 Poster: A snowHead
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| Tatman's Tours wrote: |
| It should be great on the glacier |
Yes, indeed. I have posted some photos on the Kitzsteinhorn thread.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@Sam Smith, impressive
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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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@Tatman, big fire up the mountain, not sure what's gone up, it was over to the right of where your place is but quite a way up, saw the fire engine going up one of the mountain roads and then came across more engines coming up the valley on the main road this was around 7pm, came back up the valley around 7.45pm and could see flames.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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@radar, Let us know if you find out any more. Hope it wasn't the Bergeralm - it's up in the direction you indicate.
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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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@radar, It was the Ederalm. A news flash and photos have been posted and shared on Facebook. See www.salzburg24.at
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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@Tatman, says they had it under control, but it must have flared up as you could see the flames and it looked quite fierce, couldn't see from the road this morning.
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Saalbach this morning, last nights rain has turned to snow all the way down to the village
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I've now been told that it was a small, private hut near to the Ederalm, and in the same ownership, that caught fire.
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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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@radar, Hope they were properly insured! At least it seems that no one was hurt.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Lucky it happened at the end of the season and not the beginning!!
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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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There is also a report on the fire at the Ederalm on the ORF Salzburg site which includes 17 dramatic photos of the blaze and firefighting. One (14) shows the bottom station of the Panorama 6er chairlift which gives a bit of an idea of where it happened. There was trouble initially getting water up to the site but eventually the pumps for the snow-making in the Kohlmais area were powered up, sadly too late to save the 200 year old building. My understanding is that the hut wasn't open for the general skiing public - is that right?
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@espri, Saalbach is totally closed
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You know it makes sense.
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Sorry, that wasn't put clearly. I didn't mean specifically when the fire happened but generally, i.e. during the season. In the ORF report the owner is quoted as saying, "The hut was only used for private events". I couldn't remember whether it was an open ski hut in the winter.
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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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@espri, The Ederalm mountain restaurant, which is alongside piste 66 just before the bottom station of the Panorama 6er, the top station of the Kohlmais chair lift and the Asteralm, was constructed in 2010, and was unaffected by the fire. The buildings that were destroyed were a private hut and an adjoining shed, owned by the same family who own the Ederalm. As can be seen from photo number 4, those two buildings were tucked away below the level of the piste and the new Ederalm. When they built the new Ederalm, I hadn't noticed any other building in that general vicinity. I remember wondering whether they'd had any problems getting planning permission to build a new restaurant there, because, to the best of my recollection, there was an uninterrupted view, and the only restaurant around there was the Asteralm, which is a couple of hundred yards further on down piste 66. It is now apparent to me that there was a smaller, older dwelling, below the level of the piste, that I hadn't previously noticed.
Although it seems a little insensitive to say so, I'm personally relieved that it turned out to be a building that was only apparently used for occasional private parties and that I wasn't even aware existed, rather than say the Bergeralm or the centuries-old Thurneralm.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Many thanks. Now I understand.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@Tatman had been wondering, as I didn't recognise the building, only knowing the new one
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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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Tatman and others, now that the season is well and truly over, I'd be interested to know what your highs and lows were for the season.
Also, we're planning on a return visit next year, is there anything new on the horizon to look forward to?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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The current issue, 2/2017, of Doppelmayr's customer magazine contains a short report (on pages 10-11) about the new Schönleitenbahn's first season. The plans to replace the Kohlmaisbahn with a similar gondola are also mentioned - without specifying any date (probably 2018/19). The pages before and after the Saalbach report give some technical details about the lifts.
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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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@PeteMan, The highs were almost too numerous to list but I'll try:
1. Arriving in resort on 10th December, after reading many gloomy reports about poor snow across the Alps and expecting to be disappointed, to find everyone upbeat, at least 150 km of (largely empty) piste available, piste condtions excellent, all links open, and all main pistes down to the village open.
2. January conditions - fresh snow, sunny weather, cold temperatures for 2 or 3 weeks, perfect snow that didn't deteriorate, and some very happy holiday-makers who immediately booked the same weeks next year (funny how the resort invariably takes the credit when the weather gods are smiling on us!)
3. After neglecting the new extension to the ski area, Fieberbrunn, last season, having a few highly enjoyable forays over there and discovering that there is plenty about it to like (especially gratifying, as I wasn't necessarily expecting to be favourably impressed).
4. Discovering the delights of my new Elan Amphibio 16 Ti2 skis.
5. Late March "White Pearl Mountain Days", when for a couple of weeks various mountain restaurants hosted afternoon parties with live bands, D.J.s and supporting solo musicians - great fun (the weather helped) and an unexpected delight for me as I'm prone to be a trifle curmudgeonly about such things.
6. Skiing on the Kitzsteinhorn glacier (25 minutes "down the road") in the second week of April - perfect snow and weather, and good company
7. Making and cementing many friendships amongst the growing Brit ex-pat community, new and returning guests, bar and restaurant owners and resident musicians (some very enjoyable evenings in Bobby's and some great parties).
