Like the early days of Hewlett-Packard - image © ineedsnow.com

Many of the lifts are now closed over here in Innsbruck although there are a few ski regions that are still open including Ischgl which will be hosting a Kylie concert at the start of May. The glaciers over here are in absolutely superb shape. We had clients recently at the Stubai Glacier and they described the conditions as the best they had ever experienced. For me it is a short break between the end of the season, some glacier skiing and the start of planning for the coming winter. Plans that are currently a bit on hold as I await the arrival of my first child – currently 6 days overdue. The current names in the hat are Franz Bode Brown for a boy and Renate Brown for a girl. During the wait I am designing some new camera accessories that I intend to utilise in the filming of the ski areas over the next year. There are some great online resources that I am currently modifying to fits our needs, I am really hoping for some great results from the new gear.

Ok, firstly the images taken by Petteri Koste. I was at Axamer Lizum, Innsbruck the same day as Petteri but whilst he took a series of shots that I rate as some of the very best I have seen, I moved between a plate of spare ribs and a few powder routes. You can find more of these at Petteris’ youtube channel.

© www.snurt.se

…and another great shot from a great day…

© www.snurt.se

…..and one last one of mine, from a few weeks ago in Stuben (so no “already seen that” complaints please)

I did those – image © ineedsnow.com

But this year where did the spring skiing go in the Alps – it went from winter to summer skiing? Here in the Tirol I was skiing powder on the 1st April in Stuben and since then it has been close to 20c each day and perfect sunshine here in Innsbruck. The snow pack has assured that patches in the ski areas around Innsbruck are almost entirely absent whilst the glaciers will offer sensational skiing and snowboarding for very many weeks – just pack the sun block !

The Skigloo – check google earth to see it still standing in August – image © ineedsnow.com

One casualty of the warmer temperature has been the Skigloo – still standing and sure to be seen the next time a google commissioned satellite maps the area this summer but starting to take the brunt of the warmer conditions. Not sure if it will be ready to host another bash before the lifts at Axamer Lizum stop running next Sunday but if not, then it has been fun. Time out of the office digging, a back injury, hospital bills, some large entertainment expenses landing on a desk at HMRC and some fairly challenging mornings can all be ascribed to the Skigloo. Was it worth it? Yes!

My run home, luckily after the avalanche and not during – image © ineedsnow.com

Plenty of wind, sun and snow in Innsbruck today with great spring skiing conditions. Although the avalanche danger is low at present there have been many slides over the last week or so and several of the connecting pistes have been dissected by avalanches especially between Axamer Lizum and Mutters / Gotzens, high above Innsbruck. For those who enjoy spring conditions then the snow pack is sensational at present and the high pressure pretty sustained here in Innsbruck. For the coming month or so then the glacier skiing around Tirol is very likely to be outstanding. I will be spending much of my time dealing with maternity wards – very exciting if also terrifying.

powder, sun and snow showers, Innsbruck - image © ineedsnow.com

Intermittent blue skies and snow showers today in Innsbruck – the off-piste was excellent. I have two clients (also great friends) over from London who wanted to see my home ski area of Axamer Lizum- having skied Kitzbuhel, Verbier and St Anton regularly I was very interested to see how they found the smaller ‘locals’ ski area of Axamer Lizum – so far they seem to be having a great time but I am sure that they will add their own views upon their return. Snow report from today:

The bizarre in the bar – image © ineedsnow.com

You kind of know something is amiss when a bloke dressed as a caveman beats the bar in front of you with a raw pigs’ leg. At one point the leg even hung from a shrieking mouth – I trust it was very fresh? In a country that on the face of things can be pretty conservative, Fasching offers Austrians the best chance to get a bit crazy for a few days. And in the run up to the biggest party of the winter the small ski holiday resort of Gotzens sees a weekly event each Thursday, with Fasching dancers and musicians trawling the bars in the hope of free schnapps and a dance with a stranger. Funny and without question very random, the Thursday night mayhem has now ended and preparations are in place for Fasching Tuesday or Fasching Dienstag as it is known in Austria. That is always an almighty party down in Innsbruck, with excess on a grand scale being the order of the day.

The almost completed Skigloo bar - Innsbruck, Austria - image © ineedsnow.com

After some delay due to great snow conditions, a back injury and work commitments we have set the opening party for the Skigloo for this weekend, Sunday 15th Feb 2009. Conceived in the days of falling share values, rising unemployment, weak £ and a very dodgy KGB guy with his  hand on the EU’s gas tap, we decided to create a piece of heaven in the mountains above Innsbruck. It is a place where skiers and snowboarders can hang out for an hour or two after skiing to share a few stories and forget about the current (and hopefully temporary) problems with the world. The location of the Skigloo is private as it is an invitation only experience but it is buried deep in the woods of Axamer Lizum. Invitation only maybe but far from exclusive, if you are in Innsbruck and fancy hanging out at the Skigloo on a Friday or Sunday then just drop us a line on the blog and we will let you know when and where we meet – it promises to be a lot of fun. The theme will be serious skiers and snowboarders not taking themselves too seriously – this will be obligatory.