Saalbach/Hinterglemm Official unofficial 2012-2013 Thread....As requested );o)

A snowHead

Any updates on the weather, is it still el scorchio or temps dropping for some march snow?

I arrive in Saalbach this Wednesday and wondering whether to pack the shorts?

A snowHead

ribblevalleyblue, Simon: with uncanny timing, you are due to arrive just as the current mild, spring-like mixture of sunny and wet weather is forecast to end, with the freezing level predicted to drop from 1500m to 900m on Wednesday and 100m on Thursday and Friday, accompanied by light to moderate snowfall. In other words a return to wintry conditions. As you're no doubt aware, Saalbach is at about 1,000m above sea level, so temperatures well into the minuses seem to be guaranteed - and about time too!

To save you looking on saalbach.com, this is what the Google translation of the weather forecast says:

"Over the Alps superimposes a low-pressure zone, which stretches from the Atlantic to the Black Sea and separates cold polar air over northern Europe by springlike mild Mediterranean air. This mixture will stay with us until mid-week, so we are left with the turbulent and repeated something unpredictable weather character received. Are not real bad weather, but the sun can continue to set only sporadically in the limelight. There is still relatively mild, the snow line is moving in the next few days slowly down into the valley. Only from Wednesday to Thursday should be a new, powerful low pressure developing over Italy the cold polar air from the north are sucked final. The result is a drop in temperature, as well as mild to moderate snowfall. The late winter so once again shows us his teeth."

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

Thanks TT, excellent, im quite happy with blue sky days, but some white stuff falling from the sky is always welcome

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Today in Saalbach I met 6 Yorkshiremen skiing about all dressed as black and white cows, complete with pink udders hanging down at the front and tails behind. As the weather is so hot, I asked them if they got too hot in their cow costumes; one of them replied, "No, we're friesian".

Just thought I'd share that with you Laughing

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Gastronomic tip of the week:
The 'Knoblauchcremesuppe' (garlic cream soup) in the Skyrest restaurant on Schattberg East

Skiing tip of the week:
When skiing over from the west to the east summit of Schattberg, it is easy to cut across off-piste from blue piste 4 (busy main thoroughfare) to red 4a (hardly used).
Also, if subsequently intending to ski down piste 2b to Jausern, continue to cut across off-piste to piste 2a (useful when you want to save time and/or effort). This cuts out the necessity to walk/side-step up to the turn-off for piste 2b from the bottom of piste 4, or to take the Limberg chairlift from the bottom of piste 4 up to the summit of Schattberg Ost before descending blue piste 2a or red piste 3, in order to reach the turn-off down piste 2b. (All liability disclaimed for off-piste mishaps!)

Apres-ski tip of the week:
Irish band Cuckoo are booked for Saturday night in Bobby's Pub (to 'see in' St Patrick's Day) - anyone arriving on Saturday is thus ensured a riotous introduction to Saalbach - especially if they happen to be Irish (and even more especially if they utilise the special dispensation that allows them to use their lift passes from 3pm on Saturday (i.e. passes that start on Sunday) to get them up the Berger(hoch)alm for the 3.30-4.30pm happy hour, and thence to the Hinterhagalm apres-ski party (4.00-7.00pm). The only question is: will they be skiing on Sunday?!

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Serious problem in saalbach, espn appears not to be available in bars for important fa cup replays

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Hello so a very delayed post to my end of Jan/Feb trip to Saalbach but new job etc etc means I am only back now to say thanks to everyone on this thread for tips. And TT as you said nothing can beat the Hinterhagalm and everyone bouncing around the place to Gangam style - you were right bloody brilliant. What a great spot we went there most nights - I will say as others have mentioned be careful. It was quite an expensive Hinterhagalm experience for me from poles missing the first night followed by helmet, goggles and gloves the second! My own fault threw them into a corner figuring they would be fine. Being honest or naive I think someone picked them up by mistake. But anyways didn't stop me going back again and again. Also the lunch tips on the thread had all the gang very impressed in particular we had great fun finding the Grabenhutte. And really enjoyed the slope it was on 11a or something. Overall a great week I feel like I didn't cover even one third of the pistes, but improved so much. We took 3 days private ski school with Furstauer it was fantastic. We agreed, as three girl skiiers that can get very nervous, we never had so much fun. First day was technique the second and third trying off piste, the jumps in the parks and the wave run. Just brilliant we needed an instructor that didn't make it serious and he was great, just laughed at us all day....so we relaxed!! I hope we can go back to Saalbach next year and hopefully this time would be great to meet up with some snowheads Very Happy

