Ski Independence Blog
Archive for ‘Austria’
New Year, New Snow
January 4th, 2012Having witnessed one of the snowiest Decembers on record across the Alps; picture perfect conditions over the Christmas week, and a short lived spell of mild weather for New Year, the Alps are now getting ready for the first dump of 2012…and it’s another big one! With some European resorts already reporting more snow to date this winter than the whole of last season, the Alps are now enjoying some of the best snow conditions in the world. Below is a quick round up on where to find the best snow conditions.
The resort of Solden reported the most new snow across Austria last week. Following an impressive 1.1m of fresh snowfall, the clouds parted giving way to some great on and off piste conditions. St Anton also has some fantastic conditions with an upper snow depth of 298cm and has a further 65cm forecast this week. Lech despite having slightly less snow is still in great condition with 240cm lying on the upper slopes.
>>> More information on ski holidays in Austria
The picturesque resort of Lech
If you are looking to find the deepest snow in Europe, head to the the traditional village of Saas Fee in the Swiss Alps. The resort currently has an on piste snow depth of 340cm and another 20cm forecast for the end of the week. Not far behind, and forecast for another 40cm of snow this week, is Verbier where you will find a piste depth of 300cm.
>>> More information on ski holidays in Switzerland
A recent powder day in Verbier.
Following some truly incredible snowfall in the past month, France is undoubtedly the place to ski in Europe. As the forecast predicted; the snow has continued this week with a further 20 – 30cm falling and a further 50cm forecast tomorrow (Thursday). Many resorts around France including Chamonix, Les Arcs and Tignes are already reporting snow bases of over 3m with both fantastic on and off piste conditions.
>>> More information on ski holidays in France
125cm of fresh snow at the top of the Funicular in Tignes!
Conditions also remain good in Canada where most resorts in Alberta and British Columbia are sitting on snow bases of well over 2m. Following an incredible November with over 11ft of snow in areas it looks like the slight dry spell in December has come to an end. In the past 7 days Whistler welcomed 125cm of fresh snow, taking the accumulated snow fall to date this winter to 449cm! Further inland Fernie also saw a good snowfall, with 61cm hitting the mountains over the past week, bringing the snowpack up to 175cm.
>>> More information on ski holidays in Canada
Whistler following 100cm of snow in 7 days! Photo: Coast Mountain Photography
Despite snowfall in the USA being lower than last winter, many resorts are still reporting good on piste conditions. One exception in the USA, and matching its big mountain skiing and snow record, is Jackson Hole who had a welcome dump of 75cm last week allowing the resort to open in full.
>>> More information on ski holidays in the USA
Celebrating New Year and 75cm of fresh snow in Jackson Hole. Photo: Chris Figenshan
For first hand advice on where to find the best snow conditions and accommodation offers, call a member of the Ski Independence team on 0131 243 8097, visit our website or request a quick online quotation.
Traditional doesn’t mean old fashioned in the Austrian Ski Circus
March 29th, 2011I’m just back from a week in Austria after a long time away and wondering why I left it so long! Nowhere else in the world offers quite the same experience – on or off the slopes. Maybe it’s because skiing is Austria’s national sport, maybe it’s because après ski is their unofficial national sport (!) or it could be the luxury of heated chairlifts, modern gondolas and nifty gadgets…
A good few years back I spent some time working in a small Austrian resort in the Ski Circus – where the linking lifts to Saalbach were mainly slow T-Bars operated by the farmers who owned the land. Many a time I had to make a call to the local taxi driver to get me home after finding that farmer Joe had packed up early!! But even then there were signs of innovation – it was one of the first areas to introduce the hands free keycard system for lift tickets, and most mountain restaurants provided hairdryers and glove and boot warmers. Something that’s yet to catch on in the rest of the world – why?!!
Head to the "Ski Circus" for a bit of fun!
Ischgl Takes To The Screen
January 21st, 2011We’re used to seeing TV adverts for theme parks, tropical islands and city breaks but not for ski resorts. The Austrian resort of Ischgl has become one of the first ski resorts to have a fully storyboarded and directed TV ad screened in Britain.
When many ski resorts are looking to use more cost effective marketing methods such as Facebook and Twitter to get the word out, Ischgl have invested a six figure sum into their TV campaign. The ad will be aired on channels including Sky News, Sky Sports News, MTV, Discovery Travel and Living, E4 and Eurosport during a three-week campaign.
Snowbombing 2011, Mayrhofen
October 27th, 2010Now that Easyjet have released their Easter flights for next year, I am starting to get pretty excited about my trip to the Snowbombing festival in Mayrhofen, Austria next April.
When it comes to my winter trips abroad, I have to admit that I am a sucker for ski/snowboarding in Austria. You will find that most skiers/snowboarders will agree that it is not only the huge ski areas, amazing snow conditions or great après ski that makes a memorable skiing/boarding trip, but it is the people that you are with, and the people you meet that makes it a fab one. Having snowboarded in most of the countries in the European Alps, and a few North American ones too; I have to admit, that the genuine welcome and general friendliness from the Austrian’s, for me, just can’t be beaten!
For those of you who aren’t familiar with Snowbombing , it’s a weeklong music festival similar to the festivals you get in the UK, but plonked into a lovely traditional Austrian town with some of the best skiing/boarding in the Alps. The festival is generally at the beginning of April so the weather is usually pretty good, with regular spring snowfalls to keep your days interesting. The locals absolutely love it! For local businesses it is a great end of season boost when over 2000 fun lovin’ Brits descend on the town- and they think we are great! They tell me that us Brits are respectful and are always generally polite during our stay. Honest, that’s what they tell me!
The Vikings are coming!
January 21st, 2010The Vikings are coming! It’s no joke as the ski slopes of Ischgl in Austria’s Tirol are invaded by giant snow sculptures of Euro-favourite Vickie the Viking and her friends and enemies.
Vickie the Viking in Ischgl
Storms across Austria & Switzerland
October 13th, 2009In just one week the Alps have changed from green pastures to fields of snow. Storms are currently sitting over Austria and Switzerland and are bringing freezing temperatures and snow at higher altitudes, although temperatures as low as -8C are predicted in the village at Lech for later in the week.
Here are some of the latest webcam pictures:
Fresh Snow in the Alps – winter 09/10 is on its way
September 18th, 2009-
Fresh snow in the Alps.
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More areas open for winter 09-10 in Europe.
www.skiinfo.com reports that there has been up to 10cm of fresh snow in the past 72 hours on mountain tops across the Alps including the glaciers that are already open or about to open for the start of the 2009-10 ski season.
The Pitztal glacier is opening for its long 2009-10 season this week, helped by a new plus-temperatures operational snowmaking system imported from Israel and the fresh snow. Solden, which had hoped to open on 5th September but has had to delay opening due to the weather conditions is now reviewing their planned opening after reporting another 8cm (3 inches) of snow today.
There was also snow at the four other glacier ski areas currently open in the Alps. Saas Fee in Switzerland reported on www.skiinfo.com another 6cm (2.5 inches) of powder on Tuesday, taking its 7 day total to 10cm (4 inches) and glacier based depth to 65cm (over 2 feet). Its neighbour Zermatt, open 365 days a year for snow sports, has been similarly blessed.
There’s no outdoor skiing currently available in France, but the fresh snow is good news for Tignes which will re-open a week on Saturday (September 26th) for its long winter 2009-10, just four weeks after closing its summer ski season.
Let’s hope there is more on the way.
Launch Day
September 18th, 2009
Well it feels like it’s been a while in coming, but we’re happy to finally welcome you to the new look Ski Independence website and the first post on our brand new blog!
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