“You have never skied before?" Anja, the young woman behind the hotel desk looked puzzled. " Ah, you mean you've never skied in Austria?" ‘No’ I explained, ”I have never worn skis, or used a ski lift, or even understood those strange ski maps. I’m a complete ski virgin. The rosy-cheeked receptionist smiled, most Austrians in her neck of the Alps had been swooshing down the slopes since they were the size of a ski pole. Happily things were about to change. I was at the Hotel Kristinia in the upmarket Austrian resort of Lech and was setting out for my first ever ski lesson. Anja wished me luck as I confidently strode out onto the path leading to the village. As I turned to wave my foot slid on a patch of ice and before you could say Eddie the Eagle I was lying sprawled out in the snow like a boxer out for the count. Learning to ski later in life was obviously going to be a humbling experience.
My wife refers to my new Alpine attraction as ‘mid-life crisis skiing’ whereas I like to think of it more as just catching up, and I am not alone. There are a whole bunch of us pre-budget-flight-babies who were either too poor or busy to have skied when we were young. Now we want to have a crack the sport before we are using a stairlift instead of a ski lift. The problem is that its potentially embarrassing (see above) and exhausting when combined with the late-night après ski. My solution was to get away from the party crowds and have one to one tuition at an exclusive resort where the quality of food and wine was more important than the sound system at the local disco.
If you can imagine the map of Austria as a misshapen tennis racket then you will find the resort of Lech on the western handle that pokes into Switzerland and Germany. Along with the resorts of St. Anton and Zurs, Lech is situated in the Arlberg mountain range and offers some of the best off-piste skiing in Austria- or so I’m told. The snow is guaranteed thanks to the height and the resort’s infrastructure is apparently as good as it gets. Having nothing to compare it to I can report that Lech never seemed crowded, everything worked smoothly and I can only hope that the heated ski chairs are the norm at all resorts.
I visited just before Christmas after a heavy snowfall and felt spoiled by the sheer beauty of the place - especially the view down into the centre of the village where the onion-domed church is surrounded by snow stacked rooftops. The low rise resort is dotted with sophisticated hotels that give the place a Heidi-meets-Ralph Lauren style. They offer a well-mannered and discreet Austrian service and it is easy to see why Princess Diana choose the place as her regular ski haunt. I also discovered that the comic ski scenes in the second Bridget Jones movie were filmed in Lech and felt strangely reassured that my initiation would be at the same resort where Bridget had made such fool of herself.
I knew the Kristinia was going to be a good hotel when they sent me a pre booking form that along with the usual passport details asked me what sort of bathrobe I required – I went for the linen kimono. The form continued with questions on how many pillows I needed and whether I would like to book the bath butler or the ski valet. As well as these delights the excellent Hotel Kristiana can organise all your ski arrangements – very valuable if like me you find the jargon and etiquette all rather daunting. They offer a range of bespoke ski packages that can include ski passes, ski hire, helicopter trips or even custom made ski boots. As a beginner I went for three days with a personal ski instructor, a post ski massage and a tasting tour of the hotel’s schnapps collection.
My instructor was Ivo Chu, a Swiss /Asian, twenty six year old super skier with the patience of saint. He lives all the year in Lech working his winters as a guide for the highly regarded Skischule and spends his summers herding his father-in- law’s cattle . He had to draw on his experience of both jobs as he coaxed me up and down the nursery slopes for my first three days.
Ivo was kind enough to assume I knew nothing. He helped me through the basics such as how to carry you skis and fasten my boots up properly. I particularly enjoyed his story of the beginner who had to be rescued from the mountain when he developed cramp from putting his boots on the wrong feet. Without Ivo’s help it could easily have been me.
Then off to the nursery slopes and the thrill of actually skiing down a gentle incline followed by the horror of having to puff my way back again. I regretted not following the advice to 'get fit for skiing rather than to use skiing to get fit'. Luckily the advantage of having a personal tutor was that my improvements were acknowledged and we could move swiftly on to the important next stage – how to use the t-bar ski lift to haul me up the slope. Ivo then introduced me to snow plough turns, controlled stops and basic carving and although there was little sophistication in my moves by the end of the first afternoon I felt I had achieved an ambition and skiing was becoming less of a mystery to me.
My God my thighs ached. I felt like someone had put my legs in a giant nutcracker and tapped my knees with a toffee hammer. Today’s skiing was more frustrating as I began to realise my mistakes, although we did do some controlled sliding and even attempted a parallel turn. Slow progress until I had a breakthrough when Ivo suggested holding my hands like out like Jonny Wilkinson when he is about to take a goalkick. The position helped with my balance and as we went up to the steeper slope the praying posture proved useful too.
Fear and loathing crept in as Ivo increased my learning curve (literally) by taking me to the higher resort of UberLech. After metaphorically holding my hand for the first two days he had to do it for real as I experienced the drama of getting on and off a proper chair lift. All my sympathy was with Bridget as we were plopped down on the mountain with a group of savvy skiers. For a beginner, hell really is other people. My brain raced between the English embarrassment of ‘getting in the way’ to the fear of sliding uncontrollably down the mountain. I survived and after lunch we progressed upwards and onwards via series of vertiginous ski lifts to the summit of the Kriegerhorn (7129 feet)
After the cosy nursery slopes the 360 degrees view of the surrounding white mountains produced a sense of ecstasy tinged with mild agoraphobia. All too soon it was time to leave and we started skiing, sliding and swearing on the blue run that descended 2370 feet into Lech. It was an exhilarating thirty minutes that strangely became more difficult the closer we got to home. Maybe it was increased traffic, the icy conditions above Lech or just the fact that I was drained from three days of trying to go against my instinct and lean forward and away from the mountain. Anyway we made it and Ivo gave me a medal from the children’s ski club to prove it. Next time maybe I’ll be prepared enough to join them.
Five out of five. If you can afford it Lech and the intimate atmosphere of Hotel Kristinia provides the perfect introduction to luxury skiing for beginners.
KristianiaHotel – www.kristiania.at, 0043 5583 2561
Special ski packages start at £300 per room per night (based on two people sharing) and include half board, three-day ski pass and a sleigh ride.
Skischule Lech – www.skischule-lech.com, 0043 5583 2355
Private ski tuition 1-3 days costs £160 per day for four hours tuition and £11 for each extra person.
Ski hire from Strolz – www.rent-at-strolz.at, 0043 (0) 5583 2361
Superb equipment from the shop by the main bridge in the middle of Lech. £7.50 per day for boots and £24 for skis.
Ski pass – If it is not included in your hotel deal the price of a ski pass is £26.50 per day.
For more details of Lech and the surrounding region contact the Tourist office at www.lech-zuers.at phone 0043 5583 25610
Austrian Airline fly direct to Innsbruck from Heathrow starting from £150 return (off peak). The 120 km taxi transfer from Innsbruck to Lech cost £318 each way but the rail station at Langen am Arlberg 17km from from Lech offers a much cheaper route with regular taxi and bus transfers to the village.