J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by admin

The 2009-10 skiing season began in Kitzbühel on 24 October - earlier than ever before. The low temperatures combined with ultra-modern snow-making facilities and almost a metre of new snow mean that skiing is already possible in Kitzbühel ,two months before Christmas.

It's the second year in a row the 80 year old ski area has broken it's earliest-opening record, opening two months earlier than usual.

The heavy snow fills skiers with enthusiasm and forms a good basis for this season. Although the geographical location of the Kitzbüheler Alpen means that snowfall is very heavy here every winter, skiing in October is nevertheless a first in the 80-year history of the Kitzbühel cable cars.

From 24 October, Kitzbühel ski resort will be open at weekends and from 28 November, it will be open daily. All 7 of the ski resorts in the Kitzbüheler Alpen have received plenty of fresh snowfall already and are ideally equipped for the coming winter.

Kitzbuhel is often referred to as a ski area likely to suffer from global warming but it has produced figures showing snowfall averages have not declined and it keeps opening earlier each winter season.
Courtesy of and © Snow24 plc

Tony_H wrote:Looks a really interesting ski area though. Anyone else been here?

Yes - had a long weekend there two years ago.

It makes for quite a different skiing experience if you're used to The Alps. The half dozen resorts that make up the Aramon group have had huge investment over the past few years, so the lift infrastructure, facilities and roads are all very modern and efficient.

Formigal is not a huge ski area but it's well connected and there's a good variety of runs. IIRC the piste layout has been planned so you can get everywhere on Blue runs - i.e. there's an easy alternative to every route, so it works well for mixed groups and families. Some of said Blues are a little narrow in parts but the pistes are generally a good width.

We lucked out with the snow on our trip so the off-piste was no fun - although there looks to be a lot of easily accessible terrain that would be superb when fresh. There's a dedicated freeride area with indicated routes but no pisting. Snow record is pretty good and last season was epic with Formigal reaching 4m depths I think.

Also had a day in Panticosa which is nearby; again with some great runs and interesting terrain. The pic on my avatar was taken there (thanks Jon!).

The quality of the food and accommodation was very good, and much better value than the Alps (especially drinks). Formigal itself lacks a little character due to the overwhelmingly modern development but it's not ugly. Panticosa is more traditional and varied.

We flew RyanAir Stansted to Zaragoza (99p for the flight, £10,000 for optional air on-board, etc.) which is around a 2.5 hour transfer, though now you can fly to Huesca which is 90 minutes.

That was all part of the experience; flying in over parched, almost desert, landscape around Zaragoza. Off the plane in sweltering heat made quite a contrast to the usual late-night arrival in a Geneva snow storm! :D

I'd like to go back when they have better snow (which is most of the time I think!). Overall I'd rate it pretty highly for families; freeriders and mile-munchers (in red salos) will need good snow to avoid running out of piste in a week. 8)

NellyPS wrote:Anyone venture to the slopes for a weekend from the UK?

Yes, more often than weeks -via Geneva to Chamonix Valley, La Clusaz / Grand Bornand, Grand Massif, Portes du Soleil... and that's just France. Verbier / Four Valleys are easy too.

Zurich and Innsbruck are other obvious choices of airport with lots of resorts in easy reach (IIRC some of the Austrian ones are doing free transfers from Innsbruck this season).

Try and travel Thursday and/or Tuesday rather than Friday / Monday as there'll be more seats and cheaper flights and - depending on timing - less traffic on the roads to/from the resorts (= more ski time).

Off you go... 8)

A decent amount of snow has arrived in The Alps over the last week, with lots of fresh reported across the higher Austrian resorts in particular. Conditions are now excellent at all the open glacier areas, and Kitzbuhel is planning to open this coming weekend. :D

New snow was not confined to The Alps; Formigal in the Spanish Pyrenees also reported the first decent snows of the season.

Weather and Snow Next Week

Current cold temperatures in the mountains are going to become milder over the next few days, although there is a good chance of snow at higher altitude across much of the Alpine region this coming Sunday.

The remaining days of October look to be fairly settled. The longer term outlook is for falling temperatures and a good chance of precipitation into the first week of November. Watch this space...

A very personable bunch of nutters with whom I hope to spend some snow-time with, sometime soon.

Who's going to be first to mention tortoises?

p.s. for those with freebies; the folk on the door are being quite strict about making sure you've filled in your name and address on the back so they can "keep you informed".

I certainly would not recommend using a made-up or silly name; that would be just so wrong and you might get into trouble.

Besides which if you get there after midday you might find that Fred Flintstone, Elvis and Attila the Hun are already in the building...

Ok, having skimmed this thread it appears that Wickers will be drinking on his own from 12:30 until 14:00 to prepare himself for buying the biggest round in history (at 14:00). Tony will be there from 3 or 4 and leaving at 7. Snowbandit will be there at 4, or maybe 2... and I'll be somewhere around from midday...

Soooo... how about a 14:00 after lunch coffee (and/or schnapps) and a 16:00 afternoon tea (or beer, just possibly) with retail therapy in between for those with eager wallets? (was there today and there did appear to be a couple of racks of, presumably, last year's gear on sale at S&R).

I assume everyone means the Zillertaler bar right at the back of the hall?

Welcome... you may want to lay off the Sake for a while - it looks to have played havoc with your complexion...