 Poster: A snowHead
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Hi - I'm still relatively new on this forum, and to skiing generally.
I was wondering if anyone could give me any recommendations for somewhere in Austria which might still have reasonable snow on the first weekend in May?
I have a friend from Australia who will be in the area and free that weekend and who is keen to ski if possible. I'll fly out from London to meet up for the weekend. We're not looking for the steepest/most exciting runs - I'd say I'm a general intermediate and my mate probably more early intermediate. More interested in somewhere we can get out, enjoy the scenery and get some practice in, rather than exciting/steep/off-piste.
I realise, however, that May is very late season. I'm thinking we pretty much have to go somewhere with a glacier if we're going to have any chance, so I figure Kaprun, Stubai or Solden maybe?
Travel time is also a consideration though. My mate will come from Vienna on Friday morning, and will have to end up in Munich at about 5pm on the Monday to fly back to Australia. I'll fly London to Munich return and we'll hire a car, but this means that we will probably want to keep transfer time to Munich low-ish. 2-3 hours is probably fine, but much longer than that will eat into Monday skiing time.
I'd be very grateful for any thoughts or advice.
thanks
James
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Zell am See - the Kitzsteinhorn glacier.
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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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Hintertux?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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+ 2 for Hintertux
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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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Thanks. I'm thinking I'll have my mate book the train to Innsbruck (from Vienna) on the Friday and then we'll look to book either Hintertux or Stubai a week or so out depending on how good (or bad...) the conditions look.
cheers
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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JDF,
Might be best that your mate books a train that stops a little further east (e.g. Jenbach or Wörgl) so that you don't have to make too much of a detour when picking him up on the Friday.
http://fahrplan.oebb.at/bin/query.exe/en?
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JDF, Hintertux is a good choice, though the skiing at the Kitz is a bit easier (you say you're a newish skier). Either way, have a good time!
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Also consider Obergurgl
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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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Thanks everyone - very helpful.
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+1 for Kitzsteinhorn. Just back from a week in Zell am See and my 2 days up on the glacier were probably the best piste skiing days ever.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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In my experience - The Stubai Glacier will be your best bet, to finish off the season the oth and a couple of our friends will be there 30/4 to the 4/5 based in Neustift. 
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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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Having had multiple June trips to each of Kitzsteinhorn, Stubai and Tux, I would advise that the best area of these three is Tux for that time of the year. I cant see May being much different.
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You know it makes sense.
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| mountainaddict wrote: |
| I'm just using that as an illustration that there will be good snow cover into May. |
I don't see how you can say that for every year, it's not been my experience of 14 years skiing Austrian resorts. (e.g. In 2011 I was ski touring in April, it was one of the warmest Aprils on record and even above 2000m it was just slush after around 11:00). Last year was a very good year and large dumps of snow came down in April. With warmer temps and more sun, many resorts (e.g. St Anton) are nothing but a slush feast after midday. Yes if weather turns out nice again (cool for the time of year and plenty of fresh snow) you can have epic conditions, but it's not what the non-glacier resorts see every year IME. Resorts tend to stay open to hit the Easter trade and not because of snow conditions. This year is a bad year weather wise (warm with less than average snow in many resorts) and many smaller resorts that would normally try and stay open until Easter have shut already.
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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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6 consecutive years of great May conditions - so I understand Mountainaddict's "great snow guarantee." We experienced 5 of his trips and, even in less favourable years, we had good snow cover. Even in the leaner snow years the extent of open terrain and the overall quality of the snow was incredible for May. Yes, we had mush, slush, granular snow, powder and everything in between. But in overall terms conditions were fantastic.
Of course, we are not taking of low temperatures and day-long perfect winter conditions - as there will inevitably be some soft conditions lower down. That just adds to the fun though! Higher up it's a different story however - with great snow conditions throughout the day.
I therefore endorse his view that anyone skiing the Espace Killy WILL experience good snow in early May.
Anyone who has not skied at that time of the year may well be pleasantly surprised and I recommend anyone in that position to give it a go.
Oh, and there's also the small matter of having the slopes to yourself then! 
