This page contains a Flash digital edition of a book.
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2010


KLMNO It’s all


EZ EE


F5


downhill DETAILS


GETTING THERE Austrian Airlines offers connecting flights from Washington Dulles to Innsbruck, Austria, with fares starting at $955 round-trip. United, Lufthansa and Continental have nonstop flights from Dulles to Munich, about two hours from the Zillertal, starting at $720 round-trip.


ALAMY The town ofMayrhofen is one stop on the gondola route that links the Zillertal’s four major and three smaller ski areas. zillertal from F1


hotel. That tram defines the winter


experience in the Zillertal, which is a kind of grand shopping mall of ski resorts. The train, which is free to ski-pass holders, links a string of gondola stations up and down the valley, portals to four major ski areas and three smaller ones. Within one 20-minute ride are more than 170 lifts feeding more than 630 kilometers of downhill trail. Imagine jamming Vail, Steamboat, Telluride and Whistler into a 32-mile valley and connecting them by a free and efficient public transit line. For tourists, thatmeansthe skiopof a lifetime. For Zillertal tweeners, it just means another chance to get in a few lunchtime runs before the geometry quiz. Skiing is so big to Austrians


that it is nothing at all, something you do before work or when a meeting is canceled. Keep the boots in your locker; meet for lunch on the slopes. Austrian boys take the gondola up from one village and ski down to visit Austrian girls in another.Nowon- der they kick our butts in the winter Olympics every four years. The Zillertal breeds skiers the way Texas grows bull riders.


I went to the Zillertal with a


friend, Michael Teixido, who has been raving about the area for years. He’s a research-oriented ear surgeon from Wilmington, Del.,whogoes to ameeting inZell every other winter. The docs con- vene from countries all over the world to compare notes on Me- niere’s disease, an inner-ear con- dition I would learn about in dripping detail over the exquisite dinners they serve at the Hotel Theresa. But Michael didn’t in- vite me for the technical talk; he knew I would be entertained by the skiing and even more by this family-run boutique inn that has helped define the uniquely Aus- trian spa concept known as the “wellness hotel.” (More about the lavishly wet and warm apres-ski routine later, but be prepared: You’ll never be satisfied with a mere hot tub again). We flew into Munich, about


100 miles north. In theory, it’s barely a two-hour drive, but a lot of Munichites weekend in Aus- tria’s Tyrol region, and Friday traffic added another two hours to the trip. But our fingers un- clenched as soon asweturned the rental Audi off the main highway near Innsbruck and followed the Ziller up into its cozy valley cra- dle. The river runs through a Heidi-worthy setting of grassy bottomland, pastures bounded on both sides by soaring slopes that gain in drama and snow cover until their icy tips finally tickle the bottom of the strato- sphere itself. “Yoodel-ay-hi-hooo!” Michael


yodeled. “Rico-o-o-o-o-o-la!” I sang through a fist trumpet.


Michael, driving one-handed,


looked at me. “Ricola is Swiss,” he said. “This


is Austria.” Fine. You want your ear sur-


geons to be exacting sorts. I switched to a “Sound of Music” medley. Frankly, I was glad to be in the


company of a physician. This would bemy first time on serious snow since a near-death fall in Telluride two years earlier, an out-of-control slide of more than a quarter-miledowna steep sheet of black diamond ice. I wasn’t at all sure how I would facemy first runs on the slopes that had pro- duced Franz Klammer. But there was nothing intimi-


dating about the lands at the base of these grand mountains. The houses of Zell were warm timber affairs. The town center is a war- ren of balconies overlooking small curving streets, shop win- dowsdisplaying breadandchoco- late, and cafes with sidewalk seat- ing even in the winter. The Hotel Theresa sits at the


edge of town, a glowing low-rise a block from the river. A spa occu- pies a modern wing, with brightly lit windows facing the peaks above. The dining rooms, lounges and bar are in the older Alpine wing, a darker nest of carved woodwork and stag-head decor. “Ah,Herr Doktor,” saidTheresa


