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Experience Kitzbühel even without skis
Whether it's a snowstorm, fear of injury or not being able to ski - there are many reasons why the skis prefer to stay in the basement. Nevertheless, a winter day in Kitzbühel can be enjoyed quite wonderfully in nature. With the following four alternatives to skiing, we provide some inspiration for a winter vacation full of breathtaking experiences off the slopes.
From trudging and amazement
If you have the (unjustified) feeling that winter hiking is just a more ambitious walk, put on snowshoes immediately. Their precursors, by the way, our ancestors tied to their feet as early as 3700 years before Christ. Snowshoe hiking is not only more demanding than winter hiking due to the oversized and, above all, unfamiliar pacesetters, it also has something of audacious originality. Because with - in the truest sense of the word - giant steps it goes not on marked ways the mountains up, but cross-country by the snow. Although through the snow is not quite right, because snowshoes are worn primarily to avoid sinking as far as possible.
The views during snowshoe trudging are of course of the same breathtaking beauty as during winter hiking, only the paths are different. Occasionally they even seem as if no human being had ever walked them before - when the fresh powder snow glistens in the sun and envelops the slopes as a soft blanket. The restful tranquility also unites the winter hiking opportunities in Kitzbühel. There are paths, trails and areas where absolutely nothing can be heard all around you - apart from the crunching snow under your own feet.
Back on track
If you can't warm up to the cold crunch, but appreciate a dynamic sizzle, you'll find it on one of Kitzbühel's nine trails. However, it must be pointed out that it only hisses with experienced cross-country skiers - especially dynamically. Beginners are more likely to be dominated by a dull but barely audible plop. The only thing that is certain is that anyone can learn to cross-country ski and does not have to book a four-week vacation in Kitzbühel to do so.
When it comes to cross-country skiing, there is not only a choice between difficulty levels, but also between views. And that's not so easy: Do I skate towards the majestic Wilder Kaiser or do I prefer a view of the parade of peaks of the Hohe Tauern? Or do I prefer not to distract myself at all with fairytale panoramas around me and rather skate along the sports track in the evening under floodlights? Such a winter wonderland also has its pitfalls.
On silent soles through the winter
As lively as Kitzbühel and especially its slopes may be, the town has an unexpectedly wide range of offers for those looking for a few days of peace and quiet. And we don't mean the luxurious spa paradises in the hotels, the Alfons Walde Museum or a romantic horse-drawn sleigh ride around the Schwarzsee. The most effective way to slow down is a winter hike. "Oh, how boring!", one or the other may think now, but: far from it!
Winter hiking is a sport for everyone, because warm clothes and good shoes are all that is needed. A touch of fitness does not hurt, but the pace at which the snowy landscape is explored, can be easily determined yourself. So can the route and there are 35 to choose from on around 185 kilometers of trail network. Does it go comfortably over romantic forest paths to an alpine pasture or relaxed in the valley towards the Wilder Kaiser or the Hohe Tauern: The paths and trails are largely groomed and the views that are offered are of exceptional beauty. The enchanting mountain world in Kitzbühel already reveals itself during the gentle climbs, but once you reach the top it becomes downright spectacular when you watch the snow-covered peaks enthroned all around you.
But what option do ski refusers have in Kitzbühel, for whom winter hiking and cross-country skiing are too strenuous or too boring - or even both? Then only the toboggan, also called sledge, helps. Not only are there two long and varied natural toboggan runs over open slopes and forest sections on the Trattenbachalm and the Kelchalm, but on the Gaisberg there is a downhill run under floodlights and with a chairlift that guarantees a relaxed arrival even before you sit on the toboggan. How chilled the pilots finally swing down in the valley is probably decided entirely by the driving style.