Super quality powder and blue skies.

Schindler chutes looking prime.

Langen forest in great condition!

Clouds lifting in Sonnenkopf.

Sunset view from the chalet.

Fantastic skiing on a daily basis since the lifts opened on December 6th is the story from early season in St. Anton.  There have been no lift lines, almost daily snowfalls, deep snow, plenty of faceshots and smiling faces over the last two weeks.  The coverage over the Arlberg is great for this time of year and we are skiing classic runs such as Stuben to Langen and Schindler Kar all the way down to happy valley.  The lift company is set to open Rendl tomorrow and things are in great shape for all Christmas holiday makers who will be arriving this weekend.  We are thrilled to have the Gower clan back at the chalet and will be again taking lessons from Jack and Rory on how to go fast!  It is shaping up to be another super winter in St Anton so please get in touch if you would like to join in the action this season!

Kind regards,

R&M

Krampalar night on Dec 5th.

Another large overnight snowfall in the car park of the chalet.

Thomas enjoying great early season snow.

Martin trying to hide from the camera!

It has been a great opening in St. Anton.  The Krampalar night on Dec 5th is a tradition that features some incredible costumes and  masks that take up to a year to make.  There is a parade down the main street complete with back firing tractor’s, torches and stilt walking.  The Krampalar’s also whip and scare people as they make the way to the finale which involves a firework display.

The snow has continued almost non-stop since Dec 2nd and we are in currently back in a north westerly pattern of weather which is bringing lots of snow and cold temperatures to the mountains and village.  St. Anton is looking picture – postcard perfect with everything blanketed in white.  Most of the lift system is open now with Schindler and Kapall being be the most recent.  The skiing has been consistently incredible since the lifts opened and this week is promising more of the same.  At the chalet we have the last week of March and first week of April available so come get into the action!

Kind regards,

R&M

Martin getting into the low density 100cm of Arlberg Fluff. This is what is waiting on the mountain when the lifts start tomorrow!

Looking out the back of the chalet. This was brown on Dec 2nd. Winter is back in St. Anton

Winter has returned to St. Anton this week.  We have received between 60-80cm at the chalet and Galzig station is now reading 104cm.  We took a quick tour on Galzig and found exceptionally deep powder skiing!  It is going to be a fantastic start tomorrow when the lifts open.  There are three weeks available still for the winter 12/13 and we would certainly love the opportunity to host you!  Fingers and toes crossed for lots of days like this!

Blue Osthang ready to go!

Martin opening up Bachside for the 2012/13 season.

A solid 30cm in St Christoph.

I arrived in St Anton on November 28th.  Lake Louise was firing on all cylinders and it was hard to say goodbye to great friends and deep powder.  Thankfully this post is made with a big smile from ear to ear after today! St Anton received a decent amount of snow at the beginning of the week and we decided to take a walk up to the top of Galzig and see how things were looking.  I am pleased to report that we skied boot deep snow all day down bachside and the coverage was between 40 and 70cm.  With lots of snow in the forecast and my wife on the way things are looking great for early December!

The Arlberg had its first snow today which means that the mountains are slowly making the change towards winter.  With 8 weeks already booked at the chalet we are very excited for the upcoming season.  Please contact us for availabilty and book your trip soon!

kapall

Here's to you!

Thank you for your business over the course of the 2011-12 winter.  Maaike and I feel fortunate to have had very kind and interesting guests throughout the winter.  We also appreciate all the visits from friends and family which also made it a special season at Chalet Rafalt.  Mother nature could not have contributed more delivering lots of powder skiing to our guests (and us!) right through until the final day with close to 20 metres of snowfall over 20 weeks!  We are already looking forward to next winter and hope to see you back in the chalet.  For a compilation of some of this year’s photos please visit this link on our Facebook page:  http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.344279368969294.83237.100109816719585&type=1 

Coming down to Alpe Raus.

It has been a glorious spring in St. Anton.  Consistent snowfalls and great weather has made for great skiing all over the Arlberg.  The most recent snowfall brings our year to date close to 19 metres and has had late season skiers sporting big smiles!  The great weather has also made for great outdoor apres skis with table dancing at the kanguruh, an outdoor band at S’Griabli and the usual madness that only Mosserwirt can provide.  We have our final guests of the season in house and are thankful for the fantastic variety of friendly guests who have chosen to stay at Chalet Rafalt over the winter.

S'Griabli with a great live band making sweet music in the mountains.

This was April 10th - still skiing powder snow!

The Galzig mountain is the centre of the St. Anton lift system.  The first cable car to the top was built in 1937 allowing skiers to access 360 degree’s of 600m runs down the mountain.  Since then it has been rebuilt a few times, most recently in 2006 when the lift company invested 21 million euros to make a ferris wheel themed lift that carry’s twenty eight 24 person cabins.  Three other chairs and one t bar bring skiers back up all sides to the summit.  The amount of skiing that Galzig provides is really incredible as there is really no front and back side as most mountains but more of a dome shape.  You can ski down the south side runs called “Maienwassen”  “Maienplatt” and runs to St Christoph, off the north side which is know as “Bachside”, off the east side which has treed runs down “Black Osthang” and “Swissen” and finally down the west side towards the Arlenmaderbahn.  Here are a few pics of Galzig I have taken in the last couple of season to show its credentials off!

Galzig as seen from Kapall. You can see Bachside, Kandahar and Swissen.

Galzig as seen from Rendl. You can see Maienplatt, Maienwassen and Jungbrunntobel from left to right.

More south side options coming down to St Christoph.

As seen from the Arlenmader lift.

As seen from Schindler kar.

Back in January we were lucky to host Sherpa’s Cinema producer and photographer Malcolm Sangster.  Malcolm arrived with his beautiful bride to be, Jenny Kirkpatrick, and we had fun showing them the hot spots in St Anton.  Malcolm is riding the wave of success that he, Eric Crosland, and Dave Mossop have created with their newest feature length film ALL. I .CAN.  The accolades their had work has earned include best film at the Banff Mountain Flim Festival, Best Flim X-Dance Festival, Best Film the ISF Awards and most recently Best Film Powder Magazine Awards.  Needless to say, after knowing these boys since the beginning we are very, very proud friends.  Thank you Malcolm for sharing these shots!

Just the beginning of the future!

DJ Gerhardt making the dance floor go off!

St Jakob, very near our chalet.

This week has provided lots of great skiing all over the Arlberg.  On Saturday we had our last day skiing with my father’s friends and we finished on a high note.  Stuben to Langen was in great shape and the boys were loving it!  The sun was out today and we started with a tour to Kreuzjoch and skied 1600m down to Petteneu.  In the afternoon we summited Kanodel Kopf and Paichel Kopf which offered more soft powder turns.  Here are a couple of pictures!

Bloom, Ruby, Smitty, Span, and Maaike coming down to Langen.

Kreuzjoch with Martin - Denmark's upcoming freerider.

Al Volk coming down the North Face of Paichel Kopf