Bad Hofgastein - Saturday is changeover day

When the tourists go home and the new arrivals turn up
TW getting ready to go.
View to the Graukogel from the Baerstein Alm
Sunny and cold
When you are here for a while it gets to feel like Groundhog Day. Every Saturday morning people are packing their cars and the coaches are loading up - its changeover day! That should mean that its going to be quiet on the piste. However, if it is sunny, and the snow is good, the villagers are going to be out in force along with various ski clubs from miles around.
As the skiers are Austrian they are, by definition, going to be good and will probably be fast. There will nearly always be local ski races on the Haitzingalm piste on a Saturday Today they were racing ski-bobs on the steepest run. There is normally a quiet period on the slopes in the morning when the World Cup Downhills are on and the locals dive into a local alm to watch the race. This week the race was from Kitzbuhel and the Haitzingalm was noisy with disappointment. The Austrian racers fared badly and the French triumphed.
On a sunny Saturday its probably best to head for one of the outlying ski areas like Sportgastein at the end of the Valley or the standalone ski area on the Graukogel but today we had a good, proper Austrian Ski day up above Bad Hofgastein. Look up the Hill before moving off! And look out for what is behind you!
Max the cat does not like to be disturbed in his hanging basket

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