More and more skiers, especially freeriders from all over the world are coming to the Salzkammergut to ski Krippenstein. They don’t really come for the view, which still is spectacular with Dachstein to the south and Hallstätter See to the north. But there is something special about this place, and that is the snow. The snow is not better than in other ski-resorts in the Alps and there probably isn’t an above of average number of days with snowfall. But when it snows, oh my…

If a snowstorm comes through from the right direction (which is northwest to north, by the way) just “it is snowing” is no adequate word for the event of incredible amounts of white stuff getting dumped in the area north of Dachstein. And in the middle of this area lies Krippenstein. I have never experienced snowfall as strong as in Krippenstein anywhere else in the Alps and I have been to places which are famous for their strong snowfalls like Arlberg, Engelberg, Nordpark or Andermatt during heavy storms. It just makes you smile even if you are not skiing or snowboarding. Combine that with some nice terrain, lack of crowds and you have a pretty good resort for powder-skiing.

Krippenstein Resort Review: General Info

Krippenstein is different to many other resorts in many respects. One reason is that the infrastructure is not designed for skiing, but for the use during summer and for the Austrian military, which has a base just a bit south-west of the ski-resort.

There is just one important lift, “Dachstein-Krippensteinbahn”. It is a tram with three sections. The first two sections were renewed in 2007 and have pretty modern, comfortable, fast and quite big gondolas. Even on busy days you won’t have to queue for long. If it is very crowded you may not make it into the first gondola which leaves after you enter the station but you’ll always make it to the next one.

The first section takes you from the valley-station at 609m above sea level to the middle station, which is called “Schönbergalm”, at 1350m. There’s a lot of infrastructure here but all the buildings are closed during winter. The second section takes you from there to the top station, which is located pretty close to the summit of Krippenstein at 2100m. The station itself is big and has been a hotel once, but it has been closed for a long time. If you step outside of the station, you can not miss the “Lodge” which is restaurant, hotel and information centre. It is a nice place to have lunch, or a coffee on the terrace with a great view towards the Dachstein or a beer after your ski-day before you make one last decent to the valley. They also serve, hands-down, the best Topfenstrudel (traditional Austrian quark strudel) I’ve ever had. The third section goes down from the top station, towards the Gjaidalm , it has no real use for skiing, but it is a nice old gondola and there are some nice views from it. The Gjaidalm is a private hut, but run in a way that resembles an alpine club hut. It is big, and can get crowded in spring since it is close to the popular skitours towards the Dachstein.

If you ski down on the piste, you will suddenly enter a little village, which is called Krippenbrunn . It consists of a few houses which are all available as accommodation for tourists, and one restaurant and a bar. Krippenbrunn is a popular place to stay at during the season so the restaurant can get pretty crowded at lunch break and in the evening but they offer acceptable and cheap food and drinks.

Tired of dropping cliffs? Try roofs in Krippenbrunn.

There is a special military gondola, which comes from Obertraun and goes through Krippenbrunn to the military barracks behind the Gjaidalm. This gondola is not included in the ski pass and it can not be used as for skiing. You can get single rides on it in the spring and start touring towards Dachstein from the top though.

There is one chairlift at the resort, at the top, which is pretty short and two beginner t-bars, one at the top of the resort, close to the chairlift and one, which chronically lacks snow, down in the valley.

Piste skiing at Krippenstein

As stated above, there is only one real piste. It is a long one, 11km in total. It starts at the top station and goes east for a while, than it turns north and continues through Krippenbrunn towards the valley. It is a nice run, manageable for beginners, but long and demanding enough for more experienced skiers. The snow is usually quite good because it is pretty north-facing and well-groomed. There is another short run from the top station towards the chairlift, which is not really worth mentioning. But you do not come to the Krippenstein to ski on-piste all the time…

Krippenstein Resort Review: The off-piste

There are three really nice and long more or less official off-piste-runs, which are marked with sticks, some shorter variants of them, and countless hidden descents, which are hard to find. Because all of them are north-facing, the snow stays nice and soft for quite some time, especially in the higher parts.

But some words on the special dangers at the Krippenstein at first. The rock in the whole area is limestone, which is heavily karstified due to millennia of chemical weathering. This means that the whole mountain is full of holes and dolines like a piece of Swiss cheese. Some of them are big caves, which attract a lot of tourists in the summer, the dangerous ones are smaller, just a few meters wide. They can be really deep (40m and more) and are basically like crevasses on a glacier in winter, except that because they contain warm air don’t really get covered with snow that well. Falling into one of those holes could be fatal, so you should be very careful if you leave the marked runs. Hire a guide if you are not sure where you can ski safely. Getting lost is also easy if you leave the marked runs.. and that would be very bad because there are huge cliffbands in the area, and slopes which look really good from above may not lead down to the valley. Only a few people ski off-piste, especially on storm days, so there may be no-one to help you if things turn bad. Because of that you should never ski alone and always carry avalanche safety equipment and know how to use it.

