ALL THINGS AUSTRIA

[carinthian]

How much money had been invested in those machines.

Hi Julian. Not sure as the exact amount, but partly funded by The Karten Regional Tourist Board. Over the past 5 years there has been a massive investment in the resort, mainly because of its height does ensure good snow retention. Two brand new state of the art cable cabins have opened up one of the longest and best runs in Austria , linking Lungaue side of the resort to the Carinthian Region. This run the A1 is a excellent 6 km run. The cannon are mainly based at the bottom of the runs or near the lifts and the snow guns ( 700 ) line most of the pistes on the two mountains that make up the lift pass area for the resort. The resort opens for business this weekend.

 C

[carinthian]

fancy waking up to this outside your back door ? Feb 2014

[Blessed Weather]

Terrific photos Carinthian. Is that you stood next to the cannon?

Julian's question spurred me into doing a quick search and I found an interesting but old article (2011) about Ischgl spending Euro1m on snow cannons:

 

The Austrian resort of Ischgl has just spend € 1million to make enough snow to open. Elsewhere ski resorts are making as much as they can as Mother Nature fails to provide. The snow cannon is an integral part of the mountain landscape but comes at a cost.
Last weekend Ischgl opened with 25 lifts running and 81kms of slopes.  It didn't happen by accident. 1,000 cannons were working round the clock pumping out snow.

The resort used up 650,000 cubic meters of water to open. It was a massive operation.

 

Full article http://www.planetski.eu/news/3290

[carinthian]

Terrific photos Carinthian. Is that you stood next to the cannon?

Julian's question spurred me into doing a quick search and I found an interesting but old article (2011) about Ischgl spending Euro1m on snow cannons:

 

The Austrian resort of Ischgl has just spend € 1million to make enough snow to open. Elsewhere ski resorts are making as much as they can as Mother Nature fails to provide. The snow cannon is an integral part of the mountain landscape but comes at a cost.

Last weekend Ischgl opened with 25 lifts running and 81kms of slopes.  It didn't happen by accident. 1,000 cannons were working round the clock pumping out snow.

The resort used up 650,000 cubic meters of water to open. It was a massive operation.

 

Full article http://www.planetski.eu/news/3290

Hi Malcolm,

I once put my head in front of one of thoses cannons when coming back late from the pub. Needless to say ,I will never do that again as my face turned purple and stayed that way for days on end. Torn to pieces come to mind. Yep, too much local ale makes you do daft things.

The winter landscape can change due to the snow cannons, especially for the higher resorts. The investment at Ischgl will pay as it is truly international resort with long high runs. Of course at Katschberg our runs are not as extensive but pro rata the number of cannons per km of slope is probabaly one of the best in Europe.

[J10]

Cheers for the information on the snow cannons.

[Blessed Weather]

Hi Carinthian - I've just picked up this story from wetter.at today. It seems a storm caused damage just down the road from you in Bad Kleinkirchheim, but it seems to have been a 'localised' event so presumably nothing of note where you are in Katschberg? (Translated using Google with my 'improvements' in brackets).

 

 

Heavy Storm carried (tiles?) from the house roof

A storm in the night on Monday in Carinthia Bad Kleinkirchheim tourist destination (district of Spittal) caused severe property damage. According to media reports, a house was covered and also damaged several barn roofs, uprooted numerous trees. Hurt no one was there.

In the tourist and stable roofs were damaged and uprooted trees. The roof of the house was distributed by wind gusts with peaks around 100 km / h over several hundred meters. A total of 20 male volunteer firefighters marched out to remove the damage.

http://www.wetter.at/wetter/oesterreich-wetter/Schwerer-Sturm-trug-Hausdach-ab/169808516

[carinthian]

Greeting all, ridiculous warm temps today 10.5c at 1560m, freezing level at 3000m. Barren ski slopes across much of the country. A really miserable festive season across much of Europe with double digit temps. Hapless, countless Christmas Markets, festooned in artificial snow. Glocke ( hell ) its depressing. Soon be time for happy hour,and we all need a drink to raise our spirits. Hope those post Christmas Models deliver much needed cheer. All we want is snow , deep crisp and even, cruel frosts just like on all those Christmas Cards hanging on all nooks and corners of the living room.. Just on course for the warmest year on record over here, I really do need a drink now with all the other desperate snow junkies over here with you over there . guten abend !

