It is December 11th and the Arlberg is riding a streak of 11 powders days since opening on the 1st.  Regular snowfalls, very cold temperatures and a lot of sunshine has made the perfect recipe for incredible skiing to begin the 2017/18 season.  Coverage is extensive for this time of year with a base of 240cm at mountain top already!  It is slightly warmer today, but the temperature is set to drop again with a bunch of more snow in the forecast.  WOO HOOOO!!!!

There is A LOT to be excited about in St. Anton and Chalet Rafalt is open for business.  March 11-18 is a primetime week and is still available should you wish to spend a week in the incredible mountain paradise!

Powder has been plentiful 

Snow has started to fall in the Arlberg and there is plenty more in the forecast!  It is looking like a promising start to the winter!!  We are excited to open the chalet for the upcoming season to be ready for the lift opening on December 1st.  We have wide early season availability and some prime weeks left so please contact me should you wish to reserve your week of memories in Austria!

Weeks available:

Dec 16-23

Jan 21-28

Mar 11-18

Schindler below pictured on November 7th!!

It is the final week of lift serviced skiing in the Arlberg and mother nature has brought us an incredible last blast of winter to celebrate the end of the season.  It started snowing a few days ago and has hardly stopped.  We have our final group of the winter in house and it includes two three year olds who battled out a wild blizzard atop Gampen for a 2hr ski lesson!  Respect lil’ guys!!

Hard to believe another winter is coming to close at Chalet Rafalt.  We want to thank all the wonderful people that chose to stay here and we look forward to the possibility of hosting you again in the future.  You have made our season!!!

Kind regards,

R&M

O’Brownlaghan’s enjoying Maaike’s cooking!

Quality firn in Lech.

Powder skiing in late April! Praise the lord!!

See you next year! Vilen dank for your patronage this season!!

It hasn’t been a classic St. Anton winter, but we have had flashes of brilliance that remind us how fantastic the snow can be here.  February was rather dry but we enjoyed lots of lovely days enjoying the sun and the sometimes stable snow pack.  March has brought a lot of precipitation, and some great days, along with rain in the valley.

Without a doubt the most enjoyable parts of the last few weeks has been the extraordinary guests that have stayed with us.  We shared some amazing first tracks down Schoengraben with a few when conditions permitted, but when they did not, we enjoyed all the other fantastic things to do here the Arlberg.  Delicious food made by Maaike at the chalet and all the restaurants around the area; apres ski at the Krazy Kanguruh and Mooserwirt; live music at Piccadilly and Happy Valley; and most of all, each others company.  One of our guests toasted “Here is to sore legs from skiing, sore heads from Apres ski, and to sore stomachs from laughing.” I think that about sums it up!!  We have felt so fortunate to be able to share this incredible place with so many super people, who really like to take advantage of the setting.

We are looking forward to the remainder of the season and the guests who have yet to visit!

Ski legend Dan Treadway and his even more legendary wife, Karla in Ober Lech.

Mark and Jocelyn Johnson and friends at the Hospiz Alm.

Mannix’s in Sonnenkopf.

Johnson and O’Connor families at Skiing Buddah. Check out Paul’s shirt!!

Powder skiing on the way to Stuben.

Patience getting a face full of snow in Schoengraben.

Team USA/CAN at the Moose.

I am happy to report that the last 7 days had brought lots of new snow and some fantastic skiing along with it!  The base is starting to build and has reached a metre at Galzig and Valluga.  A lot of the off piste terrain is starting to come into shape.  Stuben is looking great and Zurs and Lech are now both completely white and looking like mid winter after having such a meager cover of snow though December.  With more snow in the forecast, things are looking great in the Arlberg!

R&M

2017 is underway!!!  The celebrations were abundant in St. Anton with revellers taking in the new year with a wonderful display of fireworks and a glass or two of champagne.  The final day of the year was another gorgeous one and it looks as though there will finally be a change in the weather.  Last night brought 10-15cm of new snow and the Arlberg region is expecting 60-80cm in the next two days.  This is a welcome change and will help set up a proper snow pack.  I must hand it to the lift company for working so diligently to get so many lifts and pistes open without any significant help from mother nature since mid November.  It was nothing less than incredible to see them blow and push snow all around, to where all major pistes and all but one lift was open in the St. Anton area.  Thankfully, the new snow will get the off piste skiing started here for all those eagerly awaiting.

All the best for a fantastic 2017!!  Fingers crossed for lots of snow across the globe to all of our friends and family.

Lots of love,

R&M

Powder skiing is back!!!!