Off-piste runs at Krippenstein

The three main off-piste runs, which are marked, but not controlled and not checked for safety, are Angeralm, Schönbergalm and Imisl/Eisgrube (I call the upper part Imisl and the lower part Eisgrube, some people call it upper and lower Imisl).

The combination of Imisl and Eisgrube is the easiest of the three. From the top station, you follow the piste until it crosses the cables of the third gondola section. There is a sign somewhere which shows the exact starting point. The first part is more or less flat and can be bad for snowboarders if there is a lot of fresh snow. There are some sections which are a bit steeper until you reach the start of the Eisgrube, which is a bit east or skier’s right from Krippenbrunn. You can exit here to Krippenbrunn and the piste, and you can also access the Eisgrube from Krippenbrunn if you follow the piste for a few meters until it turns right, and then left pretty soon. Just head straight ahead, instead of following the bend to the left. There is also a sign.

Eisgrube is steeper than Imisl and because it gets skied a lot it turns into a mogul run more or less during the season. It is still great to ski if there is fresh snow (or if you like mogul-skiing), and it is big enough that you will find some untracked parts even some days after a snowfall. You end up pretty low on the piste, from where you have to continue down to the gondola.

Angeralm is a difficult run, especially at the beginning and at the exit. It starts at the top station, just turn left after you leave the building. You can see the upper part of the run from the second gondola section. Its steep at first with some pretty narrow areas, then it opens up in a wide and open slope with scattered trees.

There is the marked run to the left, and an unmarked one further right which requires a traverse to get there and another to get back again. If you ski down, you will notice orange “EXIT”-signs on trees at some point, which all point skiers left. You have to follow them to get to the exit. Do not ski past them. The exit is pretty bad, especially if there is not much snow or if it has been a long time since the last snowfall. It is steep, there are lots of trees and rocks, there is not much snow and it gets skied out pretty bad. If you are not a good skier or snowboarder, you will be in trouble here, at least the first few times. But it is short, and can be sidestepped if the conditions are really bad. After the exit, you come to the lowest part of Eisgrube, from where you get back to the piste and the gondola.

Schönbergalm is an intermediate run skiing wise, but it is really wide and has a lot of variations, which makes it easy to get lost there, especially if it is foggy and you leave or lose the marked run. You reach it with a traverse and a hike of about 15 minutes from the top station.

First, you ski down towards the beginner t-bar, which you cross at the upper end. From there you continue east. In general, there is a cat-track, but it takes some days after a big storm before they groom it properley. If there is no track, you should only go there if you know the way, because there are no marks until you reach the little hut which marks the start of the descent. Again, it is easy to get lost on the traverse in the fog, and there are dolines all over the area, so be careful. The hut at the start of the Schönbergalm run is open, so you can have a break in it if it’s really cold and windy and you feel like it. From the hut you ski more or less directly to the middle station, from where you can get the gondola to the top again. There is a bigger cave a little bit skiers left of the marked run which you can easily visit on your way down. You can see it from the gondola, which makes it easy to find. It may not be really big but it gives a taste of what can be seen at the Krippenstein in summer when the big caves are open for the public.

As stated above, there are lots of runs which are not marked, like Himmeleck, Minigolf, Little Face, Gelber Stein, Gamsjäger nein danke (which is my favourite at least in its name), Krippenbrunn direkt and a lot more. Some shorter stuff from Imisl towards the piste can be seen from the third gondola section, but in general most of the runs are hard to find and not always in good condition. I would recommend hiring a guide if you want to see more of the terrain that Krippenstein has to offer.

