When the name Kitzbühel is mentioned, almost every winter sports enthusiast associates it with lots of celebrities, the Streif and the world-famous Hahnenkamm race. Only die-hard Kitz connoisseurs will also think of the numerous wide slopes away from the pistes, of which Kitzbühel has quite a few.
It's 10 o'clock in the morning on a beautiful February morning. Equipped with our normal freeride gear, we set off. What is a normal sight in Chamonix, Verbier or the Arlberg is considered rather exotic by many visitors in the Gamsstadt.
Hahnenkamm or Kitzbüheler Horn?
is the first question of the day. We opt for the main ski area and take the Hahnenkamm gondola. The slopes on the Steinbergkogel are on the program to get us started. Even if they are only short deep-snow slopes, they have the advantage that you can reach them without too much effort.
Ultimately, however, we feel like a longer route. With skis on our backpacks, we tackle the twenty-minute ascent to the Schwarzkogel. From the 2030-metre-high summit, we briefly enjoy the view of the Grosser Rettenstein and the Tauern panorama on one side and the Kaiser mountains on the other.
As tempting as the northern flank of the Schwarzkogel looks, we leave it to one side today, as we are already looking forward to the upcoming 1000 vertical metres down to Jochberg. It may not be a steep run, but it is all the more enjoyable, leading across alpine meadows and through sparse forest into the Hochsaukasergraben.
As we ski down, the slopes opposite below the Wurzhöhe catch our eye. There, too, untracked deep snow slopes shimmer between sparse forests and wide aisles.
After two different runs around the Wurzhöhe, the 3S giant gondola, which connects the two sub-areas of Kitzbühel/Kirchberg with the mountains of Jochberg and Passturn, takes us back to the Pengelstein. Right on the ridge next to Pengelstein, there are a few cliffs waiting for us, which we enjoy tackling with soft landings.
But then it's time for us to relax a little, although Kitzbühel has many more runs to choose from for both pleasure powderers and extreme riders. After this brilliant day, we simply can't resist the call of the sun terrace in front of the Ochsalm; because even for freeriders, a little cosiness in Kitzbühel is simply part of a well-rounded day of skiing.
