The father says to his son: "Come on, do a bit of active queuing! Through there, just push through there! But don't push! It's the first day today, so let's stay relaxed. As we all know, anticipation is the greatest joy, which is why the pre-season is probably the best time of the winter. Like every year, you feel a pleasant tingling sensation when thinking about questions like: Will it be enough for the Kaunertal Opening? What about the other glaciers? Are they still there? Do I need new skis? Which artificial snow slope is best suited to try out the hand-turned innovations of the latest freeride indie brands in mid-October? When it snows for the first time, the clouds break open, the park is shaped and the first fat lines are drawn in the powder, it's like a tenfold orgasm. At least that always seems to be the case with the others - somehow the best snow is always on the internet. Anyway, at the first mega dump of 15 to 30 centimetres, you set off with everyone else and go shredding, or alternatively go on your first ski tour. If you put the ascent track close enough to the running snow cannons, it feels really wintry. And if you know your way around, you'll also know where you can reliably trigger a cool snow slab, provided you make it over the crevasses at the start.
Still a little high on adrenaline because the last crevasse jump was somehow pretty close, you arrive at the lift and cheerfully (i.e. not at all aggressively) join the queue of relaxed (i.e. not at all stressed) fellow athletes. If only that idiot at the front would finally put his pole away, then I could push my ski tips a hand's breadth further! Maybe it would help if I skied against it a few times. The idiot behind me has lost it too, the way he's pushing. I'm going to put a stick in front of his ski tips! Certain members of the PG team like to play early-season bingo at this, the most beautiful of all seasons, which makes it all even more fun.
Certain members of the PG team are also getting old and increasingly cynical, but secretly still get goosebumps at the first snow, at least when a song from our youth is playing on the radio. Unlike us, Patrick from FC Stubai gives sensible tips, and does so in his usual charming mix of Tyrolean almost-High German and scenes of Denglish.
