Hopfgarten, an alpine market village in the Austrian state of Tyrol. It’s like a picture lifted from a travel postcard.
Old timber buildings, snow covered pines all dwarfed by the 1657 metres of mountain that tower above it. This is one of 6 villages that circle the expansive Skiwelt resort. We like thousands of others made the pilgrimage to the bottom chair lift in the morning for a bruising day on the slopes.
Freshly kitted out with new snowboards, we were treated to a ‘ski safari’, guided tour, along with a dozen other Contiki revellers – 4 of which happened to be Vibers!
Our guide for the day was Hans. What a star old Hans was! Despite living in the alps for most of his life, Hans had a leather like tan that would have made most retirees from The Gold Coast jealous. His cropped white hair didn’t seem to shift out of place even in the harshest summit sweeping winds. 90’s style wrap around Ray-Ban sunnies complimented his red one piece Ski suit a treat. His thick accent was punctuated by plenty of low brow jokes and a good dose of flamboyance. His manner kept the group in stitches throughout the afternoon.
Refueling after a morning on the slopes… what a view!
Hans treated us to a guided tour of his home resort taking in his favourite ski runs and more importantly his favourite Après Ski bars. If you’re not familiar with Après ski in this part of the world, think of those Oktoberfest themed Pubs in London, transported to the snow: Tacky German Dance music, kitsch timber decor, delicious beers, great views and plenty of laughs!
Over a few cold ones Hans revealed his fascinating life story. Hans was born in Hopfgarten and learnt to ski around the same time he learnt to walk. A bright Student, Hans went on to Maastrict University were he studied economics. After completing his studies, Hans quickly worked his way up the ladder at German banking power house Deutche Bank.
Although Hans had a high flying finance career, living in the city of Frankfurt he felt an emptiness. His alpine roots seemed to be pulling him back and he couldn’t bare being off the mountain any longer. Before long Hans retired the shirt and tie and took an enormous pay cut to return to his first job and true passion: ski instructing.
The mountains can be a bruising place after a few Erdingers!
Hans then went on to found the local Ski School: Skischule Kitzbuhel. He still teaches beginner lessons to this day as the tender age of 62! Hans’ passion for sharing his love of skiing and Tyrolian culture was truly inspiring.
Although the snowboard home was a wonky one due to the amount of wheat beers, it was a phenomenal experience. Great to have shared such a cracking afternoon in such an amazing place with such good people.
Prost!
Dane (Vibe Support & Liason Manager) and Sam (Purple Team Leader) are spending the week on holiday in Tyrol’s Ski Welt region in Austria. You can keep up to date with their adventures by following their daily blog.