The snow triangle of the Alps

I had someone asking for more information on Stuben am Arlberg after saying in the last blog post that it was the part of the snow capital of Europe.

I explained with a sketch of the map below that there is one region of the Alps that gets more snow than any other statistically. There are higher places in the Alps (the Arlberg has a top lift height of 2811m) but as Bregenzerwald proves snow accumulation has less to do with height, more to do with location. Bregenzerwald and the Arlberg in the far north west of Austria are ideally located to snag weather systems that are rolling in from the west (Switzerland and Germany) and the peaks of this regional get unbeatable amounts of snow. The Bregenzerwald resort of Damuls is statistically reckoned to be the snowiest ski resort in the world, whilst just down the valley Warth is rated as being the snowiest ski area in the Alps. Heading south past Lech am Arlberg, Zurs am Arlberg is rated as the second snowiest ski area in the Alps. And on the corner of this snow triangle there is Stuben am Arlberg – clearly snow doesn’t obey strict borders of the triangle and Stuben gets incredible amounts of snow. Stuben is also the ski holiday resort serving the Albona off-piste Mecca, the area I rate in terms of terrain and snow as the best off-piste skiing in the Alps. Sure others will have different favourites but the Albona for me is number one and the snow record certainly backs up my case.

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