Erich Pletzer

A life like out of the photobook: Colourful, lots of snapshots and a unique story to go with every picture. For his 60th birthday he wanted to be given photobook from his “rather extensive” photo collection, as he puts it. Impossible, as his sister found.
Erich Pletzer has seen and done a lot in his life, lived in many different places and experienced the school of life in various ways. His life is similar to the disciplines on the ski circuit, which he helped shape over many years as a professional skier: Rapid, thrilling, masterful.

Family, sports, freedom – those are the focal points around which the Mittersill native’s life revolves. Family is all that remains. Everything is easy when the family comes together. Of this, Erich is certain: “That’s what it was like with my parents and that’s how it still is.” Grown up in relatively modest circumstances – he learnt a lot about the basics of life from his parents. “Hi! – Bye! – Thank you, don’t talk when eating. If you take this as a guideline in life, you’ve already achieved a lot.” Erich was a professional ski racer.

After his apprenticeship he spent several years in the USA in this regard. “The Yanks loved us Austrians”, he laughs, “we were well-behaved, fun and game for anything.” He tells us how he swam across the Rio Grande and hunted for bears. With his friend “Jungle Jim” he almost got stuck in Canadian Calgary… but that’s another story
(just one of many Erich has to tell).
It’s the year 1974, location: Kitzbühel. This year, for his 17th birthday, he conquered the legendary Streif in slalom. He placed fourth in the first run. His long-time sports-friend Hansi, “Hinterseer, you know”, took gold. “I cut a gate, otherwise I would have won”, he smiles.

As a teenager, he always got angry when he messed something up. A coach once told him: “If you want to win, you first have to learn how to lose”. He took this to heart and this message had a great influence on him. In his opinion, sport is the number one school of life. Athletes get around a lot, meet people from many walks of life – skin colour and religion don’t matter here. “Either you get along or you don’t – it’s that simple.“ That’s the beauty of it, people should keep this in mind more often, especially in these times.

And he has yet another anecdote to share – in light of current events - just one of many… It was a sunny day in March 2020. “The café was closed, but we sold ice cream for takeaway. Lots of people lined up and wanted to buy a Pletzer ice cream – all dutifully keeping their distance, I must say. All of a sudden the police came and filed report on us. Charge: Too many people in one place.” Everyone knows what that was about. And yet Eric thinks it’s so simple: “Get out in the fresh air, keep your distance and get yourself a few moments of happiness. That’s what Martin Luther said more than 500 years ago, and he survived two plague epidemics“, says Erich thoughtfully. As a Mittersill businessman he worked on the tourism committee at a young age. “They took this survey once: Why guests love coming to Upper Pinzgau so much. Everyone thought because of the lifts, the golf course and the many attractions. Guess what the result was: Guests come because the people are so friendly.” What Erich wants most is that people from the different towns and villages stick together even more. “We are a valley, part of a whole.“ In Pinzgau there are so many beautiful spots and opportunities for experiencing moments of bliss. “I’ve been to many places, but our region is place number one – worldwide.“