Saalbach and its Snow Record

A snowHead

Hallo! I'm looking into skiing Saalbach in mid-February, 2022. I've read in a couple sites, its snow record is not among the best in Austria or Europe. But, I do understand it has a great snow-making apparatus set up.

So, I am not sure what to believe.

The included pic is from the FIS Alpine competition at Saalbach in the first week of March, 2021. The shot is from the Zwolferkogel. I'm not sure what part of the resort this image contains.

Is this how the resort would normally look during an off week or month? How often would it look like this in February?

Wir brauchen viel Schnee! Very Happy

A snowHead

@monkbeer, the only thing you can believe is that weather is changeable. In the past season February was unusually mild and dry, whereas March and April were colder and snowier. Every winter is a little different. And your picture only really shows the lower slopes and the village itself, if you look from mid-station upwards it is totally white, including the trees.

Bear in mind that February is when school holidays happen for Austria, Germany, Netherlands, etc. and Saalbach (and other destinations in Austria) will be very busy.

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

As mentioned, it can be variable but this year seemed to be a very odd year. January and February are the most reliable months for snow with March being warmer but there is often a decent dump and I have had good powder weeks in the 1st and 2nd weeks in march.

Here is a link to a webcam showing Zell am See, just around the corner and a bit lower down. The photo is taken from a South facing slope, looking North West to the slopes. Saalbach is a few miles north of here. You can scroll through the images by year from your chosen dates as they are taken every ten mins. There is also one taken at the top of Leogang but it always looks snowy during the winter months, so not a great guage.

https://www.foto-webcam.eu/webcam/zellamsee/2021/02/04/1000

Do check out when school holidays are, particularly for the Dutch and German schools as, although Saalbach is modern enough to cope with the numbers, it is busy. January is the best month to be in Austria imo.

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@monkbeer, it will almost certainly be fine in mid February, and that’s peak time for the valley.

Your screen capture shows the north side of Hinterglemm, mainly the area of Pfefferweg. The run in the right which remains usable is to the bottom of Reiterkogel. What you are looking at is from 1080m up to about 1400m of a south-facing slope which is just about at the ideal angle for maximum warming from the sun. Higher up the slopes are at better angles, and from about 1400m up to the top at 1920m there is good coverage.

By comparison here’s a view from Wildenkarkogel which is at the other end of the valley and looking southwest towards Zwolferkogel (where your capture was taken from - the bare area is on the far right of the valley), and gives one photo per day for that period. Apologies for the size…

And here’s the same view from the end of March:

Photos are from the webcam section of the Saalbach app, which has a year of image archives available.

Weather is of course variable, but south-facing slopes which are lower will be the first to become bare, while those which are north-facing and higher last beyond the end of the season. People who ski in March do so because they want sunny days and warmer temperatures, and that comes with the trade-off that conditions may not be so good. For me, January is ideal. February is almost always good. March is patchy in places, and April is limited but there’s still a lot to ski.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

@ousekjarr, high quality answer!

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@Scooter in Seattle, thanks!

To add to that, you can take a look online at https://saalbach.panomax.com/wildenkarkogel for the same images from each location, and also go back 5 years and also generate a time-lapse video for any chosen timeframe. They have an overview map which shows the valley and the camera locations:

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

This subject tends to divide the the SH fan club from some others. However mid February is almost always good conditions even in some of the lower resorts. Practically all the resorts now have comprehensive snow making though natural snow is much nicer to ski on. South facing slopes do lose their snow quicker than the north facing ones (as seen in the picture in the first post above). This is a common sight in many of the resorts in the eastern Tirol / Salzburgerland where Saalbach Hinterglemm is situated though generally from early March onwards not mid February. That is not to say there is no or poor skiing but spring skiing is a different experience to mid winter.

After all it is free · Last edited by After all it is free on Wed 12-05-21 9:33; edited 1 time in total

As a foremost member of the “SH fan club”, I have been living and skiing in Saalbach throughout the past winter season from Christmas until the second week of April. As usual we had plenty of snow and great skiing. Unusually we also had virtually empty pistes.

