Wood is a key element of Tirol's landscape and lifestyle. While the valley is dominated by large industrial sawmills, the mountains are still home to a few smallscale businesses which have been around for decades, if not centuries. We travelled to the Alpbachtal Valley to meet one of Tirol's last remaining master sawyers.

For many visitors to Tirol, contact with the locals is limited to the ski lifts, hotels and supermarket checkouts. But what are Tiroleans really like? We headed away from the pistes and bars to find out more about the lives of locals.

Many people come to Tirol in winter with a specific sport in mind, be it skiing, snowboarding, tobogganing, biathlon or ski touring. But what if you put them all together? Our author set out in a quest to broaden his horizon by challenging an Innsbruck local to a mini Winter Olympics – five sports in four days. Who will win?