Snowboarding in Austria
Well Folks, Its safe to say these last eighteen months have been incredibly testing for us all.
2020 definitely delivered some heavy hitting blows with severe travel restrictions, and localised lockdowns, confining us ALL to our homes for months on end,
and It was these exact suppressive feelings that motivated me more than ever to go against the grain and stick to my winter plans; to make sure i made it back to main land Europe before the Brexit deadline date. For the last 15 years i’ve been lucky enough to wander freely through out Europe without the need of visas and the very thought of this made me sick to the stomach.
I’m sure the strange men in suits have their reasons for leaving the EU, but its unclear whats in store for the future generations of British snow enthusiasts who want to test themselves on some of the steepest slopes in the world. Something that can’t be taken for granted anymore.With the van packed up, i set off on my journey, leaving home in the Scottish Borders, stopping in to see some familiar funny looking faces along the way.
It felt incredibly surreal to be driving on such deserted roads, although not without the continual feeling of guilt, waiting to be pulled over by the police.
In my head, I had my answer prepared and it would be simply
“I’m escaping the UK from the shambles of Brexit and going snowboarding in Austria.
This winter i’d be hanging out in the Eastern Alpine ski town of Badgastein. Visiting the boys at the infamous Drop Inn establishment. This eclectic, botanical themed restaurant, boasts an array of Austrian retro vinyl and a food menu that doesn’t just sell the same old same cheese and potatoes but instead, serves up tasty tucker that has clearly been inspired from the chefs luxury yachting background. You can find the Drop inn located conveniently across from towns main gondola. The stubnerkogl. Well worth it for the culinary experience.
Luckily, the Austrian gondolas were remaining open during the COVID pandemic, as they classify their gondolas as a mode of transport, therefore deemed necessary stay open. Fine by us, private gondolas, no tourists an a ton of fresh.
Was this some kind of dream?
The surreal experience of enforced private gondolas, no more than 4 people (perfect number of crew on a pow day) ,plenty of fresh pow and no tourism, this probably made for the weirdest winter since lift assisted skiing begun.
For us, It was a winter that we will remember for all the right reasons. Thanks to Gastein ski lifts for remaining open, the mountain work force who continued to groom pistes and run lifts all winter and in a strange way thanks to COVID for the quietest slopes since lift assisted skiing begun. This truly was a weird yet wonderful winter!As always, thank you to splitboarding.eu for running our story. Keep up the good work with all the work you do to help splitboarding equipment evolve.
Cheers from Taylormade Film.
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