February was exceptionally mild with lots of sun and little snowfall. I imagine that it was the same in many other resorts, if not the Alps generally. It happens.

March saw a return to wintry conditions. Mid-March is often a good time to visit, with a cold snap, beautiful weather, and fresh snow. This season was no exception. Late March and early April were exceptionally snowy - there was certainly more snow at the season end than the previous season, and ski tourers were still skiing back to the village in late April - down the south-facing Kohlmais and Bernkogel slopes, as well as the north-facing Schattberg Nord black run, of which we have a grandstand view from our window.

A lot of nonsense is talked about the snow conditions on the south-facing slopes. If you were to remove all the pistes on those slopes, it would still be a good-sized area. As in all resorts, south-facing slopes are best skied in the mornings, especially when the sun is strong in late-season.

Being a very large area, the Ski Circus has a wide variety of runs, facing in all directions. Obviously it makes sense in hot weather to give thought to the orientation of slopes and to plan itineraries accordingly. Mild conditions can occur at any time of the season, although it’s worth noting that the sun has little effect on the lower, south-facing slopes during December and most of January as they are shaded by the high mountains on the southern side of the valley (which runs east to west).

The topography has greatly contributed to Saalbach’s success. Not only do the lower, south-facing slopes benefit from the shadow cast by the twin-peaked “Shadow Mountain” (Schattberg) and the Zwölferkogel, but there is a good assortment of north and west-facing runs on those two mountains, as well as in the Leogang and Fieberbrunn sectors of the area.

The extent and quality of the off-piste is also one of Saalbach’s best-kept secrets.

If anyone would like a copy of my comprehensive guide to Saalbach and the Ski Circus, or to ask any questions about this season or the resort generally, drop me a personal message (I’ll need an email address to send the guide).

There is some serious wisdom and knowledge in these responses. Many thanks. It is clear by looking at the pic I included, the upper reaches of the resort have natural snow. I found it odd there wouldn't be any snow at resort level. I have never skied down a piste covered with man-made snow and dirt or grass on either side. That level of snow-making is foreign to me.

I'm aware of the schulferien and the large numbers of Germans, Dutch and other nationals arriving in February. I skied Ischgl and SkiWelt-Söll the first two days of the first week in February in 2019. The crowds weren't that bad, but I imagine it can be worse mid-Month. I'd give early March of 2022 a shot, but Fasching is the first week, so that is an obstacle.

In my mind January has too many snowstorms. I hate having a day killed by whiteout.

Saalbach is on my list of must-ski places, so I must give this some more thought.

*Ski* the Net with snowHeads

@monkbeer, just to clarify a few points, the snow storm/whiteout conditions you describe occurred this season mainly during the month of March. People were skiing down the village streets!
For the last few seasons the middle and later weeks of January have been idyllic. Early January can, as you suggest, be very snowy, although this season it gave us beautiful weather and skiing conditions.

February is just as unpredictable. In the 16 years that we have been skiing only in Saalbach (we bought a couple of ski apartments here in 2007/8, and I retired 10 years ago, allowing us to spend all winter here), we have seen all kinds of weather in February, ranging from days of heavy, drifting snow at village level to hot, sunny weather. It’s impossible to generalise.

Having said that, the valley is normally white over throughout the season. The only time that I would expect to get the impression of the south-facing pistes as white strips surrounded by exposed, grassy slopes might be in December, when the snow cannons (which are switched on in November) have been covering all the main pistes but a major snowfall is still awaited, or (as this season) when snowfall is relatively low and a spell of exceptionally hot weather melts the snow on the lower (unpisted) slopes that are particularly exposed to the sun.

