The Swiss-born Belgian citizen was particularly renowned for his studies of cosmic rays, and became obsessed with the idea of reaching the stratosphere to extend his research and further investigate Einstein’s theory of relativity.

Previous research had shown that the journey to the stratosphere, anywhere between six to 31 miles above the surface of the earth, could be fatal. In order to enter the isothermal layer, the first nine kilometres of the stratosphere where the temperature remains constant and the pressure is unusually low, some sort of revolutionary balloon would be needed.

This was where Piccard’s genius came in. The scientist made plans for an airtight aluminium gondola, which would subsequently become commonplace in airplane cabins, and attached it to a large hydrogen balloon with enough ascent strength to power into the stratosphere.

Not only did the scientist have to do the reasoning and calculations behind the breakthrough, he also had to design and produce the balloon and test it out on completion. Auguste Piccard was the brains, engineer, manufacturer and adventurer behind the project. A jack of all trades.

Ultimately though, Piccard and Kipfer would find good luck even in the worst situations, and so too, in their climatic moment of misfortune, would the small glacial town of Obergurgl.

The original plan had been for the balloon to touch down in Milan days after taking off, but after 16 hours, there was a problem that caused Piccard to crash land. The balloon just so happened to fall on the Gurgler Ferner glacier, launching a rescue mission from the nearby town of Obergurgl and turning the eyes of the world to the village in the process.

“It was the children in the school that first spotted the balloon on the glacier,” tells Professor Wolfgang Aste, former chair of the Austrian Ski School technical commission and a man who knows more about skiing and the Obergurgl area than any guide book.

“They shouted to their teacher, and soon a man named Hans Falker, a clever man, called for all of the ski instructors and mountain guides in the area – nearly all of the inhabitants, of which there were about 220 – to go up on a rescue mission.

“The ropes and equipment that the alpine guides had allowed them to make the rescue safely, and the people became friends with Piccard after that as he stayed to plan his journey home.

Falkner was decorated by King Albert of Belgium in the end for rescuing Auguste Piccard and the balloon from the glacier.

85 years later and we’re standing under blue skies in Obergurgl awaiting the opening of the new ‘Top Mountain Cross Point’, a luxurious ski restaurant, vintage motorcycle museum and gondola point 2175m above sea level.

It’s the latest addition to the impressive set up on the glacier, which boasts 4,500 tourist beds and 110km of ski slopes surrounded by stunning mountains on every side, including views over the Italian Dolomites. It’s safe to say that Obergurgl has come a long way given that back in 1910, the population of the town was just 39 people.

A boom in mountaineering throughout Europe meant that things were slowly on the rise for Obergurgl in the 1920s and 30s, but had it not been for the internationally renowned Piccard and the media attention brought on by his crash, it’s unlikely the setting would have become the hub of snow sports and mountaineering it is today.

It was only five months after the balloon crash that the first international ‘Piccard’ ski race took place on the Festkogel glacier, on 10 January 1932. The village didn’t wait around to capitalise on their astonishing piece of good luck.

The boom in tourism spawned change, and though it was halted by the Second World War, the first t-bar in Obergurgl would revolutionise the village in 1949 and the first chairlift would follow in 1953.

Seven years later, the Timmelsjoch high alpine road connected Obergurgl to the rest of the valley, and the hotel village of Hochgurgl was built around the same time. Nowadays, there’s a modern, comfortably glamorous feel to the resort, with a monument to Auguste Piccard at the centre, added in 1989.

Wolfgang himself has been based in Obergurgl since 1972 now, having travelled the world “as a nomad” and skied in the United States and Canada for years before returning to his Austrian home.

Aste has coached national and international ski teams and made pioneering breakthroughs in ski education in Austria, Japan, Canada and more.

The man knows skiing and what makes a good resort, and he’s been in Obergurgl watching the resort grow into one of the best in the country for the past 44 years. He lives and breathes skiing, and even his son is now a local ski instructor.

“Sports and skiing are not only my hobbies, they’re my profession and my life,” he adds, with an enviable passion. “It’s my life.”

There’s no doubt that wherever he had ended up living in the world, Wolfgang Aste and his family would have spent their days on the slopes surrounded by the mountains.

He perhaps has Auguste Piccard to thank, though, for the fact that he’s been able to do so in Obergurgl.

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