What a day in Kitzbuhel!

With blue skies, frigid temperatures and still masses of powder to tackle the conditions in Kitzbuhel today were some of the best that will be found all winter (probably). The snow pack in some areas was really mind blowing and whilst wind has played a role in drifting it into big slabs these sections in some places were 4 metres or more high. The Hahnenkamm race piste was looking immaculate and all fenced off and ready to deliver the epic race. One worrying blot on the horizon is the next snow front which is due to arrive for the men’s training day on Thursday, dump heavily on Friday for the super G day and carry on into race day on Saturday. Anxious organisers will start the sleepless nights as this system approaches - everyone else will be revelling in the continued epic snow conditions that arrived early December and haven’t left since. A quick snow report from today in the Kitzbuhel ski area:

Mayrhofen opened today

After the heavy snow of the last few days the Mayrhofen ski area opened today with the Ahorn cable car ferrying skiers and snowboarders up to the fresh powder that has fallen over the last few days. The Penken side of the Mayrhofen ski areas is set to open in the coming days. With almost a metre of snow falling over the Arlberg in recent days then Austria is very much ready for the early season visitors. Clouds, sun and snow are all forecast for the coming week in varying degrees depending on location but Kitzbuhel is set to see further snow on Saturday.

December brings the snow

After a November that can best be described as mild to reasonably cool, very sunny and very, very dry, then the arrival of December is bringing winter fully back to earth with heavy snow set to hit the west of Austria from this weekend onwards. Records for lack of precipitation have been smashed in the Tirol in November with possibly not a millimetre of rain, snow or anything else falling out of the sky for the entire month. It hasn’t prevented Obergurgl and Ischgl from opening on schedule but I am sure that they are as relieved as anyone by the weather charts. Over the weekend resorts such as Ischgl, Solden, St Anton and Kitzbuhel are set for a period of heavy snow that will have a slight interlude before the snow returns early next week. We are very likely be announcing the first flake as soon as it leaves the cloud so keep checking back.

Endlich - the snow is coming

After a month-long period of blue skies and sun and a complete lack of rain or snow, the cycle seems headed for a welcome end over the Austrian Alps with snow forecast in Kitzbuhel in the east and Ischgl and St Anton in the west. It hasn’t been the temperatures necessarily over the last month that have been despairing, more the dryness of the conditions - the sun has been warm but generally the air has been cool. The problem though has been the relentlessly dry conditions, with no part of the Alps spared. Luckily for Austria the glacier skiing takes place on 8 glaciers and these benefitted from some great early autumn snow so have been offering some great skiing. All of them will be welcoming a top-up for sure, from cloud laden skies. Forecasts are conflicting at the moment but all agree that Friday / Saturday should see a decent dump, others are identifying Wednesday as another day due to bring snow.

Corporate ski trips - flocking to Austria

We have had seen a huge growth in business and corporate trip enquiries in the last few months asking for a wide range of Austrian ski holiday resorts. Initially it was believed there must have been a successful marketing push behind the surge but the range of resorts, dates and industry profiles suggests something more general at work. As a company we push the quality and authenticity of Austrian resort ‘messages’ hard, the snowfall figures are beyond debate and are strongly in favour of Austria and surveys suggest that Austria offers some of the best value for money in the Alps, alongside Italy. There are many, many epic destinations for corporate clients and groups outside of Austria with Zermatt and Megeve high on any list. Val d’Isere has the label, ski area and to a degree an unswerving loyalty whilst 1850 still makes headlines for prices when the ski area should be worthy of more columns of coverage. Verbier has a great deal going for it, especially the skiing, St Moritz and Davos are headline names with mighty ski areas above them but when it comes down to choices it hard to overlook Austria and that seems to be in evidence for corporate and group ski planners. Austria offers events that are unsurpassed with the Hahnenkamm race weekend in Kitzbuhel is akin to Wimbledon - the Hahnenkamm offers unique drama, unmatched risk and ultimately the adoration and respect of the entire snow sports world. In terms of apres ski then whatever the pace Austria has it - Ischgl offers both Sir Elton and The Killers the chance to host the end of season bash and whatever the demography of those in attendance the feeling is the same - blown away with presence and setting. Snow sure? Austria has the absolute best snow record in the Alps, it has 3 ski holiday resorts over 2km high and glacier skiing that is unequalled in the Alps with seasons that run from October to June (and year round). And crucially in these times when corporate ski groups are looking at ‘bang for the buck’ value for money then Austria (along with Italy) is peerless for corporate ski trip value. Wherever corporate ski groups end up in Austria, it is tough to find locations and suppliers in Austria whose prices aren’t justifiably fair. In this climate Austria is peerless.

