Posts Tagged ‘Austria’
The Epic Season Pass, Now Even More Epic
3 Countries, One Lift Pass – Austria Is Now Officially Epic!
Bringing together some of the best resorts of North America and Europe, the Epic Season Pass is a solid value for money solution for those seeking unlimited access to some of the top ski destinations in Colorado (Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge and Keystone) and California (Heavenly, Northstar and Kirkwood), in addition to a 5 day pass to Verbier in Switzerland. With such a fantastic collection to choose from, I can’t help but wonder if the Epic Pass could be … well, any more epic? The answer to that question is: yes – Arlberg, Austria. Read the rest of this entry »
6 days, 3 resorts and One Very Warm Austrian Welcome
It’s that time of the year where we look towards planning our programme for next season. Austria is a popular choice for many of our clients – and it’s easy to see why; with unrivalled après-ski, a fantastic snow record and excellent Austrian service. So, keen to check out some possible new additions to our programme, I headed to the Tyrol (and managed to squeeze in a couple of days on the slopes too!) Read the rest of this entry »
Laugh, Ski and Dance
Snowy mountains, fresh air, blue skies, an A-list line up of comedians and an exhilarating week long party with some of the world’s best known bands and DJ’s…it looks like Mayrhofen is the place to be this spring. Kick starting the party and being dubbed the ‘funniest week in the Alps ever’ is the Altitude Comedy Festival, followed 10 days later by the well known music festival Snowbombing.
Set in the beautiful Zillertal Valley, Mayrhofen has the reputation as one of the best ski resorts in Austria. Located just over an hour from Innsbruck, the resort offers a vast 638km of ski runs. Renowned for its lively après ski scene every March and April the boundaries are pushed, resulting in 2 of the best mountain parties on the European ski calendar. Read the rest of this entry »
Traditional doesn’t mean old fashioned in the Austrian Ski Circus
I’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!
Swiss & Austrian Ski Resort iPhone Apps
The Swiss and Austrian resorts are not to be out done by the French on the technology front, here are the latest apps for their resorts. Read the rest of this entry »
Ischgl Takes To The Screen
We’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
Now 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 week long 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!
The 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
In 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:
