Once upon a time there was a group that consisted of a few deep-snow-skiing addicts and an even more addicted ski instructor!

Throughout the summer, they all wait longingly for December and those first flakes of snow which will entice them out into the open country.  As soon as there’s enough snow on the ground, this group – which, incidentally, is known as the “Youth Group” – will really put things into high gear.

In general, everyone gathers at 9.45 in the morning on a small meadow located in the center of Kitzbühel, where they’re met by their ski instructor, Wolfgang.  He’ll first check that his charges all have avalanche beepers, or provide them if they don’t (these beepers are required, of course, to ensure that you have a safe skiing experience - through forests blanketed in snow and over those pristine, untraveled slopes).
Finally, the long wait is over and it’s time to head off up into the mountains.  Though some people might think they have to stick to the groomed slopes, the real skiing fun is hidden somewhere totally different.

You hop off the final chair lift, then it’s time to make your way to an area that has much more than snow in store for you.  The Youth Group stands now before a slope, far from the hustle and bustle of the regular hills - before a slope that virtually no one has every skied before.  All of a sudden, you hear a cry of joy that comes from individual skiers as they cut their first turns across the snow.

Now, you might be inclined to think that that would be the end of the story.  After all, getting to and from these beautiful deep-snow hills has to be on the tricky side.  Frankly, however, that’s not even an issue for this group.  Even if you have to tackle the occasional uphill every now and then, or negotiate a few roots along the way – this select group of people would do pretty much anything for a deep-snow slope that leads to those special places, that some people might claim only exist in fairy tales.

For this small group, however, those fairy tales often come true.  And in that same moment, you forget all the effort that you put into getting to the place you’ve reached.  The cold, or perhaps the punishing heat (even in winter), are forgotten, as are the streams you have to cross. A moment when you stand there and take delight in being part of a fairy tale, that not many other people will ever be able to experience.  And they lived happily ever after!

 
But perhaps this isn’t a fairy tale at all, but rather the reality which is hidden in our mountains, and which is waiting to be discovered and enjoyed …

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