Kühtai High-Altitude Training Centre opens its doors

High-altitude training has a long tradition in Kühtai since both the area’s infrastructure and its superb geographical location make it an ideal spot for training camps. The Tourism Association of Innsbruck and its Holiday Villages decided, therefore, in 2010 to create a state-of-the-art high performance centre for altitude training. Approximately € 1.3 million were invested in the ambitious project which represents a major development in the training sector for high performance athletes. In order to be able to meet the needs and demands of elite athletes, demands which are justifiably high, particular attention was paid to the high quality of the training facilities. One of the most significant features of the Kühtai High-Altitude Training Centre is that it offers a combination of high-altitude sport training with a free choice of accommodation, i.e. the athletes are not accommodated in a camp or hostel, but rather they can use the existing tourist infrastructure to the full.

An architectural and logistical challenge

On account of its high-altitude location at over 2,000 metres above sea level, Kühtai has a relatively short season during which construction work can be carried out. The building work for the Kühtai High-Altitude Training Centre, therefore, had to be meticulously planned and coordinated. As an inner-alpine region Kühtai has very little land suitable for building on and therefore maximum use must be made of the sites that are available. The ingeniously architected spatial concept of the Kühtai High-Altitude Training Centre ensures an optimum assimilation of the existing tourist infrastructure and, at the same time, a distraction-free training environment for the athletes. Despite the lack of building space in Kühtai, allowances were also made at the planning stage for a possible future extension of the Kühtai High-Altitude Training Centre.