Ski heaven!
Kevin Flanagan enjoys a dream pre-Christmas trip to the Austrian alps where he meets Topflight Chairman Tony Collins
Kevin Flanagan enjoys a dream pre-Christmas trip to the Austrian alps where he meets Topflight Chairman Tony Collins
Despite assurances from the president of America that global warming is a fiction, visiting the Alps before Christmas for keen skiers has been a fraught mission recently. Only last year I found myself skiing down strips of shallow, artificial snow surrounded by green fields. It was a bizarre experience! Ask any of the natives who grew up in Alpine villages and you will hear similar stories. The snow is coming later and less frequently. Some even fear for the future of the skiing industry itself.
LET IT SNOW!
So, what a relief it was to be picked up by Tony Collins and his crew from Topflight for a pre-Christmas skiing expedition in Austria and find the snow literally bucketing down! And bucket down it continued for the duration of our short tour, turning the towns we visited, Bad Hofgastein and Kirchberg, into winter wonderlands. And, things got even better on the slopes.
The foggy start on our first morning turned into a sun-drenched afternoon. We had everything an avid skier could hope for: fresh snow, virtually empty slopes and some deep off-piste drifts to plough through if you were up for it. It was a skiers’ paradise.
SPA-TACULAR
We started our trip by staying at the 4-Star superior Hotel Norica Palais in Bad Hofgastein. We skied during the day and took full advantage of the impressive spa facilities at night. A tunnel connects the Norica hotel to the fabulous Alpentherme spa in Bad Hofgastein, and I felt a bit James Bond as I wandered in my dressing gown and togs, through the subterranean maze. But soon, I was swimming outdoors in the heated pool, surrounded by the mountains, as the snow fell on my head (quite an experience).
Visitors also have the option to visit the adult spa area (NB no clothes required). This has a feast of healthy options. From drinking various natural mineral waters to boost your immune system, to a variety of hot, cold and glacial water treatments. I spent hours here with my friends from the trip. It is the only way to truly counteract the ravages of a five-hour ski session. It soothes aching muscles like nothing else, as well as reviving the whole body. A true miracle cure!
WINTER WONDERLAND
After the spa, we ventured into the snowcovered centre of Bad Hofgastein. This boasts a pedestrian zone that is filled with luxury boutiques, restaurants, cafés and Glühwein stands. With the covering of fresh snow, it really is as pretty as a picture.
While in Bad Hofgastein, I was able to spend time chatting with Tony Collins and soon discovered there are few people in Ireland who know more about skiing than him. His company, Topflight, was a ski operator pioneer. Over the years, they have won more awards for their ski holidays than just about any other operator. Their Ian Dempsey annual ski trip has become a fixture that attracts hundreds of avid fans and the company also organises ski trips for schools, colleges and VIP’s (Visually Impaired Persons).
Tony Collins told me that he has seen the first fresh influx of “beginner skiers” since the financial crisis, which hit skiing especially hard. Apparently, things are on the up-and-up. Now Tony is “looking forward to a very busy season, especially after the early-season heavy snowfall, which makes both on- and off-piste conditions great.”
WORLD’S SCARIEST SLOPE
On Thursday, we ventured onto the Kitzbühel / Kirchberg ski area and stood at the top of the Hahnenkamm, the most difficult and legendary slalom in the Ski World Cup calendar. We peered nervously down the sheer drop that all the world’s greatest skiers face as they launch themselves at the start of the race and reach speeds of an incredible 130 kilometers an hour. It is a heart-stopping sight when you actually see it.
That night we ended up at the other end of the legendary Hahnenkamm, sipping G&T’s at the hotel at the bottom of the slope, where the pro-skiers end their deathdefying run and celebs from around the world gather and applaud. We spent two glorious days in the Kitzbühel / Kirchberg area before heading back to Ireland.
BACK TO REALITY
It was strange to arrive back into Dublin Airport and see all the plastic snowmen and sleighs in arrivals, only to be faced with wet concrete and rain outside. At least we could say we had experienced a real white Christmas in 2017. And, according to the weather experts, the rest of the 2018 ski season promises to see excellent snow levels. Could the president of the USA be right after all? Is global warming a myth? The science says a resounding ‘no’, so I’d book my flight to the Alps ASAP and enjoy skiing as it should be – while the snow continues to fall.