 Poster: A snowHead
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Ok so just got back from a week in Kaprun, lots of fond memory's from many years ago which was part of the reason we or should I say I decided to go back and to make this my daughters first ever ski trip.
Part of the reason for choosing this time of the year was quieter slopes and hopefully warmer weather, plus not wanting her to miss any school days in her penultimate year.
So on Wednesday we set of for the Glacier, the weather is not looking good with thick cloud cover almost to the valley. Maybe this could be a blessing with her having a fear of heights. So we buy the passes and head to the gondola for the first stage of our ascent to the glacier. She is looking a bit distressed but holds up ( I am a proud dad that she coped so well ). Then the second stage and it is the chairlift  as we walk towards it over the gravel I see there is no snow as we go to the chair and get ready to put our skis on we are told to carry them  I start wondering is this a ski resort or not, alarm bells start quietly beating a steady rhythm. I do the dutiful parent bit and carry both sets of skis while also trying to make sure she is ok as I lower the bar and no chance to lower the canopy.
So we ascend in the light drizzle to the base of the glacier, she is close to tears but survives, I am even more proud of her overcoming her fears. At the base of the glacier I find a nice quite area for her to have her first ever slide on snow ( she learnt on plastic ) WoW ! she makes nice neat and tight little turns right from the start, no struggling with snow being so much quicker. After about 5 runs down this short section and not wanting her to tire from walking up, with no sign visibility will improve from the 20m, I decide to take her up to the top to see what the conditions are like on the Blue number 1 Alpincentre run.
So we take the final gondola to the top conditions are not good but I decide to have a look ( leaving her safe at the top station ) and ski the first hundred meters of the blue, visibility at best is 20m and at points well under 10m but worse the run has a min 1 foot of soft old powder snow covering it and with the light drizzle this is going to be very heavy going for her and def not enjoyable. I decide to do another hundred meters to see if it was just the narrow top section that had not been pisted but no non of it had and with extremely poor visibility ( at points unable to see the next marker pole ) and no real definition from piste to being off-piste the only sensible decision is that it is unsafe for her to attempt the run.
Upon reaching the top of the lift station again I explain the situation to her and then have a talk with the lift operator who at first says it was pisted that morning, I describe the conditions and eventually he says it may not have been pisted at the top section. I ask if he thinks given that this is one of the few runs open if he thinks this is good practice, he is reluctant to answer but does accept it wold not look good if someone got hurt.
We have no choice but to descend and have lunch, after which we visit the shop ( the guy in the shop a fully qualified Austrian instructor thought the situation was bad but did wish he could get out and ski the run himself after my description ) this was the point this was no longer a nice blue for low level skiers upto intermediates but a reasonable challenge for many skiers and a good bit of fun for good skiers, it was on a difficulty scale probably equal to a really good red.
To say the least we where disgusted, my fond memories dashed, my daughters first day on snow curtailed, by now there was about an hour and a half left and she decided she wanted to go down.
I was dreading the descent especially on the chair with her fear of heights but she actually coped much better than on the ascent. In fact on the final leg descending in the gondola se was looking down and pointing out the car. So we had something else positive to take from her first venture on snow, but not that moment of joy of her completing her first run. ( typical dad I sneakily videoed her commenting about the view  ).
I spoke to the staff at the bottom station who phoned the person responsible for pisting the few runs open at this time of the year who kept trying to assure me they had been pisted just before the lifts opened, but could not piste them once open for safety reasons and that this was fresh powder snow ( no more than an hour or two old ). I agreed safety is paramount but they can close a run to piste it if conditions dictate it is better to do that than leave it far too difficult for the intended skier level. Only the blue runs 1 and 1a and the red runs 4b and 4c where open ( 4a had the top closed off ).
The next morning visibility was better but still not great but in the occasional breaks in the cloud you could see the pistebashers on the reds 4b and 4c this was after 9am till close to 10am when the runs opened at 8:30am so maybe they took my advice re closing a run to piste it but maybe it was already scheduled but it showed they could. My daughter though did not want to ski and to be honest by 10:30-11am the weather had closed in so maybe that was the best decision and we ended up having a nice day in Zell.
