The Ski Journal • Volume 16, Issue 3 • THE SCHNEECRYSTAL

“You can’t earn a Schneecrystal by skiing cool powder lines or buzzing snowplow crews. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do either. Sebastian Fischer pursuing nothing much worth doing, with no chance of free lift tickets, fame or fortune outside of Lech, Austria.” Photo: Tom Winter

I don’t remember exactly when I heard about the best season pass in the world. It was at least a decade ago, and it stuck in my brain like a brand on a bull. The Schneecrystal: A pass that unlocked free skiing for life at Austria’s best ski areas. Not available to the general public. Only given to the best in the sport.

I filed away the information in the back of my brain, but over the years I tried to learn more. How long had Schneecrystals been awarded? What were the criteria to receive one? What did the thing even look like?

I finally sent a Facebook message to friend and former pro skier Sebastian Fischer. A native Austrian passionate about all things skiing and especially all things Austrian skiing, if anyone knew anything about the Schneecrystal, it would be Fischer.

It took less than an hour for Fischer to respond. “I haven’t heard about it until now,” he said. A frantic internet search had turned up the “Tiroler Schneekristall,” a designation awarded by the Tyrolean chamber of commerce and ski industry, presented to successful Tyrolean sportspeople. And then the kicker. “It is recommended that all Tyrolean ski resorts give free access to the lifts to any holder of this award,” he added, ending his message with a couple of German-language links.

The links were the validation I had been seeking, proof that Schneecrystals were indeed a Tyrolian “tip of the hat” to athletes who have reached the highest pinnacle of winter sports competition. Tyroleans such as Stefan Eberharter (overall World Cup champion in 2002 and 2003, gold medals in the super-G and combined at the 1991 World Championships, Hahnenkamm downhill winner in 2004), Nicola Lechner (silver in the slalom, giant slalom and downhill and a bronze in the super-G at the 1998 Winter Paralympics and bronze in the giant slalom at the 2002 Winter Paralympics) and Nicole Hosp (Olympic silver medalist in the slalom and giant combined, Olympic bronze medalist in the super-G, 2007 overall World Cup champion) had all received the recognition.

But the people behind the Schneecrystal don’t want to talk about it, maintaining an almost Fight Club-style secrecy when pressed for even a single detail. Josef Ölhafen of the Tyrolean WKO (the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber, which collaborates with the ski resorts and cable car operators that honor the pass), acknowledged its existence, but declined to comment for this piece, emphasizing that the Schneecrystal was less an award and more something Tyrolean ski areas offered as a matter of course to the region’s most decorated skiers. But Schneecrystals are anything but normal. With a total of over 80 ski areas in the canton of Tirol alone, including the legendary slopes of Ischgl, Sölden and St. Anton am Arlberg, there’s no doubt the lifetime skiing privileges bestowed upon a Schneecrystal recipient are some of the sweetest perks on the planet.

“Behind every name there is a myth: Toni Sailer, Franz Klammer and Hermann Maier,” Tirol Tourism’s Elena Protopopow says of the Austrian legends that have dominated ski racing. And, it seems, a mythical ski pass.

Tirol’s Arlberg region gave birth to the modern concept of downhill skiing. This evolution started with Austrian innovator Mathias Zdarsky, who changed skiing’s focus from the rolling, flat terrain of the valleys toward the plunging slopes of the mountains above, revolutionizing the sport by using shorter skis, developing the stem turn, organizing the first ski race with gates and inventing an alpine-style binding.

Austria as a country is steeped in skiing accomplishment, with nearly twice the amount of Olympic alpine skiing medals (121) as the closest competition (Switzerland has won 66). Perhaps its global dominance is why such a localized prize goes relatively unheralded. After all, Austria has bigger issues to worry about, like which member of its national team is going to take home a crystal globe at the end of the winter. That a globe might also beget something like a Schneecrystal seems a mere afterthought.

Still, Fischer’s message contained one more rabbit to chase. “Salzburg has a similar thing though,” he said. “They give away a ‘Golden Superskicard.’” Maybe the Scheecrystal isn’t the best season pass in the world after all?

The Ski Journal - Volume 16, Issue 3

THE SCHNEECRYSTAL

Issue List