ski austria

In from the cold of Davos

matt — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 19:45:56 +0000

Après ski Davos style - image © www.skiingaustria.co.uk

Just back in Innsbruck after the ski trip to Davos and the frigid temperatures of the Swiss Davos / Klosters region have been experienced in the Austrian Tirol as well. Snow is set to fall over the coming days and the forecast for the Arlberg region is for some great snowfall tomorrow and then a powder bonanza the following days. Heavy snow is also forecast early next week. Once again the months of March and April deliver big snow in Austria.

Heavy snow in the Arlberg and beerrrrrrr in Davos

matt — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 16:23:14 +0000

Powder awaits in Davos - image © www.skiingaustria.co.uk

The Arlberg was getting serious snow today as I drove from Innsbruck to Davos, Switzerland. The highway was deep in snow despite the ploughing and there were a number of abandoned cars strewn along the route. After the drive took twice as long as planned I arrived in Davos to find most of the ski lifts closed by high winds. The skies cleared later in the last hour and the conditions look great for tomorrow. And for those in the Arlberg resorts of Lech, Zurs, St Christoph, Stuben or St Anton then once the skies clear there will be some sensational skiing on offer. Had my first language lesson of the trip, it seems ‘beer’ is pronounced ‘berrrrrr’ in Davos, ‘beer’ is not understood in Davos- not a mistake I intend to make again. Powder skiing tomorrow then!

Zeas to gruezi - swapping the incomprehensible Tirolean for the unfathomable Swiss German

matt — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 14:23:48 +0000

Off to Davos tomorrow to guide a corporate ski group and embark on some mystifying language training. One thing that always puzzles me about going to Switzerland is the language - sure as a nation they nearly all speak impeccable English. But some of that must come from the fact that Swiss German bares little resemblance to any other language, notably German. So in the interests of extending the adoption of an already tough language why not make your language unintelligible to all but the local villagers? Should be a fun few days though in Davos / Klosters.

Put the speedos back in the drawer - the March snow is coming

matt — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 21:59:50 +0000

return all male swimming thongs to the drawer

The onset of spring invariably worsens my mood and this year is no different. I would unquestionably take 12 months of snow if possible but other than a scientific station in Antarctica I realise this is unlikely and I do fall into line. I am filled with that warm feeling as another cold winter snap arrives here in Innsbruck - the winter so far has been very cold but spring conditions have been with us for over a week now. T shirts are the new fleece and the onset of spring has been convincing till now. The thick clouds moved into the Tirol in early evening and whilst the weather is set to be fair tomorrow it is certainly set to snow over the end of the week and into the weekend. Even for those pining for summer sun, another week without the sight of the dreaded male swimming thong is surely something to celebrate?

Austria needs a dose of Klammer 1976 re-runs to heel the pain - at least few saw the calamity live

matt — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 19:51:22 +0000

Without a single medal from the 2010 Vancouver Olympics the Austrian men’s alpine team would do well to avoid the spot-light for several years after they became the first Austrian men’s alpine team to miss out on a single medal at a modern winter Olympics. Equivalents are hard to come by but not having a Brit in the world darts championships quarter finals would come close. An Austrian colleague of mine summarised the general feeling today in saying that the Austrians through a combination of success and arrogance have set extremely high standards to maintain - making their abysmal performance seem ever more calamitous. This has been coming for some time but such a public failure might rile the Austrians who generally have had little other than smugness to deal with for many years. Results have been mixed for the men’s ski team recently and reached a low at the Vancouver games. The games themselves came in for much criticism. I lived for a year in British Columbia and the quality of the people and the place are fantastic. You can’t really blame the organising committee for the weather although the fatality in the run up the opening surely raised serious safety issues and you would hope that justice is done there. I loved the games but the one gripe was the spectator numbers - Europe and North America are very different cultures with great aspects in each entity but the sterile atmosphere at the finish areas of the races was seriously disappointing. Watching those few ticket holders squeezed in beside the corporate boxes was a huge let-down as a TV spectator and I am sure there were a few racers who bemoaned the lack of atmosphere. Ski race crowds are knowledgeable with people who appreciate what they see - I can’t see how excluding them would benefit anyone other than the corporate box sales. Give me Kristian Ghedina show-boating to the masses in the Kitzbuhel Hahnenkamm finish area any day over a sterile and stage managed crowd.

