Ineedsnow ski holidays blog » Pitztal

Pitztal Glacier today – very, very good

mat — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 21:52:52 +0000

Fresh overnight snow on the Pitztal Glacier - image © www.ineedsnow.com

So overnight snow on the Pitztal Glacier combined with sunny weather and a cold wind to give superb ski and snowboard conditions. I wasn’t the only one to head to the Pitztal Glacier but there were far fewer skiers than on the weekends and the wide slopes allowed you to feel pretty. Take a look at the video snow report and some ski action from today:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=POII6p2EpRU

Two weeks before the 2010/11 Tirol Snow Card kicks in

mat — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 18:43:17 +0000

Lots for not very much – the Tirol Snow Card is valid in 2 weeks time with access to 81 ski areas, over 960 lifts and 3100km of ski pistes. It runs from the 1^st October until the 15^th May. So lots of skiing for not much money (mine was 439 Euros last winter) and for many months – all good. The Tirol Snow Card is valid in some of the big name resorts in the Tirol including Kitzbuhel, Kuhtai, Mayrhofen, Obergurgl, Alpbach, Soll, Serfaus, Brixen, Ehrwald, Ellmau, Fieberbrunn, Finkenberg, Fiss, Galtur, Gerlos, Glungezer, Hintertux, Hochfugen, Hochgurgl, Hochkrimml, Hochzillertal, Kappl, Kaunertal, Konigsleiten, Ladis, Mutters, Nauders, Neustift, Nordpark, Patscherkofel, Pitztal, Rifflsee, Scheffau, Schlick, See, snow card, St Johann, Stubai, Westendorf, Zell am Ziller.

A minute of distraction and the Pitztal Valley is gone

mat — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 22:06:38 +0000

Rifflsee - image © www.ineedsnow.com

Today I managed to miss the gargantuan Pitztal Valley – I was being tailgated by a car and watched in my mirror it got pulled by an unmarked police car who was tailgating it. A 20 minute round trip was enough to wipe the smirk away. Today I skied in both Rifflsee and Hochzeiger both resorts in the Pitztal Valley and part of the Pitztal ski region that includes the Pitztal Glacier. The weather was poor in the morning and much better in the afternoon. Hochzeiger had more young racers than I have ever seen on the slopes, possibly motivated by the fact that it is the home ski area of Benjamin Raich. Snow conditions were excellent, there was no real off-piste to go at but the ski pistes had a good cover of fresh snow.

Hochzeiger – image © www.ineedsnow.com

Winter arrives with snow down to Innsbruck

mat — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 18:44:10 +0000

Overnight snow reached as low as Innsbruck whilst the Hintertux Glacier has had a metre of snow over the last few days. Winter is here and the Hintertux Glacier, Stubai Glacier, Kaunertal Glacier, Kitzsteinhorn Glacier, Pitztal Glacier and the Solden Glaciers of Rettenbach and Tiefenbach have all seen heavy snowfall and impressive accumulations. The weather in Austria is set to remain wintry into next week. Conditions on the glaciers tomorrow could be incredible with breaks in the cloud forecast show off the deep powder.

Grace – 2 today but skiing before 3

mat — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 19:55:35 +0000

With my wife around mid term pregnancy then this is my last winter where there is likely to be the prevailing weather conditions governing my decision to ski. Spending the majority of the winter in the Austrian Alps, I often chose to ski the least at the most popular times. The upcoming changes that we face are starting to put holiday choices into perspective. Education is the greatest thing that you can give your child, a skiing (or snowboarding) background the next. So how to balance them? My brother and sister in law are outstanding parents but bend the rules of my (fairly rigid) test of parenting test on the basis that their daughter is today 2 and has still not slid across snow. Their issue has been that to get time off from their teaching roles coincides with peak demand for flights and hotels and with that prices. I know well that they dream each hour of the time that Grace can ski, hopefully it comes soon. School holidays are when most kids ski. The February half term usually sees really great conditions with longer days and almost always good snow depths. Christmas in Austria is an option but New Year is a time when I personally rarely ski as there are far better times in the winter to ski. For parents then the October half term is one time that I think is really underused, October the 5^th this year we had sensational skiing on the Stubai Glacier, that followed really great powder skiing on the Pitztal Glacier last May. The point is that when demand is high and prices reflect that then there are better options for parents of school aged kids who seek the ‘education / ski balance’ than New Year. Today I took the 3 year, 3 month old son of friend skiing to Kuhtai. Before our lunch break he was totally enthusiastic, after lunch all he wanted to do was hand me lumps of ice to skid down the moving carpet. At least he was in the mountains though with skis on the end of his legs and he loved the skiing and watching me make work for the lifties. I write it here officially that Grace will ski before 3, next May she can ski the Pitztal Glacier with us, maybe her first day will be a powder day, I am sure if I am with her on a moving carpet it will be a powder day for her devoted parents.

Latest Pitztal Glacier – powder skiing again

mat — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 09:47:09 +0000

It was May 08 when I had my best powder day of the winter in Austria on the Pitztal Glacier. November served another superb powder day over the weekend although the off-piste terrain is more limited by the gaping crevasses that are very evident on the edges of the ski area. There were plenty of powder lines and for those sticking to the pistes there were excellent conditions as well.