Ineedsnow ski holidays blog » arlberg

Heli skiing in the Austrian Arlberg

mat — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 18:50:52 +0000

Just back from heli skiing in the Austrian Arlberg with friends from Stuben am Arlberg and a world champion powder skier. What a day that was. The flight was incredible and our guide found some superb powder snow in the peaks between Zurs am Arlberg and Zug. We didn’t see another person on the mountain apart from a ski tourer who was heading up to where we had just been heli dropped. We certainly got a great day but there are very many in the Arlberg and the flight allowed us access to areas only reachable on touring skis. In many years of skiing that had to be about the best!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXSGyok2KQ4

Rendl – mourning the loss of a locals secret?

mat — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 09:40:35 +0000

One of the closely guarded secrets of Arlberg skiing, the Rendl area above St Anton is set to begin welcoming very many more guests in the coming weeks. A completely redeveloped and relocated lift system is set to tie the skiing in St Anton together and offer better comfort and capacity for those wanting to access the Rendl side of the St Anton ski area. All good news, except for the locals who have had it their own way for years. Few guests ever ventured beyond the Galzig and Kapall ski areas leaving the locals to lap up all the fresh Rendl powder. That is very likely to change this coming winter with the convenience and volume offered by the new Rendlbahn ski lift likely to lead to encroaching on what was once a locals secret area. Great for the resort and the lift company who are able to enhance the visitor experience but I am sure that there will be many locals fondly looking back to the yellow cabins.

New ski lift linking St Anton am Arlberg and Kappl in Paznauntal and maybe Ischgl?

mat — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 21:42:05 +0000

Sometimes new developments create as many problems as they solve. A new lift connection between St Anton am Arlberg and Kappl in Paznauntal is being much discussed in the region. So what do you do on a average morning in St Anton am Arlberg – 20,30,40cm of new snow – where to head. In the past it was pretty obvious – Stuben. But what if St Anton was connected to the Paznaun valley, directly into Kappl and maybe one day on into Ischgl, where then, west or south east? Well the St Anton – Kappl link is the long term project that is under a good deal of discussion in the region right now. With the upgrade of the Rendlbahn well under construction, the natural path south east into the Paznaun valley from St Anton am Arlberg is undergoing a major upgrade. Is the further link into Paznaun and the Kappl ski area on course for the coming years? What region worldwide would be able to compete with the combined St Anton – Ischgl region?

Which way to turn when knee deep in St Anton snow? Stuben or Kappl? - images © ineedsnow.com

A short video of the new Rendlbahn lift under construction and some of the architects impressions of the way it will look:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7WMyMBOIq2k

Iconic yellow Rendlbahn gondola in St Anton am Arlberg to be replaced

mat — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 13:14:50 +0000

rendlbahn built 1974 and with a very 80s logo - image © ineedsnow.com

Built in 1974 the Rendlbahn, St Anton am Arlberg has come to the end of its life and is being replaced by a new system that connects from the heart of St Anton. For 35 years the Rendlbahn has carried skiers and snowboarders to some of the best powder fields in the St Anton ski area. And whilst the iconic yellow cabins have formed a part of St Anton scenery over the decades the time has come to replace the lift.

Valley station 1312m
Top station     2030m
Vertical rise     718m
Route distance     2440m
Max capacity     1300 Persons/hour
Time        12 minutes

Vitally the capacity, speed and age have not kept up with the rest of the St Anton ski region, whilst the most impressive aspect of the new development is the location of the valley lift station of the Rendlbahn that will occupy what is currently the bus terminal in the centre of St Anton. Just as with the relocation of the St Anton train station from the centre of the resort to a location across the river, so the centre of St Anton is going to be shaken up with bus terminal being buried underground and the main lifts hubs of the Galzigbahn and Rendlbahn leaving from the centre of the resort. Work is due to start in June 2009 and should be completed for the start of the 2009/2010 winter.

Quotes of 08/09 – the Hotel Mondschein Stuben

mat — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 11:06:46 +0000

OK, a few quotes of the winter and noting that one complaining blog user prefers pictures to words then there is a fair chance that this theme will get an easier ride

One of my favourite hotels in Austria is the Hotel Mondschein. This was from Finbar about the 20th year anniversary of a group of French skiers driving past almost every ski resort of significance to get to the Hotel Mondschein, Stuben am Arlberg:

“This is no Holiday Inn, this is the real Austrian experience. I could describe in detail, but actions speak louder than words, so how’s this? There was a party of a dozen hard core French off-piste skiers from Toulouse. Yes, they crossed a lot of alps to get to the Monschien and Stuben, but get this,… for the twentieth time! Enough said.”

Images of 08/09 – avalanche hits the piste, Arlberg, Austria

mat — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 20:11:48 +0000

So as the season winds down (unless you are thinking of taking advantage of some of the outstanding glacier skiing that is on offer or plan to ski tour into any of the medium high ski areas that will be great for another month or so) then I thought about a ski photo series to accompany the closing lifts would be worth doing. First up then is a picture courtesy of Finbar over in Donegal, Ireland who had a near miss with an avalanche. This crossed moments before his group were set to ski this section of the piste. An avalanche team were on the scene in seconds with a rescue dog bounding down the piste but luckily nobody was caught.

