 Poster: A snowHead
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I thought I should start the New Year with a new lift, so yesterday I went to Lofer, to inspect the new 8-seater Schwarzeck chairlift which has opened up a new area on the Loferer Alm. The photo above is of the top station and shows the wide piste leading off from there. The new lift does make the Loferer Alm even more attractive than it was before. As well as the piste (with two variations) it makes a whole new face available under the lift. That should be great with fresh snow (yesterday it was mostly hard snow, with small bumps). The photo below has the new lift in the middle and you can see the lie of the land. Down towards the left lower corner are the top of the Loferer Almbahn II gondola and the bottom station of the Family Express chairlift. The slope is mostly south-facing, so I don't know how well it will keep its snow but at present the run is excellent.
The crowds I had seen in the Hochkönig area the day before had all but disappeared (presumably sleeping off hangovers). It was very quiet and I took the chance midday to make the run down to the valley without the usual mobs. I stopped at the Jausenstation Faistau for lunch - their menu isn't extensive but the view is superb...
On the way down into Lofer I also had a few runs on the Postalm T-bar. The Loferer Alm is probably another place best and deservedly known for its wide motorway pistes, excellent for intermediate skiers. But there is another side to the area too, with more challenging runs. As well as at the Postalm, a relatively straightforward black piste, there is another black piste, nr. 12, the Hochwena Alpin which is an interesting run down through the trees as shown below...
Snow was excellent, mostly firm and few icy patches. Off-piste was hard work, rutted for the most part. However, with excellent weather, a good start to the year - so to all  s Happy New Year...
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Hi all
Am off to Zell am See on Saturday does anyonenhave any updates on the snow there?
Thanks.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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bergfex is your friend for weather snow updates
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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thaks jafa, just what i needed
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Just back from Zellamsee to day , what a horrible day and night ..never saw rain like that in Austria! well ! anytime we spent there but apparently up on top it was dumping !my son stayed on and he said conditions were great ,obviously it was not groomed but plenty fresh snow . his accommodation is very quiet ,the lady of the house said a lot of people went home on account of the rain but weather looking good again tomorrow.
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Knee deep powder at the top of Zell am See, new snow from 1200m up. Stay high and enjoy !
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Beware that the avalanche danger is as high as I have ever seen it. They were even issuing warnings on the panorama cameras this morning NOT to go off piste, something I have not seen before.
The snow that fell earlier this week is very heavy and wet so the lighter powder falling on top of it is setting up for some slips as it is still not freezing out there.
rayscoops, I see you arrived in time for the reopening of the Areitbahn! They had a mechanical problem last week which caused a few problems getting up and down the mountain!
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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Rain, cloud and fog in St Johann in T. Snow is holding up quite well and even some powdery stuff at the very top.
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Lots of wet snow in Fieberbrunn today. Survival skiing piste marker to piste marker up top.
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You know it makes sense.
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Rain, cloud and fog in St Johann in T. Snow is holding up quite well and even some powdery stuff at the very top
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HutToHut
Thanks for the report. Off to St Johann on the 19th with my son and his mate (wife hates skiing so the boys are alowed out) so with the forecast and things holding up well its looking good for then 
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Saw the sun at one point today! Some decent snow about, but also lots of sugar. Scraped and brown patches at the bottom. Sunnier tomorrow and snow thurs fri. 19th jan looking good. Great base a top up of snow end if this week and then colder IIRC the weather thread properly.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Perfect blue bird day - ankle deep fresh snow on the pistes above 1300 meters served up some great boarding. Doesn't get any better at Zell am Zee !
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Sunnier up at the Steinplatte today. Loads of snow yand some nice skiing, busier than elsewhere.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Nice skiing on the Buchensteinwand today. Better snow and below the cloud mostly. Bit of light snow in the afternoon.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Been dumping down all day on the mountain in Zell am See !
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Snowing all day in St. Johann in T. improving the slopes. Varying visibility though and colder temps.
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Good news guys - keep the reports coming.
More snow Mon & Tues is forecast, coming up from the south but still cold
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Still snowing at resort level at Zell !
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I went back to the Kitzbühel/Kirchberg area again today. The start on the Fleckalmbahn was slow, for it stopped several times on the way up. I presumed that was because of the wind and this was confirmed when I reached the top, for the cabins were being taken off the lift and garaged. It did run again in the afternoon. The wind did make me wonder what the day would be like but it turned out to be good in general. There had been fresh snow overnight, not a great deal but enough to make the pistes pleasant. Off-piste was enjoyable too, mostly tracked but the snow was so soft that hardly mattered.
