Turning into the Pitztal today was pretty dispiriting, the weather was forecast as excellent for the area and there were blue skies in the Innsbruck valley but the Pitztal was a mass of cloud. Forecasting alpine weather is no easy task but the last month I have seen greater predictive errors and far more frequently than any time I have lived in the Alps – not sure why but they are on a wretched run for me. The cloud did lift a little later and the views were superb. Hochzeiger had more kids racers than I have ever seen, the Benjamin Raich factor is working wonders for the kids race programs there. Conditions today on slope were good with a dusting of fresh snow and pretty cold temperatures. Tomorrow is Kitzbuhel and the start of the countdown to the biggest race and biggest party of the Alps.