Ischgl James Blunt

James Blunt Kicks Off The Ski Season in Ischgl With a Spectacular Concert

I have been to Ischgl before but never to experience one of their legendary concerts to open the ski season. Hot on the heels of Robbie Williams who played the closing concert of last season, fellow Brit James Blunt was in town to kick the season off with a bang.

Blunty made his first appearance of the day up on the slopes by the spectacular Pardorama restaurant, reached by the new Pardatschgratbahn gondola. It was fitting for the photo shoot to be on the snow as James Blunt is a fantastic skier and used to ski for the Army. Not that we got to see him with two sticks as he made his grand departure stylishly on the back of a Ski-Doo. As he zoomed off into the distance I half expected to hear the 007 theme tune fill the air!

Known for his humorous quips and one-line putdown responses on Twitter, his press conference to journalists from all over Europe was always going to be a lively event. When one journalist questioned whether he actually wrote his own tweets, his quick response was, ‘I don’t . . . Justin Bieber does it for me!’ This set the tone for the rest of the press conference.

The tradition of the opening and closing concerts at Ischgl rolls back to when Elton John rocked it out on top of the mountain in 1995. Over the years it has firmly put Ischgl on the map as the place to be and with 20,000 people in town for the opening weekend of the season at the end of November, big names such as James Blunt certainly pull in the crowds. Of course, most people were not there just for the concert, but also to dust off their snowboard/skis and hit the slopes and it was the perfect conditions to do so.

The resort runs that snake back into the village of Ischgl were still fifty shades of green but the high speed Pardatschgratbahn gondola whisks you up to 2,624m in less than ten minutes where the white stuff is of abundance. We headed up even higher to where the resort crosses over to Switzerland and despite flat light, enjoyed a mix of blue, red and black runs back down. There was not much powder to speak of but we did venture off-piste slightly to make some fresh tracks before weaving back to the resort runs.

Amazingly, the small snow park was open, including an airbag. The park was a fun diversion with a mix of benches and rails, with boardercross style jumps at the entrance. As we were riding with Jamie Barrow, officially Britain’s fastest snowboarder, we got excited when we noticed the speed test run section, but unfortunately it had not been set up.

Snowboarder  Jamie Barrow in Ischgl

Jamie Barrow on the slopes of Ischgl

All in all it was good times on the slopes and surprisingly good conditions for the time of year, but of course the main attraction for the 20,000 people who had travelled to Ischgl for the weekend was the James Blunt concert.

As darkness descended over Ischgl, the crowds started gathering in front of the stage and I could feel the atmosphere intensify in anticipation. Now, I must admit that I have never been a ‘Blunters’ fan and only know two of his songs (well, one and a half!), but I was impressed with the energy and presence that he brings to the stage. Known for his ‘lost-love’ style songs, James Blunt even jokingly commented in the press conference that now he has found love – he married Sofia in the summer – his style will need to be more upbeat (despite reservations from his record company), and it was this type of song I enjoyed the most at the concert.

I was also very impressed with the different instruments that Blunt can play; starting off with tickling the ivory on the piano, he also played the guitar, as well as what looked like a Ukulele (I am no expert on instruments, so it might well have been a small kid’s guitar!)

James Blunt sure knows how to work a crowd and the security did a good job stopping over eager fans jumping the barriers at the front to get even closer to him. At one stage he even threw himself into the masses for some crowd surfing and his agents must have been relieved that he made it back to the stage in one piece from the frenzied mob of girls at the front.

After a couple of hours and a few encores, the crowds dispersed and we headed back up the gondola in the dark to the magnificent Pardorama restaurant for a three-course meal with Blunty himself, before heading back down to town for a drink.

With over 40 bars, discos and nightclubs there is enough to choose from and something for everyone. The Golden Eagle is a low key bar with a typical British pub vibe to it. The kind of establishment that you can unwind over a slow pint, while listening to classic tracks from the Rolling Stones, Beatles and Bob Dylan.

This can be a good leveller before heading over to one of the more lively bars such as the Kuhstall, Trofana Alm or Niki’s Stadl. These places have to be experienced to be believed and infamously start getting busy about 3.30pm as this is when the Apres Ski in Ischgl really kicks off!

The bars and dance floors of these huge Austrian bars are packed to the rafters with revellers in ski/snowboard boots, bouncing up and down to the heady tunes of Euro pop mixed with an infusion of Austria’s unique Oompah-Techno style of music. The vibe is contagious and is a ‘must do’ for anyone visiting Ischgl. The Apres Ski usually slows down about 7pm so everyone can go off to get changed and fed, before the party continues where it had left off, until the early hours of the morning.

With nearly 400 hotels in Ischgl you have choice from basic B&B’s to the newly renovated Elizabeth Arthotel which is home to a stunning collection of modern and classic art which can be viewed on every floor. We stayed at the more traditional Hotel Ballunspitze which is in Galtuer; a quieter village a few miles along from Ischgl. The hotel has large rooms, friendly staff and a retreat from the hustle and bustle of Ischgl. It was great to return to the hotel for a lovely meal and chill, before returning to the madness of Ischgl to party the night away!

Ischgl is the kind of place that I could never get tired of visiting. With fantastic snowboarding/skiing to have all through the season and a party scene that is homage to Apres Ski, it has everything I could wish for on a snowboarding/skiing holiday.

Fact Box

  1. Major tour operators to Ischgl include Crystal Ski, Inghams and Erna Low.
  2. Ischgl won the prestigious award for ‘Most Improved European Ski Resort’ in the Telegraph Ski and Snowboard’s World Snow Awards 2014.
  3. An adult VIP Skipass for the whole area is from only 203.50 euros for 6 days with a guest card for visitors staying in the village.
  4. Ischgl has a lift system with 45 ski lifts accessing 238kms of well-groomed runs.
  5. Ischgl is in the Paznaun Region of the Tirol and is in the Silvretta Mountains.