Egger as soon as we dropped our bags, rememberingMichael from two years earlier. “And this must beMr.Hendrix.” The matriarch of the Egger


family, Theresa started the hotel in 1964 with just four rooms. Space and features have been added nearly every year, from massage chambers to conference facilities to countless nooks for fireside cocktails. It’s a 70-room complex now, but still with a family-run, small-hotel feel. With five Eggers constantly on-site — remembering names, freshening flowers, dressing each night in traditional Alpine wear — this is innkeeping as performance art. “This is our life. We rarely


leave,” said Theresa Jr., the tall brunet daughter who oversees reception. By night, in an embroi- dered peasant gown, she is a warm Snow White. By day, in Lycra slacks and mod sweaters, she’s a coolEmmaPeel. “We don’t like to travel much; we really like our clean, safe valley.” The Zillertal is almost eerily


tidy. The Austrian passion for order is on display at every hand, from the walls of firewood stacked with geometric exacti- tude outside many houses to the precision signage at every inter- section. “Everything is perfect, but that


can be a little — difficult, too, sometimes,” said Joe, the clerk at the Zell ski shop where I stopped to rent my gear for the week. Joe was from Munich and had mar- ried into an Austrian family. I could see where perfection could start to chafe, even for a German whokept his shop spotless. But as a tourist, I was loving it.


Michael plunged immediately


into all things inner-ear, so I beganmy conference-spouse rou- tine. I usually breakfasted with the other doctors’ wives, discuss- ing the day’s plans over muesli and yogurt. One new friend was agonizing over a particular blue wool coat she’d found in a bou- tique in Mayrhofen, two tram stops away. I lodged my go-for-it vote, then headed out to ski. The ski areas operate as a


consortium, letting you buy tick- ets for one or all in various day- pass combinations. I went for the most flexible, the $305 Super Ski Pass, a smart card that gave me scan-and-go privileges on every gondola and lift at every ski area for five days. For starters, I rode up to the


biggest park, Zillertal Arena, which is also closest toZell.Abus, stopping just outside the There- sa’s cavernous ski storage room, dropped me at the gondola sta- tion in three minutes. I was at the top of the first run within half an hour of pushing away from the breakfast table. The gondola network around


the Zillertal is an attraction unto itself.The gondolas string around the valley like flying mass transit, skimming over treetops, crevass- es and even glaciers. Some are


four-seaters, some eight.Michael and I rode one up from May- rhofen that fit about 80. It was like a flying diner. That first ride up gave me


plenty of time to judge the local norms. I saw a lot of very fast skiers on very steep slopes, blurry figures in tight Austrian tucks. Andthose were just the little kids. (On another day, on a course rated for racers only, I sawa skier travel faster than I have ever seen a human go who wasn’t trying to get into a departmentstoreonthe day after Thanksgiving.) But I breathed easier to see


plenty ofmoderate alternatives as well: wide and winding trails with family groups, and snow- boarders enjoying less radical runs. Infact, I would find the Alps laced with all manner of trails, from training-wheel greens to suicide blacks and plenty of just- right grades in between. Only in one place did I feel


outmatched by any of the avail- able routes down, and that was at the top of Hintertux, a glacier parkat the very highest reaches of the Zillertal. I rode the gondola back down from that one, sheep- ish but alive. The network is so vast, it was


easy to spend all day up high, breaking for lunch at one of the


warming hut restaurants where Austrian oompah-pop music (oompop!) blared over crowded decks, not touching the valley floor again until the last minutes of sunlight.


It was at day’s end that the


great unwinding would begin. At the heart of the Theresa’s “well- ness” infrastructure is a complex of pools and saunas and steam roomsso involved thatyoupracti- cally need a sherpa to navigate them. Here’s how I progressed, once I traded ski pants for swim trunks: Step One: a 20-minute soak in


the outdoor salt pool, a 10-person heated and jetted saline tub with a killer view of the evening Alps. The extra buoyancy was amniotic bliss.


Step Two: a maniac 12-second


jog, dripping wet, back across the patio in 25-degree air. Step Three: 10 minutes in the menthol steam room. It was like relaxing in a jar of Vicks Vapo- Rub.


Step Four: as many minutes as


I could stand in the traditional cedar dry-heat sauna (usually about five). Steps Five, Six and Seven: vari-


ouscombinations of the high-seat steam room, the infra-red sauna and the elegant mid-heat dry sau- na with Greek busts in the niches and naked Austrians draped along the long tile bench (the interior steam complex is co-ed and clothing-free). Step Eight: a defibrillating


plunge into the outdoor Icelandic cold pool. After that, I huddled on one of


the lightly heated cushioned lounge chairs in the firelit atrium for a half-hour before dinner, wrapped in a robe and moving only asmany muscles as it took to blink and sip single malt. And the next day, I would do it


all again. Ski, rinse, repeat.Now I understoodwhy the Eggers never left this place. One day I added one of the


hotel massages to the mix. And once, I inverted steps three and four. All good. Michael, cheerfully conscien-


tious, was able to join me for only a fewof the days. Butwedidmake it up to the Ahorn ski area, where we drank laced hot chocolate in a very hip ice hotel called the White Lounge. We made an afternoon trip up to the medieval city center of Innsbruck. And we had some nice afternoon walks around the village. Our favorite corner was the


