Archive for the 'Stubai Glacier' Category
October 23rd, 2011 by matt
Powder weekend on the Stubai Glacier
A big powder weekend to accompany the season opening of the Stubai Zoo Park on the Stubai Glacier - irony indeed since most there were far more concerned with flight than depth of powder. It did mean though that the powder tracks took longer to track out than could have been the case. Cold and sunny conditions with perfect powder snow meant the car park at the Stubai Glacier was full to capacity - these really are weeks that the glaciers really cash in on the custom. More snow is forecast for Wednesday whilst conditions tomorrow should be perfect again with cold clear skies.
October 17th, 2011 by matt
The Stubai Zoo Park officially opens this weekend with a big event to bring in the new season on the 3000m+ Stubai Glacier Terrain Park. Eisgrat will be hosting a festival village with gear to buy and test and over in the Zoo there will be competitions over the 3 days. Sporting excellence will make way for nocturnal excess after dark with several warm up, warm down and stuff in between parties in the valley. Fine weather is forecast after the snow this week so all should be good in the Stubai Zoo - hopefully we can get up there and show you what went on.
October 12th, 2011 by matt
Further snow is forecast for the coming day and a half over the Austria glaciers. With the Stubai Glacier boasting an early October snow depth of 80cm, the Hintertux Glacier coming in at 105cm, the Kitzsteinhorn Glacier with 50cm and the Pitztal Glacier a whopping 153cm of snow at the highest point in Austrian skiing, all looks good for the Autumn ski season. The snow should clear the glacier later on Friday according to the forecasts and the weekend is set to be cool and clear on the glaciers. The Austrian ski machine is in full autumnal gear!
October 10th, 2011 by matt
The winter season rumbles on with the latest instalment of the autumn snow arriving over the weekend and depositing some half a metre or more on the glacier skiing areas of Austria. Saturday weather was characterised by low cloud and heavy snow whilst Sunday saw intermittent snow and clouds as well as over half a metre of fresh powder. Heavy snow fall on the peaks today and a bit more mid week along with some blue skies. See some of the views from the Stubai Glacier yesterday:
October 3rd, 2011 by matt
With the Tirol snow card now valid for the season, the Hintertux Glacier Betterpark opening festival already behind us and heavy snow forecast to arrive Friday and fall throughout the weekend then it is time to call the winter 2011/12 in Austria officially open. The glacier skiing should be pretty impressive over the weekend with the new snow fall and the lower ski areas should all see snow on their peaks later in the week. The glaciers have a number of events coming up with opening festivals on the Stubai Glacier and the Kaunertal Glacier as well as the FSI races on the Rettenbach and Tiefenbach glaciers above Solden to look forward to in October. Wax ‘em up!
September 20th, 2011 by matt
The Stubai Glacier opens for the ski season tomorrow after a big storm swept the region and deposited over half a metre of new snow across the glaciers. Initially the Eisjoch and Windachferner glaciers will open and these will be followed by the Daunferner glacier for the visitors this coming weekend. It was late September later last winter when the Stubai Glacier received around 70cm of snow to kick of the new season and close to that has fallen nearly a year to the day. With the forecast for milder and clearer weather than the cold stormy weather of the last few days, the conditions on the Stubai Glacier could be extremely good in the coming days. You have to love autumn glacier skiing!
August 29th, 2011 by matt
With the glacier skiing season just around the corner, the fragility of these ecosystems is very much in the spot light. Glaciers offer fantastically long ski and snowboard seasons but the pressure on their existence is clear scientifically as well as anecdotally from dated photos on the walls of mountain huts - the retreat is stark and obvious. And during the time that the glaciers remain the only viable place to ski before the lower resorts open then their popularity is huge. Lengthy traffic jams occur throughout October and November as people flock to enjoy superb autumn skiing. The biggest culprits in Austria are the locals and the Germans, both nationalities are generally loathe to take a ski bus. So when are the authorities going to improve the visitor experience and the environment by tackling the issue? On a regional basis then authorities could employ a carrot and stick approach by charging for road use and parking whilst at the same time promoting or expanding the use of ski buses. Park and ride would be good compromise, especially since car parks such as those at the base-station of the Stubai Glacier require exactly this, albeit with guests having driven the length of the Stubai Valley before swapping transport to the ski bus in the car park. You get the feeling that the authorities are prepared to put with the status quo for fear of ‘driving’ guests to alternative glacial valleys. If policies though were coordinated between regions and ideally countries then this would not be an issue. At the moment for the busiest weekend periods in the Autumn there are no winners on the roads to the glaciers. Guests sit in long queues, pumping out expensive and damaging fuel before most of them switch to the ski bus at the car parks in the glacier area. Park and ride is essential and successful during the Kitzbuhel Hahnenkamm race weekend with frozen fields turned into car parks around Kirchberg to get the many visitors to the race. Why this cannot be done in the glacial valleys is unacceptable and means we all lose, including the glacial ice! And if it works on the small scale of the handful of main glacier skiing areas of the Alps then maybe it could be looked at further afield.
