How the profits from contraband helped build a ski resort - Lisa Young sets off on Ischgl’s duty-free trail
Rarely have the proceeds of criminal activity been put to such noble use – at least that will be the view of skiers and boarders. Smuggling was the game and it was very popular indeed in the years after the Second World War when luxuries were in short supply in the remote Paznaun Valley in the western part of Tirol.
ON TRACK: You can record all your runs on your smartphone using the iSki Ischgl app.
The then little Austrian farming village of Ischgl shared a border with Samnaun in Switzerland and enterprising Austrians would collect coffee, tobacco, rice, spices and even silk stockings from the well provided-for Swiss and smuggle the goods home across the mountains. In summer they’d be on foot, in winter they would undertake smuggling missions on skis.
The leading families of the Paznaun Valley were not averse to benefiting from this trade – and it occurred to them that there was an excellent way to use the profits. And that was to build a ski resort.
From small beginnings and the first lifts in 1952, Ischgl has grown into one of Austria’s most important resorts. And following the old smugglers’ route makes for an excellent ski day out across the border and a little light shopping in Samnaun, which is the only duty free enclave in Switzerland.
Popular purchases for skiers today include alcohol, cigarettes and Swiss watches – it’s quite legal to bring goods back to Austria if they are for one’s personal use. On our visit we also enjoyed a delicious three-course lunch as well as a spot of duty free shopping. Be warned though, there are occasionally some eagle-eyed border officers watching out for those who’ve overdone the ‘contraband’.
RUN TO THE SHOPS: Skiers and snowboarders can take a Duty Free run between Austria and Switzerland.
Mind you, those early smugglers would be astonished to see what has become of the remote slopes over which they hauled sacks of goodies. It now has one of the most ultra-modern, high-speed lift systems in the Alps so there’s a distinct lack of queues, even at peak times.
It’s a high resort, and is proud of its reputation for being open for skiing from late November until the beginning of May. Accordingly, a big-name music concert opens and closes the season.
Our smugglers would also have been baffled by the technological wizardry that has a GPS tracking function covering the slopes on the iSki Ischgl app, with which you record on your smartphone, using Google Earth or the Ischgl 3D map, your top speeds, routes, duration and kilometres completed.
It tracked us right down to our hotel, the Brigitte, close to the resort centre where the main lifts are. We could ski down at the end of each day to a point close to the hotel.
After a big day on the old smuggler trails, we were happy to enjoy a quiet drink. But for those inclined, Ischgl has a vibrant après-ski scene, with an array of nightclubs and lively bars.
Now it wasn’t just Ischgl that profited from smuggling. Down the road is Kappl, which might not be the biggest name on the lips of British skiers but which boasts a perfectly delightful ski area with a tranquil atmosphere almost diametrically opposite that of Ischgl. Kappl is also the leading community in the Paznaun Valley with a permanent population of 2,500 – much larger than that of Ischgl at 1,600, a fact that surprises many visitors.
Travelling from Innsbruck Airport (landing at which, incidentally, is a wonderfully spectacular experience, after an approach past mountains seemingly close enough to touch) you reach Kappl before Ischgl.
We stopped to explore its slopes – and I discovered that its unassuming reputation belied a fabulous resort of sweeping runs, with super off-piste and back country possibilities.
While it’s certainly not unknown to British skiers familiar with the Paznaun, it definitely has the feel of a locals’ favourite. Many Paznauners would call it their backyard skiing.
It’s particularly well set up for youngsters – a top-notch snowy playground. It has a number of areas purpose-built for children, including the Sunny Mountain Club for those from age three upwards. There’s a children’s ski school and a nursery school.
Earlier, at the bottom station of the gondola, I had watched as parents unloaded cars full of future Austrian champion skiers, some obviously decked out in their siblings’ hand-me-down ski outfits; even the tiniest carried their own skis over one shoulder.
But Kappl is certainly not just for the small fry. Whenever there’s a fresh snowfall, local powder-hounds come for the exceptional off-piste. And a pleasing surprise was the fact there were no queues for any of the ten lifts connecting the 42kms of slopes.
And as well as having a name for good snow through the season, Kappl is also known as the sunniest resort in the area.
TRAVEL FACTS
Inghams (www.inghams.co.uk/ski-holidays) runs a range of packages to Ischgl. Lisa Young stayed at Hotel Brigitte (www.hotel-brigitte-ischgl.at).
The Silvretta Skipass (from €264.50 for six days) covers the four resorts of Ischgl, Galtür, Kappl and See. There is also a Flexi Pass from €249 which gives four days in Ischgl and two in neighbouring resorts.
For more information on the Smugglers Route go to:
Ischgl – www.ischgl.com
Kappl – www.kappl.com
Categories: Austria