Happy Paddys Day I am heading to St Anton this weekend will see how it compares....dee

After all it is free

swissdee, All music to my ears, except the bit about your gear going missing. It's hard to believe that anyone could make a mistake about a helmet, goggles and gloves, although some idiots do get stupidly and unnecessarily wasted in there, and you wouldn't put anything past them. I just hope that one day I catch someone making off with my stuff (as John Travolta said in Pulp Fiction, it would be worth having my stuff taken (in his case having his car scratched) for the pleasure I'd get from what I'd do to them (just fantasizing)) Twisted Evil

.

Glad you enjoyed it all so much, and, if you only covered less than half of the area, you surely have plenty more enjoyment to come. Get in touch next time you're here - my number's on the website below. One of the things that has made this season so enjoyable has been meeting up with and skiing/apres-skiing with other like-minded snowHead

s

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Great day today, bit of powder to play in. God I love Saalbach

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Is it possible to put a whole thread on "Ignore"...? Twisted Evil

Man, what I wouldn't give to be arriving around midday this Saturday....

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[quote=" Alternatively just grab a pair from outside Bauers, there are loads there and every one is that drunk they wont even notice. wink

[/quote]

I know you're only jesting but the 13 year old son of a friend of mine had his new and quite expensive ski poles swiped from outside the Wildenkarkogel Hutte in Feb (they left their old knackered ones in their place for him to use.) I doubt if it was a child who actually took them. On the subject of equipment theft, I had my skis stolen on the Kitzsteinhorn a few years ago. It was bizarre, after a coffee I returned and found what I thought were my Atomic SL9's where I'd left them in the rack, it was only when I tried to put them on and couldn't that I realised what had happened. Then I noticed that these were 170 (mine were 160.) Looked like a genuine mistake, but after waiting 2 hours I realised it was a "trade-in" so I left my details at the info desk (nobody ever came back) and had the bindings adjusted on the 170's. He knew what he was doing - 170 is not a recommended length for the SL9! But the police in Zell am See did the paperwork for me and the travel insurance covered the loss so now I have a redundant pair of SL9's in the attic!

Judd, Think that quote was from me way back on this thread. Of course it was tongue in cheek. Never personally been a victim (probably my gear isnt good enough to nick) but i would be livid if it did happen and also sad that the trusting innocent vibe of skiing had been lost. Where else would you dream of leaving £500-1000 sat in a wooden rack out of sight for a good hour and be shocked to find the item gone.

Had heard of previous thefts from where i have just stayed but no incidents this week, although the hotel had very strongly worded signs saying if you take other peoples equipment by mistake you will be charged the price of a days hire to compensate the other party.

You know it makes sense.

What a day, powder fun over in Leogang, snow in march is just the best, bit of dancing in skiers Baum (?) and spacey madness spitz bob

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

Yes, great conditions today. Getting down from the Hinterhag Alm (where incidentally the party was as mental as usual, but with a bit more space to move around than of late) at around 7.00pm was 'interesting' however - the Turmwiese nursery slopes, which had evidently been very rutted and chopped up, had frozen completely rock hard - it was like skiing over a sea of broken concrete! I suppose that they wait for all the revellers to come down before they start bashing them, but I've never known them quite as impossible as that. Shouldn't complain too loudly about pistes freezing at night though! If the forecast is to be believed, Friday in particular should be another perfect day. Very Happy

A snowHead

Heading out to Hinterglemm 30th March..can anyone tell me if the snow will hold out for that week based on conditions at the moment??? i know there's no crystal ball but any feedback would be great....First time to Austria ..looking forward to the infamous apres ski!!!!

