Kitzbuhel: Hiking from the Hahnenkamm

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…

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Kitzbuehel: Hiking from the Bichlalm

Stymied by inclement weather for much of my first week on vacation in Kitzbuehel I was understandable eager to hit my stride, and belatedly acquire my mountain legs. A fine day was forecast; an archetypal autumnal mist hung over Kitzbuehel of the kind that easily evaporates once the sun gets to work. After a fifteen-minute…

Kitzbühel: Shopping, Skiing, Hiking. In that order.

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…

Slovenia: ambitious plans to upgrade Mount Kanin’s iconic cableway

Facilitating Slovenia's highest skiing the eponymous Mount Kanin cableway, in the country's northwest, continues to enjoy an upturn in fortunes since the near catastrophic collapse of several of its carriages in 2013. Remaining closed for several years amid claim and counterclaim that ultimately failed to establish beyond reasonable doubt the cause of the accident, the…

Maribor Airport: Flights of fancy to a now flightless facility

"Mighty oaks from little acorns grow" or so the saying goes. The loss this week of the only scheduled flights operating out of Maribor's Edvard Rusjan Airport is another blow to the ever-increasingly far-fetched proposal to link eastern Slovenia with a roster of services from China. Far from following a growth trajectory consistent with reaching…

The Tirol’s Neustift Rebuffs Further Cableway Expansion, But For How Long?

The seemingly inexhaustible desire for further, bigger, longer, and higher cableways in the Austrian Tirol and Salzburgerland provinces is to many a distasteful, unquenchable process that will never be sated. The marginal net gains promised by many projects fail to justify the financial outlay but crucially, the environmental scarring of landscapes to facilitate further pistes,…

Vogel: Bohinj-based ski centre sold to Terra Australis group

Interesting times lie ahead for arguably Slovenia's most famous ski resort, Vogel above Lake Bohinj, following news of a majority acquisition of KD Capital's 51% shareholding of the Ukanc-based cableway and ski centre.Whilst Vogel cannot offer high altitude winter sports that the soon to be rejuvenated Kanin lift above frontier town Bovec will once more…

Saalbach Hinterglemm: a brief pictorial overview

Below are some photographs of my recent visit to the Glemmtal area of Salzburgerland, the Austrian region abutting the German frontier and containing some of the country's most picturesque scenery. Despite a relative absence of the raw, rugged terrain more redolent with the Tirolean resorts of Obergurgl, St. Anton and Galtuer, a surprising amount of…

Bohinj, Bled and Pokljuka linked by ‘hop on hop off’ public transport initiative

A long overdue initiative linking up the disparate settlements of Bohinj, Bled and Pokljuka will now enable locals and tourists to access the often difficult to reach, farther flung areas in and around the Triglav National Park's(TNP) territory.Those staying in the Bohinj region can at times feel isolated, the hitherto lack of an integrated transport…

Slovenia’s mountain hut network open for summer visitors

It is often overlooked that bijou Slovenia has an astonishing 178 mountain huts that come in all shapes, sizes and guises. By Midsummer Day ninety percent of all alpine refuges are open, the remaining higher-altitude lodges welcoming hikers and hut to hut trekkers by the end of June.One of the most accessible huts more akin…