Family skiing in Lizum

matt — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 18:09:20 +0000

Air that I could only dream of - image © www.skiingaustria.co.uk

Whilst my 9 month old son Josh still isn’t walking there is justification for not introducing him just yet to skiing. May 3rd will be his first birthday and that should also be the time when Josh leaves mere infanthood and enters a whole new world. Today we were up at Axamer Lizum in Innsbruck for some family skiing, at this stage juggling skiers with baby sitters. The slopes were packed at the highest resort around Innsbruck with some great if well tracked fresh snow in bright sunshine. Another day of spring skiing before the winter returns with a vengeance in the near future.

Spring skiing in Innsbruck - for now at least

matt — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 21:43:38 +0000

In a world of weather upheavals it has been unusually late (over recent years) for the arrival of warmer spring weather in Innsbruck. This winter might not have matched the bumper snowfall of last year, so far at least and based on anecdotal evidence but it has been consistently cold over here for many months now. The last few days have been far milder and the first taste of spring has arrived. On a personal level I always dread the onset of spring which rather puts me in a very small minority. I enjoy summer but I always see the spring snowmelt as a mid-winter scene from winters of the near-future - hopefully not but the science and weather records are pretty compelling. I will take any experience on snow however and for most people then spring skiing is the highpoint of the season - well it is here for a few days at least. March and April are historically warmer but in my experience they also deliver the best snowfalls - the snow might not last as long but there is almost always far more coming down. Let’s hope this year is no different and deep down let’s hope for 12 months of snow:)

The latest snow report:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Powder weekend in Alpbach

matt — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 20:50:52 +0000

The Tirol got a good dump of snow over the Friday / Saturday and today I headed up to Alpbach where the blue skies and powder snow made for some great conditions, certainly the very best of the last week. Alpbach is predominantly a family ski area both with locals and visitors but there is also some great off-piste terrain especially accessed from the Hornlift as well as the ski route 5. Lots of snow, kids and Dutch today in Alpbach.

Alpbach in sun and powder snow:

Click here to view the embedded video.

German snowboarder stranded downloading on a lift

matt — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 15:35:04 +0000

A German snowboarder was rescued after being stranded 10m above the ski piste on a closed chair lift in the Hochzillertal, Tirol, Austria. He used euro notes and the paper and plastic contents of his pockets to create fire signals that were eventually seen by piste grooming staff. He is apparently speaking to lawyers right now about taking action against the cable car company. It has been reported that he allegedly downloaded on chairlift that was restricted to uphill passengers and has embarked on his journey without the knowledge or authorisation of the lift staff. Very smart to get rescued, not as smart getting stranded? In North America this would surely mean a payout, no matter how negligent the individual - Europe is very different and Austria maybe even more so - vive la différence!

Serfaus-Fiss-Ladis in great conditions with many there to enjoy them

matt — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 21:59:16 +0000

Really great skiing today in the Serfaus-Fiss-Ladis ski area. There were plenty of people on the slopes in what is probably the busiest week of the year in Austria and conditions were superb. Blue skies and apart from the top sections of the ski area at over 2700m where the wind was strong and bitingly cold then the weather and snow conditions were excellent. Skiing into Serfaus from Ladis I always forget how many valleys there are to reach the margins of the ski area. Although it wasn’t really a powder day today there were endless visible tracks, the last few days would have given some great powder skiing. Today’s snow report was beset by sound problems, the strong wind put paid to the dialogue so instead we have a short video from the skiing today on Serfaus:

Click here to view the embedded video.