8. Meeting up with other Snowheads (you know who you are) for skiing and/or apres-ski drinks.
Can't think of many lows, other than discovering that the Grabenhuette (one of our favourite mountain restaurants) has closed, and the Gondelstube (best "falsche Schnecken" in the valley) was closing at the end of this season. Also the occasional bout of man flu (sometimes frustratingly hard on the heels of the previous bout, and forcing me to cancel arrangements to meet up with new guests for a bit of sociable skiing, invariably coincidental with fresh snow and sunny weather). However that's unavoidable when there is a weekly influx of thousands of new visitors, bringing with them their germs.
New things on the horizon: Complete renewal of the Kohlmaisgipfelbahn gondola (as esprit has mentioned above). The new, state of the art lift station will be similar to the new Schoenleitenbahn lift station, and the entrance to it will be directly opposite our front door (so no complaints there!) Like the Schoenleitenbahn it will be a 10 seater gondola, so goodbye to the "coke cans". Work is starting on the new mid-station this summer, and the bottom station will be completed next summer (not looking forward to having a building site opposite during the summer of 2018, but it would obviously be churlish to complain).
Other things on the lift company's short term "to do list" include the renewal of the Zwoelferkogelbahn and the Limberg chair lift, and of course the extension of the Zell am See Express lift down to Viehhofen (which will presumably be accompanied by much fanfare and celebration of the "joining together in holy wedlock" of the Ski Circus and the Zell am See/Kaprun ski area to form the largest ski area in Austria).
(Incidentally, Saalbach-Hinterglemm already has the title of ‘the ski resort operating the most gondolas in the world’, and since 2000 the lift companies of the Ski Circus have invested 432 million euros in improving the system).
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Being a summer visitor too I'm always interested to see how they cater for mountain bikes and those lovely new sparkling gondolas getting caked in mud! The Kohlmais is often pretty busy with bikers in the summer being the lift linking Leogang and the lift for the beginner trail, so increased capacity will be welcome.
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Down in Viehhofen, there's been a bit of activity, the shed / barn diagonally opposite the Dorfstadl has gone, demolished last week, not sure if that's were the lift to Zell is going to be, plenty of space for it. There is a sign as you enter the village that the link is coming soon. Don't think it will be this winter
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The Viehhofen valley link is coming in winter season 2018/19 because the Schmitten lift company are currently sorting out the Areitbahn, (new lift/10 person Gondolas; renaming as AreitXpress open Dec 2017). Spoke to one of the board members about the Viehhofen lift to Polton/Asitz and this is still a couple of years away. The politics of the link require Leogang and Saalbach to be happy so the top station will be sit somewhere between the Polten 8er and the Schoenleiten 6er so there is a choice which valley to ski to. Until this is built there should be a shuttle bus service between Viehhofen and the new Schoenleiten Gondola, we shall see.
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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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@JWillsnowhead, There is already a shuttle bus service between Viehhofen and Schönleiten that brings skiers back to the Ski Circus if they have skied down the wonderful Piste #68 from Polten. It runs every 20 minutes. The bus is also important for transporting all the guests who are staying in Viehhofen and in the new developments that have been built along the valley towards Vorderglemm and Schönleiten. It also picks up anyone who has skied all the way down from Zell and who want to ski the Ski Circus - the route was open last season but the new gondola is currently only in place between the mid-station and the summit.
While it will be great to get the Zell link in place, it will unfortunately mean that #68 will lose its charm as it becomes the main route over to Zell. So if you're skiing in Saalbach next season and there is sufficient snow, be sure to ski #68 - it will probably be the last chance to experience this unique piste in its current unspoilt state.
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| Quote: |
While it will be great to get the Zell link in place, it will unfortunately mean that #68 will lose its charm as it becomes the main route over to Zell.
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Agreed; on the other hand we might get to ski it for more than a week or two a season, as they will have to come to an agreement with the landowner over the installation of snow cannons (which it used to have but were removed a few years ago).
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Will canons help that much as the bottom is pretty low?
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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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@PeteMan, The bottom is of course higher than the lower slopes at Zell am See and many other resorts that seem to thrive. I think that snow-making will make an enormous difference (as it in fact did when they used to have snow cannons on that piste), although they may have a set-up, like the TirolS gondola, where you sometimes have to take the gondola down to the valley bottom on returning from Fieberbrunn, especially later in the season when it gets too thin/slushy at the very bottom.
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You know it makes sense.
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[quote="hammerite"]Little bit of summer Saalbach action...
Lucky guy, been stuck in the office in a very wet London all day!
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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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@Tatman's Tours, wondering when you are starting the 17/18 thread, note last year you started 12th sept, so not far away, but am in danger of premature information!?
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Poster: A snowHead
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@ribblevalleyblue, I generally wait for you to prompt me  Seems a little early, but, as autumn is only two days away, why not? Also I have a few bits of news to impart, so no time like the present.
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