There where only about a dozen skiers at most on the Wednesday and speaking to people later in the week it seems Kitzsteinhorn are more interested in the Arabic visitors who just want to go to the top and not in skiers anymore at this time of the year.
It is a shame as I remember hundreds ( probably well over a thousand ) of skiers being up there enjoying some fantastic early summer skiing with the vast majority of the runs and lifts open, and the pistes being maintained to a very high level. But the impression we received was that they really did not care anymore and the number of skiers for me reinforced this as we never saw more than a handful on the glacier each day we where there.
So though I hoped to be posting on here about two days of fantastic skiing and a great way of getting a sneaky week/weekend on the slopes, I could not recommend skiing on the Kitzsteinhorn at this time of year, which is a shame Kaprun and the surrounding area is still just as beautiful and well worth a visit in the summer.
I was left with the bitter taste of being ripped off on the lift passes which is not good for any resort hoping to gain repeat visits.
Last good point though the other half has discovered the Austrian Alps are fantastic so we are now looking for next year and have found some great apartments in Kaprun but now have to decide if we go there with no skiing or head more towards Mayrhofen or Innsbruck so as to be able to ski.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I'm sorry your trip to Kaprun was disappointing. I must admit that the beginning of May is always the end of my ski season there (largely because that's when my season ticket finishes). This year snow has been scarce but the skiing was good at the end of April, with the whole area open. How long ago was your original visit, and was it at the same time for year? I suspect that the changing climate may be having an effect on the glacier snows.
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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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@speed098, sorry the trip didn't pan out, are you able to perhaps try over the Easter holidays where I'd hope you'd get a chance of better snow but also some warm sun?
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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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@espri,
Last time was mid 90's at same time of the year. The changing climate may well have had an effect hence why I was not bothered that so few lifts where open. I think unless they change attitude skiing will not be available at this time of year there especially during the week. It would not be hard for them to still cater for skiers and on the few runs open have them well maintained.
@kitenski,
That is a possibility maybe go to VT last week of Easter then drop other half and daughter at airport and I stay on for the EoSB. But it comes down to cost.
Having a few days to recover from the drive back and then will start looking around and see what we can afford to do. She loves skiing but not totally hooked yet, all it will take though is one maybe two runs down a nice Blue in good conditions. 
Not sure yet if May holiday next year will be viable as she will have extra lessons during the holiday in preparation for exams.
I am very disappointed but not just for my daughter but also for Kitzsteinhorn, it is a great glacier for skiing and they really need to think about skiers again before they find it too uneconomical to stay open. Skiers will spend more time on the mountain than the foot tourists will. They will spend more money up there, they have lost a good revenue source as the cafes shops are either shut or empty. Kaprun itself was very quite, but not deserted. Quite a few hotels, apartments etc where shut. Those open most had very few guests, some apartments we looked at for next year had no guests at all.
It can easily be a vicious downward spiral that the end result is a virtual ghost town between winter and summer seasons.
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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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Summer skiing in the European Alps is in even bigger decline than Winter skiing.
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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 have done some summer skiing (Les2Alpes and Tignes) and I must say I'd not recommend it for beginners. In theory it's fine, but the chance of poor conditions is fairly high. When I've done it I've had lessons - the best use of the time.
Glaciers have shrunk a lot since the early 90s.
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@speed098, can't see it changing tbh... Stubai is also very quiet at this time of year, though the pistes are normally quiet and well groomed. Other than race teams there just really isn't much demand from skiers past mid May or so. IME late May/early June is often pretty bad for weather, which is obviously problematic high up on a glacier.
I think most resorts already are a ghost town between seasons. A lot of locals will close up shop and go on holiday at that time, so tbh I doubt many are particularly bothered about driving tourism at those times.
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@pam w,
It would have been nice to go Feb half term or even Easter but neither where options for us this year. So the only real chance was a few days glacier skiing. Hopefully we can sort something out for next season.
I will be taking her to the fridge starting later this month so hopefully she will, if she listens be a much more competent skier by next season.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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