FIS ski events for corporate groups in Austria

With the FIS calendar soon to kick off, hospitality and atmosphere on a big scale are descending on the Alps. Things start off for the men in Solden on the weekend of the 22nd-23rd October with the men’s and women’s giant slalom. Solden has huge events going on to mark the FIS season opening and for corporate groups looking to entertain as well as get some early season turns in, Solden is a great option with the Rettenbach and Tiefenbach glaciers offering skiing to over 3200m. Slightly later in the season and possibly the biggest winter ski event in the Alps, the Kitzbuhel Hahnenkamm race weekend offers the perfect setting for corporate hospitality and a carnival atmosphere that cannot be beaten. Practice days are followed by 3 serious days of racing and partying that really are unmatched in the entire Alps region. Celebrities from both on and off the snow mingle with the masses for an unmissable weekend. The race weekend runs from the 18th to 22nd January 2012.

Fewer revellers, less alcohol, more corporates, more security - the Kitzbuhel Hahnenkamm believes it is F1

I have seen it creeping in over the last few years at the Kitzbuhel Hahnenkamm - a more sanitised, safer and less disorderly Kitzbuhel Hahnenkamm race weekend. I started going to the race weekend annually around 10 years and was blown away by the excess, celebration, bravery, setting, atmosphere - it really was an assault on all the senses. The centre piece was of course the mind blowing race track that drops down the side of the mountain above Kitzbuhel. The Kitzbuhel Hahnenkamm is the stuff of skiing myths across the world and to see the event live defies belief - I have yet to see an event that is more incompressible to my senses than the Kitzbuhel Hahnenkamm (and I can ski to a reasonable level). To many, the partying on the slopes before, during and after the race is a side-show that is (/was) at best excessive and at worst gruesome. And yes in such a beautiful setting where nature is so fragile to see the vast piles of crushed beer cans, spilled gluhwein and collapsed revellers isn’t pretty for sure. But what struck me those years ago were the passionate, obsessive fans who came from all over Austria and beyond to celebrate their heroes. Bag checks followed a few years ago, more security guards are in evidence and fences are now enveloping the Strief - the fences for me symbolise the efforts to take the race out of the hands of the traditional spectators. Wooden steps are welcome for some but this is a mountainside, a race track that used to be a challenge to climb, cling to and then descend after the race - all part of the challenge to join those men who threw themselves down slopes of fearsome gradients. And whilst all the changes are not to be bemoaned the sanitising of the Kitzbuhel Hahnenkamm is clearly impacting the fan base and changing the visitor profile. The vast and sumptuous Audi sponsored corporate HQ at the finish area represents a direction that the race organisers are taking the race - and for me it is tragic. In taking the race from the fans and giving it to the paying VIPs the race organisers are stripping the heart out of the event. By charging spectators (even those who have already bought ski passes) at the upper section of the course, for me is directly subsiding the monstrous, if high end ‘VIP world’ at the finish line. And what of the young fans that used to party their valley asses off? Generations grew up in mass hysteria and undoubted excess once a year in January in Kitzbuhel, watching their heroes defy logic. These guys are the future of snow sports, just as twin tips and snowboards are - sanitising their one truly over the top day of mountain excess will drive them to Air and Style and similar events. And what of the Kitzbuhel Hahnenkamm - it will continue with an older crowd (me included) that will be ever more pandered to. This isn’t F1 - it ski racing and its most brutal, fearsome and celebrated - only its heart is being stripped, year by year as the celebrities are ushered in. Tragic.