View from inside the rescue pisten bully – image © Finbar / ineedsnow.com

Remember that all the glacier ski areas will be open long into what we think is the summer, the Arlberg and Ischgl will stay open until the end of April / start of May. Even of you miss the end of the season, the glacier skiing in the Tirol starts in October – I managed to get some great powder skiing under my belt on the 5th October last year. Endless winter – almost!

A couple of new Stuben am Arlberg videos

mat — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 13:03:37 +0000

Back in the office and editing videos – I know, justice is finally served

The first video shows the avalanche transceiver tester that is located in the main street of Stuben Am Arlberg – I have been to very, very many ski holidays resorts over the last few winters and this is a rare sight – Stuben really does offer the best off-piste that I have found and is serious about as well!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMtujVed9n0

The second video is a snow report and a bit of a profile on Stuben and the skiing there.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hs0Vs_u0lcA

The Arlberg – the best ski holiday region in the Alps?

mat — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 20:02:23 +0000

The ski holiday resorts of St Anton, St Christoph, Stuben, Zurs and Lech go to make up the Arlberg ski region. Individually the ski holiday resorts generally offer excellent quality and variety and access famous ski areas. Collectively the resorts of the Arlberg could be reasonably rated as producing one of the best ski regions in the world but how does it compare with The 3 Valleys or Les 4 Vallees? Having skied extensively across the Alps (and beyond) I rate the Arlberg as generally the best ski region in Europe.

Stuben powder – image © ineedsnow.com

Snow – let’s start with something that goes beyond the subjective, snow fall histories. Zurs am Arlberg is rated as having the second highest snow fall accumulation of any ski region in the Alps, only beaten by the Bregenzerwald ski area of Warth-Schrocken located just in the next valley. Statistics are banded around for Stuben claiming it has the 3rd highest snow accumulation of any resort in the Alps – for anyone visiting between December and April any year they are almost certain to see near unbelievable snow depths around the village. The same can be said for Lech and St Christoph whilst the Valluga peak above St Anton ensures that the ski area is often deep in snow.

Lech am Arlberg & Arlberg gets snow – image © ineedsnow.com

Resorts – St Anton is a true alpinists resort with hard core riders and hard core après skiers, St Christoph is stylish and upmarket, Stuben is really atmospheric, Zurs is ski-in, ski-out, whilst Lech has style, fine hotels and real refinement. Amongst the resorts there is almost something for everyone

Ski terrain – St Anton steeps, Lech – Zurs and St Christoph intermediate cruisers or Stuben off-piste. The variety of skiing in the Arlberg is absolutely superb and really covers the entire spectrum of abilities, not all comparably sized ski regions can boast that.

OK, the downsides……

Costs – the Arlberg can be more expensive than many other Austrian ski regions. That said I skied in Courchevel 1850 last year and saw lunchtime menus in mountain huts that featured dishes at over €100 and bottles of wine for €9000. We had a client contact us recently saying they bought 2 glasses of orange juice (200ml and not freshly squeezed) in 1850 for €32 – nicht gut!

Crowds – popularity leads to crowds and whilst Meribel pistes (in The 3 Valleys) can seem like Liverpool Street at 17:30, the Arlberg does have some issues with crowded pistes just above St Anton and traffic on the Lech roads. To get away from either head to Stuben.

Glacier skiing – one thing that the Arlberg does not have is glacier skiing and whilst it is not for everyone it does extend the ski season hugely. That said there are Austrian resorts that are 750m higher than Stuben that don’t come close to their snow fall levels.

Generally though I think I have to say that I have yet to find a ski region offering more than the Arlberg. I will keep skiing and looking though – feel free to add your favourite region…..

Day 2 in Stuben – back on the piste and skiing huge distances

mat — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 10:28:41 +0000

After the great off-piste adventures of the previous day, yesterday was about skiing with the Rafferty’s and showing them some of the great piste skiing options out of Stuben. Basically Stuben is located at the heart of the Arlberg ski region with Lech – Zurs on ones side and St Anton and St Christoph to the other. St Anton and St Christoph are linked directly by lift and piste whilst Lech – Zurs are just a short bus ride down the Flexen Pass. For those wanting easy access into the heart of the St Anton ski area then Stuben probably offers the faster route to the Valluga region of the ski area. Yesterday though was the turn of the Lech – Zurs ski region and the conditions before lunch offered some of the best spring skiing you could imagine, the Muggengrat – Tali was just sensational.

After a few more runs it was down into Zug before a run around Lech am Arlberg and then back into Zurs am Arlberg. The warmer temperatures had made the snow a bit heavier and the off-piste was best tackled on fat skis or snowboards. The snow pack in the Arlberg region should ensure great skiing right through into the very late spring.

Next week I am back in Stuben for a spot of heli skiing

April in Stuben am Arlberg – perfection

mat — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 22:27:15 +0000

I lost a film camera today but also skied past the roof of what in summer is a house – sometimes life evens things out pretty quickly. There aren’t many areas that get the snow Stuben am Arlberg gets anywhere, whilst for off-piste skiers and snowboarders Stuben has to be top of the list.