Avalanche danger could be considered low in general on the marked descents since they get skied regularly after each snowfall and the runs aren’t very big or steep. They’re also mostly protected from strong winds. But you can never say that anything is safe, so make your own conclusions, or get a guide. Here are just a few things I’d like to point out:

• Be careful at the Start of the Angeralm and Schönbergalm routes right after a storm, there is always windblown snow and the terrain is fairly steep.
• Stick straight to the markings at the beginning of the descent of the Schönbergalm. There are dolines and holes all over, especially to the left.
• Do not ski close to the cliff-faces skiers left in Angeralm and skiers right in Imisl/Eisgrube (especially at the start of Eisgrube), even if it looks pretty good and there are tracks. There are avalanches coming down from the top of the Krippenstein regularly, especially after or during storms, and when temperatures rise.
• Do not ski Schönbergalm late in the afternoon. If you miss the last gondola, you are in trouble, because you can not get down to the valley from the middle station on skis.
• Do not follow tracks which go straight instead of following the EXIT-signs at the end of the Angeralm. There is one possibility to get down there safe (except the normal exit) and it involves a 3m drop. And there is always just enough snow for one or two skiers. You will not find it if there are no tracks, and if there are tracks it is already skied and you have to downclimb it, or to go back up to the normal exit. Both of those options suck, believe me.

Here are the links to the local avalanche-bulletins (you may take a look at those from Salzburger Land and Styria too, because Krippenstein is located very close to the border):
Upper Austria
Styria
Salzburger Land

Ski-touring near Krippenstein

A lot of people ski-tours in the area, especially from Krippenstein towards Dachstein. As nice as the tours may be landscape-wise, most of the classic ones do not offer great descents. There are some nice ones, for example down to Hallstatt if there is enough snow, but the plateau between the Dachstein and the Krippenstein is pretty flat, and you skin from the Gjaidalm to the Dachstein ski-resort on a cat-track most of the time. In spring, lots of people take the gondola up to the Krippenstein, skin from there to the Dachstein (you can not reach the summit with skis), ski back to the Gjaidalm on the cat-track and continue from there on the piste to Obertraun.

Krippenstein accomodation/après-ski

You can stay in Obertraun or in Hallstatt, but I would recommend staying at the mountain, at the Lodge, the Gjaidalm or in Krippenbrunn. Unlike at other resorts, it is not really expensive (especially in Krippenbrunn) and you will not have to drive to the mountain in the morning. There are ski-buses, but you can not reach the first gondola with them. There is also a kind of a hostel in between Obertraun and the ski-resort.
There is no real après-ski at the Krippenstein. You will meet lots of people in the Lodge, after the last ride up with the gondola and sometimes there are nice spontaneous parties in the Bar in Krippenbrunn. Obertraun is a small village with less than 1000 inhabitants, but if you really want to party you can try the Haifischbar…

Best times to visit

The season starts in mid December and ends at some point in April. I would say that in general, February is the best time to ski the Krippenstein. Since the terrain in the upper parts of the mountain is quite rough and rocky it requires a lot of snow to be really skiable; I would say at least 2m base is needed at the top station. This amount can be reached in January, but not always. In a normal season, there are between 3 and 5 meters of snow at the top station by the beginning of March. Later in the season, it can get pretty warm at the lowest parts of the resort, but still be chilly enough at the top. I had one of my best skiing days in Krippenstein at the end of March, even when I had to carry my skis back to the gondola through pouring rain for about 15 minutes after each run. The higher elevation bit was still really great and you can always avoid going down into the valley by skiing Schönbergalm.

How to get there

You can get to the Krippenstein by car or by train. Do not forget to check the road-conditions if you choose the car! The nearest bigger airport is Salzburg and some cheap flights exist. From Salzburg you have to drive over the Pass Gschütt which can be difficult in heavy snowfall! If it really snows a lot, which it does sometimes in the area, the road from Hallstatt to Obertraun will be closed because of avalanche danger. Very rarely the train connection gets cut off also.

Stuff to do without skis

Hallstatt is definitely worth a visit. It is a really nice village with a long and rich history and culture, lots of nice old houses, some parts of them are build on wooden piles into the lake.

Hallstat during snowfall

The famous big caves in the area are closed during winter, but you can see the small cave in the Schönbergalm descent and you can visit the old salt mines in Hallein and Bad Aussee.

Got a comment or a question that wasn’t answered in this article? Go ahead and drop a note!

“I am very happy! Now I know everything is fine. Nothing had went wrong during last summer“, says Poutiainen.

Opening race in Sölden is difficult to most skiers because of the long half a year break between seasons. Many skiers are nervous, and so was Tanja Poutiainen.

“This was not easier even though I have lots of experience“.

Tanja Poutiainen has always liked Sölden race, and she has received several medals there.

Before the second run Poutiainen was third. Race in Sölden is difficult and challenging, and for women it is probably the most difficult one in the whole world cup. The slope is steep and partly in shadows.

Tanja Poutiainen (FIN) was the first, Kathrin Zettel (AUS) second and Denise Karbon third (ITA).

