Always focusing on the sun

As marketing manager of Bergbahnen Westendorf, the lift company, Tanja Pöll knows exactly what it means to keep up with the digital age on a daily basis. To reclaim her own pace again, she looks for peace and tranquility among the huge variety of mountain summits in the Kitzbühel Alps, many tried and tested routes, as well as new paths.

Three o’clock in the morning. It’s still pitch dark outside when Tanja’s alarm clock rings on her bedside locker. Time for her to get up. Equipped with headlamp and a backpack full of regional delicacies for a mountain breakfast, she’s outside her front door minutes later. Her destination? The Brechhorn, at 2,032 metres of altitude. One of the most popular hiking destinations around Westendorf and Tanja’s favourite place. She begins the ascent to the summit in the dark, the only sound is the soft crunching under her mountain boots, her headlamp casting a narrow beam of light into the darkness. Otherwise, it is quiet. These moments have always given Tanja her strength and energy. Even as a child, she spent every free minute that she had with her parents in the mountains. She never found their excursions boring, rather exciting, and unforgettable. She is following such a path in life now, as she gradually gains height, and the summit cross is getting closer.

Dawn begins to break as Tanja completes the last few metres of altitude. Once at the peak, she lets herself fall onto the fragrant Alpine grass and enjoys the special silence of nature for a moment before a new day begins. Standing at the summit as the sun rises and sends a golden shimmering light across the surrounding mountain peaks makes Tanja pause, inhale deeply and enjoy the moment. For her, it’s a feeling of freedom and peace, every time. "As the marketing manager of Bergbahnen Westendorf, I deal with social media all day long. I need the peace and quiet of the mountains, a sunrise, to recharge my batteries."

Simply lying down in the meadow, being aware of life, switching off the stress of everyday life, that's what many people can't do nowadays: "Yet it's moments like this that give you so much.” For Tanja, the Brixen Valley and Westendorf are home. "I never wanted to move away from here, the quality of life is unique." She rarely has the urge to travel, rather her passion lies in the nearby Kitzbühel Alps mountains. Every season has its attractions: “Be it Winter with refreshing ice-cold air, Spring when everything begins to bloom, Summer when the scent of freshly turned hay tickles your nose or Autumn when magnificently clear views make you believe that you can almost jump across to the next mountain peak. All of that has its very own special charm.”

#KitzbühelerAlpen | #LebenswegeTirol