The Kitzbuhel Hahnenkamm Strief downhill - too extreme?

Once again there are big questions being asked of the severity of the Kitzbuhel Hahnenkamm Strief downhill race course after two heavy crashes in the Kitzbuhel Hahnenkamm 2011 race weekend that have left 2 racers hospitalised - one very seriously. A Scott Macartney crash in 2008 raised similar debate over the difficulty of the course and no changes were made. In fairness to the organisers the 3 mentioned crashes occurred in different areas of the Strief which makes it harder to conceive of anything other than multiple course changes to alleviate the perceived threat. The curious aspect of the Kitzbuhel Hahnenkamm Strief course is that there are significant sections that are long glides that offer almost no threat to the racer although they will add to general fatigue. The first and last sections of the Strief course are where the challenge lies and often where the accidents occur. The acceleration out of the start gate and just a few seconds later the immense leap off the Mausefalle defy logic, whilst just a few seconds more and the racers are on a switch back turn known as the Steilhang (steep slope in English) which is brutally steep and challenging. Ask any downhill racer and the Kitzbuhel Hahnenkamm Strief tops the list in terms of psychological, physical and technical challenges. The course is revered for being the ultimate challenge and if it weren’t then another race course would take its place. Conditioning, safety equipment (both worn and lining the course) and measures such as marking the course to aid racers vision have all meant the Kitzbuhel Hahnenkamm Strief should be noticeably safer than in past years. The fact that it isn’t may reflect the almost unique ability of the course to push the best skiers to the absolute limits of courage and ability no matter what the era. Calls for course modifications right now are loud and there are some valid cases on each side. Is it going to happen? Unlikely - catastrophic climate change seems to be the only realistic chance of the Kitzbuhel Hahnenkamm Strief one day changing of expiring - the race organisers are loath to dilute the challenge of the ultimate ski race in the world without something more catastrophic. See a video we took and complied from a spectator’s vantage point of the extreme section at the top of the Kitzbuhel Hahnenkamm Strief course:

Kitzbuhel Hahnenkamm - bleak for the Austrians, joyous for the Swiss

Another day, another Swiss victory in the Kitzbuhel Hahnenkamm men’s downhill and another heavy fall. Today the Italian ski racer Klotz fell from over 4m at high speed and is currently hospitalised in St Johann, who together with the Austrian Grugger who crashed earlier in the week and is set for a long hospital stay (in Innsbruck) and recovery make for a pretty grisly injury list from the toughest ski race in the world. Equally painful for the Austrians is the fact that ski racer Didier Cuche took the win and eclipsed the national idol Franz Klammer on the Kitzbuhel Hahnenkamm. All pretty gloomy for the Austrians who are so used to domination of the ski world and certainly on their cherished Kitzbuhel Hahnenkamm race track. The good news for the locals included the conditions - cold, 20-30cm of new snow and sunny. Snow and race report from the Kitzbuhel Hahnenkamm 2011 today:

Start list for the 71st Kitzbuhel Hahnenkamm men’s downhill

With day time temperatures between -8 and -11c today in Kitzbuhel the race organisers are clearing the light snow from the Streif downhill course in preparation for the greatest ski race in the world, the Kitzbuhel Hahnenkamm men’s downhill. The start bibs have been drawn and these super-human skiers will start in the following order at 11:30 CET:

