 Poster: A snowHead
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I couldn't find a topic for Carinthia, Austria this season (or any season really). Maybe no one except locals ski there, and especially not this season! Maybe I'll be the only one posting here.
Had my first day of the season on the snow today. Went to Weinebene, which is a small resort in the very east of the province. Just 18km of slopes and t-bars all round, apart from a very nice, long magic carpet for beginners. This is where my 6yo learned to ski a couple of seasons ago.
Anyway, conditions were magnificent. Blue skies and fresh snow. On the drive to the resort, there was probably the most snow I've seen in the region for quite a while. At least, more than usual for December.
We made a pretty late start, due to a late evening the night before, and didn't arrive until 11:30. By this stage some of the pistes were becoming quite bumpy, but not really bad.
Of course with lockdown the restaurants were closed, but they did have a takeaway thing going where you could buy hot coffee and beers. One toilet was open in the main restaurant, but not in the other large restaurant, which was totally locked, apart from the aforementioned takeaway service, "out the back."
Signs were placed around stating that masks needed to be worn and distances kept. In general I noticed more than 90% of people in the life queues were wearing masks, although I did notice a few from time to time who must have forgotten. A neck buff pulled over the mouth and nose was enough. No requirement for FFP2 or 3. There was nobody policing distancing or anything in the lift queues. It also seemed about as busy as any other normal winter weekend, from past experience. This could be just that this place really only attracts locals and not many tourists.
A good day out. My knees are feeling it already. We're thinkimg of hitting Klippitztoerl tomorrow. Then it looks like loads of snow is predicted for Monday.
Last edited by Poster: A snowHead on Sat 26-12-20 19:22; edited 1 time in total
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Good report.
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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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It looks excellent. I have indeed been to Kaernten / Carinthia and enjoyed it very much. It's on the radar for a return trip when permitted. Look after it for us and keep the photos coming
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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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Another day on Carinthian slopes, but not the one I expected.
The plan was to hit Klippitztoerl today. We managed to leave home a good 45 minutes earlier than yesterday (still work to be done there) and almost arrived at Klippitz at 10:30. I say almost, because about 1km short of the car parks we hit a traffic jam. The reason for this was that all car parks were full and people were being told to turn around and go home.
Instead we went back to Weinebene. At least on the positive side, we could make a direct comparison to yesterday.
We arrived pretty much the same time as yesterday, after the detour via Klippitz, and managed to find a parking place. It felt a bit busier than yesterday, but still no more so than a normal winter weekend at this time of year. In fact, the parking place we managed to nab was because someone was already leaving. At 11:30 it looked like a few were
Once again the pistes were in superb condition. If anything, there was a bit more loose snow on top than yesterday. The t-bar spurs were slightly inferior to yesterday. More bumpy and the odd large hole. I'm sure that will be sorted overnight.
Unfortunately, by 14:00 the weather had turned. On top of the exposed mountain the cloud had completely closed in, icy snow was being blown in and there was quickly a hard crust of ice on the piste. A bit lower down, amongst the trees, things were still excellent. We did a few more lower level runs, before my knees screamed too loudly and I decided to call it a day.
Overall though, another fun day out. Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow tomorrow and hopefully by Wednesday, conditions will be even better.
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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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Made it to Klippitztoerl today and there were no crowds. In fact, very few people really. The weather was worse than forecast and deteriorated throughout the day. Earlier (we managed a 10:15 arrival. Still work to do there) it was pretty clear down lower with light cloud at the top. By lunch time, there was snowfall at the top and a bitter wind. Best to get off the lift and start downhill quickly!
Klippitz enjoyed 20cm of snow overnight, which made for very powdery conditions. By mid-afternoon the pistes were full of mini-moguls and very loose on top. Frankly, as I've only been skiing less than three years, I was often at my limit and enjoyed a few falls. Still, a challenge is always good and I'm completely stuffed now. Will enjoy that first beer shortly.