I spent the morning on the Hahnenkamm. They are preparing for the race in a fortnight. Most of the Streif, the race course, was fenced off, though that didn't stop some people skiing parts of it. The Red Bull building next to the start is already there and you could ski down the start schuss...
On my second time down the Family Streif I stopped at the Seidlalm for lunch. The photo shows the hut and the race track is to the left of the fence, with the Seidlalm-Sprung, the jump, in the background (the steep piste over to the right is the black section numbered 21a on the piste plan, the so-called Alternativ-Streif).
I had planned to go over to the Pengelstein in the afternoon but when I reached the top of the Steinbergkogel it was wild and windy, so I decided I would be better on the more sheltered Maierl run down towards Kirchberg. There are interesting variations there, e.g. the black 43 down from the Ehrenbachhöhe. That comes out at the bottom of the new direct drop down to the Maierlalm that I mentioned in a previous report. Here's a photo looking back at the new cut-through from near the Maierlalm.
It was mostly dull but with occasional patches of sun, quite chilly at times but the fresh snow made for good skiing. And it was snowing quite heavily at the end of the day, so I expect conditions will improve further.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Anyone got an update on Kitzbuhel? I believe it may snow heavy over the next week. Can anyone there confirm this? I go next weekend and am really excited now! 
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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Coltnet, I got back from Kitzbuhel today and it's a real mixed bag at the moment. At resort level it has been warm and there has been a fair bit of rain so conditions at the bottom of most runs are pretty slushy - certainly by the afternoon. Further up there is plenty of fresh snow and conditions are good. Not sure about more snow next week but we were told that colder weather was on the way so that should help a lot.
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Thanks Stu. Yeah snow forecast say snow and colder weather so I'm really looking forward to it now! Thanks again for the update.
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You know it makes sense.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Poster: A snowHead
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Be careful out there. The warm winds / temps have made a lot of areas unstable. 3 people lost their lives under Avalanches in Austria yesterday at ....
Obertauern
Scheffau
Tux in Zillertal
The Scheffau avalanche caught two people but the second person had an avalanche airbag that saved him.
Report in German if I find the same report in English, I'll post it up
http://www.oe24.at/oesterreich/chronik/salzburg/Drei-Tote-nach-Lawinenabgaengen/96949386
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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The Scheffau one looks more like climbers rather than skiers
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Update on the Uttendorf avalanche
Two ice climders were on their way to an ice climbing spot (frozen water fall) with touring skis. They set off an avalanche which carried them down to a nearby lake. The force of the avalanche was so strong that it broke through the 10cm (4 inch) thick ice on the lake. One climber managed to get out of the water on his own the other didn't make it. His body was located from his transceiver 1.5 m under the water and a diver recovered the body. 
Again very warm weather was seen as a major contributing factor.
http://www.oe24.at/oesterreich/chronik/Lawine-toetet-Eiskletterer/97097204
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Though not a diver (in the usual sense), rather just one of the rescue team who jumped in but sadly too late to help the climber.
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I think there were another two deaths in Tignes recently too, something like 10/11 deaths in the last couple of days, very sad.
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Here's a report about the accident in English (I think they mean 10 cm and not 10 metre thick ice)
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Alpine skier drowns in lake
The 35-year-old man and his 51-year-old companion were caught in a snow slab around 9.50 a.m. The area is very popular with ice climbers. The men were doing a ski tour up to the "Madonna of Glass" waterfall that is 1,850 metres high.
They were crossing a slope 40 degrees steep, which they thought was safe due to the frozen cover of the snow. Although the men kept their distance, they dislodged a snow slab, 80 metres wide. The avalanche carried the men away into the lake.
Due to the impact and weight of the avalanche, the ten metres thick ice cracked open. Whilst the younger man was pushed one metre and a half beneath the water, his companion was luckier.
"He stood in the water up to his stomach and was wet through", said the leader of the mountain rescue Franz Kirchner. The 51-year-old could, apparently, free himself and alarm the emergency service with his phone.
Due to the strong wind it was not possible to use a helicopter and the rescue team had to go up to the middle station of the ski resort "Gletscherwelt Weißsee" and then cross to the scene.
The team located the missing man with a signal device. One of them jumped into the water, secured with a rope and pulled the man to the shore, but he was beyond help. The man was under water for an hour and a half and presumably drowned.
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http://www.austriantimes.at/news/General_News/2013-03-07/47303/Alpine_skier_drowns_in_lake
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Didn't parts of the SOuth Tyrol (Dolomites) get a good fall yesterday? Says that Alta Badia had 20cm yesterday/overnight?
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