The Hahnenkamm mountain in Kitzbühel hosts the world’s most famous downhill ski race each January and witnesses the best ski racers on the planet doing battle in the Alpine Skiing World Cup campaign.
Winning the Hahnenkamm is equivalent to an Olympic Downhill gold, if not better, for most racers. The competition attracts more than 60,000 fans to the resort and is Austria’s biggest sporting event outside pandemic times.
While the full course is only open to racers in winter, during the summer months, visitors can walk down the alarmingly steep (an incline gradient of 85% in places) Streif downhill course.
The mountain is easily accessible using the Hahnenkammbahn cable car where the Streif Hike begins. It is a 7.7 km walk that leads all the way down to the bottom of the famed downhill ski run.
It takes skiers on average just under two minutes to complete the 3.3 km racetrack (860 vertical metres). Walkers can do it around three hours!
Large monitors installed along the course stream clips from some of the world’s top skiers flying down the course and there are nine activity stations that take in the most famous points along the course: Mausefalle, Karussell, Steilhang, Brückenschuss, Seidlalmsprung, Hausbergkante, Traverse and Zielsprung. Each station includes interactive challenges – great for families – such as balancing on a slackline and more.
Thomas Dressen of Germany competes during the Hahnenkamm Rennen in Kitzbuhel, Austria on January 20, 2018
The Kitzbühel Alps Summer Card is a must for anyone travelling to Kitzbühel this summer. The card, which is available as a one to 14-day pass, or as a season ticket, provides unlimited access to 36 lifts in the region across 14 mountains. Holders can also enjoy discounts of between 10% and 50% at a range of cultural and sporting attractions, including museums and swimming pools. A Kitzbühel Alps Summer Card, valid for seven days, costs from €105 / £87.80 per adult or €52.50 / £62.70 per child.
A seven-night stay, at Hotel Edelweiss, arriving 11 June, costs from £599 pp (saving £290 pp) based on two people sharing a room on a half board basis. Price includes return flights from Gatwick to Salzburg and transfers with Inghams. Regional flights are available.
Image top Copyright: © KitzSki Werlberger