C

[SHM040519]

Does anyone know what the weather will be like in Prague next week Not Austria I know but they are next door lol! Merry Christmas to all 

[carinthian]

Beautiful morning in Bad Kleinkirchhein. Nice shot of the the Roman baths at the base station. The only time I was evacuated from the mountains was in the joining resort of St Oswald. It was a warm spring afternoon, the ski-ing rather hard work on slush. The sky went completely dark all of a sudden. The sirens rang warning of the encroaching thunderstorm. All made a hasty descent to the bossom of the valley station. Thunder,lightning , gusty of winds that blow people off the piste, rain , then hail then a raging blizzard. The temp dropped from 10c to -5c in 20 mins. Just an amazing experience but scary at the time, especially when ski-ing with 2 yound childen. Nice area around BKK .

C

[carinthian]

Great ski-ing today on the Katschberg. Warm sunshine and nicely prepared pistes. This view is looking north towards the Spereick Mountain and the Lungau, beyond that Obertauren. Hopefully, moisture spreading from the north will deliver some much needed snowfall tonight.

[carinthian]

Nice picture of the Bodental Valley, Karten.

 C

[carinthian]

Guten Morgan, my favourite sort of day. Sunshine and snow showers today in the region and freezing air temps. Snow a bit more powdery today on the Katschberg and compact.

 C

[carinthian]

Dream conditions this morning on the slopes of Katschberg. Sunshine and perfect pistes. Most of the runs are traffic free this week, best make the most of it.

 C

[carinthian]

Nice sunny day on the Katschberg. Deck chair, cold beer and fantastic views, just cannot beat it. This picture taken from one of the best mountain huts in the Alps, The Gamskogelhutte.

 C

[carinthian]

Currently 18c at Salzburg Airport. Those new ski arrivals from the UK must think they have landed in The Canaries ! Crazy Fohn winds could see 20c plus in places .

C

[Blessed Weather]

Currently 18c at Salzburg Airport. Those new ski arrivals from the UK must think they have landed in The Canaries ! Crazy Fohn winds could see 20c plus in places .

C

 

Looks like Saturday's weather broke some Austrian weather records. This from wetter.at (translated using Google):

 

It has never been so warm in Austria in January. 21.7 ° C in Graz. All-time record.

The Föhnsturm has launched a new Austrian January temperature record. According to the Central Institute for Meteorology and Geodynamics (ZAMG) were on Saturday in Obervellach (district of Spittal) and measured in Graz-Straßgang respectively 21.7 degrees. A total of 14 stations, the thermometer climbed to about 20 degrees. The previous record was from January Bern village in Lower Austria, with 20.6 degrees on 29 January 2002. Today the same eleven stations outdid this value.

 

http://www.wetter.at/wetter/news/Foehn-Sturm-Waerme-Rekord-im-Jaenner/171984958

[carinthian]

Beautiful off piste ski-ing near the resort of Heiligenblut on the Karten side of Gross Glockner range.

C

[carinthian]

25CM OF NEW POWDER SNOW OVERNIGHT. WONDERFUL ON THE MOUNTAIN TODAY.

[dubmuffin]

After a successful skiing taster weekend in Aviemore at the beginning of Feb, I am wondering if I can squeeze in a week somewhere this year and have been told Austria is a good place for beginners and is likely to have snow in March. Any advice, or longer range forecasts forecasts for mid march. Snow sure and easy for enthusiastic beginners, I like the idea of the ski to the door hotel!

[carinthian]

After a successful skiing taster weekend in Aviemore at the beginning of Feb, I am wondering if I can squeeze in a week somewhere this year and have been told Austria is a good place for beginners and is likely to have snow in March. Any advice, or longer range forecasts forecasts for mid march. Snow sure and easy for enthusiastic beginners, I like the idea of the ski to the door hotel!

