Our visit to Kitzbühel in the stellar 2018/19 season during the mid Feb peak season saw a depressingly steady stream of 'liquid sunshine' (rain) in the village. At an elevation of less than 800m, this is not generally cause for concern, but no one likes rain in a ski resort in February (unless you are in Australia instead of Austria!). Fortified by a delicious dinner of venison & a shot of Wildschönau Krautinger schnapps (made from turnips, it comes with a decidedly confrontational scent & a taste that will challenge most), we slept well, ready for the morning’s onslaught.
The next morning dawned gloriously & a surprisingly excellent powder day in the upper half of the resort ensued. As it was a blue-sky Saturday, we found the piste trails to be busy by 10am, but they are wide enough to be tolerable. Lift lines were long & tetchy but moved swiftly thanks to the plethora of 6 & 8-seater chairs in the resort. A local referred to the lift line anarchy as ‘active queuing’ – a phenomenon common to many large European ski resorts in peak season. A line of 12 people across trying to squeeze through a 4 or 6-person gate is always doomed to have its issues & busy resorts like Kitzbuhel need to take a leaf out of the US, Canadian or Australian ski resorts book about how to effectively manage lift queues.
The singularly most pleasing surprise was that there was only minor competition for fresh tracks in the powder. It didn't take too much imagination to find some untracked powder, even after lunch.
Another great surprise was the quality & price of lunch at the excellent Melkalm mountain hut/restaurant. At the end of the day (or before it if you like), après ski is to a world's best standard - as expected of any great Austrian ski resort.
We only skied the Kitzbuhel - Kirchberg sector of the resort (less than half of the total) & will return to ski the rest later in the season. We understand other parts of the resort are alot quieter.
Like any ski resort, one can pay a premium for everything & Kitzbuhel is no exception. And like every ski resort there are also loads of great value options to suit every visitor’s needs. The village of Kitzbuhel is the most expensive location to stay. Next door, Kirchberg in Tirol offers better value & availability, plus it could be argued Kirchberg has the best lift access to the main ski area. Some awesome on-mountain hotels & 'huts' provide first tracks.
Often misrepresented as a playground of the wealthy, Kitzbuhel is accessible to all & should be experienced at least once in every snow lover's lifetime. It may suffer a little from "altitude deficit" in some winters & the crowds in peak season will test the patience of any non-European caught in its jostling lift queues, but Kitzbuhel delivers on most levels.
We had an awesome time at Kitzbuehel. We are sure you will too. The same rules apply as in all BIG ski resorts – ski midweek, get up early, get in front of the pack & reap the harvest!