Tanja Poutiainen didn’t have time to celebrate long because soon after the race she had to pack up and head back to Finland where she continues preparing for the second Alpine World Cup race in Levi in November 14th-15th.

Snow in October is not really unusual in the Alps, but when it snows the snowline is usually very high up. This time it snowed more or less straight for 6 days all the way to the valley and at least us skiers got very excited…

The first storm came in on Monday last week, at first fairly high up in the mountains, but on Tuesday the snowline dropped to 1000m or even lower in the Northern Alps. Most of the areas which profit from precipitation from the north had a snowpack of nearly 1m by then, which meant that there would be enough snow for the first real powder-turns for us. Unfortunately at this point of the season all the ski-resorts are closed, except of  the glacier-resorts. And because skiing off-piste on a glacier in October always is a game of crevasse-slalom we decided against lift-served skiing.

On Wednesday we grabbed our ski-touring stuff in Innsbruck, and left for the close (and closed) Resort Rosshütte in Seefeld. We figured out there would be a lot of snow like everywhere in the northern Alps, and the parking lot is at 1230m, which was high enough to start skinning right from the car.

The weather was nice as we started to follow a skintrack towards the topstation of the Härmelekopfbahn. Soon, we were quite happy that we did not have to break trail in all the soft snow which was getting deeper and deeper as we gained elevation. The snow-covered trees, the white mountains in all directions and the fresh snow on the ungroomed slopes made us feel like in the middle of winter. After two hours of skinning we reached the topstation and decided against climbing higher because the snow was very wind-affected above the treeline. After a break we skied our first powder-turns of the season 2009/2010. So we made our way back to the valley, a bit awkward at first, how you always feel if you do something you havent done in a while, and always careful because we expected more hidden rocks or other obstacles under the snow, then faster and with more confidence. We even had a few turns in the trees, where there is really just enough snow. The snowpack got thinner and thinner as we skied down but there was just enough to reach the car without major problems.

As we drove home with a big grin we decided to do something similar again tomorrow.So we are back at the parking lot in Seefeld on Thursday. This time to climb the “Seefelder Joch”. The snow has melted a bit in the valley but it starts to snow again just as we start skinning. We take our time and skin on the piste covered in fresh snow to the Seefelder Joch where we are entertained by two nosy alpine choughs during our break.

The descent is even a little bit better than yesterday and we don’t mind about having to carry our skis back to the car the last couple of meters.

The snowfall gets heavier during our drive back to Innsbruck and it is snowing even in downtown Innsbruck, which is only 580m above sealevel! We watch the snow flurry getting heavier and heavier all evening and decide to skin up to Seegrube in the Nordpark ski-resort on Friday. Even there at 800m there’s enough snow to start skinning from the car. We follow a flat forest-trail at first, where we pass some big, snow-covered wood-cutter-machinery and continue steeper, with a lot of switchbacks under the gondola. There was plenty of snow in Seefeld the last two days we were there, but it can not be compared to the masses of snow here in Nordpark, even at fairly low elevation. It is cold and snowing a bit, which gets me in the same kind of mood that I had last winter when I had some really great days at Nordpark. We even meet the same people we meet in winter after every big snowfall. But this time we meet on the skintrack instead of the valley station where everyone tries to get into the first gondola after a big snowfall when the bombing is done and the resort opens.

No, I’m not kidding, it’s October..

Just before we arrive at Seegrube, the clouds start disappearing. We have a short break next to the Seegrube gondola station before we start the descent.

View from Nordpark towards Innsbruck and the Stubai Valley, hidden by the clouds

And it is really deep today. With every turn I sink into the snow and get spray on my face. We are almost flying towards the valley. Had I forgotten what skiing is about during the summer I would have been reminded now at the latest, and in a quite impressive way. But despite the low temperature, the October sun is burning and the south-facing slope starts to get heavier down low. So we head into the trees. At first, we are not sure if there will be enough snow, but there is. This is the first time I get to ski trees in October. And then, way too fast, we are back in the valley, where we carry our skis back to the car on the forest-trail.

It is getting warmer during the day but the precipitation is increasing again. It is raining up to 1000m in the night, but not just raining. It is pouring down like the world is coming to an end. Naturally, we want to do another skitour on Saturday. We choose to drive to the Arlberg, and so we drive through heavy rain, then sleet and then snow towards the Arlbergpass. We cant manage the last short part of the passroad in St. Christoph without snowchains and after a short break we continue our drive towards Lech.