A snowHead

jaynejackson, I'm sure Tatman's Tours will be along with some up to date info - he is living out there ATM.....lucky git wink

As for the apres - well what an introduction to Austria you have in store....do make sure you hit the Goaßstall at around 3pm on your way back off the mountain Toofy Grin

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

jaynejackson, There is plenty of snow and more is falling as I speak (I've just come down in fresh powder), so it is more likely to be a question of snow quality, rather than quantity, and the quality depends on air temperatures at the relevant time. Piste conditions can be transformed overnight, depending on whether the wind is coming from the south or the north, and whether the sky is clear and it freezes overnight. That of course applies to most resorts in late March/early April. Keep checking the long-range weather forecast on www.saalbach.com and/or www.snow-forecast.com

The apres has been fantastic as usual just lately, but there is a detectable 'winding-down' feeling; for example Castellos is Saalbach closed last Saturday, and the brilliant Irish band, Cuckoo, played their last gigs in Bobbys Pub and the Underbar on Monday and last night respectively. I can't speak for Hinterglemm, but the Goassstall will no doubt keep going, albeit with less party-goers as we get into the very late season (it starts at around 4pm incidentally - Chasseur, no doubt likes to get an hour's head start with the beers and jagatees!).

As far as I'm concerned, the Hinterhag Alm provides the ultimate Austrian apres-ski party experience, and the atmosphere has been wonderful in there the last couple of evenings (i.e. 4.00-7.30pm), if a little less crowded, which is not a bad thing. Whether they will keep it going beyond 30th March I cannot say, although I can find out next time I call in for a spot of community singing and dancing on the tables. Last year in late March the weather was very sunny and warm, and the band played outside on the terrace towards the end, and I think that they played their last gig on 31st March.

I expect that you will find the "infamous" Saalbach-Hinterglemm apres-ski to be very low key in early April, and you may just have to content yourself with sitting on a sunny mountain terrace, admiring the scenery with a cool drink in your hand.

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Thanks for replies...if apres too quiet it'll be just the excuse we need to come back again next year!!!!...unfortunately school holidays dictated ski trip this year....sitting in the sun with a beer or three sounds good to me

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Plenty of snow here at the moment. Skied in knee-deep virgin snow on Tuesday morning and there was another 20cm min last night (Wed) and minus 7 today so the upper slopes are in great condition. Below the mid-station on pretty much all of the slopes it is getting a bit slushy after midday, so my advice is to sit up in the sun on a nice terrace with a filling lunch and a cold beer, then ride down on the gondolas from the mid-stations.

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This is turning out to be a fantastic season. We skied in fresh powder again yesterday. We did a circuit of the valley and the pistes were in excellent condition - even coming down the south-facing slopes of Kohlmais in late afternoon. New snow is again forecast for Sunday 31st March with the freezing level dropping well below village height.

After all it is free

TT, are you busy cancelling and trying to rearrange certain flights to the UK?
Looking great out there.

ianbradders, Funny you should say that; I'm about to look into that very possibility. The pistes over at Leogang were perfect today, the Asitz run being probably as good and fast as at any time I've done it this season. The only sugary snow was at the very bottom on that little black, but even that wasn't bad. Coming back in the late afternoon, I was frankly astonished at how good the pistes were, especially as it has been sunny all day; obviously it's all down to air temperatures, which are slightly cooler than would be normal in late March.
As for snow coverage, the long blue down to Jausern is well covered, and piste 68 down to Viehhofen is still open, which is unusual for late March. I haven't been down it in the last week or so, but it may well be okay for the first couple of hours in the morning. Piste 51 down to the village has ample snow on it, whereas last year it was closed by the end of March.

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TT, so where does the early apres crowd head now? (Without wishing to look too one-dimensional...or booze orientated, obviously wink

)

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Chasseur, From 3.30-4.30pm, where else but the good old Burglar Alarm! (6.60 euros for 2 beers and 2 white wine spritzers today, and the sunny location and fantastic views come free!). Having said that, I wish they do something about the 'music'; I can take the usual apres anthems in the spirit in which they're no doubt intended, but when they start playing something that sounds like Pink and Perky or the Crazy Frog on helium, I start gritting my teeth. (No complaints though about the Asitzbraeu choice of music - enjoyed my chicken and chips today to some very smooth jazz and a bit of Moby.)

As for the Hinterhag Alm (you do remember the Hinterhag, don't you?), I reckon that the iconic Josef Solar must run on Duracell batteries; he's still belting out the party songs with admirable gusto and working everyone up into a complete frenzy in his inimitable fashion ('Allooooo!'), and he's not only been doing this for at least 3 hours every evening all season, but every evening of every winter season for the last 36 years! It'll surely be a sad day when his vocal chords finally call it a day - probably half-way through 'Highway to Hell'.

