With 40 fewer days of snow cover than 60 years ago, the alpine regions of Austria are not only losing the very element on which its leviathan winter sports sector relies upon, but also the use of melted snow that impacts river flow, hydroelectric capabilities, and the ability of farmers to harvest precipitation to water…
My final alpine retrospective turns to Saalbach Hinterglemm, where skiing doesn't get in the way of partying through the winter months, whilst mountain bikers and hikers seek an uneasy coexistence during the summertime. As is common with many of my initial visits to resorts in the mountains, the first impressions I gained of Saalbach and…
Undeveloped land within the Austrian Tirol, in particular along the Inn Valley and where it is more tableland than vertiginous peaks, is in great demand and under growing pressure - in equal measure. There is little doubt that the region's popularity as a tourism destination and the location of second homes for wealthy Austrians, and…
In the immediate term Austria's delayed ski season is due to begin on Christmas Eve or January 7th, depending on the resort. Where the Soelden ski area in the Oetztal aims to reopen for business in 12 days' time, further up the valley in Obergurgl and Vent, the slopes expect to receive guests after many…
It was once suggested to me by a hotelier in the Austrian lakeside resort of St. Wolfgang im Salzkammergut that his Obergurgl counterparts did not need to be friendly as they were all already millionaires. Whether each were indeed already men and women of significant means, as was almost twenty years, remains in little doubt…
Reliant on perhaps up to 90% of visitors from outside its borders to sustain a tourism economy, Austria's Tirol region will be nervously anticipating a sharp drop in revenue during its forthcoming summer season. As though border restrictions with its neighbouring countries are slowly relaxed, will a 'make do and mend' hiatus to its usual…
Stepping back in time from my previous post, the turn of the millennium is when my relationship with alpine Austria firmly took root. For decades, my family had already established individual connections with the Alps but aside from a visit as a young child to Salzburgerland's St. Wolfgang these experiences were never shared together and…
It was early July in 2007. Funds were low but my by now deeply rooted desire to head to the Alps as often as possible was firmly established. Where though could I go on a budget that would barely get me three nights bed and breakfast in London, for a genre of holiday and in…
Architecture, similar to many areas of modern life, has become highly subjective as tradition gives way to the Avant Garde, the controversial, and a general feeling that 'anything goes' in an era of declining standards, moral ambiguity, and disrespect. Even in the Alps there is no longer a uniform design template to which architects must…
The 'white gold' provided by Mother Nature is in effect the Austrian Tirol's paydirt, oiling the wheels of the local and wider economy and enabling the vast majority living in this stunning region of Central Europe to enjoy higher than national and EU-wide living standards. Notwithstanding the ability of both natural and artificial snow to…
Those who seek to debunk Climate Change and Global Warming will point to the ski season beginning earlier each year as justification for their controversial standpoint. What though is little known outside of the resorts open for business at this unseemly early stage in what is still, after all, the middle of autumn, and to…
For anyone who has seen the Top Mountain Star restaurant above Obergurgl-Hochgurgl or the glass cuboid Gaislachkogl top station in nearby Soelden, the latter whose use in the James Bond SPECTRE film has been mercilessly exploited by the lift operator, will already be of the opinion that the boundaries of conventional alpine design are not…
Whilst not yet amounting to a charm offensive those 'pro' the development of a link between the Pitz and Oetz valleys in the Austrian Tirol have begun to counter the many arguments against the scheme, whose proponents have up to this point had exclusive use of the floor. The Pitztal has long been seen as…
Much has changed in Kitzbuhel since the imposing Schloss Lebenberg first held court over the town, some 400-years ago. Now a hotel designated as a somewhat confusing 4 Star Superior there is little to suggest by its overall performance, at least during my recent 11 day stay, how it successfully sets itself apart from the…
Frustrated at the first time of asking by extremely poor visibility I hoped that my next attempt to ascend the iconic Hahnenkamm and spend a day walking from the top station of its eponymous cableway, would bear greater fruit. I was indeed second time lucky, at least from a meteorological perspective. Home to the most…
The allure of Kitzbühel to the well-heeled is there for all to see. A short survey of the main street immediately highlights the Tirolean town's slavish devotion to luxury brands, and how those sashaying along its pristine thoroughfares are tacitly judged by their own attention, or lack of, to high-end couture and jewellery. For a…
The fate of the iconic Hochwildehaus mountain hut high in the Tirol's Oetztal should serve as a warning to those who continue to deny the onrushing effects of Climate Change, and the short-sighted within Austria's insatiable ski community who insist upon putting financial interests ahead of the core values that have sought to protect unique…
Controversy caused by the expansion of Austrian ski resorts is nothing new. The Alpine arms race continues unabashed, consisting of resorts intra-competing with neighbouring towns and those in adjacent valleys and provinces. There surely though has to be a time, which could already be upon us, when seeking an edge over the competition could reduce…
Promoting responsible tourism: what does this increasingly nebulous strapline now represent? Are we expecting responsible tourism to be defined by policies outlined by regional/national tourism associations - or shaped by the actions of those for whom the industry caters? In keeping with many strands of today's society tourists, without guidance or ordinance, are content to…
Innsbruck Airport have finally acknowledged what most who've recently travelled through its modest terminal will attest: modernization, ergo an enlargement of especially the post-security side of its operations, is desperately needed. Architectural design tenders are expected to be submitted during 2019, with construction slated to commence in 2022. Although a welcome development the announced timescale…
Alpine Adventures, Soccer, Central Asian Autocracies & Secessionist Politics 
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