Archive for the 'Zillertal' Category
December 8th, 2011 by matt
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.
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 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 18th, 2011 by matt
With falling temperatures and heavy snow down to 2000m, Austria is seeing the first signs of winter 2011/12. The Hintertux Glacier is currently seeing heavy snowfall and as the temperatures continue to fall through the day then snow will be hitting all main peaks in the ski region. Monday is set to see further heavy snow whilst there is sun and snow forecast for Wednesday - mid week on the glaciers could produce some great conditions. The Hintertux Glacier is currently open and the big snowfalls should be the spring board for some of the other glacier skiing areas to open. Hopefully we will be able to offer an early season snow report from the Hintertux Glacier around mid-week.
September 13th, 2011 by matt
Can’t want any longer for the ski / snowboard season to kick off? Well in less than 3 weeks there will be lots of air, attitude and atmosphere at the Hintertux Glacier Better Park opening from the 30th September till the 2nd October on the Hintertux Glacier. As usual there will be a festival atmosphere will DJ music and stalls at the Tuxer Fernerhaus with gear testing on offer. But what really makes the Better Park Hintertux Glacier opening weekend so special is that it officially signifies the opening of the Autumn glacier skiing and snowboarding season in Austria. Then just 8 months of snow lie ahead before another brief interruption raises its unwanted ahead again. So for now, frigid alpine air and unmatched times on snow are the order the day and for many days to come!
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 20th, 2011 by matt
After a cold and very wet system arrived in Austria over the weekend the conditions on the glaciers were sure to be good - and they were. Today we were at the Hintertux Glacier for some summer powder, no matter that it is June, if the temperatures suck and the peaks are white then there is no other choice than heading to the glaciers for some glacier skiing. There were a good few people to enjoy the great summer skiing conditions and whilst the skies were not blue they were certainly atmospheric with heavy clouds rolling across the white capped peaks of the southern Austrian Alps. In terms of skiing then there were 22km of piste open today on the Hintertux Glacier, pretty much the summer ski area. Around the Tuxer-Fernerhaus building work was going on to replace the old double chair to the Gefrorene Wand with a new 10 seat gondola that is set to open in November. You can see a snow report form the Hintertux Glacier today followed by some shots of the new Gefrorene Wand gondola station under construction below.
Snow report from the Hintertux Glacier:
The new Gefrorene Wand gondola:
April 11th, 2011 by matt
Headlining on the last night of Snowbombing 2011, the Prodigy played to a packed crowd in superb surroundings in a forest in Mayrhofen, Austria. After a day of freestyle competition, dancing and snow-balling on the Penken side of the valley, the Prodigy gave a superb show to close the Snowbombing 2011 festival. You can see a short video of the music and action on the mountain here:
April 9th, 2011 by matt
The annual Snowbombing festival in Mayrhofen saw the attendance of none other than Mr Motivator of GMTV fame. Along with big acts like Fat Boy Slim and The Prodigy, the Lycra-clad Mr Motivator entertained the masses at the Snowbombing festival in attire that dated back to the 80’s. Great stuff! See Mr Motivator and his disciples in Mayrhofen yesterday:
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!
October 25th, 2010 by matt
First an email yesterday evening from a friend in St Anton saying it was dumping with snow, then another from Gerlos today with 40cm of snow in the resort this morning and a trip down to Innsbruck to see snow all over the city - this latest weather system is going make many ski holiday resorts ready to go. The snow has been falling all day somewhere between moderate and heavy and certainly without let-up. The smaller ski areas are likely to be looking to bring forward their opening dates, the larger areas are less flexible. For those able to visit a ski area this week then aim for Tuesday afternoon or Wednesday on any of the glacier over here - conditions could be spectacular. And if you are a touring skier then head to the Arlberg, see only other tourers and get some incredible powder skiing. 6 days left of October 2010, how much more can it deliver?
October 4th, 2010 by matt
Below the clouds conditions on the Hintertux Glacier were excellent - image © www.skiingaustria.co.uk
Took another ride up to the Hintertux Glacier today. The skiing was great on-piste but the wind at the top station was mighty strong and the visibility wasn’t great. Still 42km of ski pistes open but today there were mainly the national ski teams training - gone were the partying free stylers from the weekend opening of Betterpark. Driving back through a quiet upper - Zillertal valley I really took in the beauty of the place. The Zillertal is one of the top ski regions in the Alps, it has it all including a glacier offering skiing 365 days per year. The area around Tux and Lanersbach is some of my favourite ski resort terrain - the villages are pretty and the steep valley sides host numerous routes back to the villages. Tourism is a big industry here but there is a real natural purpose to the villages - yes definitely a big fan of this area. See the latest snow report from the Hintertux Glacier today:
October 3rd, 2010 by matt
There was a big party on the Hintertux Glacier this weekend with the opening of the Betterpark Hintertux Glacier 2010 with great snow and tons of snowboarders and free skiers on the glacier. Conditions have been immense all of September and the opening of the Betterpark followed snow last week to provide some great conditions. The weather today was excellent with autumn skies giving the riders a better chance of making landings than the previous days that had seen snow. The snowboarders and free skiers of the Zillertal were joined by many from the Tirol and further afield for what has become an annual pilgrimage for free stylers. The festival took pace beneath the Olperer whilst the festivities were located at the Tuxer Fernerhaus restaurant. The Zillertal is steeped in snowboarding and free style heritage and the Betterpark opening represents one of the top events in the annual calendar.
Betterpark opening festival, Hintertux Glacier, Austria - image ©www.skiingaustria.co.uk
October 1st, 2010 by matt
The autumn continues to confound - a whopping 42km of ski pistes are open on the Hintertux Glacier and the skiing and snowboarding is genuinely good with fresh groomed snow across the area down to the Tuxer Fernerhaus - also the location for a big freestyle and snowboard festival. And yes it is the 1st October - a quite amazing start to the season over here. Visibility was mixed with low clouds but you can accept that when they are depositing snow on your ski piste. Lots of race teams training again and tons of freestyle skiers and snowboarders. The flat light seemed to do little to discourage some huge air. There is more snow falling tonight before the weather clears for a few days - chance to see the glaciers in epic condition this early in the season before the clouds roll in again mid-week - snow clouds are just how I like it 
See the latest snow report:
September 29th, 2010 by matt
When you add them together that means 2 very good days coming up. The glacier skiing in Austria is currently fantastic and with October round the corner when we usually get the first big snow of the winter things are looking mighty good on that front. The Tirol snow card covers all the main glacier skiing areas in Tirol except the Rettenbach and Tiefenbach glaciers at Solden and basically all the main glacier skiing areas in Austria but for the Kitzsteinhorn Glacier and the Molltaler Glacier, both great to ski but Tirol pretty much leads the pack in the Alps for glacier skiing. I have skied the Hintertux Glacier and the Stubai Glacier so far this September and they were both sensational. The snow is forecast for the glaciers on Friday and then a fairly sunny weekend. I will be heading to a glacier on Friday and will let you know how conditions are.