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Kitzbuhel / Advanced

Once the Hahnenkamm races are over, you can usually ski the whole course, but the steep sections are pretty savage.

The celebrated Streif run on the Hahnenkamm course is out of bounds to the skiing public from the start of the season until after race week in mid-January. Once the races are over, you can usually ski the whole course, but the steep sections are pretty savage, even at snail’s pace: the first section is so steep and icy that World Cup racers accelerate like a racing car to 60 mph within a second or two. Diving down to your left you only have a split second to correct your line before becoming airborne in the Mousetrap. To spectators, cheering and clanging huge cow-bells, it looks almost vertical.

Kitzbühel off-piste
Although Kitzbühel is not particularly celebrated for its off-piste skiing, it has plenty. It’s just a question of finding it. The obvious way, of course, is to find a guide. The Hahnenkamm area has some good off-piste skiing in the trees. On the Kitzbüheler Horn, there’s usually good ungroomed snow near the Eggl draglift (B9). Bichlalm, once a non-descript little ski area overlooked by the Kitzbüheler Horn has been transformed into a memorable off-piste-cum-touring area where a snowcat takes up to 14 skiers or boarders into exhilarating back-country powderfields. It’s well worth seeking out the off-piste high above Pass Thurn, where the altitude means there’s a good chance of powder remaining in good condition.