When the first day of my European skiing adventure began with an embarrassing ski mix-up, followed by about an hour sorting out the gory details, I was dispirited and thought the whole thing might be a bad idea. After all, I am only an Average Ski Jane who loves to spend time outdoors, enjoys a challenge (but not broken bones), and has a certain appreciation for ski instructors. But these are the Alps, where babies are born with skis on, and expert skiers curve gracefully and effortlessly down dramatic peaks.
I surveyed the ski scene while going up a surprisingly long chair lift. "That looks pretty steep" I said to Antonia, another Average Ski Jane. She was nervous too. We searched our brains for the German words for "Which is the easiest?" with no success.
My first day of skiing in Tirol was at a ski resort area called Kühtai, which turns out was the perfect place to start my European ski adventure. I discovered that 1) skiing is like riding a bike, so I remember what I had learned while skiing as a kid in Wisconsin, and 2) there are plenty of beginner and intermediate slopes at Kühtai, not just expert ones. Although in retrospect, it would have been nice to know that the red circles don’t mean easy, but rather intermediate!
Kuhtai is Austria’s highest ski resort at 2020 meters. The elevation makes for reliable skiing from December to May, a longer season than other resorts in the area. Kühtai is small enough that it can be skied without a ski guide and without fear of getting lost, making it a great place for beginning to intermediate skiers as well as for families. But while it is small, the scenery is still breathtaking. Everything was so beautiful, especially with the unreal blue sky and sunshine, that I had a hard time keeping my eyes on the ground, which of course was detrimental to my skiing ability, or lack thereof.
While at Kühtai, make sure to check out the traditional Tirolean food and atmosphere at the Dorfstadl restaurant, on the main road and just a short walk from all of the lifts. The owner, Buggi, had a fascinating European charm/Harley Davidson biker look with his leather lederhosen and long hair and beard. He was superbly gracious and brought us fantastic dishes such as Käsespatzle (cheese dumplings with crispy onions) and ötztalker berg-gröstl (potato, meat, and egg skillet), each priced less than €8.
Kühtai has reasonable rates for ski passes, with day passes starting at €27. Kuhtai has plenty of affordable accommodations to choose from, as well as room/meal/ski pass packages that are good deals. Another option is to ski Kühtai as a day trip from Innsbruck, with is about 30 minutes away via the free shuttle bus. There are three trips to and from Kuhtai each day from various points in Innsbruck, including a shuttle for night skiing on Wednesday evenings.