European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - February 16, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Left the hotel Seiwald and three skiers on the slopes in Kirc Dorf Austria. Right mountains stand on the Edge of the Village. Czech. Germany hassle free skiing in Thel Yrol stories and photos by Norm Zeigler travel outdoor writer americans interested in hitting the ski slopes in Europe Are sometimes intimidated by potential language difficulties. Some May even limit their options rather than face the possibility of having to struggle with German French or italian. For 28 years a firm near kit Buhel has specialized in helping americans overcome these difficulties by arranging family ski packages and Winter vacations in the Tyrol Section of Austria. Tyrolean Tours administrative Headquarters Are in Oberndorf but Many Day to Day operations Are conducted from a Branch office in the Village of Kirc Dorf about 12 Miles North of kit Buhel. Conveniently located at the base of the Kirc Dorf ski area the office shares a building with the ski school and a ski shop. Also in Kirc Dorf Are most of the hotels and pensions the company deals with. In contrast to the traffic and tourist trap Kitsch of kit Buhel Kirc Dorf is relaxed and Rural. Instead of masses of tourists and streets lined with discos bars and souvenir shops a visitor finds nearly deserted streets Small markets Homes and a country Church. A recent trip to Kirc Dorf in this Winter of Snow drought was undertaken with some apprehension that i would find Grassy slopes and rocks instead of drifted powder. On the trip from Central Germany the landscape was an unchanging Brown and Green until i neared the austrian Border where the Mountain peaks finally began to show the first dusting of Snow. Still the ground remained mostly Bare along the Innsbruck autobahn and the state Road heading up through the mountains toward kit Buhel. A few Miles outside St. Johann about five Miles from Kirc Dorf the Countryside finally began to have the look of Winter just As tyrolean Tours owner Helmut Steger had assured me Over the Telephone. People keep calling me because they Don t believe we have Snow he had said. We have plenty of Snow. Even Down in the Valley there is 30 centimetres about 12 inches on the  in Kirc Dorf the hotel Seiwald where i would be staying was Well marked and easy to find even in the dark. In the lobby i was met with a handshake by tour Leader Lames Woorend a strapping 6-foot-8 new Sealander with a gentle Mien. Woorend lives at the hotel and is greeter guide cashier and Point of Contact for tyrolean Tours customers there. He has been working Winters for the company for three years. Summers he guides group trips for a swedish tour company. As he does for All guests Woorend explained hotel accommodations ski package arrangements and other services the company provides. The hotel Seiwald is a four Story modern efficient hotel built in the Wood and stucco style of Many austrian and Swiss hotels. Located across the Street from the Kirc Dorf ski slopes and with facilities such As an indoor swimming Pool Sauna solarium and steam room it is one of tyrolean Tours most popular hotels. The company has been booking guests into the Seiwald for 26 years and in that time it has been transformed from a Small Guesthouse into a facility with accommodations for nearly 100. The firm s working relationship with the pension Kalkstein located next door is even older extending Back to the founding of tyrolean Tours in 1961. Steger is Blunt in stating the reasons for these longtime business relationships. Because 97 percent of the company s clients Are americans the company will Deal Only with hotels that Are cooperative that understand the american  Steger also requires that the management and staff have a Friendly attitude toward children. If children Are Happy the parents Are usually Happy he says. Children Are extremely important for  about 65 percent of tyrolean Tours clients Are families with children. During evening meals in the Seiwald dining room it seemed that nearly every table had a child or two and the air was full of the laughter and genial commotion that Are usually present where kids Are gathered. The Young guests were invariably treated with Courtesy respect and even affection by the hotel staff. Steger knows his company s reputation is based on service and he has no tolerance for hotels that do not measure up. He tells of one hotel the company used for a while last year. Through a number of complaints it became Clear that it was treating americans As second class guests. That hotel is no longer a facility for guests of tyrolean Tours. We Don t hesitate to drop a hotel if our clients Are not Happy Steger says. Tour leaders Are stationed at most of the hotels where tyrolean Tours lodges its guests so there