Ineedsnow ski holidays blog » stuben

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

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

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.”

Look back at 08/09 likened to a MASH re-run :(

mat — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 10:49:27 +0000

There have been rumblings of disquiet regarding the look back at some of the images from the 08 / 09 winter. More precisely the blog entries have been compared to a re-run of MASH in terms of allure. Apologies for that, although I would quote the wordsmith Pat Butcher in this case “bit ‘arsh innit?” Ever one to keep the blog readers happy I will draw this theme to a close with three images that I think are worthy of a show. One I took and the other 2 were the work of a skiing obsessed Swede. I have to confess that he has the beating of my image in my opinion but I will let all you MASH fans be the final judge of that.

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.

…and another great shot from a great day…

…..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

What happened to spring skiing?

mat — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 19:08:58 +0000

I have to admit that spring skiing is not for me – I miss the short days and biting cold of the glaciers in November and December. That said (and not for the first time) I am widely ostracised when I air my views on Spring skiing. And if it weren’t for the dread that I feel each spring, imaging our mid winter climate in the Alps in the not too distant future then I would celebrate the great aspects of spring skiing more – the firn snow skiing that I have to accept is next in the pecking order after powder, the days with mates on sunny mountain hut terraces and the stunning views across endless ranges.

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!

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

Zurs am Arlberg ski-in, ski-out luxury - image © ineedsnow.com

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.

St Anton steeps – image © ineedsnow.com

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.

A run-away car in an endless winter

mat — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 21:35:38 +0000

Firstly the winter- it may never end, so far this winter has been without doubt the best of the last decade and today I was in the Arlberg and a couple of days before April there is still 2+metres of snow on the roofs of Stuben am Arlberg. Quite incredible and more set to come over the next few days – Finbar and family (our ineedsnow.com ski holiday prize winners) arrived today in Stuben and won’t need the SPF 30 for a few days.

The car made its 20m and 45 minute journey through Stuben, sans driver like a docking manoeuvre with the ISS - image © ineedsnow.com

So I popped into the wonderful Hotel Mondschein today to meet with Markus the owner and upon leaving my hire car had disappeared from out of the front of the hotel. I thought it had been towed or else I had parked it another spot. I clicked the remote locking and saw it some 20m down the road, parked up at another hotel. Basically during my 45 minute meeting at the Mondschein, the car had slipped of its hand brake and gradually made its way through Stuben. I secured the car then checked around for damage, not a mark – for anyone who does not know the main street in Stuben, it is about 5 m wide and lined with historic, upmarket hotels. How the car managed to avoid what is basically a historic monument of a village is beyond me. One of the more bizarre moments this winter, I am sure it would have looked pretty strange to those who witnessed it as well.

Conditions in the Alrberg today, not typical spring skiing that is for sure – low cloud and snow:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pziec2ZdvKY