From Alpina
into the snow
Bruno Strolz
tells
The ski guide for golden moments
Bruno got his first skis at the age of three. He wasn't really enthusiastic about skiing at first.
One day, my mother sent me out to ski down the ramp of our hay barn. I was out alone in the snowstorm. When it got too much for me, I took off my skis and left them in the middle of a large field. It snowed so heavily over the next few days that a huge amount of snow covered my skis. That was the end of skiing for that winter. It wasn't until the snow melted in spring that my skis were free again.
How did this rogue become a passionate expert?
I was involved in ski training in Lech from the age of seven. I raced. Above all, I went everywhere with my friends, even off-piste a lot. In my mid-20s, I did the state ski instructor and ski guide training. It is said to be the most difficult training course of it´s kind. I prepared well for the entrance exam and was in top form. After two years of training, I was one of the best graduates.
You were involved in the Lech ski school for many winters. Who were your guests?
I first gave group lessons. Later, I was only active with private guests from all over the world, with the Goulding family from London, the Bernasconi family from Buenos Aires, the Kneisel family from Boston and Tommy Hilfiger's family. My most famous private guest for many years was Diana, the Princess of Wales.
From the forest
into the fireplace
Bruno Strolz
tells
The woodsman in his own forest
The wood in the open fireplace of the Boutique Hotel Alpina comes from the forest in the area of the nearby ski run over the Madloch from Zürs to Lech.
The established families (7 in number) in the Omesberg parcel, which is also home to the Alpina, have certain grazing, water and wood procurement rights. Forest and pasture are managed jointly in the Alpe Gstüat. I am the so-called "Alpmeister", who organizes and keeps everything together.
How important were these wood procurement rights for your ancestors and their farming?
They needed the wood to build houses, stables and barns in the mountain meadows. It was vital for heating in winter.
How does the cozy fire in the Alpina fireplace come about today?
I still go logging in summer with my son Severin and my godson Johannes Strolz (Olympic champion 2022/Peking). The trees are marked and given numbers. The group decides how the wood is distributed to the individual houses in the respective year. A large proportion of my firewood is used for the open fire in the Alpina.
From the farmer's boy
to host
Bruno Strolz
tells
The origins of the Hotel Alpina
The Alpina was the original home of the Strolz family in Lech. Bruno rebuilt it in its original size.
I was born on a sunny summer morning. My father Artur was mowing our mountain meadow in Zürs that day. The Alpina was our home and also a guest house. My mother Ingrid looked after and pampered the guests. I grew up in this environment of farming and hospitality, very sheltered and very modest.
How did you experience your childhood at Alpina?
Even at the age of three, I went to the barn with my father every day in the morning and evening. My responsibility was the calves. I had to feed and clean them. At the Alpina guest house, I admired the toys the guest children had, which we could only dream of. My brother and I had our animals in the stables - the cows, horses, pigs, chickens and our sheepdog Tasso.
This was followed by years at the neighbouring Hotel Schmelzhof and then your return to the Alpina. What have you done with your original home?
With a heavy heart, I had to tear down the original Alpina in 1999 and rebuild it. I was able to preserve the old parlour and reinstal it. I used the well-preserved wood for the floors, for example. The old was carefully integrated into the new. Authentic, unique and impossible to copy. The Alpina still benefits from this today.