The snow looks pretty windblown at  the pass but better and better as we drive through Lech and finally park the car in Zug. We decide to skin up towards Kriegerhorn and start the ascent. It is cold, snowing hard, and it seems that no-one except us had the idea to go touring in the area, so we have to break trail right from the beginning. Slowly we gain elevation, sinking into the snow till the knees with every step. Everything looks like in February, except from the occasional sight of snow-covered broad-leaved trees and red berries on bushes.

We make our way higher, past the treeline, but decide against the summit and ski down from around 2100m because the snow gets windaffected higher up. And again the descent is good. Real good. I get so much snow in my face, that I have to stop every few turns to breathe and to wipe the snow off my goggles. I haven’t skied that much and that light snow since February.

I also learned about the effects of hidden logs and a massive amounts of snow.

Down in the valley I feel my legs burning from the breaking the trail during the ascent but despite that I’d like to go up again. Unfortunately it is too late in the day so we decide to head home and come back to Arlberg tomorrow.

The word about great snow is spreading around, or maybe it’s just the weather that’s supposed to get better, either way we are a way bigger group on Sunday. We start from Zürs towards the Zürser See. After a short ascent, we ski down towards Lech. The snow has settled a bit since yesterday but the skiing is still great. Visibility is way better than yesterday so we can ski faster and have a lot of fun again, so we decide to climb up again and descent towards the road from Zürs to Lech this time, from where we walk back to the cars in Zürs.

It is snowing again, as we drive home. The weather in the forecast is cold and sunny for tomorrow, then warmer from tuesday on. The days of this short winter-episode seem to be counted, so we decide to do another tour on Monday. Because it is supposed to be sunny, we want to start from the Hahntennjoch. Not only because we can start from almost 1900m, but also because the Hahntennjoch is closed during the winter, so the opportunity to go skitouring there is rare.

We start pretty early in Innsbruck in drive carefully on a slippery road up to the pass, where we need some time to get out of the car and into the cold. The air is clear and very cold as we start skinning. I’m wearing two jackets even though we have to break trail again.

We head towards Muttekopf, but the depth of the snowpack decreases as we gain elevation since the strong winds have been blowing the snow off. We decide to ski down on a big, open field from a random point. After a few last turns in the crippled trees, we reach the Passroad, and are back in Innsbruck around noon and on our way to university.

The mountains are still white, but temperature is rising, and it is supposed to rain up to 2400m this week. So I guess October reality with the occasional visits to crowded glacier resorts is back..

Photos & Skiers: Lea Hartl, Lorenzo Rieg

“Sufficient but very dry natural snow together with man-made snow is challenging the piste preparation crews. The weather forecast foresees cold temperatures on the glacier until at least middle of next week“, is reported in FIS-Ski website.

Right now the temperature in Sölden seems to be -2 Celsius degrees, and according to Sölden webcam 1, Sölden webcam 2 and Sölden webcam 3 there seems to be quite good snow in 2600 meters and 3000 meters.

First round of ladies’ giant slalom is scheduled to start on Saturday 9:45 am local time. Men’s race is scheduled to start at the same time on Sunday morning. The “white circus” has began.

Here you can see huge panorama pictures from Sölden, Austria.

Stubai Glacier offers a lot for a piste skier

The Glacier offers a wide variety of pistes, mostly aimed at beginner to advanced skier. There are only a few black pistes available. Compared to a lot of other resorts the pistes are usually well groomed and taken care of. Piste-carvers will be happy to note that the pistes are also nice and wide. The base of the resort is at 1750m while the top lift takes you to 3200m. Here’s the slope map for a general idea about the area:

The offpiste area in Stubai is fairly easily observed from lifts. There are not many runs that won’t be easy to spot from the lift. The terrain is not very steep, it’s a glacier after all. A very serious offpiste skier might want to look into other options such as Chamonix or Verbier but for a normal skier Stubai Glacier will do just fine. On a powder day it’s usually best head straight up to the four-seater chairlift “Rotadlbahn” and have a look at the options around and under the lift. If you’re more into mellow glacier-skipping then the new “Daunscharte” T-bar is worth checking out. Be aware of the hidden crevasses lurking below the snow, especially in autumn, early winter and late spring! There are plenty and falling into one wouldn’t be nice. Consult locals or hire a mountain guide and carry proper equipment and know how to use it. For the experienced the touring options around the resort are plentiful, including the highest mountain of the Stubai Alps, Zuckerhütl. There are also many alpine huts that offer great skiing (see photo below) within a days tour.

