, watch Sturday’s Hahnenkamm main event
- Jan 22 – Drive to Ortisei, Italy
- Jan 23 – Ski the Sella Ronda
- Jan 24 – Verona
- Jan 25 – Verona
- Jan 26 – Milan
- Jan 27 – Departure
St. Anton, Austria
A few of us arrived via Delta to Innsbruck. I used Airport Taxi Alpstria Innsbruck from the airport to our hotel in St. Anton, a little over an hour drive. This worked great with the Driver meeting us at baggage claim with a Mercedes van that had room for our ski gear.
Our base in St. Anton was the M3 Hotel (recommended). We arrived late and that first night our room was sauna hot, even after turning the heat completely off. We had a street facing room so opened the window and we’re then serenaded until 3am by all the skiers out partying, singing, chanting and generally having a good time. The next morning, we learned there is a 2nd heating system that only the front desk can turn off, so we had them turn that off, then cooled down the room keeping the window open until bedtime and then shutting the window. Tip: Request a room that does not face the main street and ask about secret secondary heating systems.
The hotel has a fantastic breakfast on the top floor with a view of the mountain. Full buffet with egg dishes made to order. There is a ski room in the basement accessible with your key card. Automatic opening doors and lockers with heated ski boot rack for you gear. The hotel also has a partnership with the ski rental store across from the main gondola so you can leave your gear there each night. They do close at 6:30pm and we missed dropping our gear due to extended après. We did get our ski passes from the hotel front desk as well as use them to book us a mountain guide last minute.
The gondola is about 3-4 blocks from the hotel – an easy 10 minute walk passing several espresso shops along the way. We were there mid-week and the town was busy – but we never had any lines while skiing and maybe a 30 second wait at the main gondola. We were impressed by the quality of the lifts – most were brand new 6 person, high speed lifts, cable cars, gondolas with no lines and incredible food and drinks at charming chalets at the top of most ski lifts and along the runs. There are multiple interconnected ski areas so the skiable terrain is massive. Much different (better) than local Mt. Hood.
Tuesday
We asked about booking a ski guide through our front desk and surprisingly there was one available and 10 minutes later we met Reiner at the gondola and headed up the mountain. While he turned out to be quite a character, it was nice not having to try and figure out the mountain – we just focused on skiing. Reiner likes to ski fast and drink a lot of beer. The skiing fast part was perfect for our group as we had Lindsay, the recently retired and uber competitive ski racer with us. We covered a lot of ground including a morning stop for a raspberry drink concoction at Arlberg Hospiz Alm. We made lunch reservations for later and Reiner said we must visit their wine cellar. We did come back for lunch and they have an unbelievable wine cellar with the largest collection of magnums in Europe (according to Reiner).
Wednesday
Against better judgement we booked Reiner for the next day. The upside was we skied a lot of terrain, the downside was we stopped often to “say hi to a friend” aka drink a beer, “To make a reservation” aka drink a beer and then of course we had the official stops for a beer. It turned out to be a gorgeous bluebird day.
Drew had done some research and had the foresight to make a reservation at Mooserwirt which is midmountain and known for their Après party they hold every afternoon with the same resident DJ. It was an experience. The playlist is even on Apple Music. We arrived and the place was empty, dark and quiet. We went upstairs to our table and had a nice quiet late lunch. Around 4:30 or so we noticed groups of skiers were flooding in and soon every table was taken, dishes cleared and a lighting and smoke system descended from the ceiling and the party was on for the next four hours.
As we left, we watched patrons stumble out, knock over skis, fall down and go sliding down the ski run toward town.
Thursday
Thursday was overcast and we headed out on our own without Reiner to guide us. Our goal was ski over to another town, Lech, and taxi back home. Mid-day we found a great spot at the top of the mountain for pizza and beers and then made it the rest of the way over to Lech for happy hour at the famous K Club at the Krone Hotel. It got cold fast so we didn’t stay too long and found a taxi van for the 20 minute drive back to St. Anton.
Kitzbuehl
The next day we had a quick and easy drive from St. Anton back through Innsbruck and over to Kitz. We were late on booking rooms as it was a last minute trip, so grabbed the last apartment available. It was in a good location, but tight for four adults in two rooms the size of closets and single beds. It was walking distance (a long walk) to the race finish line, downtown and the gondola.
Friday was race day and we were up close in the crowd of about 80,000 people. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Patrick Dempsey and other celebs were there, we didn’t see them. The crowd was high energy and friendly. Food stands served two things – sausages and hot wine.
Racers started about 11am and being up close was a totally different experience from watching on tv. The Hahnenkamm is like a vertical F1 race with speed, huge airtime and insane, dangerous crashes. It’s where legends are made, and careers are broken—literally. The 3,300-meter stretch of ice called the Streif, is considered the most dangerous downhill race. Supposedly it would be illegal to race on with current standards, but it has so much history, it’s “grandfathered” in for the World Cup. Average speeds hit 140 kilometers an hour, and on the Mausefalle section with an 85% grade, skiers fly up to 80 meters over the jump which literally means “Mouse Trap.” And that’s just the start. After that, you’ve got to survive the Steilhang, a 51% gradient.
The race has been around since 1931, and in nearly a century, it’s claimed more than its fair share of victims. Broken bones, concussions, torn ligaments— Swiss skier Daniel Albrecht, was in a coma for three weeks after a 2009 crash. He hit the finish jump, lost control mid-air, and slammed into the ground at 138 km/h. Miraculously, he survived.
The racers are well aware of the risks. My friend Cody (ex world cup racer) talks about the Streif with a mix of awe and fear. For them, it’s a race that could land you in the history books or a hospital bed, depending on how the day goes. The mountain, as always, remains indifferent.
Traveling with an ex-racer in the group has it’s benefits. We kept running into teammates, friends and family members all over the mountain and town and ended up at dinner with a group of ski team family members and new friends.
Saturday
We spent the day recovering from the night before, watching more racing and getting a few runs in. Several of my racing friends told us we had to go to Pinky’s hut. So we had emailed Pinky and booked dinner at his place with very no idea where it was or how to get there as it was mid-mountain. That evening after watching the podium ceremony, we walked up the hill as the fireworks were set off, to find the van Pinky sent to collect us for dinner. Pinky runs a restaurant http://www.einsiedelei-kitzbuehel.at/ and small inn that is up on the mountain. We found the driver and made our way through the snow up to the inn. We arrived to a roaring firepit outside and warm drinks.
There were about 30 guests and being a small world, people in our group knew people from the other groups so the night turned into a reunion, polka dance party and then finished with a fire show that Pinky’s staff puts on at the end of the night before driving us back to town.
Later than night after Pinky’s we walked through town but every bar and club was packed so we walked toward home. Passing an Irish pub with a friendly looking crowd, we went in and finished off the night with locals celebrating the race weekend.
Sunday – Slalom, Skiing
On Sunday, we woke up to blue skies with a few clouds. We spent the day exploring more of the mountain finding powder stashes on the higher lifts.
Monday – Into Italy and a stay at Hotel Hell
After sleeping in a bit, we packed into our rental cars and drove south 2.5 hours to Ortisei, Italy in the Dolomites. We stopped for lunch in Innsbruck and said farewell to George. We continued south and found our destination, the Hell Hotel. Despite its ominous name, was just fine. A basic Italian hotel, with bathrooms from the 80’s but perfect for our group.
We walked around the charming town – and with light snow that evening, it was really the definition of charming Italian mount village.
Tuesday – Ski the Sellaronda
The skiing here was dramatic. We embarked on the famous 40km ski circuit “Sellaronda” starting with the antique gondola from town, and then into the mountains for a full day.
We finished around 3pm, caught a taxi back to the hotel and packed our skis for pickup and left them with the front desk. We had arranged for DHL to ship our skis back to the US and we could continue without lugging them around. We hopped back in the car and continued south to our AirBnB in Verona where we were meeting our Italian friend, Andrea.
Verona is another great Italian city worth a visit. Home to Romeo & Juliet, it has it’s own coliseum and a famous wine restaurant, Antica Bottega del Vino where Andrea had booked us dinner. We went down into the cellar and the cellar manager showed us a lot of incredible wine that was lost on me, but made Andrea very happy.
Wednesday – Vineyards
Bobby and Andrea had some work, so Drew and I tagged along for the day. They were visiting Damoli (one of their producers) in Valpolicella for a tasting of the latest wines and then lunch and then visit to the vineyard. Back in Verona, we walked around town, found a spot for aperitivos and dinner. Andrea booked our restaurants so we ate well.
Thursday – Milan
We woke up slowly as the nights are long in Verona, and made our way about an hour, 15 minutes west to Milan. Andrea lived there for a few years so he gave us the Milan tour of food, drinks and a little culture. Milan isn’t on the tourist pilgrimages of Italy but it is a hip real city that reminds me of Paris or New York but with an Italian identity.
Friday – Fly Home
That wrapped up the trip. We had a 9am flight from Linate airport arriving back in the afternoon to PDX.
The Global Explorers Club 