Photoshoot in Krippenstein

The finals of Red Bull Playstreets went off on Saturday night. The streets were so packed with spectators that it was nearly impossible to move anywhere up or down the sides of the course. For those who were able to watch the live broadcast over the internet, it was a good show. For results and a full recap check out http://www.redbull.at/playstreets.




We left Bad Gastein pretty early the next morning (or tried to, but it’s hard to drive when you lose the keys to your van). Our next destination was Krippenstein, about two hours north from where we were. We made it just in time to load all of our gear into the last tram car of the day. At most resorts, “ski in ski out” usually means a condo that has street access somewhere near the bottom of the mountain or in a pre-fabricated resort village. At Krippenstein, you literally can stay at the top of the mountain. The Lodge (apparently it doesn’t have an official name) was originally built in 1877 and has been known to generations of mountaineers as the Simony Hotel. Today is has been renovated with most modern amenities including 120 beds, solar power, and a full time staff. There is no easier way to get first tracks on a powder day than waking up and already being at the top of the lifts. Hopefully by the end of this trip we will be able to say that this has happened for us.

It hasn’t snowed in over a week here and we planned on spending our first day just scoping out the area and looking for features. That thought didn’t last long and by the end of our first run we had already shot a pillow/cone jib, two cliffs, and some nice powder shots in the trees. We only ended up making two runs all day, and after you take a look at the picture of the landscape here, you can probably imagine why.