A handshake back in 1990 heralded the birth of winter driver training in Sölden. The first training event was hosted by the Austrian resort the following year, since when several thousand BMW Snow Experience courses have taken place there. It all started with six-day events, in which skiing was an equally important element as the driver training itself.

Today, a wide selection of models from the current BMW line-up – from the BMW M4 to the BMW X5 – are put to work in a variety of different courses. The constructive partnership between the BMW Driving Experience and the Sölden region has become stronger and stronger over the years since it began.

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The handshake, shared by Josef Bücherl – one of the development brains behind BMW driver training – and Hans Falkner, manager of the hotel Das Central in Sölden, represents the opening chapter in the successful history of the BMW Snow Experience. “A handshake was all we needed back then,” Bücherl recalls. “It wasn’t until some time later that we put all the key details of our agreement down in writing.”

The BMW Driving Experience winter training program in Sölden takes place in a quite unique location. At 2,800 meters (over 9,000 ft) above sea level, it is the highest driver training center in the world.

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An exclusive one-off training event in Sölden will be held to celebrate the 25th anniversary.