is always an English speaking person nearby to answer questions and solve problems. The tour Leader is at the hotel mornings and evenings and during the Day can usually be found at the scene of various activities generally on or near the slopes. Because the hotel was heavily booked i was Given a room in the Seiwald s chalet Annex about 200 Yards up the Hill beside the ski slope. This made for easy Access to lessons and lifts the next morning. Tyrolean Tours most popular arrangement includes hotel accommodations with two meals a Day. At the Seiwald i found the food both Hearty and appetizing the portions generous. A typical evening meal was asparagus soup salad roast beef egg noodles fresh baby carrots and for dessert a chocolate sundae with whipped Cream. At breakfast guests Are served Coffee Tea or hot chocolate and help themselves to a Large Buffet of fresh Rolls butter Jam Sandwich meats cheese Cereal and juice. Most clients come for downhill skiing and stay for one week arriving and departing on a saturday. This is because for those taking lessons sunday is the Start of the class week. Booking through tyrolean Tours entitles them to discounts on lift passes lessons and equipment rentals. The firm also sponsors other activities from nighttime Toboggan excursions to ski films,.sleigh rides and Day trips into Salzburg. Sunday morning at the ski school Headquarters was a seeming chaos of adults children skis and poles. But the mass of people soon queued up into subgroups according to age ability and language. The initial grouping was done according to a skier s self evaluation. But once students and instructors had gotten together the first activity for All but beginners was a ride up the rope Tow for the professionals to pass judgment. Each student made three or four turns Down the slope under the gaze of the instructors. Only then were the class groupings set. Because of the nature of the ski school s clients Steger estimates that seven out of 10 Are English speaking All of the instructors speak English. Most Are austrians who have become fluent in the language several australians also Are on the staff. I was placed in a group with seven other intermediate skiers under the Tutelage of Kirc Dorf native Martin Fankhauser. My group had an englishman two dutch students and five americans. With the sunlight glinting off the Snow and a Brilliant Blue sky overhead it was a Beautiful Day for skiing. Though it had t snowed in weeks the slopes were Well groomed with More than a foot of packed powder. The flip Side to this Winter s stable weather and Lack of precipitation has been the picture perfect sunny Days in the few ski areas that do have Snow. Kirc Dorf located in the Schnee Ecke Snow Corner of the Tyrol has been among the Lucky ones. Fankhauser wasted no time in putting us through our paces. But this was not a mass game of follow the Leader with the students simply imitating Maneu vers performed by the instructor. Each student got individual attention and instruction on How to Correct the things he was doing wrong and improve the things he was doing right. The emphasis this Day was on exercises designed to get our weight onto our downhill skis in turns and to Stop the tendency to lean into the Mountain instead of downhill. With four lifts and a half dozen trails the Kirc Dorf ski area is Ideal for beginners and Low intermediates. The ski school generally starts its classes there moving them to larger and More challenging areas during the week. Buses take the groups to among others St. Johann the Stein Platte and Fiebe Brunn. All Are within a 10-mile radius and present challenges worthy of any ability level. The Region also has a Large  of Cross country trails. Skiing for americans is what tyrolean Tours is All about. Steger estimates that 75 percent of the firm s clients Are military personnel stationed in Europe. About 5 percent come Over from the United states and 17 percent Are americans who work for International companies in Europe or at . Embassies and consulates. Many guests have been Back two three or More times. Air Force it. Col. Mike Engelmeyer 32nd tac fighter so Oesterberg a Netherlands booked with tyrolean Tours for the fifth time. Engelmeyer who has skied other areas in Europe Calls Kirc Dorf the Best place we be been to in five  other guests express equally positive opinions. Maj. Rick Cavin Neucom Headquarters in Stuttgart West Germany says he and his family have skied All Over and i can t say enough Good about  his son Chris echoed his feelings with one word  maj. Jim Schmidli 3rd inf div Headquarters in Schweinfurt West Germany says the Best part is the  because tyrolean Tours will handle All arrangements there is no need for individual guests to concern themselves with contacting hotels or arranging for lift passes ski school enrolment or Nursery for