The party crew

"Is that this high-altitude rush?" you think brooding when suddenly a unicorn in a monkey's tooth rushes past you in the fun park for children and loud music sounds from somewhere. Fluffy full-body overalls ("onesies") in the form of life-size cuddly or cartoon figures in the style of the Japanese kawaii movement, where everything has to be cute, have made it onto European slopes. The focus of this group – occurs exclusively in the pack, because only like-minded people can stand it with them – is not on the "ski", but on the "après". And because they already have three Willis in the pear at noon, they ride on Bigfoots. With the wide short skis, which are popular with beginners, you can get damn fast, but practically not fall over.

Where to meet them: In the cult disco "Fire & Ice" in Sölden.

Typical sentence: Incomprehensible. Alcohol consumption becomes phonetically noticeable at some point.

Drink: Flying Hirsch-Jägermeister-Red-Bull. The station wagon makes you drunk and wide awake at the same time.

Good company, because you can always toast the friendship with them.

The Traditionalist

Known as "Kitzbühel-Kurzschwung-Wedler", he usually appears in the form of a head of the family – or at least as a group elder – and tells the same stories over and over again. Only that each time they shoot up in their drama as much as the prices for a ski pass. How decades ago he drove the Long Train on the Arlberg, probably the steepest section of the route in Europe with a gradient of 142 percent, with a world ranking driver. Or how, as a little delight, he had to carry the skis, which were little more than two sawn wooden boards, up the mountain himself. Lift with hood? Pah, there was no such thing back then. In the best Hansi Hinterseer manner, he waves down the slope in short turns with tight skis in a balloon silk one-piece and has nothing but contempt for the carving enthusiasts.

Where to meet him: In Kitz on the "Sonnbergstuben". He already ate Kasnocken here in the seventies, before the hut became a celebrity hotspot.

Typical sentence: "You have to be fast on the piece, otherwise you'll get stuck!"

Drink: Jagatee. The black tea with hard liquor is a hut classic, although it tastes awful.

Good accompaniment, because he can actually read the map properly.

The connoisseur

Their holiday motto is "Feast instead of whizzing", "Ski ski instead of ski"! While the fellow passengers are already queuing up at the valley station, she is just waiting for a champagne breakfast in the five-star wellness temple. Your holiday dreams are not made of fresh snow, but of dough and plum jam, known as yeast dumplings. After an extensive newspaper reading and a massage, she makes her way to the mountain hut. Deeply relaxed and in a good mood. In contrast to her sporty friends, whom she annoys with the constant demand for the minute-by-minute lunch break. Impossible to plan; you drive where you like it and when you are hungry. The highlight of her sporting commitment: night tobogganing, to which she appears in jeans and Chelsea boots and is soaking wet after ten minutes. Even the insoles made of lambskin do not save anything. A good reason to finally leave for the next gourmet summit. Another Swiss stone pine schnapps?

Where to meet them: Zell am See – the magnificent view, simply wonderful.

Typical sentence: "My favorite swing is still the stop."

Drink: Aperölchen on the sun terrace.

Good company, because she keeps the best places on the hut free.