Dedicated followers of nostalgic skiing fashion

Skiing ain’t what it used to be! In the days of long, unwieldy wooden skis with unforgiving bindings, and leather boots, skiers needed skill to reach the bottom of a slope in one piece. These days, put a bit of weight on one ski and you can perform a graceful curve – and if it goes wrong, click, the binding opens and no harm is done.

When the Nostalgie Skiers get together, with their ancient equipment, it’s not just about getting to the bottom of the slope. It’s a catwalk where the models strut their stuff  – it is important to look the part. For a couple of hours before the racing, the skiers get together, not only to gossip but also to admire each other’s rig.

Goggles are an important accessory for every hat wearer

No glitzy or neon coloured anoraks here: leather and wool, the occasional furs, wood and metal for the bindings – skiing in the old days was a feast of natural materials. Accessories include faded canvas rucksacks, string.shod wood-frame snowshoes, enormous safety pins for attaching woolly mittens, and black-glass goggles, usually worn on the hat.

The only class distinctions seem to be those who ski on wood skis with metal edges to help cut a path round the bends, and those who like take their chances on even older skis with unsullied wooden bases. Then there are those who prefer using a single long wooden pole to help lever themselves round the bends, and those who use the “modern” two-pole technique.

Foot and leg-wear fashions

Among the racers in Embach this year was a small contingent of followers of ski pioneer Mathias Zdarsky who in the 19^th Century developed bindings for steep and slalom runs and is considered to have been the first ski instructor. He even appeared on an Austrian postage stamp. These skiers, from his home town of Traisen, follow his style to the letter – including skiing in white shirt and black tie and using bindings modelled on Zdarsky’s originals.

 

The Zdarsky-style skiers from Traisen

…Oh yes – they did all race down the Embach hill…and survived in one piece despite a couple of tumbles. The women were particularly disadvantaged by the strong winds and presented a stylish view of the past with their long skirts and petticoats billowing.

Who witnessed the drama?

First blush on the Klingspitz

It was a no-brainer. Go down into the cellar and sweat it out for half an hour on a bike on rollers, or head out into the frosty dawn as the rising sun paints the tips of the mountains that surround us.

Early morning is the best of times: all the opportunities of a new day lie ahead. Even in the old life, back in the city it was a good time but here in the mountains, where the night sky sparkles and the mountains loom in the dark waiting for the dawn, it is drama of the highest order.

 

Baukogel's peak catches the first rays

As the stars fade and a pink glow profiles the Rauchkogel, it is time to get out and watch the magic. The valleys below us still snooze under featherbed covers of morning mists as the highest peaks begin to blush. First the Baukogel’s peak with its sharp edges and behind us the softer, rounder,  Klingspitz, still thickly coated in snow.

The Hochkönig is veiled in mists but further along the valley other peaks begin their morning transformation from grey to delicate rose.

 

Klingspitz glows while the valley lies beneath the mist

The air crackles, the woodpecker rattles out a few sharp volleys and a blackbird begins its welcome to the dawn. The ground is frozen and the snow underfoot crunches like the munching of breakfast cornflakes.

Within a few minutes, the overture to “Another Brilliant Day” has ended. The snow on the mountains glistens white against the deepening blue sky. Who witnessed the drama? How many people missed it? There are still a lot of visitors in the village but being on holiday, they probably slept through a virtuoso performance.

But still, there is another chance to see it tomorrow.

Blushing pink - the Baukogel