Hi,I would certainly consider Austria for atmosphere and village charm. The beer is far superior to most other Alpine countries. Mid March , a bit of a risk for lower resorts, but there is certainly plenty of resorts above 15OOm that offer hotels with ski -in ski out. You should be able to pick some good late deals for Mid March. The pound/euro , good for most UK visitors, bad for me! LuNch in the many mountain huts offer great value for money and cheaper than France. France would be your safe bet for altitude ski-ing, but all in all the AustrIan package may well be most suited for you at present.Kuhtai, near Innsbruck might be a good beginners choice and certainly Katschberg has the height and door step ski-ing. Check out Neilson, Crystal, Inghams ski web site for some fantastic late season deals to include ski hire in some resorts. Look for resorts based between 1000m- 2000m.

Good luck and hope you get a late ski holiday .

C

[dubmuffin]

Thanks for the tips Carinthian, I'll certainly have a look at your suggestions. Be great to be out in the snow again before Spring kicks in

[carinthian]

Recent picture of sunrise in the nearby Radstadler Tauern Range in Salzbugerland.

[carinthian]

Beautiful morning in the sunshine. Great ski-ing still above 1500m. Picture of one of the best Ski-in/ Ski out hotels in the Salzburgerland/ Lungau Region, The Hotel Schneider, Obertauren with an array of red, black and blue runs leading into the locker room, lift station or the castle bar !

 C

[Blessed Weather]

Not good to see an extensive forest fire in Carinthia this week. It seems surprising at this time of year, as you would have thought there was too much moisture in the forest after the winter rain/snowfall.

 

Forest fires in Carinthia: 75 hectares burned
Seven helicopters and two military aircraft are in use.
The location of the forest fire on the Göriacher pasture in the Carinthian village Lurnfeld (district of Spittal) has not changed in the course of Thursday afternoon. "The wind has picked up. We hope that it really is still raining. To date, not a drop has fallen," said District Captain Klaus Brandner.

 

 

Full story in Austrian: http://www.wetter.at/wetter/oesterreich-wetter/Hubschrauber-und-150-Feuerwehrleute-im-Einsatz-Alle-Fotos-Alle-Videos-Alle-Infos/185693117

[carinthian]

Not good to see an extensive forest fire in Carinthia this week. It seems surprising at this time of year, as you would have thought there was too much moisture in the forest after the winter rain/snowfall.

 

Forest fires in Carinthia: 75 hectares burned

Seven helicopters and two military aircraft are in use.

The location of the forest fire on the Göriacher pasture in the Carinthian village Lurnfeld (district of Spittal) has not changed in the course of Thursday afternoon. "The wind has picked up. We hope that it really is still raining. To date, not a drop has fallen," said District Captain Klaus Brandner.

 

Carinthia forest fire.jpg

 

Full story in Austrian: http://www.wetter.at/wetter/oesterreich-wetter/Hubschrauber-und-150-Feuerwehrleute-im-Einsatz-Alle-Fotos-Alle-Videos-Alle-Infos/185693117

Hi Malcolm,

 Just read your report. Its not totally unusual at this time of the year. The inversion over the Drau Valley breaks quite quickly now with the increasing power of the sun with the resultant fairly rapid ascent of air currents into the higher altitudes of the mountain slopes above the valley. Here in the wooded slopes at altitude  between 1000m @ 15000m the air is particularly dry at the moment due to the years maximum difference between the actual air temperature and dew point and hence and mixing of rising thermals and dry air mass is ripe for some forest fires. Must say I am enjoying the warm sunshine in Sussex at the moment and due to make a visit to The Bowland Forest Region of Lancashire to search for a home up there and relocate from Sussex. To me this is the worst time of the year in the mountains with the increasing power of sun starting to melt away all the precious snow and the village looks barren and at is worst until the spring flowers start to appear in the meadows. So a good time to stay in blighty for a few weeks.