PHOTOS FROM THE HOTEL THERESA


TheHotel Theresa in ZellamZiller opened in 1964 with four guest rooms and today has 70, plus amenities including pools, saunas, steam rooms, spa services and a restaurant.


churchyard in the middle of town, a walled compound packed with stylized stone and iron grave markers. The Anschluss and the war that followed took an aston- ishing number of men from such a small community, and as defeat approached, they grew younger and younger. Some of those killed in 1945 were only 16. But mostly Michael and I re-


connected at dinner, he full of microsurgical minutiae and I full


WHERE TO STAY AND EAT The Hotel Theresa Bahnhofstr. 15, Zell am Ziller 011-43-5282-22860 www.theresa.at Superb family-run hotel with 70 rooms, extensive spa and wellness facilities and views of the high Alps on every side. Rates start at $182 per person and include three meals a day. Hot pool and sauna are free for all guests, but massages and spa services are extra. The chef, a former Olympic skier and member of the owner Egger family, cooks haute Austrian, with an emphasis on roasted local beef, pork and veal, occasional wild game and Zillertal trout. Every dinner features an extensive, and exquisite, strudel bar.


The Neuhaus Hotel and Spa Am Marktplatz 202, Mayrhofen 011-43-5285-6703 alpendomizil.at Another good hotel option, in central Mayrhofen, near shops and clubs and a short walk from a major gondola station and the ski areas above. Rooms, including two meals daily, start at $143 per person.


WHERE TO LUNCH Abundant independently owned mountain huts are the best lunch options on the slopes. Some are gourmet level, but many are casual cafeteria-style places offering traditional schnitzels, hearty soups and dark breads. They open onto expansive decks where Austrians eat, take the Alpine sun and sip hot chocolate or schnapps. A bratwurst and beer runs about $17. Lunch at the fancier huts starts at about $27.


SKIING The Zillertal boasts four major ski areas and three lesser ones, all reached by gondola and connected by a convenient train. A single electronic smart pass allows access to all the gondolas and more than 170 ski lifts: Superskipasses range from $110 for two days ($88 ages 15-18, $49 ages 6-14) to $530 for two weeks ($423 ages 15-18, $238 ages 6-14).


INFORMATION www.zillertal.at


—S.H.


of Glenfiddich. On one of our last nights, I was


well into the Tyrolean lamb on polenta and he was still working on his curd strudel with spinach. Theresa, in Snow White mode, was pouring a 2006 Austrian cab- ernet, and we were chatting with a pair of doctors from Australia when one of my breakfast mates came by the table. “I did it!” she said, twirling


slightly in her new blue coat. “Don’t you love it?” “I do, I do,” I said. “Good call.” She twirled off, and I found


Michael giving me that Ricola look again. “Just what do you do all day,


anyway?” he asked. hendrixs@washpost.com


6


on washingtonpost.com For local skiers


Check out our guide to area ski resorts


at washingtonpost.com/travel


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96  |  Page 97  |  Page 98  |  Page 99  |  Page 100  |  Page 101  |  Page 102  |  Page 103  |  Page 104  |  Page 105  |  Page 106  |  Page 107  |  Page 108  |  Page 109  |  Page 110  |  Page 111  |  Page 112  |  Page 113  |  Page 114  |  Page 115  |  Page 116  |  Page 117  |  Page 118  |  Page 119  |  Page 120  |  Page 121  |  Page 122  |  Page 123  |  Page 124  |  Page 125  |  Page 126  |  Page 127  |  Page 128  |  Page 129  |  Page 130  |  Page 131  |  Page 132  |  Page 133  |  Page 134  |  Page 135  |  Page 136  |  Page 137  |  Page 138  |  Page 139  |  Page 140  |  Page 141  |  Page 142  |  Page 143  |  Page 144  |  Page 145  |  Page 146  |  Page 147  |  Page 148  |  Page 149  |  Page 150  |  Page 151  |  Page 152  |  Page 153  |  Page 154  |  Page 155  |  Page 156  |  Page 157  |  Page 158