Wouldn't it be cool to say that you have Alpine skied in every country in the world that offers it? I'm sure that I still have a long way to go but at least now, I can check Austria off of the list.
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| This was the most cloud that we saw all week. Photo is taken from the top of the main Gondola on the Rendl ski area. This is the place that you want to go on a powder day. Mostly red runs but absolutely all terrain is in play. For the real adventurous, drop off the back side from Riffelbahn 2 chair. Extreme! |
I've always dreamed of going to St. Anton, Austria. It's reputed to be the place where alpine skiing was invented and the birthplace of the infamous "Apres Ski". After spending 7 days in the town of St. Anton and the surrounding Arlberg valley, I can certainly say that the Austrians really know how to do things right.
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| This photos was were the girls chose to spend the afternoon while we continued to ski. Taken at the Lech ski area, this is the mountain village that consists of restaurants, bars, hotels and of course, sun bathed terraces. The Lech area was a nice change but it's quite flat with the exception of a few "alpine route" areas. Certainly, lots of fun to be had over a day or two |
Just a short 3.5 hour train ride from Basel and we arrived in the smaller ski town of St. Anton, Austria. Our chalet couldn't have been better. Just minutes from the main Galzig gondola and steps from town, we had found our home for 7 days.
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| Taken from the top of the Galzig gondola you can see the town of St. Anton in the valley. |
This was the first time that we have tried the "catered chalet" approach to ski vacation (favoured heavily by the Brits). Having now done it, it would be tough to go back. Every morning breakfast was served, tea and cake was waiting when we returned home from the slopes and every evening dinner consisted of a three course meal...with no preparation or clean up required. Simply genius. Not to mention that our chalet was equipped with a sauna (extreme sauna is a must!) and Nintendo 64 with Mario Kart. Needless to say, this was a tremendous vacation!
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| This was the view that awaited us on Wednesday when we ventured to the Lech ski area. By and large quite flat (with a tonne of people) this area would offers lots of fun if you could get off piste on a powder day |
When we arrived in St. Anton it had been snowing for much of the day. This meant that our first day on the mountain had the potential to be epic. We were not disappointed. Skiing knee deep powder for the first morning is always a tremendous way to start a ski vacation. The top bowl still had plenty of fresh tracks down some pretty gnarly chutes. I have to say, skiing in Europe (vs. NA) is a completely different experience. No terrain is off limits! It's essentially, ski at your own risk. And that we did!
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| This shot was taken on day 5 so this bowl is now pretty tracked out. Needless to say, many of those are ours from our first day on the mountain. What you can see from this shot is that there is no shortage of ways down from the top if you're brave enough to jump off piste. This was a nice gentle open bowl so really no fear of avalanche (although they did close it later in the week once the snow started moving) |
We didn't really touch a piste on the first day. Unfortunately, the weather then turned hot making the deep stuff a little less attractive for the rest of the week. That said, you really can't beat skiing in pure sunshine, above zero degrees, with over 5 resorts accessible by one lift pass. The expanse of terrain offered in the Arlberg valley is really unparalleled. For a fantastic meal, an intimate atmosphere and a 360 degree view that will take your breath away, try the tiny restaurant at the top of the Stuben's ski area. I promise you won't be disappointed while you eat great food on a sun bathed terrace!
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| It was really hard not to enjoy yourself. The snow was a little soft in the afternoon but provided you stuck to the north facing runs you could still find some great snow. |
Now, you can't have a blog entry about skiing in Austria without mentioning the food, the people and of course, the apres ski. It is true that everyday ends at a slope side bar....and the atmosphere is unrivaled anywhere in the world that I have skied. We were introduced to the "sun downer" and the "flying Hirsch" two of Austria's most famous apres ski drinks. Of course, I was already quite familiar with the beer. With an introduction like that, it's not long before you've joined the crowd in singing traditional drinking songs at the top of your lungs whilst dancing on the table.
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| Perhaps one of the highest gondolas I have every seen. Just thought this was a pretty cool shot. Unfortunately, with my mountaineering sun glasses on it's impossible to see the display screen of the camera so always shooting blind. Given the circumstances, not a bad shot |
At the end of the week, when all was said and done, we left for Basel with well defined goggle tans, a smile on the face and memories that will last a lifetime. If every ski country offers such unique terrain, weather and atmosphere then I'm going to love experiencing them all!