Getting to Stubai Glacier resort, accommodation & best times to visit

Stubai Glacier is some 25 kilometers away from Innsbruck and its airport. The flights to Innsbruck can be expensive so another option is to fly to Munich, which is 2 hours away from Stubai if the roads are clear. From Munich you can get to Stubai valley by either renting a car, getting a flight taxi or taking the train to Innsbruck and a bus from there.

The busiest times at Stubai Glacier are the European school holidays but especially the last weeks in the end of November and beginning of December when other resorts normally haven’t opened yet but people are already getting into “ski-mode”. The lift lines during this time can be very long, and if you do decide to come during the high autumn season then take my advice and take the lift down from the glacier before 3pm. This will save you a long wait in a line. But really the best time to ski Stubai would be during the late season, the weather is usually great and snow still plentiful. Crowds are also non-existant during the late season.

The base of the ski area is not in a village. There’s just a big, ugly parking lot and one hotel. Most of the guests skiing Stubai stay further down the valley, in villages such as Neustift or Fulpmes. There’s a free skibus running from the villages to the glacier quite often. The ride takes about 20-30minutes depending on which village you stays in, but during high season the bus can be very packed. If you’re staying in the Stubai valley there’s couple other resorts that are included in the Innsbruck Superski pass and are close by, such as Schlick and Elferlifte. Stubai Glacier is also part of the Snowcard Tirol.

For more information about the Stubai Glacier click here. For an article about skiing close to Innsbruck check Ville’s Resort Review of Innsbruck Area and more information about the villages and accommodation in Stubai Valley check out the tourist information site Innsbruck and its holiday villages.

Got questions about Stubai or was something not mentioned? Drop us a comment!

Albrecht lost control Thursday after flying through the air for over 40 yards, landed on his back and came to a stop near the finish line. His velocity right before the crash was 140 km/h (87 mph). He actually crashed in the same legendary Streif downhill course as Scott Macartney last year, which forced Macartney quit his season. Organizers lowered the final jump of the course after Macartney’s crash and clearly marked the natural wave so racers would be able to better time their jump.

25 years old Daniel Albrecht has been pretty successful and is currently holding 8. position in Alpine World Cup. He is the present world champion in combined. Albrecht won his first World Cup race in late 2007, a super-combined held in Beaver Creek, USA, followed by a giant slalom in the same location a few days later. It is possible that he cannot continue the cup anymore, but we will probably hear more news during the next couple of days.

I have friends who never take their families or even wives to ski trip. A perfect strategy if you ask me, but it is just not so easy sometimes. My wife also wants to go riding, actually as much as I do. Who I am to say that the turns only belong to me…

Anyway, I’ve come into the conclusion that bigger, famous resorts are in a way overrated. I mean if I had weeks or months of time I’d go to Chamonix or Verbier (or similar place) for sure. Don’t get me wrong, but those kind of resorts are world class, and have earned their reputation. Even though with limited time and fever to get powder turns as easily as possible, there are other options. You just have to take a bit different strategy and attitude.

Skiing in Flachau

Take a small family-oriented resort in Austria and book a basic package trip. Be sure to deal the “shifts” of skiing well ahead – so you don’t end up arguing on the morning of the powder day who’s turn it is going to be…

We did like this and managed to do pretty well. Traveling with kids requires quite a lot of patience and military like discipline but it isn’t the worst thing to do (any day at the mountains beat the office for sure IMHO). We also managed to get some pretty good, soft turns; generally people just didn’t cared for the powder and/or off-piste at the small resorts of the Ski Amade. Well, Flachau is the home village of Herman Maier himself… No wonder that people were so keen on groomer skiing. Very good for us!

So, Flachau ski resort is famous for its immaculately prepared and diverse slopes. I have to say groomer skiing is often pretty bad in famous off piste / backcountry / mountaineering resorts. So, if you’re into carving on very wide and well prepared blue and red runs, Flachau is for you. I’d say the groomer skiing there is world class.

Another speciality is 200 snow cannons – a thing that guarantees skiing even with the current weird winters. This winter has been very good in Austria in general though, and good amount of natural snow fell also when visited Flachau.

Ski Amade

Flachau is located at the center of the gigantic Ski Amade group, only 70 kilometres from Salzburg. Ski Amade consists of 5 different larger ski areas and 25 smaller resorts, ranging from gentle slopes of Flachau to glaciated terrain of Dachstein that offers something for even the most experienced mountaineers (I was so impressed by the Dachstein that I will post another article and photos dedicated to the area… Stay tuned).

