Sam O'Keefe above Stuben

Kaltenberg

At the beginning of March we had a visit from Eric Berger.  Eric is an accomplished professional photographer who’s accolades include winning the photo of the year for Powder Magazine last year and the cover of their photo annual.  We were lucky enough to accompany Eric as he worked with some professional skiers under blue skies around St. Anton.  (I was even lucky enough to sneak in a few shots!)  Eric has had a chance to edit his photos and passed along a small selection to us.  We think they are great shots and certainly showcase the scenery and skiing and St. Anton.  You can see more of Eric’s amazing work at http://ericbergerphotography.com/   Thank you Eric for these photos and for a great visit!  We look forward to doing it again soon!

Kind Regards,

Ross and Maaike

40 cm of new snow has fallen over the last few days and today the skies were blue!  It was a great day for skiing!  This snow should help set us up for a great spring in St Anton as our base is back up to 230cm at mid mountain. 

Our bookings for April are mostly wide open so please feel free to inquire about availability.  The slopes will be quiet and the temperatures perfect for enjoying a nice deck chair after a good ski!

Kind Regards,

Ross and Maaike

Making the way down to Verwall

When the powder snow is skied out around the lift system and the snow has had a chance to settle and the avalanche danger is low many people hire professional guides and head out ski touring.  There are almost limitless options that access many different aspects that hold powder snow long after the last snow has fallen.  Many tours begin in one valley and end in another which makes for a real sense of travelling through the mountains.  These pictures were taken over the last coupe of days almost 11 days after the last significant snow fall.  It sure is a gorgeous way to enjoy the sun, snow and scenery!  We have relationships with some of the top guides in the area that we recommend to our clients.  We are happy to help facilitate great days like these (weather and snow stability dependant) upon request.

Kind Regards,

Ross and Maaike

The one and only Team Canada

De Zus von Maaike en vrienden!

Typical farmed powder turns in the Arlberg

Bordeaux big bottles in the Hospiz wine cellar

Anoher quiet afternoon at Mosserwirt Apres Ski

March started with a visit from home in Holland and from the one and only Team Canada.  Maaike’s sister and two oldest friends came down to experience the Arlberg and had a great time skiing the slopes and getting into the action!  We loved seeing them and were very happy they made the trip!

Team Canada was also here in the first week and are a group that has been frequenting the Chalet for the better part of 15 years.  They are certainly St. Anton professionals and know how to make the most of their time!  We had an incredible week keeping up and enjoying lots of great snow and dinning together.  We posted a picture of the wine cellar I mentioned in our last post which we were lucky enough to visit again with them.

Currently we have a very nice Swiss family visiting who we were happy to show around the lift system on their first day.  They speak German, English, Russian and Italian so we are taking some serious lessons!

We are back in a pattern of blue skies and gorgeous weather after some amazing deep powder skiing with the Canadians.  Feel free to come down and work on your goggle tans with us!

Kind Regards,

Ross and Maaike

Brother's MacKimmie

Most of Team Calgary, AB, Canada

Dessert at the Hospiz

Schindlerkar

Arlberg Powder, some of the lightest on Earth

It has been a fantastic month here in St. Anton.  We had a very dry February until recently but that allowed us to explore the incredible lift system that links these 6 mountain towns with our guests.  We had a special visit from my brother and his crew from Clagary, who were a barrel of laughs and really enjoyed skiing around 280km of groomed piste in between some of the finer establishments in St. Anton, including the Hospiz Alm and the Krazy Kanguruh!  It was great to show them the 7 million Euro wine cellar in the Hospiz which boasts the biggest collection of Bordeaux big bottles.  They have 9, 12, 15 and 18 litre bottles of wine, the most expensive costing a mere 50,000 Euro.  The Hospiz alone is certainly worth a trip to the Alrberg!  It was great to have family visiting and we will miss Neil and his crew!

The snow has come back big time in the last few days which was very welcome.  I have posted a few shots from the last couple of days!!

Kind Regards,

Ross and Maaike

Schoengraben

Rendl Spitze

England on the way to Apres

Great new friends and sunshine!

Here are a few shots from last week at Chalet Rafalt.  Holdiay makers enjoyed a new big dump of snow under blue skies.  There was fresh tracks to be had all over the upper mountain, with Schoengrabben offering the deepest snow.

We met a fantastic group from England and just had to take their picture as they showed off their apres ski spirt by sporting some amazing ski wear!

We had an incredible time with last week’s guests and are hoping we see them again soon, it was sad to see them go.

Currently we have a very nice group from Holland that are continuing to enjoy the blue skies and gorgeous scenery in the Arlberg!  Come on down and join the fun, we have beds available for the first time since early January beginning on the 6th.

Kind Regards,

Maaike and Ross

Team Korea

The Krazy Kanguruh Apres Ski

It is Inter Ski 2011 this week in St. Anton.  Over 30 countries from around the world have send their best ski instructors to meet, discuss and demo ski teaching.  It has provided quite the atmosphere on the slopes, in the apres skis and in the village!  We have shared the chairlift with many of the teams and it is neat to hear their perspectives on skiing around the world.  The Koreans pictured above were pretty excited as Schindler chair rolled over the chutes at the top!

The skiing has provided something for everyone since the new year.  We have had new snow here and there, lots of sun, and some warm days that have given the chance for some mid season spring skiing.  The weather is due to get colder tomorrow and snow is forecast over the next few days.  With guests that love powder skiing arriving on Thursday the timing is great!

Kind Regards,

Maaike and Ross

View out the back of the Chalet as the sun sets

Taps Apres Ski

It was a fantastic New Year’s eve in St. Anton.  Late night revellers enjoyed the party and fireworks were in abundance as the clock hit midnight.  All the way down the valley as far as you could see the sky was lit up and banging echoed off the mountain walls.

It was a sunny first day of 2011 and the snow was great.  We made a quick pit stop by Taps and it was full with people trying to nurse themselves back to health!

We wish everyone the best for the new year and hope we have a chance to host you here at the chalet!

Kind Regards,

Ross and Maaike