And I mustn't forget Spacey, who is still working the apres-ski throng who gather round the Spitzbub for the apres or in Bergers, Bobby's and the Oetzi Bar for the apres-apres. My own favourite is when he does 'Gangnam Style', in Japanese, with a Japanese flag bandana round his head and large, false, oriental eyeballs.

Daisy's still waiting for you by the way - looking a bit forlorn actually.

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I was actually thinking of requesting a name change to the Hunterhag for when I'm next there (and there will be a next time), but I'm not sure that entirely works. Anyway, how could I forget, sir? There are photo's everywhere!

I'd thought (not sure why) that some of the places might have been winding down - glad to hear not!!

You sure Joseph Solar isn't running on panels? Toofy Grin

Don't be taken in by those benign cow-eyes - they suckered me in, as you well know!

You know it makes sense.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

A snowHead

I third that.

Planning to do the family and mates trips to Saalbach next winter. Easyjet released next winters flights to Salzburg this week.
Was going to book some but the wife said "any chance we can look into a summer holiday first?".

Embarassed

A snowHead

Is this an April fool joke - a blanket of fresh powder, a clear blue sky, minus 10 on the mountain and minus 5 in the valley? No, it's for real!

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

Okay stop it now TT. You are just upsetting the nice folk on here. We know you are really skiing in slushy brown mud by ten thirty only as far as mid station, then having to download on the lifts. Shock

When are the lifts scheduled to stop? Or is it a case of keep running while the conditions are good enough?

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Yes TT, we are jealous and missing Saalbach enough as it is!

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ianbradders, The season is scheduled to end on 14th, but many places are winding down, e.g. Bauer's, Hinterhag Alm, Goassstall, Burgi's, Wallners' are all now closed. Bobby's, Peter's and the Spitzbub (and no doubt others) remain open as normal. However the skiing conditions are generally as good as at any time in January or February. I came down the Schattberg North black run at 4.30pm today (after skiing on perfect, sunny, powdery pistes all round the valley), and it was fine higher up but icy towards the bottom. Afterwards, as we stopped for a drink and a chat with Spacey at the Spitzbub, I was struck by the unseasonal chill in the air, and the forecast is for the freezing level to remain between 900m and 1400m for the remainder of the week. More new snow is expected on Wednesday, and on Thursday the forecast is for 8 hours of sunshine but the freezing level no higher than 1400m.

The locals and the optimists who booked themselves a late skiing holiday are of course beside themselves with joy, but I guess that the view of many of the bar and restaurant owners is that they've had quite enough by the end of March, and, as the numbers of holiday-makers tail off considerably after Easter, they can't justify employing staff - besides which, many of them want to grab themselves some late skiing! It doesn't actually matter, as long as some stay open, and it actually makes for a better atmosphere if the fewer customers are concentrated in a few places rather than spread out between many.

Speaking for myself, I would say that the relatively empty pistes and the relaxed atmosphere of early April more than compensate for the absence of the manic apres-ski.

Speaking of which, the Hinterhag Alm held its last apres-ski party of the season yesterday, and the drinks were free (!!!) I don't think that this was advertised (and I can understand why), but it's certainly worth bearing in mind for the future. As soon as some kind person alerted me to the free bar (by text message) I shot up there and took as full advantage of the situation as the necessity to ski down afterwards would permit. The party consisted of a select few, who had stumbled into the place after braving the poor visibility (it was snowing all day yesterday) and were amazed to find, not only that they were not charged for their drinks, but that they were given twice as many as they ordered. The band were applauded and thanked for their sterling services to apres-ski, and I personally shook Josef Solar, the vocalist's hand and said how much we were looking forward to his 37th consecutive winter season of singing every night in the Hinterhag, starting in only 9 months time!

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After all it is free

When I mentioned

Chasseur,

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TT, I am glad to hear you were...calving your turns, hoofing it down from Kohlmais wink

It does sound rather spectacular, for sure. I only hope Val T will be as good in 2 weeks (of course the apres will be typically French and therefore much better wink

).

Help!!

Saalbach/Hinterglemm Official unofficial 2012-2013 Thread....As requested );o)

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