Another point that should be noted is that Saalbach’s skiing terrain consists mainly of undulating, grassy/forested hills, as opposed to craggy, rocky mountain-sides. It is therefore possible to create and maintain good pistes with a relatively light covering of snow. That enables the season to start around 1st December (sometimes there will be weekend openings during late November if there is good, early snowfall), and to close around the second week of April.

Pre-Christmas piste conditions are, more often than not, excellent, although in a minority of seasons natural snowfall may be delayed until early January. However cold temperatures, especially at night, allow a snow base to be established from November onwards.

At the other end of the season, the spring skiing in early April can often be very enjoyable, especially when the winds are coming from the north and bringing fresh snow. Even during a sunny spell, the nocturnal sub-zero temperatures freeze the pistes and normally ensure good skiing at least in the mornings, and sometimes into the afternoons.

The prospects of good skiing in mid-March shouldn’t be underestimated. Although one thing that is certainly predictable is that the sun will have gained some power by that time of the season, and the snow quality will be more variable and dependent on slope orientation later in the day, it’s not unusual for the weather to give us the perfect combination of fresh, overnight snow and long, sunny days.

Many people like to spend their days doing itineraries and circuits of the ski area. I would expect to be able to completely circumnavigate the main Glemm valley (with optional, tangential visits to Leogang and Fieberbrunn) throughout January, February and March. The entire “Ski Circus Challenge” takes about seven hours. I would also add that in all the many years that we have been based in Saalbach until the end of the season, we have always been able to ski down the south-facing slopes back to our apartments (at village level) until the season closes in April. We have never found it necessary to download in a gondola.

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Apart from the “SH-fan effect” it should also be noted that it makes a big difference to be a local/seasonaire or being restricted to that one or two weeks of skiing pro winter....
We will not return to Slushbach-Hinterglemm. One warm week was enough. With so many low south facing slopes the risk is too high we think.

snow reports

@Langerzug, quite understandable. For the same reason I will not return to Verbier or Courchevel. On the occasions when I skied in those resorts it was hot and sunny all week, due to a huge anticyclone over Southern Europe, and the south-facing slopes were a “slush fest”. Once bitten, twice shy!

@Langerzug, deciding never to return to a ski resort is a pretty major thing based on an experience of one warm week. In most cases, a warm week doesn't just hit a single ski resort or region, but will extend of maybe a third to a half of the Alps. I've had weeks in the Glemmtal where it was unseasonably warm, but when I was skiing on soft snow and having to make conscious decisions about where to ski and when, people 50 miles away were skiing on grass instead, while those on the Kaprun glacier were having a great time.

Two weeks later, I had perfect conditions while those 50 miles away had too much snow, and those on the Kaprun glacier had 80mph winds and a whiteout with all of the lifts stopping, including the main access lift, which trapped people at 2000m for several hours.

Instead, all skiing holidays are a risk management exercise. Ski in December? Risk of grass. Ski in January? Risk of storms, and whiteout conditions. Ski in March? Risk of slush or grass or both. Ski in February? Risk of crowds. Ski in France? Risk of high winds high bills, and 35sqm apartments for 6. Your risk appetite is clearly different from mine - I see 4 clear days out of 6 in January as a win and the other two as a learning opportunity and a promise of powder tomorrow. You presumably see it as a disaster, with two whole days lost to weather, so you visit in March and then complain about slush.

You know it makes sense.

@ousekjarr, on the other hand nothing puts you off a resort more than visiting for a week when the weather’s sunny and hot. It means that you have to get better at skiing on soft snow in the afternoons, or you have to spend time and trouble studying the piste map and planning your days so that you find the north-facing pistes and the best snow. It happened to me once in St Anton, as well as the two resorts I mentioned in my previous post. I shall never go there again.

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

Oh bizarre, never returning to a ski area because the time you visited the conditions weren't great.

F*ck nature!

A snowHead

A snowHead

@Klamm Franzer, in an effort to be serious, I try to see all adverse aspects of a ski holiday, except those you list, as opportunities to improve technique.

