Millions are watching him: The king of the Hausberg ridge

Never underestimate the Streif – a piece of wisdom that applies not only to the stars on the slopes, as I've learned. "You can get up there on foot, too. But you'd have to hike quite a way up," Daniel Ausweger confirmed to me via text message. At the time, I didn't question the fact that the Salzburg native, who's responsible for the spectacular TV footage at the Kitzbühel World Cup as a drone pilot, is transported to his location by helicopter.

So, for me, it meant taking the Ganslernbahn cable car up to the slalom start and then tackling two steep climbs to the viewpoint above the Hausberg ridge. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't panting from the arduous trudge through the snow. One thing I learned along the way: you don't have to conquer the Streif on skis to truly grasp just how steep the pinnacle of alpine skiing really is. Once at the top, Daniel greeted me with a broad, friendly grin and immediately went back to preparations with his girlfriend, Melanie.

Drones banned after Hirscher incident On a miniature, seemingly improvised helipad, he completed the final adjustments to the drone with which he has been providing the most impressive and immersive images of the World Cup in Kitzbühel for years.

For twelve years now, he has been piloting these technological marvels through the air, and in 2019 he found his way into the world of racing. Daniel only gained a foothold in alpine skiing three years later. There's a simple reason for this: after a TV drone crashed during the night slalom in Madonna di Campiglio in December 2015, narrowly missing Marcel Hirscher, drones were banned. In 2022, drones finally returned to the World Cup – naturally, in Kitzbühel.

Kitzbühel was a leap into the unknown. Daniel was also part of the squad back then. For the 42-year-old, it was a baptism of fire. "We were here a few weeks before the race and checked out the conditions. After a few test flights, the director was very happy," recalled Daniel, who had some experience in the sport due to his work on the film about the Austrian ski legend Franz Klammer.

The drone takes off from this field.

A supposed fascination with the spectacle on two planks certainly didn't lead him to his current kingdom, which stretches across the skies from Lärchenschuss to the Hausbergkante. "I've never been a big fan, I'm a snowboarder – it doesn't really go together," he joked, laughing. What started as a pilot project in Kitzbühel eventually developed into a unique career: Daniel can already look back on stints in mountain biking, ski jumping, and even Formula 1.

There's a bit of stage fright involved. The responsibility resting on his shoulders could hardly be greater. This is immediately apparent from the financial aspect. A drone complete with a camera system, similar in format to Formula 1 helmet cameras or goal-line technology in football, costs up to €24.000.

Despite his years of experience, even Daniel gets butterflies when he wears bib number one. "There's always a bit of stage fright. Especially for the first racers," he admitted. After all, millions of TV viewers will see his footage, and there's no room for mistakes or slip-ups in the live production. Whether it's Marco Odermatt, Franjo von Allmen, or Dominik Paris – when the gladiators of the World Cup hurtle down the slope at over 140 km/h, he's hot on their heels.

And that was the cue: A few minutes before the first training run, Daniel took his seat on a raised platform and launched the drone for the first time, sending up the larch-shaped slope. Bathed in sunshine, completely relaxed, he showed no sign of his supposed stage fright. Truly the king of the Hausberg ridge.

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Millions are watching him: The king of the Hausberg ridge

The Kitzbühel World Cup is world-famous not only for its course, but also for its spectacular aerial TV footage. An exclusive look behind the scenes.

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