April 6, 2021
Yesterday was the last day of lift-accessed skiing in Axamer Lizum, Innsbruck. The fabulous Damen Abfahrt ski piste is still being prepared for ski tourers for another couple of weeks (their rights possibly enshrined in the womb), but the ski lifts rolled for the last time this winter at 16:00 yesterday. As is customary, a smattering of locals sat it out on the Hoadl peak until the silence descended, popped open a bottle of beer and then headed down the serene terrain to a desolate parking lot. It really is moving stuff!
This annual tradition was all the more poignant this winter, with the world still ravaged by the pandemic and almost no ski tourism taking place throughout the world. Locals-only skiing was a strange experience. Generally, though, the season was excellent, and we were incredibly fortunate to have the distraction of the mountains. Early season snow was followed by persistently cold conditions with very many standout days - sadly, our clients weren't able to enjoy it.
I read recently that the world’s entire COVID-19 virus could conceivably fit inside a soft drink can. Staring out over the vast expanses of the Stubai Alps, the idea of a 330ml container being able to wreak so much damage seemed utterly implausible. Oceans of virus to overwhelm the systems that billions around the world rely on is entirely comprehensible, but this tiny container dwarfed by even one range of mountains really demonstrates how fragile our modern existence is.
And the last run – it was as poignant as ever, maybe more so given the good fortune of living in a land where skiing is a birthright. The scale of the mountains, the effortless acceleration and the biting cold on exposed skin are all a reminder that skiing and snowboarding are not substitutable pursuits. There is nothing in the lives of tens of millions of skiers that can replace the experience of riding down mountains. For that reason, the lifts will turn once again next autumn, and clients will be filled with the unique magic of jaw-dropping horizons, thigh-deep powder or Glühwein with colleagues around a fire basket.