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Amalien Haus celebrations in Mooserwirt...

Posted: Wednesday 24th March 2010 by amalien

Wednesday in the Amalien Haus saw the late doors arrival of Jamie Rowe and his group of 3 friends from as far and wide as Singapore and, after a bottle of Zweigelt and a good nights kip, the group were up early and eager to hit the slopes. After a speedy ski fit at Jennewein Sports, conveniently located next to the Galzig Gondolla, the group had met up with a couple of old friends and we were on the Gampen chair lift before 9am to make the most of the freshly groomed and untouched pistes. After 2 days of decent snow earlier in the week, the Arlberg is seeing a spell of very warm weather with temperatures of up to 5 degrees being seen on the slopes. Needless to say, the best skiing to be had is first thing in the morning, and by mid afternoon the best skiing worth doing is the après ski, and this is certainly what I, St Anton’s resident Ski Event Manager had planned for Jamie and his friends.

The highlight of the morning was skiing the World Cup downhill run all the way from the top of Kapall right down to the finish line next to the bottom of Fangbahn chair lift. The black piste run was prepared especially for the 2001 world cup, and remains just as thrilling to this day. It is a combination of steep wide sections, sharp corners, and ledges which with even a little speed throw you into the sir with all the panache of a rollercoaster. After a quick coffee stop mid morning, the group headed down cruisy blue piste 8 down to the quaint village of St Christoph where we headed to the Hospiz Alm for lunch. Thanks to the summer weather, the group were welcomed by the best table on the terrace - the perfect position for both sun bathing and people watching. The favourite of the day was the Grilled Chicken Salad, a generous platter of mixed salad laden with plenty of juicy roasted slices of chicken breast topped with croutons and a balsamic glaze. Of course, lunch at the Hospiz could not be complete without a liberal helping of red wine, and Jamie and his group weren’t shy of a local Pinot Noir - as recommended by our waiter. The sun proved far too enticing and the majority of the remainder of the afternoon was spent enjoying finishing off the decanted wine along side a beautifully presented Irish coffee perfectly separated into exactly 4 layers.

The only skiing to be had that afternoon was travelling the short distance down “Happy Valley” to the Mooserwirt, where a table awaited patiently, perfectly poised near the dance floor. As with every other day at the Mooserwirt, just before 4 the blinds electronically closed, a lighting rig descended from the heavens and the infamous “Final Count Down” bellowed from the speaker system. That is the point in the “Moose” of no return, and that was certainly true for Jamie, Hannah, Rob and James. After only a short while, it was decided a celebration was in order, thanks to the news that a decent bonus was on it’s way from work. Moments later 2 magnums of Veuve Clicquot arrived at our table in large buckets filled with ice and snow from the piste outside. Over the next few hours, more and more celebrating was had, as were a number more magnums of champagne, that is until the predictable ski down was undertaken. After a few falls and plenty of laughs in the pitch black of the end of blue piste 1, the group retired to be fresh for another full on day, in what has got to be one of the best resorts in the world.