Heli-Skiing in the Alps

Heli-Skiing with Hemingway in the Austrian Alps

Price: Starting at about $70,000

Travelers are fascinated with the idea of following in the footsteps of Ernest Hemingway, whether to a bullfighting arena in Pamplona, his former home in Key West, or a bar in Havana, Paris, or just about any other place where he ever pulled up a chair. Few of Papa’s fans, however, have thought to follow in his tracks on skis.

This gift from House Hannes Schneider in Stuben, Austria, includes a 1-day helicopter trip for four to Schruns, a resort in the Montafon Region where Hemingway skied with his young family in the mid-1920s, in the early days of the sport. The author wrote fondly about his Austrian skiing experiences in A Moveable Feast, and he opened The Snows of Kilimanjaro in the village of Schruns, where his family stayed in the still-operating-today Hotel Taube. The recipient of this gift (starting at about $70,000) and his or her guests will stop for a drink at the Taube after a day spent skiing the Schruns backcountry with a private guide. The day will also include a picnic lunch prepared by House Hannes Schneider’s chef as well as massages for all following the return flight to the chalet.

Recently renovated by the owners of the Kristiania Lech hotel, House Hannes Schneider is a historic residence in the heart of the Arlberg. The recipient and as many as 15 guests have the run of the six-bedroom chalet—which includes a sauna, a 16-seat dining room, a butler, and a chef—for 7 nights. A private ski guide will be available to the group throughout their stay for excursions into the Arlberg, which, with the opening of the Flexenbahn cable car between Zürs and Stuben/Rauz last winter, became the world’s fifth-largest ski area.

At the end of each day, guests can curl up by House Hannes Schneider’s fireplace with a Grüner Veltliner and a good book—perhaps The Sun Also Rises, which Hemingway rewrote during one of his ski trips to Schruns.

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House Hannes Schneider in Stuben, Austria.     

Photo: Courtesy House Hannes Schneider

Mountains in Stuben, Austria. 

Photo: Alex Kaiser