What Does This Man Do for a Living? Out and about with ski guide Tiziano Stimpfl

By — KRISTINA ERHARD Photography — PATRICK SCHWIENBACHER

What Exactly Does This Man Do

for a Living?

Tiziano Stimpfl has the best job in the world: He’s paid to spend his days skiing and putting a smile on people’s faces. But that’s not always as easy as it sounds

iziano Stimpfl has the “best job

Tin the world.” Or at least this was the description used in the job ad forwarded to him by his friends on WhatsApp. “That’s right up my street,” the now 34-year-old thought to himself as he applied for the position of Il Cavaliere, a charming ski guide, for the winter season in the Gitschberg Jochtal skiing area. That summer two years ago, he was working in record temperatures of over 37 degrees as a mountain bike guide in Arco on Lake Garda. “Mountain biking is my first love, but snowboarding comes in at a close second.” He started imagining what it would be like to work as a ski guide and get paid for spending the whole day on the slopes. Summer on the saddle and winter on skis. Che figata – how cool! He simply had to apply.

Despite there being more than 40 applicants, he was the one chosen for the role – thanks, so he was told, to his cheerful nature and his previous experience as a mountain bike guide.

Standing by the radiator next to his bed, Tiziano buttons up his thick, black, woollen tailcoat as he gazes out of the window. The winter sun is rising over the Dolomites and a beautiful new working day is dawning.

There were more than 40 applicants, but Tiziano Stimpfl got the job – and now spends his winters on the slopes.

7:20am

In Meransen/Maranza, a village lying at 1,400 metres above sea level, the only sound disturbing the still winter morning is the noise of the snow groomers being returned to their garages by the cable car valley station. Tiziano has always loved the mountains. “I used to spend my winters working as a waiter in an Italian restaurant in Sydney. I prefer it here,” he says, sipping an espresso from the small coffee machine in his accommodation’s common room. Throughout the winter season, he lives in a room right next to the valley station. He was born and raised in Cadine, a village in Trentino with 1,400 inhabitants at the foot of Monte Bondone, the mountain on which he learnt to ski and snowboard. Today, he’s living the dream by being able to walk to work and getting paid to spend the entire day on the slopes. “Having this job means a lot to me. I couldn’t sit around in front of a computer in an office all day,” he says, glancing at his watch. It’s time to go!

10:00am

Tiziano has a sunny personality. This is how he’s always been described by his nonna, his beloved grandmother, whom he visits in Arco as much as possible on his days off, which usually fall on a Sunday and Monday. He has the gift of being able to make people laugh without always having to clown around, which is an art form not everyone can master. His warm, friendly nature leaves skiers eager to join him for a weekly Italian aperitif at the Nesselbahn cable car mountain station, a glass of Prosecco or cloudy apple juice in their hands. Entertaining children and their parents in the Gitschberg Jochtal skiing area is all part of Tiziano’s job description. His daily work includes handing out

Il Cavaliere

English for cavalier. The word used to mean a horseman and later referred to a knight. Today, it describes an attentive, very polite man.

drinks, providing all manner of information about the skiing area, having tissues at the ready for all eventualities and presenting medals to youngsters after they complete their skiing lessons. Sometimes he will even open a bottle of sparkling wine with the edge of his skis, occasionally allowing the trick to go wrong to make everyone laugh.

In a nutshell, Tiziano’s job is to do whatever he can to make the ski resort an even more pleasant place to be. And he’s never off duty – he even has to stay in character during his lunch break. At the Nesselhütte mountain lodge, children stare in amazement as Tiziano walks through the door with a large, black top hat firmly attached to his ski helmet. It’s not always easy to act spontaneously or to smile on cue. “With children, cheerfulness seems to be infectious, but with adults it’s all about getting the timing right. Women laugh more than men, Austrians more than Italians and some Germans are a little harder to crack,” he explains with a twinkle in his eye.

Someone like Tiziano needs to be able to raise laughter among people from all corners of the globe and this calls for humour and sensitivity in almost equal measure. The ski guide takes off his top hat, opens a small flap on its round rim and reaches into it to pull out mini packs of gummy bears, which he hands out to a group of children taking skiing lessons. He then sits down at an empty table. “Most children think I’m a magician. And in a lot of ways, they’re right – I’m always good for a surprise. It can be a lot of fun,” he says. But it is also exhausting after a while.

Part of his job involves him spending lunchtime sitting and chatting with visitors, but he himself only gets a chance to eat once they are all back on the slopes. His favourite dish is fried potatoes and he often shares his lunch break with Giacomo, who is also from Trentino and works on the slopes as a Carabinieri police officer. “I’m sure some visitors find us a funny sight – me wearing my huge top hat and Giacomo in his dark-blue ski uniform with the word Carabinieri printed on the back,” laughs Tiziano. Giacomo also spends all day on the slopes in winter and if anyone is going to understand how physically demanding that can be, then it’s him. “Our jobs are more similar than you would think,” continues Tiziano. “Police officers on the slopes provide information, give directions and try to make visits to the skiing region as pleasant as possible. Just without the jokes and gummy bears.” Tiziano smooths down his tailcoat and stands up. He needs to get to his next engagement – a snowcat tour at the Jochtal mountain station.

“Children think I’m a magician. And in a lot of ways, they’re right.” 2:00pm

Weighing in at 14 tonnes, snowcats are a source of fascination for many holidaymakers. The children hesitate before edging their way towards the snow groomer, their curiosity getting the better of them. The ski guide explains in German, English and Italian how this behemoth of a vehicle works, lifting the little ones into the driver’s cab. “I think many children used to dream of driving diggers or captaining ships, but today they want to be snowcat drivers – or at least they do here in South Tyrol,” he says. Grey-white clouds are gradually building over the Valler Jöchl

ridge and the neighbouring Hinterberg mountain. It looks like it’s going to snow. The slopes slowly empty as visitors start to make their way back to their accommodation. And with that, the ski guide should also be thinking about heading home to Meransen.

4:00pm

Sitting in the Gaisjochbahn cable car, which connects the Jochtal and Gitschberg skiing areas, Tiziano leans back and rests his head against the cabin’s window pane. In the strip of forest down below, he catches a glimpse of the occasional fallen spruce or fir tree, reminders of the violent storms which raged in the mountains around Brixen/Bressanone and in the Pustertal valley the autumn before last. Tiziano is tired and drained. Making people laugh all day is hard work, and these are the moments he notices it the most. “I’m not superman,” he says, disembarking and strapping on his snowboard. And yet, he spends all day pretending to be a kind of superhero whose superpower is his ability to put people in a good mood. It’s now time for Tiziano Stimpfl to clock off for the night from the best job in the world. He shuffles along on his board until he reaches the side of the slope, spins around and gives a friendly smile and wave to a few children standing nearby, before disappearing over the edge and carving sweeping turns in the snow as he makes his way down the wide run towards Meransen.

Making people laugh all day is hard work. By evening, Tiziano is very tired and looks forward to spending some time on his own.

At around 4:00pm, it’s time for Tiziano Stimpfl to clock off for the night from the best job in the world.

55 kilometres

In the Gitschberg Jochtal ski & holiday area, 55 kilometres of slopes with guaranteed snow offer a wide range of fun, family-friendly skiing opportunities. There’s even a children’s park to keep the little ones happy. The rustic mountain lodges are ideal for enjoying regional specialities and hot drinks on the sun terrace.

www.gitschberg-jochtal.com