Day 12 & 13 Hahnenkamm, Rain, Snow and the road to Innsbruck

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Day 12 & 13 Hahnenkamm, Rain, Snow and the road to Innsbruck

‘The Hahnenkamm’ Mention that to any downhill skiing fan and they will instantly know it is one of the fastest, most terrifying courses on the skiing world cup circuit. I’ve (k) wanted to walk down it for some time. It seemed when we woke up that it wasn’t going to be. We had consistent rain for over 20 hours and even when we drove towards Kitzbuhel the town nearest to the Hahnenkamm, the cloud was low. As with the scenic road, the Sun came out. So we thought we go for it, but...the cable car wasn’t going to be operating until June. We thought we would go UP instead, boy was it steep, but managed about 95% of it until the threat of further rain and losing sunlight made us turn back. Its difficult just walking the Hahnenkamm let alone skiing it,
After walking down we refreshed ourselves with a drink in ‘The Londoner’ . The population of Kitzbuhel swells from 30000 to 120000 for the downhill weekend and it seems most of the ski teams aim for this pub, non professionals are charged 60 Euros just to get in!

The following day we awoke to more rain and more importantly a significant fall in temperature -maybe a good day to travel to the next stop, especially as we encountered snow over a particularly high pass! We arrived at Innsbruck to a really nice site on the lake- the facilities are amazing though over the top sometimes. They even have washing sinks at various heights for kids, nothing wrong with that I know -but with a TV screen showing cartoons?*

*Since we arrived in Germany and Austria. Three of the sites we have stayed, have been to an extremely high standard, with huge washroom blocks fitted with electric doors, electric taps, saunas, every feature seems to have been thought of. I doubt if there is anything of similar standard in the UK. To be fair though some of these sites are used for the winter ski season too. The toilets are so toasty warm, we nearly stayed there for the night.

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Photos

Kitzbuhel Town
Lovely town kitzbuhel but only for the rich,

Kitzbuhel Town
Liked the paintwork the Austrians put on their buildings

Hahnenkamm
Going up

Hahnenkamm
Still going up

Hahnenkamm
Kim imaging he was a downhill skiier, I'm sure they wouldn't let him on the course with those shorts?

Hahnenkamm
Still going onwards

Hahnenkamm
A well needed waterhole on the way=thought it was a mirage at first

Hahnenkamm
what a time to take a call

Kitzbuhel
Saw a nice little old Austin A35 on the way down

Alpine Pass
Temperature Dropped Considerably