ski austria

Last weekend for the 2011/12 Tirol snow card

matt — Thu, 10 May 2012 18:30:35 +0000

It is certainly a distant memory now but back in October I wrote at the start of the long winter season when the Tirol Snow Card kicked in about the many months of skiing that lay ahead. The winter arrived with a dump or 2 in the autumn and then was noticeably absent in the late autumn when many of the resorts were busy trying to prepare for the early winter starts. Obergurgl and Ischgl opened on time thanks almost solely to the capacity of the snow making facilities whilst almost the entire rest of the Alps remained closed. When the snows arrived in early December it was almost 3 months of incessant snow, resorts cut off by avalanche danger and for those on the slopes some of the best powder skiing in memory. It was broadly mighty cold as well with some horrifically frigid days in January and February and a snow pack in Kitzbuhel that has rarely been beaten. March was sunny and snowy, April was sunny and May the same. And yet many weeks into spring / early summer there is still some 4m of snow on the local glaciers. Despite the snow pack the Tirol Snow Card is set to expire for the 2011/12 winter this weekend after 7½ months, the first of which brought lots of snow, the second absolutely none and the following 3½ months almost non-stop snow fall. God bless the Tirol Snow Card!

Don’t dream it’s not over

matt — Wed, 09 May 2012 20:58:05 +0000

Whilst many are donning their Speedos and board shorts at this time of the year there remains hope for those needing a snow fix in the coming months. The glacier skiing in Austria is set to run until mid June and with a snow pack of some 4m and snow forecast for the Tirolean glaciers later this week then conditions remain fantastically good. The Hintertux Glacier will as is normal run throughout the summer months, closing only for high winds and whilst September might seem an eternity away it is just a couple of months suffering flies and restless nights before the bulk of Austrian glaciers have their lifts rolling again in September. Hold it together - it will be worth it!

4m of snow on the Stubai Glacier

matt — Fri, 04 May 2012 21:29:58 +0000

Into May we may be but there remains a massive snow pack on the mountains of Austria and several glacier skiing areas still have lifts rolling and full car parks. The Hintertux Glacier will have skiing throughout the summer whilst the Stubai Glacier will offer skiing until mid June. Expect powder days, sunny restaurant terrace afternoons and everything in between in the coming weeks - these are high altitude areas with snow and ice throughout the year. 1 or 2 (or maybe a few more) days on the snow yet for us at Skiing Austria this season and we will be sure to share the experience with you. 4m of snow is a lot at any time of the year and there is powder forecast for Monday, clearing Tuesday - make it if you can!

Chasing down the Pisten Bully

matt — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 20:56:00 +0000

What a day that was! The Stubai Glacier serves up another epic spring day over the weekend with the heavy snow of late last week breaking and offering superb sunny conditions. But with temperatures at 3000m still around -9c the masses of off-piste snow held up and it was a superb day for powder skiing. On piste the conditions were pretty special as well with Pisten Bully machines across the ski area trying to flatten the endless banks of snow. We were caught up in the battle for the white carpet with the other lucky riders on the Stubai Glacier:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Big powder day coming tomorrow

matt — Sat, 07 Apr 2012 10:28:20 +0000

Heavy snow is falling across the Austrian Alps right now with more significant falls tomorrow. None of this is ideal for Easter egg hunts (which may be heading indoors tomorrow) but for those who realise that the ski season lasts well into May and June in Austria then the fresh snow is going to bring a lot of pleasure. As usual at this time of the year then the glaciers are likely to offer the very best conditions with the Tirolean glaciers getting heavy snow right now. I will be heading up to the Stubai Glacier tomorrow and maybe the Pitztal Glacier the following day - I will be sure to let you know how the April powder skiing goes

Zurs delivers some great piste skiing today

matt — Sat, 24 Mar 2012 20:32:51 +0000

Zurs piste skiing - image © www.skiingaustria.co.uk

After the snow of early last week, Zurs am Arlberg has been sunny and spring-like over recent days and today was no different with hard packed slopes early on that gave way to soft spring snow as the day wore on. The snow pack was still very much in evidence with roofs still laden with deep snow across the resort. Sunny conditions are forecast for the coming week with the chance of snow late in the week. Plenty of people were out to enjoy the sunny terraces of the Lech - Zurs ski area and as always the ski holiday resort of Lech am Arlberg was buzzing with activity.

Great day to piste ski in Mayrhofen

matt — Sun, 18 Mar 2012 19:31:28 +0000

Under the spring sun the piste skiing in the Ahorn section of the Mayrhofen ski area was fantastic this weekend. There is so much snow on the ski pistes and the spring sun melted the top layer to make some really soft and fantastic ski pistes. We were up in the area to test our Piste View camera hardware and the results we think we really great. Take a look here:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Truly epic conditions on the Austrian glaciers

matt — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 19:04:55 +0000

Right time, right place - image © www.skiingaustria.co.uk

Saturday was one of the great days of this epic winter on the Stubai Glacier in Tirol, Austria. It is fair to say that the other high altitude ski areas in the south of Tirol also had fantastic conditions but the Stubai Glacier hosted us and we were mightily impressed. In some places there was so much snow that skiers and particularly snowboarders were digging themselves free. For others there was line after line on offer in great spring sunshine. For those who didn’t make it off-piste on the Stubai Glacier there were some great spots to watch the off-piste action whilst the piste skiing was really stunning as well - the groomers had been out and corduroy slopes of fresh soft snow were absolutely sensational. Given the extent of the snow across the region then there were many who found their pleasures elsewhere and the slopes were in places happily sparse of skiers and snowboarders. This week is set to see sunny weather from mid week onwards after some snow tomorrow. Time to get the sun loungers out and enjoy the incredible spring skiing conditions on offer! See our video snow report from the slopes of the Stubai Glacier:
Click here to view the embedded video.

Swatch Freeride World Tour 2012 Fieberbrunn Austria

matt — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 20:01:28 +0000

Official Program for this weekend’s Freeride extravaganza in the snow laden off-piste Mecca of Fieberbrunn:

8th March 2012
20.00 Welcome Party in the Easy Rider Party Zone. Live music: Rat Pack
21.00 Welcome and program overview

9th March 2012
15:00 Bib draw and autographs.
16:00 Qualification Parallel slalom. Streuböden Half Pipe
19:00 Final Parallel slalom. Streuböden Half Pipe
20:00 Freeride Film Night at the Easy Rider Party Zone
21:00 Scott Party at the Easy Rider Party Zone. Live on stage -Viva la Muerte

10th March 2012
09:00 Contest Wildseeloder
09:00 Junior Contest Wildseelodersee
09:00–16.30 Ö3 Pistenbully with DJ Alex List
15:00 Mountain bike Trial Show with Peter Herzog, Team member of the UCI
World Championships 2012 Saalfelden Leogang
15:00 Prize ceremony and autographs at the Event Village base-station Streuböden
20:00 Official Swatch FWT Party powered by Freegun at the Easy Rider Party Zone. Live on
stage: Urban Knights

11th March 2012
10:00 Security Workshops in Zuschauerbereich Lärchfilzkogel
15:00 Apres Ski Easy Rider Party Zone
16:00 Freeride Film Easy Rider Party Zone

Epic, icy conditions in Serfaus over the weekend

matt — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 22:13:03 +0000

Sunday in the Serfaus-Fiss-Ladis ski area was an incredible place to ski - the views and snow were incredible and so long as you could tolerate bitterly cold air then the day was one of the best for many weeks with a completely cloudless sky. We took our Piste View camera on the slopes and got some great film of the piste skiing in Serfaus - take a look:

Click here to view the embedded video.