children. And the kids Are taken care of wonderfully Schmidli adds. Schmidli and his wife Tanna have two children 11 and 8. Mrs. Schmidli says that one of the most important things is the excellent instruction the fact that the teachers Are very Nice and  Steger also emphasizes that flexibility is the firm s byword when dealing with children. For example if a Young child is booked into the ski kindergarten and does t like it the parents can simply Transfer him to the Nursery with no loss of Money. In two Days of searching i was unable to find anyone who had a negative comment about tyrolean Tours the area or the skiing. One guest did say his children had a minor problem with the ski school one year but it had been quickly solved. All expressed satisfaction with the tour leaders and especially the convenience of being Able to make All arrangements through them and pay in dollars. The company even accepts personal checks. Serving americans since 1961 tyrolean Tours is the creation of a former air Force enlisted Man who was stationed at Ramstein a West Germany. The idea came to master sgt. Alton Dodge after he helped to organize a ski vacation for service members to the Kitz Bushel area in 1961. The excursion was such a Success that he decided to leave the air Force and make a full time business of Seeger arranging tyrolean vacations for americans two years Kilcur he took on a partner Dale f. Waddle another american. Helmut Steger began his association with tyrolean Tours 20 years ago. Born in Kirch corf he spent his Early childhood and teens there before leaving to study Tor six years in Innsbruck and Salzburg. When he returned it was to operate his own accounting firm. One of his clients was tyrolean Tours. This Small scale involvement continued until 1975, when it grew dramatically with Waddle s decision to return to the United states. Steger bought out Waddle s Stock and became a partner in the company. In 1981, on the death of Dodge Steger purchased the remaining shares from Dodge s estate and became the sole owner of tyrolean Tours. Since that time he has sought to continue the premise on which the company was founded arranging hassle free ski vacations in the Tyrol for americans. Steger and his wife Christina Praise what they Call the american mentality which they characterize As open and unpretentious. Since 75 percent of the company s clients Are in the military Steger knows that he must gear his services to them. Military members can Book through itt offices and the company offers special packages on some american holidays. The company also puts on presentations at the invitation of 15 to 20 officers wives clubs each year. Steger says the firm s military clients used to be a fairly even mix of enlisted and military. Since the fall of the Dollar however Many More Are officers. But he says that All ranks get equal treatment it does t make any difference if they Are sergeants or three Star generals. All of them Are vips for  in March 1984, tyrolean Tours celebrated the occasion of its 100,000th american guest. Since then thousands of others have put to the test Steger s pledge to do whatever needs to be done to make sure their vacations Are enjoyable. . Price information prices for tyrolean Tours vacations vary according to the guest s Choice of lodging the week booked and the Dollar Exchange rate. Hotel and pension prices include breakfasts and evening meals. Those renting apartments must provide their own food. The Low season Price for adults at the hotel Seiwald is $269 for seven Days. Children up to 6 years old pay $161. At the pension Sonn Leith the rates Are $139 for adults and $83 for children. A apartment rental at Oberleitner apartments accommodations for six including Linen and cooking utensils is $449. Taking the Dollar Exchange rate into account hotel prices Are comparable whether booked through tyrolean Tours or directly through the hotel. However savings Are available through tyrolean Tours on other aspects of a ski vacation. For example rental Cost Lor skis boots and poles at sport Bichler next to the tyrolean t6urs office in Kirc Dorf is normally 580 schillings a week. Guests who show their tyrolean Tours id card pay Only 400 schillings a saving of 180 schillings. A ski pass for 6 Days at the Kirc Dorf ski area costs 600 schillings for adults and 380 schillings for children. Tyrolean Tours guests pay 540 schillings and 310 schillings respectively. A regular Day ticket at nearby St. Johann costs 250 schillings for adults tyrolean Tours guests pay 200 schillings. Those wanting More information can write to tyrolean Tours Griesbach Weg 4, . Box 6, a-6372 Oberndorf Tyrol Austria or . Box 204, a-6382 Kirc Dorf Tyrol Austria. The Telephone number from Germany is 0043-5352-3134 or 2650. . 12 stripes Magazine february 16, 1989 february 16, 1989 stripes Magazine 13