We were lucky to have some local knowledge helping us out. We knew the guide of the organizing company and his wife already before. They were also pretty stoked to have some ski/riding company for a week and offered us a possibility to get rides to nearby resorts by their car. So, those guys pretty much took us to many “secret stashes” straight away. That was really nice, considering our limited time at the resort – so everyone got to ski powder and see alot of variety. (btw. not that the stashes were so “secret”: many times there were no tracks at all if you took some 10-20m away from the prepared slope… that was pretty hard to believe couple of times, after experiencing the rush that could be possible in places like Grand Montets (Chamonix) on a good powder day!)

We skied and rode in four different resorst of the Amade group during the week. Here is a short description of each one:

- Flachau: gently and rolling well prepaded slopes. We didn’t ski much slopes there though – but took a few off piste runs down Griessenkareck. Nice rolling terrain on the upper mountain (see the video below), then some good trees, and the run ends up on a very thick forest. Be sure to take the forest road traverse back to the slopes early enough or you end up to do some serious bushwacking. The run down from Griessenkareck offers a vertical change of pretty even 1000m (~3000 feet). The place kind of reminded me from Jasna, Slovakia - small by the Alps standard but more than enough by our Scandinavian standard.

- Zauchensee / Flachauwinkl: I really dug this place,. Located only about 10-15min away from Flachau and easily visitet by ski-bus too. The resort offered some good, well groomed slopes as well few nice faces and chutes on the top of the mountain and excellent tree skiing from around 1/3 from the top. This were the place where I most wondered the habits of the local skiers. You could ski perfect glades straight from the slopes and no tracks around but ours.

- ReiterAlm (which is connnected to larger Schladming area). This one offered probably as much vertical change as Zauchensee but in my opinion the profile and slopes were a bit more boring and not so well prepared (note: this from the few runs we skied to get to the “real” stuff) However, take the 6 seat chair to the top and hike ~15minutes to the top of Gasslhöhe. Nice little face where you can take several line options. Enough terrain features to keep you interested for an afternoon.

- Dachstein Glacier - we only got to visit there for too short time. By car that was just on the border for reasonable half day visit (remember: we had two “shifts” every day, letting the wifes have their fun on the other one…). So, we ended up skiing the slopes of the glacier and some very small off piste runs between the slopes which were not bad, the snow was ok (chalky old very windpacked snow) and the views great. But we didn’t manage to take any of the big (I mean BIG) routes back to the gondola as the time was getting late and the beginnings of the said routes look gnarly! Actually I wasn’t excepting anything like this here and to be honest the mountains looked very humbling in Dachstein. A good reminder for us flatlanders t keep a low profile and take it easy…:)

The Village of Flachau

The Village itself is pretty small, offering all the needed services within walking distance. The village is cosy, typical old Austrian town with old houses, church and plenty of restaurants. The restaurants are said to be ok, and Hoagascht in the main street should be excellent. With the hassle of three small kids we cooked our own meals in our apartment though. Boring but quite practical choice (and preparing your own meals means threre is always enough food…).

Our stay, Phantasia, was very nice and highly recommended, especially those travelling with kids. The building is made in 2006 and everything is very modern. Beats the french offerings any day (sometimes the pünktlichkeit so common in German speaking areas are just fine!)

Afterski is big in Austria and Flachau is no exception. Hofstadtl located in the down station of the lift is the place to go. There are also several night clubs in the town if you need to continue the night later…

Our after ski / partying on the trip was a joke. But that was pretty much expected…we just had to get our powder fix and that didn’t allowed for much partying with the kids and their daily routines around. And I would say we managed pretty well to still get some. The strategy to go the smaller resort and enjoy the overlooked soft snow was very succesful. Flachau was also very family oriented in every way, so the kids enjoyed too. My 3,5 years old daughter also got her first runs on alpine skis!

Flachau cold facts

Latest news of Scott Macartney tell that he is recovering and is not unconscious anymore. He suffered concussion, but didn’t breake any bones or suffer other injuries. Macartney is still in hospital in Innsbruck and doctors expect him recovering 100%.

As Scott Macartney approached the last jump of the run, commentator in television was singing “Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to…“, but quickly stopped when Macartney crashed. The day when he crashed was his 30 years birthday. Macartney lost his control in the last jump, fell on ground with 140 km/h speed and hit his head heavily on Streif slope.

Scott Macartney was born in January 19th. in 1978 in Seattle and grew up close to Crystal Mountain in the state of Washington. While Scott went skiing every weekend, his parents were members of the volunteer ski patrol organization of the mountain. With almost no funding Macartney worked his way up through regional teams and became one of the skiers in the Alpine Skiing World Cup.

