Ineedsnow ski holidays blog » stubai glacier

Mid-June and still 14km of skiing open at the Stubai Glacier

mat — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 08:15:08 +0000

Mid-June and before the protective blankets are dragged across the Stubai Glacier, south of Innsbruck, the ski area is still offering 14km of skiing in mid-June before the summer season starts and the skiers and snowboarders are replaced by hikers and mountaineers. The autumn ski season will begin anywhere from mid-September and for the months of October and November the Stubai Glacier will offer ski conditions anywhere from good to great. You find a lot of people taking later season holidays around Easter time but far fewer getting on the snow before the main season begins. Sun is one thing there is less of in autumn compared to winter but for those looking for the best snow conditions then Autumn trumps Spring for me with frequent powder days from mid-September onwards. See a snow report from June on the Stubai Glacier:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yuIluQfRyL4

Stubai Zoo opening kicks off another Park season on the Stubai Glacier

mat — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 21:15:52 +0000

Air higher than the mountains - image © www.ineedsnow.com

The weekend saw the opening of the Stubai Glacier Park, the Stubai Zoo. The Stubai Zoo opening featured a huge Park display and competition as well as a snowboard village with all the leading players in the ski and snowboard freestyle market. For those looking for air then the great powder snow conditions were of little consequence – but for the record the snow conditions were outstanding with several days of snow prior to the weekend. You can see a video of the Stubai Zoo opening here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6f885_tHYI

September powder heaven on the Stubai Glacier

mat — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 20:18:05 +0000

This September just gets better and better. I waded through over half a metre of new snow to get to the Stubai Glacier viewing platform to film the latest video snow report. The amount of snow that has fallen over the last few days was huge – I estimate that there was 50-70cm of new snow on the peak. Conditions on the slopes of the Stubai Glacier were as good as any time of the year and it is still September! More snow is forecast for the coming days – I am guessing October might start with pretty special conditions as well

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3fdLiWhpgI

The Stubai Glacier opens without me

mat — Sat, 18 Sep 2010 18:29:48 +0000

Just a few km’s down the road the Stubai Glacier opened yesterday without me – I am deep into an Msc thesis that needs submitting next week and despite the opening and the ‘moderate’ snow fall that the glacier is getting right now I have to remain focused and remember that the skiing here is going on until June next year. Focus, focus, focus…it isn’t working for me

Images of 08/09 – October powder at the Stubai Glacier

mat — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 14:10:49 +0000

For anyone else ruing the end of another winter season there is some solace – autumn glacier skiing. Why wait until Christmas to start skiing again – this picture was taken on the 5th October 2008, with great powder skiing on offer after several days of snow. The crowds were really absent as well making for a really sensational day of powder at the Stubai Glacier.

Powder the first week in October – image © ineedsnow.com

Good snow – poor light, Schlick 2000, Innsbruck

mat — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 15:42:24 +0000

With what seems to have been light snow each day this last week around Innsbruck and further snow over night, the snow cover in the Innsbruck region resorts is excellent. Today I dropped in on Schlick 2000, a resort connected to Innsbruck by tram and part of the Stubai Valley region. The area is compact, features superb scenery and offers great skiing for beginners and some excellent off-piste for those wanting to seek it out. It is not ideal for intermediates(they need to head down the valley to the Stubai Glacier for some of the best intermediate skiing to be found in Austria). The snow conditions were good with skiing right back to the resort. The skies were less welcoming however and with hazy skies and flat light. There were a good number of people there which should take some of the strain off the Stubai Glacier. Those at Schlick 2000 were treated to an après ski festival after the lifts closed featuring a Super Tramp cover band from Germany – quality stuff!

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.

Winter 08/09, well it is finally here and what a really great start.

mat — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 18:11:36 +0000

Powder skiing on the Stubai Glacier with 60cm of new snow over Friday and Saturday – and it is the 5^th October!. The runs are complete down to the Gamsgarten base and the red 9 and blue 7 down to Gamsgarten were as good as any time in any season – genuinely superb skiing. The new snow was groomed later in the day and the pistes were absolutely perfect. Off-piste was limited to a few safe areas but there were some excellent lines. There were a few up there but no real crowded pistes or lifts. Later in the afternoon the pistes were almost empty. One highlight was getting access to the ‘Summit platform’ which was closed due to the heavy snowfall. A minute with the ‘lifty’ and a bit of Tirolean dialect sprinkled in and the door to the stairway was open – great views and some big drops.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7578204973718159568