FRANZ STYLE
playing for keeps in an alpine oasis that promises to
"Lift Your Spirits & Elevate Your Soul."

Rarely do I seek press passes to any of the festive events of Telluride. There’s no doubt I should have a "look-see" at most of them as our advertising/publishing company (Bush & Associates, Inc.) merits keeping current and informed as to who is here in town, what is happening, etc. Well, when the Wild West Weekend occurred in late September, my friend, Page Teahan, called and said we must go. "Franz Klammer, Mel Gibson, Daryl Hannah, Ricki Lee Jones, Rowdy Crowell and more are to be there," said Page. Nothing further was said as we knew opportunities abound. I donned my dress-up attire - jeans, a turtleneck and a vest - and we began our journalistic escapade.

The opening dinner gala at The Peaks opened with a huge bang for both Page and myself, professional photographer and publisher/editor respectively. The only table available to us was right up front with a couple whom we had rather hoped would be willing to share it with us. They nodded their acceptance and we, in Page’s southern-belle fashion, introduced ourselves. They were a man and wife media team. He, a People magazine photographer, and she, a contributing-editor of Woman’s Day Australia and national TV "gossip" columnist. Yea! To Page and myself, this was like striking the right lottery numbers. As the evening progressed, I asked the couple for their critiques and feedback on TellurideStyle magazine. They both said the magazine was a handsome piece and they’d suggest trying to get more lifestyle stories in the magazine. Minutes later, I introduced myself to Franz Klammer and asked if I could interview him. We were invited to Franz’s condo in the Mountain Village the next morning.

We rapped on Franz’s door at 9 a.m., a semi-civil weekend time, and six-time world speed skiing champion, Franz Weber, answered the door - in his skivvies. (Europeans are much less modest than we Americans). In broken English or, perhaps, tired-English, he said, "Wait a minute." Five minutes later Page and I entered the confines of some of the world’s greatest skiers. My lifelong fetish for skiers made me a bit nervous, but Mr. Klammer and his cohorts, Franz Weber and Jim Fetzer, made us feel right at home by offering us a health drink spiked with??? (They never said.)

"Franz tell us what brought you to Telluride and what keeps you coming back again and again?" I asked. "There’s no place as dramatic, friendly or as unique as Telluride. I knew since the first time I visited Telluride in 1982, that this place was special and I would always keep coming back." Franz is thrilled that his name will forever be set in stone with the Franz Klammer Lodge in Mountain Village. "Everything about the Lodge is perfect and goes unsurpassed. People will scarcely find a better lifestyle." The location of the Franz Klammer Lodge is as unbeatable as Franz himself. Offering club members out-the-door world-class skiing and golfing in the most majestic mountainscapes around. Interested? Look under "R" (real estate) in our business directory.

"Franz, holding the '76 Olympic Gold Medal and countless worldchampionships, (25 World Cups and another gold medal won in St. Mortiz, Switzerland for the combined) what do you think gives you the impetus to win, win, win?" Being a man of few words, Franz answered, "At the starting block, I simply look at all my competitors and say to myself 'I’m going to be the winner.’" A rather simple focus I thought, but one that seems to have worked. Franz seems to weave his "winning objectives" into his attitude and he isn’t one who likes to be second best in anything. He has the "world is my oyster" philosophy of living. Perhaps it comes from the Austrian’s strong sense of family, perhaps it is all derived from his first wins on the slope since the age of 14. Whatever the case may be, Olympic athletes, in my mind, are a country’s most treasured asset. Their very essence exudes hope, determination and respect as you know everything they have obtained, they did on their own volition.

Presently Franz Klammer competes in senior ski racing in the USA and throughout the world as well as races cars. Of course, he was a commentator, for the Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway. I asked him what he thought of the Italian Stallion, Tomba, and his enthusiasm rose and his eyes took on a new glitter when he said, "Tomba is the best skier I’ve ever encountered, anywhere." Having recently visited Lillehammer myself, along with picking-up on his passion of GS racing, visions of these swift, agile skiers invaded my thoughts. I remembered my friend, Marty Wilcox, a fully certified PSIA instructor, telling me the "seasoned" ski instructors of Telluride invited the Franzs (Klammer and Weber) to "clinic" with them. At the top of the Spiral Stairs (North America’s steepest run) both men shot down the run turning only thrice. The veteran instructors’ eyes, mouths and bodies were motionless for seconds as they watched these lithe skiers in awe. Wowza! Not only does that take an ample dose of guts, it takes a rare form of talent--an innate talent.

Klammer’s favorite runs in Telluride are Bushwhacker, Coonskin, The Plunge and Lookout; the cruisers. He does non-stop loops and doesn’t even have to work-out to do them. Since our mountain is highly noted for its tremendous moguls, I asked what runs he likes to indulge in this genre of skiing, and he informed us that his knees are fragile now-a-days so he does not do a lot of bumps. He does, however, ski the entire Telluride mountain as the scenery is some of the best he has seen anywhere in the world.

His commitment to skiing goes much further than his alpine endeavors on the slopes. He acts as a kind-of-diplomat for the Karnten Tourism Board in southern Austria, near the Alpenhaupkamms. Near the time of the interview he was going to Moscow where his government feels there will be a big "ski/tourism" market for their country. As an ambassador-of-sorts for Austria he travels all over the world on a continuous basis. He said next to Telluride, his favorite cities-of-the-world are New York, San Francisco and Sydney, Australia. His favorite ski resorts are Arlberg, Austria and, of course, Telluride, Colorado.

Knowing that his hometown and primary residence, Vienna, Austria, is a mere 225 miles from the Bosnian border, I had to inquire as to his reflections on the tragedies against humans over there and he offered nothing but a sadden, distraught look that drove the reality of it all home to me.

Until the Franz Klammer Lodge is completed in the summer 1996, Franz jet-sets around the world spreading his enthusiasm of the "ski culture." His wife and two daughters, Sophie and Stephanie, hold down the fort in Vienna between visits with this man who has presence- an Olympian, worldly, playboy-type of presence.