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

A while back (2012 ?!? where did those years go?) we visited Kitzbuhel and had a pretty bad week due to high temperatures, rain, and slush. I wasn't keen to go back, though the SkiWelt around the corner has been a regular destination since then.

I was tempted back for a day visit in December 2017 by a helpful snowHead

to try to persuade me that I'd had an unusual experience and shouldn't write it off. Predictably, that resulted in 60cm of fresh powder and whiteout conditions rolling eyes

Therefore I would never write off any ski resort on the basis on a single visit. I might rate it as higher risk, or combine it with somewhere which provides an adequate backup option, but it's never a no.

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@tatmanstours, you've written off St Anton, Verbier or Courchevel as places to ski on account of snow/weather conditions. Are you being serious here Puzzled

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

@Layne, No, I was making an attempt at being sardonic.

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@ousekjarr, to view it from the other end of the telescope, so to speak, I recall when we had a guest from Australia, who had qualified as a ski instructor in Canada and skied in many resorts throughout the world, including in the USA and Alaska. At the time of his visit the slopes of Saalbach were deep in powder, and he commented that they were the best off-piste conditions he’d ever experienced anywhere.

In an effort to be sensible and serious, the psychological phenomenon that causes us to blame or credit a particular place for the weather conditions that prevail at the time of a particular visit is frequently observed. The world is full of people, who have been put off a particular holiday destination, because the weather was bad when they were there. Seemingly it never occurs to them that it would have been just as bad in hundreds of other places in the same geographical region.

I don’t claim to be immune to this human trait (cognitive bias?). I once spent a week in Val d’Isere - my first visit there - and we had blizzard conditions for the whole week. The lifts were shut, and you had to walk backwards into the wind. I spent most of the week playing cards and backgammon in the chalet. I had to make a conscious effort not to blame Val d’Isere for the conditions, although it was difficult for me to raise enthusiasm to go there again.

It was the same after I’d been to Verbier and Courchevel during hot, sunny weeks - put me off rushing back there. The same when I spent a week in Menorca in summer and it rained for several days. My mother always refused to holiday in Scotland, because she’d been and it had rained.

Langerzug’s mindset isn’t unusual. We are conditioned to learn by our experiences, and it takes some effort on the part of the rational part of the brain to overcome that conditioning.

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

After all it is free

been going to Hinterglemm since 1992, on alternate years. Snow in Feb has always been great.

@Bob, yes it generally is, and, at risk of stating the blindingly obvious (as it applies to the vast majority of ski resorts), the only time that you’d be sticking your neck out and taking a risk is at the extremities of the ski season. Even then there can be some compensations, such as the ability, if the weather is particularly mild and springlike, to sunbathe and ski in a tee-shirt.
Spring skiing is no different in Saalbach from any other resort - get out early, enjoy perfect pistes mid-morning, then either have a leisurely afternoon or move on to slopes that are sheltered from the direct rays of the sun.

*Ski* the Net with snowHeads

@monkbeer, I have skiied Saalbach probably around 20 times, never in Feb due to it being busier and there to be no need. I usually go 3rd/last week of Jan and then again in March, 3rd week was the latest. Never had a bad experience, yes in March conditions can be heavy after lunch on the south facing slopes lower down, but as @tatmantours says you just plan accordingly as it’s a big area with slopes in all directions. Would of thought your biggest challenge in February 2022 will be finding a reasonable choice of accommodation and that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg, Feb always the most popular, but with no skiing this year, next will be even worse.

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This memory just popped up on my FB profile, and I thought it worth sharing. It was filmed by my cousin on the Kohlmais in Saalbach during the first week of April 2015.

http://youtube.com/v/_h1P6xSKFjk&fb_action_ids=1114650725215487&fb_action_types=og.shares&fb_source=other_multiline&action_object_map=%5B773347486113441%5D&action_type_map=%5B%22og.shares%22%5D&action_ref_map=%5B%5D

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Saalbach and its Snow Record

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