1 OLSSON Hans SWE
2 HOFFMANN Ambrosi SUI
3 BERTRAND Yannick FRA
4 GRUENENFELDER Tobias SUI
5 CLAREY Johan FRA
6 KOSTELIC Ivica CRO
7 NYMAN Steven USA
8 HEEL Werner ITA
9 BAUMANN Romed AUT
10 OSBORNE-PARADIS Manuel CAN
11 MILLER Bode USA
12 KUENG Patrick SUI
13 SPORN Andrej SLO
14 FILL Peter ITA
15 JERMAN Andrej SLO
16 WALCHHOFER Michael AUT
17 ZURBRIGGEN Silvan SUI
18 CUCHE Didier SUI
19 KROELL Klaus AUT
20 SCHEIBER Mario AUT
21 SVINDAL Aksel Lund NOR
22 JANKA Carlo SUI
23 POISSON David FRA
24 INNERHOFER Christof ITA
25 STREITBERGER Georg AUT
26 ZRNCIC-DIM Natko CRO
27 GUAY Erik CAN
28 THEAUX Adrien FRA
29 PARIS Dominik ITA
30 FAYED Guillermo FRA
31 JANSRUD Kjetil NOR
32 LIGETY Ted USA
33 KLOTZ Siegmar ITA
34 PUCHNER Joachim AUT
35 GANONG Travis USA
36 GISIN Marc SUI
37 ZUEGER Cornel SUI
38 STAUDACHER Patrick ITA
39 LUEOEND Vitus SUI
40 FEUZ Beat SUI
41 PATSCHEIDER Hagen ITA
42 THANEI Stefan ITA
43 STECHERT Tobias GER
44 REICHELT Hannes AUT
45 PANGRAZZI Paolo ITA
46 FISHER Erik USA Atomic
47 MARSAGLIA Matteo ITA
48 DEFLORIAN Mirko MDA
49 SANDER Andreas GER
50 THOMSEN Benjamin CAN
51 MARKIC Gasper SLO
52 BANK Ondrej CZE
53 BOUILLOT Alexandre FRA
54 KRIZAJ Andrej SLO
55 SEMPLE Ryan CAN
56 SIROKI Tin CRO

The 71st Kitzbuhel Hahnenkamm gets the green light

2 weeks before the epic Kitzbuhel Hahnenkamm downhill on the Streif course, the FIS has validated the course condition with the flagship race, the Men’s downhill set to run on the 22nd January. Following the race will be the customary biggest party in the Alps - tens of thousands international revellers stagger and slide off the mountain and into the resort for the awards ceremony. For those who haven’t experienced the Kitzbuhel Hahnenkamm race weekend it is certainly one to see - the race and celebrations are mind-blowing.

Kitzbuhel skiing in the first week of November

I am not the first to ski Kitzbuhel this autumn, the ski lifts at Pass Thurn have been running for a few weeks now but it was my first this season (and to date earliest) in Kitzbuhel. There were plenty of skiers and snowboarders up there and whilst there were just 2 lifts running it was a pretty ok ski, nothing like the glacier skiing at this time of the year but then again it isn’t glacier skiing. There is snow set arrive tomorrow and then it is expected to snow all week so the lifts at Kitzbuhel and other areas are likely to be opening as the snow reaches down into the valley. After skiing we stopped for a bite to eat at Schwarzsee where the local business owners seemed to be having an impromptu hair and tan expo - it seems many of them had been in warmer climes in recent weeks. See the latest snow report from the Pass Thurn, Kitzbuhel:

Kitzbuhel weekend opening from mid November

The Kitzbuhel ski area is looking to operate weekend a service on the Fleckalm Gondola from the 13th November. The Fleckalm Gondola leaves from Kirchberg and reaches right into the Kitzbuhel ski area. The Hahnenkamm Gondola leaving Kitzbuhel itself is set to start operating a week later - all depending on snow conditions. Another useful Kitzbuhel date is the Kitzbuhel Hahnenkamm race weekend that in 2011 will run from the 21st to the 23rd January. Cold and sunny over here in Innsbruck with night frosts and early morning mist in the valleys.

David or goliath for snow?

