Ah, how good is the mountain air for the heart! Erich Kästner loved the snow, especially the snow and sunshine in the high mountains: Here he found time to write, peace, and relaxation – and enjoyed being up there. As a passionate observer, he watched the colorful hustle and bustle around him from his deck chair, the skiers, the snowball fights, the passing gondolas, and he enthusiastically watched ice hockey games. Kästner was a regular guest at the fashionable mountain hotels and time and again witnessed costume balls, as his winter vacations always fell during the Carnival month. On such occasions, Kästner made encounters and observations that found their literary expression in novels like "Three Men in the Snow" and in stories like "Noble People, 1200 Meters High." The alpine winter sports landscape may have changed since Kästner's time.