We are in the midst of another classic week in St. Anton.  20cm on Tuesday and another 20 on Thursday has put us back into powder skiing mode.  My dad is currently visiting with some friends and they are showing us how to enjoy life both night and day!  We spent last night dancing on the bar at the Piccadilly to Andi Josesph’s incredible guitar work and got started early today on all the fresh snow. It was knee deep in Stuben under blue skies and the smiles were on our faces all day long.  Unfortunately I did not bring my camera today but here are a few shots from yesterday’s trip around the white circle.

Bloom making his way around the white circle.

Montana's in Oberlech. This is Patrick Ortlieb's family hotel and restaurant. His 1992 gold downhill medal is on the lobby!

Just another average lunch in Oberlech.

With a 5 metre base a lot of chair lifts have needed to be dug out!

Lech's newest lift: A combined 8 person chair and 8 person gondola. Why? Why not?

The blue skies are back and there is still lots of snow from the most recent snow cycle.  Today we worked our way around the lift system and did a couple of small hikes and found ourselves skiing down perfectly prepared pistes, on the top of 5 summits, and enjoying lots of untracked snow.  The scenery here on a day like today is breathtaking for any mountain lover.  Being able to use this massive lift system and accompany it with a bit of old fashioned hard work allows for endless possibilities and plenty of days to enjoy great snow.  Our route today lead us from the top of Galizig down to Stuben where we made a small hike to the top of Kanodel Kopf.  From there we traversed around the shoulder of Paiche Kopf and skied down past a group of Chamois to St. Christoph.  From St Christoph we made our way back to Stuben and then did a small hike to the top of Maroi Kopf.  Finally we made our last big run 1400m down to the Ferwall valley.  A picture perfect day in the Arlberg!

Martin and Christian at the top of Kanodel Kopf.

A group of 30 chamois was in the same neck of the woods. (Too bad its out of focus!)

Maaike and Martin making their way across the traverse before skiing down to St. Christoph. You can see our second run down from the top of Maroi to Ferwall in the distance.

Enjoying the vista!

Maaike on the top 1/4 of our first off piste run.

Looking across the valley at the second 3/4 of our first off piste run.

Top of Maroi

Martin making his way down to Ferwall.

Looking back up to Maroi (lookers right) from the Ferwall valley. What a run! What a day! Come visit the chalet!!!

February  15 and 16th brought another big storm cycle to the Arlberg dropping 50cm’s on Galizg and 70cm in Stuben.  It brought the base back up to a whopping 581cm at mid mountain and provided fabulous skiing for our guests.  We enjoyed untracked snow down the south side of Galzig and the front and backsides of Rendl.  Lots of big smiles and hooting and hollering filled our days!  On the 17th we skied our guests down the north face of Stuben to lunch on the patio at the Post Hotel.  The walk to the Post was incredible.  I had been off skis for a month and to see how much snow is currently blanketing Stuben is mind boggling.  There are 5-8 metre snow banks and some houses have 3 metres on the roofs!!  We were sad to see great guests from Canada leave today but are looking back with great memories of good skiing and lots of laughs throughout the week.  We have welcomed two families from Holland today who are from Apeldorn, close to where Maaike grew up, and look forward to getting to know them better.

We have weeks available in March and are offering great deals as the weeks are approaching.  The snow is fantastic and quite incredible to witness firsthand so please get in touch to make a booking.

St Christoph in the evening as the latest storm cycle buried another parking lot.

Mien Vasser delivering yet another untracked bottomless day!

Desmond enjoying the new snow and some sun at Rendl.

All smiles coming out of Hinter Rendl after a long day of powder skiing.

Walking to lunch at the Post in Stuben and marvelling at the snowbanks!

It has been a sensational week in St. Anton with continued snowfall, incredible skiing, apres ski and trips to the Rodel Alm and Hospiz.  We had the pleasure of hosting old friends from Canada as guests who thoroughly enjoyed the variety of options available for memorable days and nights in St Anton.  Unfortunately I am hung up with a broken leg, but from what I understand the skiing has continued on the incredible run that started in early December.  This kind of skiing makes for a great ambiance and energy in the village and leads to very fun nights at the Krazy Kanguruh and beyond.

Maybe the best night of this week was a trip to the Rodel Alm which is a fabulous restaurant located a few hundred metres above Nasserien.  It is only accessible by walking or tobogganing and offers typical Austrian cuisine including the Shweine haxe which is pictured below.  The atmosphere is provided by wood finishing, cozy fire places and live Tirolean music.  After filling your belly with lots of food and a few schnapps the night finishes with a 2.5km Toboggan or “Rodel” race down a luge like track.  Plunging down towards the valley with great company and constant laughter is a great experience.

We welcome our first guests from Portugal this afternoon and are looking forward to it.  We still have availability in March for anyone who wants to make memories here in the Alrberg!!

Albona 1

Andrew making the most out of his Shweine haxe!

All smiles!

All safe after the Rodel down!

After another great run from Maroi to the Ferwall valley.

The ski hill has been open for a month now, and what a month it has been!  An estimated 1000cm’s of snowfall, a 5 metre plus base at mid mountain, incredible powder skiing and a perfect holiday season for many visitors from all over the world.  Here at the chalet we are doing our best to keep our guests ready to ski with a great breakfasts in the morning and cozy and warm at night as the snow piles up to the windows.  Our guests are loving the winter atmosphere and we have been lucky to get them in and out on time as the road opens and closes due to all the large snowfalls.

It is already apparent that the 2011/12 winter will be a memorable one as even locals are in amazement with the turn from summer to such a big winter in so few weeks.  St. Anton seems to be proving its reputation as an epic destination for skiing this winter and we still have some availability so please come join us and play in all this white stuff!!

What is left of the view out the windows in the back of the Chalet!

The streets have been so covered you can just ski down to the lift!

Snow removal has been a constant job

Maaike's typical tyrolien apres ski snack!

Happy new year!  St. Anton closed out 2011 with another large snowfall that has brought the base over three metres!  That in combination with the new year made quite the atmosphere for a great party on the 31st!  The traditional fireworks soared through the air and light up the night as the clock struck midnight.  January first is also a great day in St. Anton for a party and many revellers had a great afternoon celebrating the beginning of 2012.

The special season is carrying on with more than a metre forecast in the next four days.  Our wishes are certainly for this pattern to continue, and for everyone to have a prosperous 2012!

301 cm base and an estimated 500-600cm since Dec 5th. Wow!!

December 31st