We just had a blog comment from Japan, a hotel owner in Hakuba, Nagano Japan talking about the depth of snow they get in their region. With a top height of less than 2000m we in Europe are conditioned to think that this region in Japan is not snow sure. Well they get 11m of the stuff on average each year. I recall a few years ago showing a Austrian where I previously lived in British Columbia, Canada and he thought the map was incorrect in showing glaciers at far lower elevations than the Alps. If you go the Greenland (for now at least) glaciers exist at sea level. The point is height is a useful indicator and one that we are increasingly reliant on, but it is just one factor of many. Historical snow reports have proven that the west of Austria gets more snow than anywhere else in the Alps. Take the Bregenzerwald ski resorts that are located at 1000m, they get far more snow than any other ski resorts in the Alps despite some being 1300m higher. Go to St Anton, St Christoph, Stuben, Lech or Zurs in the winter and see unrivalled snow packs. The aspect of height is important in broadly achieving lower temperatures in a defined region. Comparing Canada to Austria is problematic because of latitude. But broadly speaking you would expect areas on a similar latitude to be colder the higher (and this is very broadly speaking). But the same micro-climates that can affect this relationship also throw up different weather patterns. Hence the unbeatable amount of snow that comes in over Switzerland, hits the western mountains in the Austrian Arlberg region and dumps month after month, year after year. So height yes, one factor but you don’t just want to be cold on holiday? You need to be surrounded by the white stuff. There are 3 regions of the world where I have found unimaginable levels of snow – Japan, the west of Canada and the west of Austria. And you know what… if I had looked at a detailed map and made my judgement on that I would never have experienced such incredible levels of snow.

France reign in the mens Hahnenkamm slalom 2009

Going into the second run of the mens Hahnenkamm slalom 2009, Reinfried Herbst of Austria had a half second lead over Jean Baptiste Grange from France but after missing a gate on the second run he allowed a French one two with Julien Lizeroux taking the win from French compatriot Jean Baptiste Grange.

The results from the 2 runs of the mens Hahnenkamm slalom 2009:

1. LIZEROUX Julien FRA 46.88 46.95 1:33.83
2. GRANGE Jean-Baptiste FRA 45.88 48.03 1:33.91
3. THALER Patrick ITA 47.20 47.30 1:34.50
4. HIRSCHER Marcel AUT 47.66 46.93 1:34.59
5. VAJDIC Bernard  SLO 46.86 48.19 1:35.05
6. BROLENIUS Johan SWE 47.38 47.87 1:35.25
7. KOSTELIC Ivica CRO 46.12 49.16 1:35.28
8. WHITE Trevor CAN 47.05 48.50 1:35.55
9. MYHRER Andre SWE 47.53 48.07 1:35.60
10. JANYK Michael CAN 47.20 48.47 1:35.67
11. ZURBRIGGEN Silvan SUI 47.52 48.23 1:35.75
12. HOERL Wolfgang AUT 47.20 48.61 1:35.81
13. MOELGG Manfred ITA 47.11 48.74 1:35.85
14. IMBODEN Urs MDA 48.27 47.80 1:36.07
15. MYHRE Lars Elton NOR 48.18 48.03 1:36.21
16. VILETTA Sandro SUI 48.30 48.49 1:36.79
17. ALBRECHT Kilian BUL 48.27 48.56 1:36.83
18. MERMILLOD BLONDIN Thomas FRA 48.12 48.88 1:37.00
19. VOGEL Markus SUI 47.71 49.33 1:37.04
20. KRYZL Krystof CZE 48.17 49.09 1:37.26
21. MISSILLIER Steve FRA 47.65 53.37 1:41.02

The crowds were as usual not as big as the for the Saturday downhill but the course was lined with screaming spectators, whilst the finish area was packed deep with race fans. The resort centre of Kitzbuhel was again festive with music, mobile food and drink stalls and many visitors soaking up the atmosphere. I skied the run later in the day – very steep and sheet ice!