Jack Gower.....Future of the British ski team!

It has been a fantastic Christmas week at Chalet Rafalt.  Our guests have had a cozy Christmas filled with skiing, lots of great food and very nice gifts!

Santa brought snow on Christmas day and we had some great turns with our guests under the Valfagerbahn on boxing day.

We will be sad to see the Gower and Hanssen families move on.  We have really enjoyed their company and their incredibly generous nature.  It has been a lot of fun keeping up to the kids on the mountain and the parents at night!

All the best from me and Maaike for a fun New Year and the rest of 2011.

Kind Regards,

Ross

Get ready....GO!!!

Jump over a hut

Girls night out

Family Ferguson

The last ten days has brought our first ladies group and also our first families to the chalet for the season.
 
It was great for Maaike to enjoy some ladies time and I must say also fantastic to be surrounded by the opposite sex on the tables at Apres Ski!  The bunnies (as they referred to themselves!) were full of energy and certainly enjoyed both life at the chalet and the skiing in St. Anton.  There were not too many quiet moments on the chairlifts or around the table!

It was a change to have our first family but equally as fun for us.  We loved skiing with the kids and had to work hard to stay infront of them!  Both families love the the history of the chalet and the warm feeling it brings.
 
Yesterday was the final for the Red Bull Hutten Rally which was quite an event.  It was a skier cross format race from the top of Gampen to the base hosted by Darren Rahlves.  There was a mix of professional and amateur racers flying down the mountain through and over huge huts.  There was a great atmosphere at the finish line and the crowed watched Rahlves win the event.  He was kind enough to give his prize (a brand new car!) to the second place finisher!

 
The snow is due to start again tomorrow and we are looking forward to spending a great Christmas with our current guests in this winter wonderland.  All the best for a very merry Christmas from Chalet Rafalt!
Kind Regards,

Ross and Maaike

Schindler under blue skies for the first time in a week

Maaike in Mattun

Coming down to St. Christoph

Schindlergrat

It has been a great week at Chalet Rafalt.  We have had a great group from Greece visiting who requested to do their own catering.  We are flexible with our clients wishes and were happy to let them prepare their own meals.  This has been a bit of a bonus for us as we have been invited to try their authentic dishes and we loved the spanikopita and fresh feta cheese all the way from Athens!

The group favors piste skiing and we showed them how to get up and on the mountain on their first day and showed them some of the moderate pistes.

We have also enjoyed fabulous skiing this week.  Yesterday was the first day we had blue skies in some time and we made the most of it.

The snow is back again today and we have had about 20cm at the chalet since dawn.  Rendl opened today and offered more excellent powder skiing.  The resort is close to going full throttle now with most lifts running.  I checked the base at Schindler on Wednesday and measured 250cm. 

We are off to a fantastic start here in St. Anton.  If you like skiing, lots of snow and gorgeous mountains book your trip soon!!

Kind Regards,

Maaike and Ross

Maaike and Kegan and our Chalet warming present!

Stuben am Arlberg

That is an arm and a head

 Our guests were kind enough to invite us to have dinner with them a few times this week and Maaike made some delicious meals!  Excellent company and a great atmosphere makes for memorable times.

We are in a major pattern of snow and it has hardly stopped since Wednesday.  Today we skied in Stuben with our guests and it was fantastic.  The storms reach Stuben first and it was incredible to see the amount of snow they have received this week.  The parking lots were buried and they are already looking for places to put the snow!

Its a winter wonderland here in St. Anton – We recommend making a trip to visit!

Kind Regards,

Maaike and Ross

After a couple more days of snow the sun came back out and we skied with our guests off the Schindlergrat Bahn. Conditions were spectacular and our guests loved the terrain!

Yesterday the snow came back and we are in the thick of a major winter storm that is supposed to peak on the 11th. Our guests spent the day inside the chalet reading books and watching DVD’s our new flat screen TV.

All is well in Chalet Rafalt and we are looking forward to our next guests arriving from Greece on the 11th. Come on down for a visit to this winter wonderland!

Kind Regards,

Maaike and Ross

We have been blessed with amazing snow for our opening week at Chalet Rafalt. With plenty of more snow in the 5 day forecast things are looking great! Our guests have been enjoying the conditions and the cozy atmosphere here at the chalet. Come on over and visit as this is shaping up to be a great winter here in St. Anton!

Kind Regards,

Ross and Maaike

St. Anton will open its 2010-11 season tomorrow, November 26th. The webcams are showing a lot of snow in the Alpine and there is more snow forecast for the rest of the week.

Maaike is currently on route to St. Anton and I will be arriving on the 29th. I will be posting a first hand update shortly thereafter.

Kind Regards,

Maaike and Ross

Good Morning!

The first snow fall hit the valley floor on October 20th!  Things are looking pretty white already so keep your fingers crossed that this means a promising season ahead.

Chalet Rafalt is aproaching the 50% booked mark for the season and Maaike and I are eager to meet our first guests for the opening party weekend December 3rd through 5th.

Stay tuned for further updates as the winter begins.

Kind Regards,

Maaike and Ross

We are very excited to take on managing this wonderful chalet for the winter season of 2010/2011 and for the opportunity to provide guests with a memorable stay.  We plan to use this blog to keep you updated on the ongoings of the chalet and St.Anton as well as the conditons over the season.  Stay tuned for updates!

Maaike and Ross