This thesis argues that the relationship between Vorarlberg, a small, mountainous, and oft-ignored province in western Austria, and its geography has been formative in developing its cultural and economic identity within Austria. Since the eastern border of the province is formed by the Arlberg massif, travel to and from the rest of the Habsburg empire was incredibly difficult. Dangerous mountain conditions inspired folk legends, and people feared traveling through the mountains even when necessary until a tunnel could be built through the rock in 1884. Because of this geographic isolation, Vorarlberg developed differently from the rest of Austria. Its landscape meant that there was not enough land for large-scale agriculture and industry in the valleys, let alone in the small mountain villages. Although farmers did manage to raise a small number of dairy cattle and grow crops (creating the famous Bergkäse the region is still known for), mountain dwellers struggled to grow and thrive. Luckily, the Romantic movement and improved train infrastructure brought tourists who were in search of the sublime and a mountain adventure. These tourists needed food and lodging, which Vorarlbergers were happy to provide. This nascent tourism industry produced several early ski pioneers such as Georg Bilgeri and Hannes Schneider, who were instrumental in advancing ski technique and developing pedagogical methods. Schneider’s methods in particular were extremely innovative– most people worldwide today still learn the Arlbergtechnik that he developed. Bilgeri and Schneider would use their innovations to revolutionize skiing in the Austro-Hungarian military, and with the outbreak of WWI, they were responsible for teaching soldiers how to ski in preparation for the “White War”– the war for the contested mountainous border between Austria and Italy. After the war, skiing entered the realm of the masses, and winter tourism in Austria– especially western Austria– skyrocketed. Tourism hot-spots such as St. Anton in the Arlberg region helped get Austria through its post-war depression, and Hannes Schneider continued to draw people to both St. Anton and the sport of skiing through his work in the Bergfilm industry. Today, Vorarlberg is still well-known for its world-class ski resorts, and many Vorarlbergers are put on skis soon after learning how to walk. Austrians went from fearing the mountains at the fin-de-siècle to hosting the winter Olympics in Innsbruck in 1976, attesting to the power of the mountains and the incredible innovations from Vorarlbergers that made mountains both safer and more enjoyable for recreation.