Snow & Weather report, Austria: Kitzbühel - Kirchberg - SkiWelt

Hi everyone,
since I'm spending a week in the area (from 25/02 to 03/03, sleeping in Kirchberg) I'll be posting a few snow and weather updates.

Today, Sunday 26 February, it's been snowing quite a lot (mixed with rain in town). Forecasts said it would snow yesterday and just be cloudy today, but little by little the snow built up until this afternoon I had to stop skiing early (around 3pm). As I'm writing there's a couple of centimeters of fresh snow on the ground in Kirchberg; looks a bit wet here, but probably not on top ;)

There were not many people on the slopes, except for some crowded patches here and there (especially around Kitz). I explored all the closer areas (Pengelstein, Steinberg-kogel, Ehrenbach-hoehe, Hahnenkamm...) and found the slopes quite nice, interesting curves, lots of trees. It was cloudy, with low visibility over 1700-1800, but honestly I think the people who got scared and stayed at home really missed something. Below that altitude the visibility was quite good, and the snow good to great. I found it mostly icy at the bottom, but there was enough powder on top to allow for good grip. In the afternoon it got icier (a bit dangerously at the end, that's also why I stopped) and slushy on top, especially down below of course. During the whole day it was not too cold, ideal temperature I'd say, with a few gusts of wind here and there.

All in all I'd say this seems like a great week to be here. Not that the area needed any more snow, but today's has surely been welcome.
If the weather gets better from tomorrow, as forecasts suggest, it will be amazing Smile

I'll post more updates in the coming days, ciao!
tipsology.net

MONDAY 27/02/2012

So, it's hard to be objective about today, since it was one of my favourite skiing days... ever :)
You know when everything fits smoothly and perfectly - weather, snow, landscape, slopes, down to the music you listen to on your mp3 player...
Well, this was the case :)

Yesterday's storm has left a generous layer of fresh snow everywhere (which was quickly swept away in the crowdier areas, but it wasn't a big deal). The bottom was less icy than yesterday, and there were several spots where its conditions made me think I was dreaming or something Smile It was still cloudy on top and greyish below in the morning - still with good visibility - but little by little a few sun rays started to come through. The weather remained similarly mixed all day, but sunny patches became more frequent in the afternoon. I went all the way from the Fleckalmbahn in Kirchberg to the Resterhoehe; found the long 3S gondola a bit of a hassle, but when I arrived, boy, was I happy I had gone!

The area on top of Jochberg, up to the Baerenbadkogel I'd say, is simply amazing - "simply" as in simple... alright, no tough challenges over here - but as far as the slopes and the landscapes were concerned, this whole tree-packed area (slopes #60, 61, 62, 65...) is fantastic. Beyond that, from the Zweitausender chairlift on, the slopes get wide open and a bit less surprising, IMHO. I guess I'll have to go back to double-check, teheh, since it does take quite a while to get there from Kirchberg and I just didn't have enough time to explore each and every slope over there.

It took me quite a long time to get back. This sort of made me miss 3 Vallées wonderful connections, but still, what I've seen and experienced today is unforgettable!

I'll post more updates in the coming days,
ciao :)

I followed the link at the bottom of the post above. In the sidebar on the page, I read this link:

Snowheads - The coolest ski community

Clearly this should say J2ski :D

I was unable to find a link back to here, perhaps I missed it?

Ouch, I wasn't aware there was so much competition ;)

I actually put a link to J2Ski in one of my blog posts -> http://tipsology.net/2012/01/29/travel-ski-france

You're right, though... Since I personally use and enjoy both websites (never travel without checking j2ski's information!), i'll put the two links side by side ;>

Cheers!

bandit wrote:I followed the link at the bottom of the post above. In the sidebar on the page, I read this link:

Snowheads - The coolest ski community

Clearly this should say J2ski :D

I was unable to find a link back to here, perhaps I missed it?

Bandits on the ball again :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

...am I forgiven? ;)

tipsology.net wrote:...am I forgiven? ;)

You're going to have to work harder than that to get Bandit to forgive

Eeeek!