All lifts were in operation. Almost no queues, so although mouth-nose protection had to be worn, it was almost pointless due to lack of crowds. Still, better safer than sorry. It was nice to ride mostly chairlifts, after entirely t-bars the past two outings at Weinebene. Klippitz does have one very long t-bar, which we rode twice - once first thing from the carpark and again after lunch. That was more than enough!
I did notice a lot of young snowboarders out today, enjoying carving powder. A higher proportion of boarders than I normally notice anyway.
Another nice day out, a bit of a pity about the weather, but a day skiing beats sitting around at home or going to work.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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Yesterday we were at Turracher Höhe, on the edge of Carinthia and Styria. Our first visit here and came away pretty impressed.
A few lifts were closed, but most of the important ones seemed to be in operation. The slopes are on both sides of the access road, but we just concentrated on the Kornock side. It was already pretty busy when we arrived and we were lucky to slip into a convenient parking space as someone left.
I was wearing my usual neck buff when buying lift passes, but when joining the single-file queue for the Kornockbahn, the security staff asked us to wear FFP2 masks. A neck buff was not good enough. This is the first resort we've been to where this has been enforced. Fortunately we had such masks in our pockets. There was about a 10 minute waiting time to board the Kornockbahn from the time we joined the queue. This is a 6-seater lift, which was supposedly limited to 50% capacity, or only larger in a family group (according to signs). We're a group of 3 and on one occasion someone else just decided to join us on the lift (and gave a good throaty cough half way up). Once the gates open and everyone skis forward, what can you do? No one was there to police this.
The pistes were absolutely lovely. This place has had plenty of snow over the last few weeks and they've made the most of it. The snow was generally a mix of powder and graininess, on a solid smooth base. Really nice skiing conditions.
All this was helped by almost perfect weather. Blue skies, with just a few small clouds scudding about. Temperatures were around 0-1c, until perhaps 14:30, when the sun went behind the mountains and the temperature plummeted to -6c.
By 15:30 we'd had enough, as it was becoming genuinely hard to see the piste on the way down, due to low light.
Top day out and for sure somewhere we'll be back to. Looks like a great location for ski touring too.
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Thanks for these reports! Kärnten isn't so far away from us so its nice to see what you guys are doing down there!
The lifts are heavily patrolled here, I've seen a few people politely requested to make sure their mask is properly on, with the elastic straps behind both ears! And in certain ""bottleneck" lifts capacity is running to the maximum , although so far this has only been 3 lifts I've seen
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I should also add, regarding Turracher, that the Kornockbahn, which terminates next to the main carparks, was the only really busy lift. There's another 6-seater, the Schafalmbahn, which we rode quite a few times, which was nowhere near as busy. The slopes were not really crowded, as can be seen from the picture above (although I did wait two minutes until it was quite empty before taking the picture). However in general, plenty of space.
Also perhaps worth adding that after lunch the lift security staff seemed to have disappeared. One could have easily reverted to not using FFP2 masks (which of course we didn't). Maybe the risk is deemed lower when the crowds are less in the afternoon, but it does somehow seem like only doing half a job if the staff knock off early.
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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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@phillc, great pictures.
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Another day out at Klippitztoerl yesterday. The weather was awful.
On Saturday evening, the weather forecast for Sunday was pretty reasonable. However, on arrival at Klippitzt it was evident that the clouds were settled on top of the mountain (we did manage to arrive by 09:30 this time and on the first lift by 10:00. Amazing what can happen when it's just the six year-old and I). As the morning progressed, the weather deteriorated. By 10:30 it was snowing again and the wind picked up. After a short stop for lunch in the car, we decided on two more runs. We rode the lift back to the top, at which point the lad was crying because his fingers and toes were burning. Temperatures were around -12C, but likely much, much lower with the wind chill and freezing fog. We pulled the pin, made it to the bottom and then headed back to the car.
The snow itself was pretty good! Still plenty of powder around and the pistes were well prepared, one just couldn't see more than about 5 metres in front so it was a bit of a slow, feel your way descent.
More snow on the way this week, so looking forward to next weekend.
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