Ineedsnow ski holidays blog » christmas

Christmas Eve snow report from Innsbruck – cold, clear and still some powder left at Axamer Lizum today.

mat — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 15:52:43 +0000

Axamer Lizum, Innsbruck snow report 24/12/08 - image © ineedsnow.com

Axamer Lizum delivered superb piste skiing on Christmas Eve 2008 as well as some powder lines for those willing to head a bit off-piste. Much of the off-piste was tracked between the pistes but there was still some excellent snow to be had in areas further off-piste. On-piste the skiing was as good as it has been so far this winter with great groomed fresh snow, cold temperatures and clear skies. Better still the locals all headed off home around lunch time as it is traditional to spend the 24^th celebrating Christmas with families here in Austria – tomorrow will be a different story for sure, with the resorts heaving with skiers and snowboarders. Christmas day is set to see more new snow and grey skies but Friday and over the weekend is set to be very cold and clear. Weatherman mat is standing in for the injured weatherman flo, his night with Paris at the Leuchtturm ended with a fall and torn ankle ligaments, we are going to try and get him back on the slopes courtesy of some rear entry Salomon SX91’s pretty soon and several weeks before he had hoped.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCiumse4tM0

Christmas looks outstanding for visitors to the Tirol

mat — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 21:41:53 +0000

And you could really extend that to almost all alpine regions in Europe, the early winter 08/09 has been quite outstanding. Here around Innsbruck the early glacier skiing was incredible, with powder skiing as early as 5^th October on the Stubai Glacier. The Pitztal Glacier also had great powder conditions but one thing was notable – the local mountains had very little snow until November, then we had a week or so of low clouds and snow across all the mountains. Since then we have had almost continual cold and periods of snow. Last week saw the arrival of the Foehn wind, with warm temperatures and ionised air from Italy. Whilst temperatures meant that snow melted in lower resorts, the snow on the mountains compacted and as usual, the Foehn broke to release snow over the Austrian Alps. Snow is forecast for the entire weekend around Innsbruck and whilst the visibility might be poor in the mountains, those visiting over Christmas will be treated to outstanding snow conditions. Off to a very local resort tomorrow, Gotzens, my home village for the resort opening and a ‘Big Air Bag’ show.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ct1MNKgigUE

The latest from weather man flo from Nordpark / Seegrube, Innsbruck – serious steeps and the hangout for the locals of the north of the city.

Snow down to Innsbruck

mat — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 16:12:18 +0000

So snow all the way down to Innsbruck and heavy snowfall across all the surrounding mountains. The strong winds and low visibility make ski conditions not ideal, especially with temps down to -21c on the glaciers (then factor in the wind chill). Many Innsbruckers today ventured to the Christmas markets instead of the mountains.