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Poster: A snowHead
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Much more sharks (and sheets of polished rock that snow just slides off dropping you onto your elbows... ouch!) at Stubai at the moment than the same time the last two seasons.
Piste conditions are great though, chalky rather than slushy.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Why are people talking about France when his mate is coming from Vienna?
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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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| Quote: |
| Why are people talking about France when his mate is coming from Vienna? |
Please accept my unreserved, humblest and most sincere apologies for the diversion from the original thread and my (unwitting) highlighting of Espace Killy's (normally) fantastic end of season conditions. Please allow me to explain:
1. I don't have any digital images of May skiing in Austria.
2. I was only trying to be mildly helpful in dispelling the myth that there's no snow in the Alps if you go skiing after the end of March  . I probably shouldn't have bothered to chew on posting the pics, which were for illustrative purposes only...
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| I don't see how you can say that for every year, it's not been my experience of 14 years skiing Austrian resorts |
See Bergmeister's response above - six out of six years = 100% for me:D. I do concede and acknowledge that past performance is, however, no guarantee of future performance but can only report as I have found.
Anyway, going further back, I've skied every May or June (plus lots of Julys, Augusts and Septembers) on assorted alpine glaciers since 1993 - including a few in Austria (Hintertux, Kaprun, Soelden, Pitztal, Kaunertal and Stubaital) and, while I admit to being very easily pleased where skiing is concerned, I don't recall any conditions that I would regard as particularly poor for the time of year. Excluding high summer (temperatures of 28C, gaping crevasses and rivers running down the pistes), the only poor glacier conditions I've encountered were (as it happens) at Tignes in early Nov 2006 - skiing the sheet ice of the glacier and no snow whatsoever below about 3200m. We still enjoyed that though!
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| Much more sharks at Stubai at the moment than the same time the last two seasons. |
Will just have to make the most of our five days' (guided) ski touring/nights in mountain refuges there in two weeks' time...We'll try our best, as ever 
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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mountainaddict,
I could show you pics of many little Austrian resorts where every year up to now I've had good snow and sometimes even powder days at this time of year. This year is so bad that many of these resorts are already shut. Talking to other expats who are out here, many have said the winter never really properly started but just limped along. Some have said it's the worst season on record (in circa 250 years)
Here's a live image for you from a resort that normally stays open to easter every year. It's been shut since the end of Feb.
http://www.bergfex.at/annaberg/webcams/c1259/
Obergurgl is not easy to get to from Vienna and around 3 hours drive from Munich. I wouldn't drive a further 1:30 past the glaciers to get to a non-glacier resort in May. In may there's practically only the glaciers open anyway, Obergurgl shuts on the 4th May 2014.
I'm touring for the next 4 days and finding areas with enough snow to tour has been a real problem this year, which has never been the case at this time of year in the last 10 years. The snow is much more concentrated in Austria this season and the places that have snow are booked out.
I'm also touring in two weeks time but we are going even higher than the glaciers (Wildspitze 3768m, Austrian's second highest mountain). I did tour the großglockner, großer Geiger and großvenediger in the very warm month of April 2011. Although it was still fun the high temps meant early starts (05:00) because even at elevations of over 2500m it was a slush feast by midday.
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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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Oh dear. Looks like our Stubai ski tour in the first week of April could be a right laugh. But as I've said, we'll try and make the best of what there is. I'm presuming that it will still be better than days we have enjoyed heather-hopping in Scotland and grass skiing in the North Pennines
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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I wouldn't be surprised if April is a snowfest this year. At some point the pattern will change. Why not April 
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Never mind April Peter S, I'm rather heartened to see that Snow-forecast.com is predicting 50cm of snow for the Stubai this weekend. And the freezing level dropping to as low as 1000m too .
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FAQ
. Tignes is typically open until around the 10th/11th May. Espace Killy (ie the links with Val D' Isere) usually close a week earlier, with about 50% of the ski area (ie over 100km of piste) open until then - with skiing (on slush-fest lower runs admittedly) down to Val D'Isere at 1800m and (more often than not) Tignes Les Brevieres at 1500m.
