The career of Hannes Schneider – one of the greatest athletes of 1920s and 1930s ski racing – began when he was given his first pair of skis at the age of thirteen. He developed a new downhill technique and at a mere seventeen years of age, he became the first permanent skiing instructor of the region, leading to him start St. Anton am Arlberg’s first ski school in December 1921. Later on, he made a name for himself as an author of books as well as an actor in films.