Alas so far the authorities don’t have the stomach for any initiatives that may upset some guests and the status quo reigns - polluting traffic jams beneath shrinking glaciers.
July 30th, 2011 by Saalbach local
Its pretty obvious that the Austrians have invested heavily in ski infrastructure - they have some of the best resorts in the world. Its not so evident however until after the snow melts just how much they have invested in summer infrastructure. Running through the information on publicly open swimming pools, lidos and spas in Salzburgerland there is a staggering 50+ in an area the size of Cumbria. Its fair to say you could spend a whole week just visiting pools, lidos and spas - they are of a very high quality usually with slides, play areas, cafes and other leisure facilities.
With Austria being a “land locked” country they really do make use of their 200 plus lakes - most of them preferable to any Italian beach I’ve visited. Children really wouldn’t notice that they had not been on a beach holiday with lake lidos having sand play areas and lake swimming. The most surprising places to find beaches in Austria is Vienna. The Old Danube area has been turned into a complex of beaches (one has 6000m2 of sand), lidos and pools - some even have simulated waves to give the seaside feel. For those looking for nightlife there are DJs playing fresh from the Med resorts and laid back bars with the holiday feeling. Having stayed in the Old Danube area I’m surprised that it feels nothing like being in a capital city - its too relaxed, friendly and full of people enjoying life at a leisurely pace.
If you fancy seeing the best of Austria in the summer then its possible to ski the glaciers or sample the mountains followed by some time in Vienna. Expedia do tailored flights online - we sometimes fly into Munich or Salzburg and then fly out from Vienna all at about the same price as a return to Vienna. Train links between the mountains and Vienna are good with an adult on the day fare from Zell am See to Vienna being under£50. The contrast between the peace of the mountains with the laid-back summer parties and culture in Vienna make it an affordable trip not to be missed.
June 6th, 2011 by matt
In the last few days I was on the Stubai Glacier and there was still an impressive 30km or so of skiing on offer. Set to close for skiing in the middle of the month there is still a chance to get a few turns in before the ski season ends there and the massive ice sheets are partly covered with protective blankets to reflect the summer sun. Most areas of the glacier are exposed and open for summer glacial hiking throughout the summer and then before we know it there are skis in the gondola pockets again from September onwards. There are also some great activity combinations to be had over the summer in the Stubai valley including mountain biking, paragliding, swimming and hiking as well as being able to access Innsbruck, a short distance directly north along the valley. See the snow report from June skiing on the Stubai Glacier:
May 15th, 2011 by matt
mid-May on the Stubai Glacier and at least 40cm of powder snow - image © www.skiingaustria.co.uk
For those who can book last minute book flights, drive through the night or fake illness nearer to the Alps then tomorrow could be an incredible day of mid-May glacier powder skiing on the Austrian glaciers. Overnight saw a cold front hit the Austrian Alps with heavy rain in the valleys and heavy snow from around 1700m up. All this meant the glaciers of Austria got a great deal of snow and the Stubai Glacier today had a whopping 40cm (minimum) of new snow. Continual snow fall through the evening and a forecast of snow showers and sunny breaks in cool temperatures for tomorrow suggests an incredible day awaits those lucky few who get on the snow tomorrow - I would guess at least half a metre of fresh snow. And there really will be just a few. I was at the Stubai Glacier today and there were possibly 100 cars in the car park, this being the weekend as well - tomorrow should see even fewer visitors. If the skies clear tomorrow then those lucky enough to be on the snow should get an immense day of powder skiing in an almost private ski domain. Not sure if I will be one of the lucky few, we will see….
