Bloomberg Businessweek - USA (2020-10-12)

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Every winter afternoon, the Austrianvillage of Ischgl

resounds with the heavy clump ofbootsasitsdozensof

après-ski joints fill with sweaty visitors.Dedicatedskiersfrom

Germany, the Netherlands, the U.K.,andfartherafieldcome

for reliable snow, pulse-pumping expertterrain,and 45 lifts

serving 150 miles of slopes. But for manyvisitors,theappeal

is more about partying than pistes.

Ischgl’s slogan, “Relax—if you can,”givesit a reputation

as the Ibiza of the Alps. There’s theInsider“tabledance”

bar and Schatzi, where women in revealingdressesmodeled

on traditional Alpine attire shimmyandshake.TheKuhstall

(Cowshed) calls itself the “Home ofWahnsinn,” Germanfor

“craziness.” Amply lubricated withbeer, schnapps, and

glühwein, the dancing stretches into the wee hours, when

the hardiest of revelers stagger back to their hotels just as the

sun reaches the rocky peaks above town.

Bernhard Zangerl, a scion of the family that owns the

Kuhstall, says things will be different this winter. “There will

benowahnsinn,”hesays,surveyinghisemptybarona late

summerday.“Iguesswe’regoingtohavetobethe‘Home

ofEasygoing.’”

In March, Ischgl’s wahnsinn helped make it one massive

superspreader event. As Covid-19 wove its way through the

town, health authorities, hotels, and restaurants were slow to

react, unsure whether to quarantine vacationers and employ-

ees or send them home. Outbreaks across Europe have been

SKI SPECIAL Bloomberg Pursuits October 12, 2020

After seeding Covid outbreaks across Europe this past spring,

the “Ibiza of the Alps” is planning for a more subdued winter in ’21

By David Rocks and Boris Groendahl

A Virus Hot Spot

Faces Cold, Hard Facts

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY TVB PAZNAUN–ISCHGL

The typical après-ski

scene at the Paznauner

Taja restaurant in Ischgl