In January 2006 Scott Macartney became second at the Super G race in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. The 2006 Winter Olympics were his second Olympics. Now in January 2008 Macartney crashed in Kitzbühel, but has quickly regained consciousness and is recovering from the accident.

Scott Macartney crashed on his 30 years birthday. He lost his helmet, glided over the finish line and unconsciously on ground. Macartney’s body was shaking and cramping when doctors arrived. He was given first aid and transported to hospital by helicopter.

Even though Scott Macartney’s crash looked very bad, he is now in relatively good condition. According to the news, Macartney suffered concussion, but does not need surgery. He is being monitored in hospital in Innsbruck.

Scott Macartney was second skier in difficult Streif slope. His crash caused half an hour break in the race. In the same spot where Macartney lost his control, also Werner Heel and Bode Miller had difficulties, but were able to keep their control. Kitzbühel race is known as very challenging. Macartney was fifth skier who has injured in this slope this year.

Kitzbühel downhill winner was Swiss Didier Cuche who also took the leading position in in the alpine skiing world cup. Second position in Kitzbühel was shared by American Bode Miller and Austrian Mario Scheiber.

Kitzbühel race is different from other races, because the prizes are much higher and there is more audience than in other races. Total amount of prizes is 550.000 euros and the amount of audience is 85.000 to 90.000. Total budget in Kitzbühel race is about 5 million euros.

Back in 1999 I was skiing in Chamonix with a dozen of other enthusiastic Finnish skibums. We crawled the backcountries day after day and we went skiing only if there was fresh powder. Yep, 1999 was an incredible season. It was on those days when I used to listen to few great bands. I thought I could take my portable CD player and listen to those bands while skiing. A fabulous idea, I gotta do it!

Next day I went skiing Plan D’Aguille which is on the right side of L’Aguille du Midi cabin lift. I went up there with guys and switched on my CD player. Good headbanging sounds started to flow into my ears… I turned my skis downwards and started riding the half a meter fresh powder. Man, that skiing was great… but something sucked! I went down to the forest and stopped. I realized that all I heard during the previous two minutes was the guitars and screaming in my ears.

I realized this is not good. I love this music but I don’t want to hear it up in the mountains. All I want to hear in mountains is the sound coming from my skis, boots, breathing, other dudes, the nature.. It is a peaceful and beautiful place and metal music just does not fit there. I rather listen to metal in afterski party.

Audio helmets seem to be a rising trend

That was me in 1999. I did not like it, but it does not mean that nobody likes it. There are thousands of skiers and snowboarders who want to hear music in slopes. I know few guys, but they are not freeskiers. May be it is so that freeskiers are not much into hearing music while skiing, may be not. I am just guessing. If you are interested in listening to music while skiing, there is a new trend rising in the markets, audio helmets. Put on your helmet, switch on your iPod and start skiing. Audio helmets are just helmets including an integrated music player, such as iPod. The headphones of the player are embedded into the helmet which provides a great solution for those who want to hear music in slopes.

I have recommended these kind of helmets earlier as Christmas present and I think it would be a great present for certain type of skiers and snowboarders discovering the backcountries and slopes.

Check out these few audio helmets I picked up. If you get interested, you can easily order them from Amazon.

Marc Gini was 0:0.28 seconds faster than the second skier, Finnish Kalle Palander. “Very good race, I must be happy with this“, said Palander in Finnish media. Kalle must be satisfied with the first two races in this season because he is now leading the world cup 20 ahead before Aksel Lund Svindal. Third one in today’s race was Italian Manfred Mölgg who was 8th after the first run. He lost Marc Gini by 0:05 seconds.

Gold medal in Reiteralm was a true surprise to many of us, including Marc Gini himself. His best position before this one has been ninth in Kranjska Goran slalom this year. “This is awesome, amazing result. I never expected this“, said Mr. Gini to Finnish media. Marc Gini’s victory was surprising for Kalle Palander as well, although Palander said that the Swiss have been fast in training.

The next race will be held in Lake Louise in Canada on November 24.-25.

Marlies Schild’s gold medal was 16th. for her in the world cup and 14th. in slalom. In the last season she won seven out of nine slalom races, and it looks like she might do it again. The situation in ladies world cup after Reiteralm race is as below.

1. Marlies Schild 112 points

2. Denise Karbon 106 points

3. Nicole Hosp 102 points

4. Tanja Poutiainen 82 points

5. Kathrin Zettel 74 points

6. Resi Stiegler 66 points