A quick snow report from the Stubai Glacier yesterday:
May 4th, 2011 by matt
May and June often serve up some epic days on the glaciers - image © www.skiingaustria.co.uk
I was up on the Stubai Glacier today for a bit of filming, some photography and of course some skiing in fresh powder snow. The last few days have been cold and wet and the glaciers have got a good snow cover over here in Austria. Cold the glaciers maybe in peak winter and for those looking for tree skiing and ski-in, ski-out locations then the glacier skiing on offer in Austria might disappoint. But it is so easy to forget just how incredible the snow conditions can be over 3000m and not just in the peak season but during May and June and September onwards as well. For those who like great snow and wide open pistes then there is nothing to compare with the glaciers. Today there were many heading off-piste to find some early May powder and you could be pretty sure to find more days like that over the coming couple of months before things really wind down for the summer. After the packed conditions on the Stubai Glacier over Easter (due to poorer than anticipated conditions in lower resorts) then the mid week skiers are far fewer with absolutely no queues anywhere today and wide empty pistes on offer.
Wide open pistes with barely anyone on them today - image © www.skiingaustria.co.uk
See the latest snow report video from the Stubai Glacier today:
April 10th, 2011 by matt
- Great spring conditions on the Stubai Glacier - image ©www.skiingaustria.co.uk
The car parks at the Stubai Glacier offered a pretty good indication of the popularity of the Stubai Glacier ski area today - they were full and it was mighty popular. With many lower ski areas closing and the late Easter meaning lots of skiers and snowboarders are still looking to get on the snow then it is a no-brainer that the Stubai Glacier and others glacier skiing areas are rubbing their hands right now. The entire ski area at the Stubai Glacier is still open including the Wilde Grub’n ski route back to the base-station. It was pretty windy up there today and those looking for slopes to themselves would be better heading to the Stubai Glacier during the mid-week period as it was buys up there. But conditions were really good and probably as good as anywhere in the Alps right now. Snow is forecast for mid-week with temperatures dropping considerably - powder later in the week may well disrupt the planned schedule 
See the latest snow report from today - sorry for the sound quality, it was windy up there on the Stubai Glacier today:
March 31st, 2011 by matt
Wide slopes in perfect conditions - image ©www.skiingaustria.co.uk
Whilst the buds start to show in down in the valley in Innsbruck, a little south of the city and some 2.5km plus higher the Stubai Glacier is offering some superb skiing on perfect snow. I skied there today, my first time since the autumn and it is so easy to forget just how good the snow on the Austria glaciers can be at this time of the year. We skied from 3212m down to the base-station at 1750m and only in the very last section was the snow heavy (and not patchy). From the top down the pistes were in superb shape offering some really fast descents. It promises to be a busy weekend on the glaciers with spring sunshine forecast but today the crowds spreads widely to offer some great skiing. My favourite time on the glaciers is the autumn as the temperatures plummet and there is a whole winter to look forward and during the main winter I tend to ski very little on the glaciers. But it never fails to surprise me just how good the snow on the glaciers is after a few months away. Great piste skiing on the Stubai Glacier today on the latest video snow report:
November 14th, 2010 by matt
18 months old and now a skier - Josh took to the snow today on a windy Stubai Glacier although his decent was marred by a binding failure on his skis - I am about to write to the manufacturers! The Gamsgarten moving carpet proved something of a distraction as did the automatic doors on the kindergarten but ski he did before we went back to the doors. There were high winds on the Stubai Glacier today and these are set to continue tomorrow before the snow arrives starting Tuesday and lasting all week according to the forecast. Not sure when Josh will get back on the snow, probably after his obsession with automatic doors is over and his binding are repaired? A quick snow report from the Stubai Glacier today:
October 27th, 2010 by matt
Those on the Stubai Glacier yesterday were served up a staggering 80cm of new snow - surely the best day of the autumn season so far. The other glaciers are also have superb snow depths:
Hintertux Glacier 155cm
Pitztal Glacier 143cm
Molltal Glacier 140cm
Kaunertal Glacier 123cm
Kitzsteinhorn Glacier 114cm
Solden Glacier 105cm
Not all good for those in the Stubai valley though as the snow storm took out power and internet connections for large parts of the valley. Shops were unable to take electronic payments and homes and businesses had no internet connectivity. Had my internet gone down in the Stubai valley I would have picked up my skis and headed south to the glacier!