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SkiWelt, Ellmau in mid March 2022

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Hi snowHeads!
I'm going to visit Austria for skiing with my young brother (15) for the first time.
We're both intermediate skiers. Shocked
Ellmau looks really comfy and reachable from Vienna, with interesting pistes, but I have doubts about snow.
Period is 13-18 March, would there be a good snow for sure, or we should look for some other resort? Or there wouldn't be the one? If so, please suggest one reachable from Vienna and not super expensive (not like Lech or Ischgl).

Thank you! Blush
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
@fictiont, Ellmau is a nice place but generally at its best before the end of February as it is pretty low. There are lots of other choices. Kizbühel is really part of the same ski area as Ellmau but a bit higher so better for March, cheaper to stay in Kirchberg. Nearer to Vienna would be the Ski Amade area. The Zillertal would be a good option, there is a lot of skiing around the valley, easy to get to from Vienna - direct train to Jenbach, driving not much further than Ellmau.
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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?
munich_irish wrote:
@fictiont, Ellmau is a nice place but generally at its best before the end of February as it is pretty low. There are lots of other choices. Kizbühel is really part of the same ski area as Ellmau but a bit higher so better for March, cheaper to stay in Kirchberg. Nearer to Vienna would be the Ski Amade area. The Zillertal would be a good option, there is a lot of skiing around the valley, easy to get to from Vienna - direct train to Jenbach, driving not much further than Ellmau.


Thank you for your answer! I'll consider Kirchberg,

I just wondering, would it be any difference in Saalbach regarding snow? This one also looks attractive.
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@fictiont, Saalbach in mid-March is normally good for snow
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
I wouldn’t risk Ellmau then tbh. Great place but when we left in March a few years back there was far more green than white around.
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@fictiont, At the risk of upsetting the fan club, S-H's major weak point is that it is an east west valley with most of the blue & red runs on south facing slopes above the villages. March can bring heavy snow and great skiing but it can also bring warm sunshine which turns those slopes into a slush fest. S-H is a bit higher than most of SkiWelt but is very close by and shares a very similar climate. In warm conditions snow making infrastructure is not much help. It does have access to the glacier at Kaprun, which is useful insurance but not sure that is what you are looking for. Most years mid March skiing is lots of fun, typically good in the mornings and good for afternoons spent on sunny terraces drinking beer with some days of fresh snow. Personally I would be looking for somewhere a bit higher maybe Obertauern or Zauchensee or wait until nearer the time to see how the conditions pan out (the early indications are that a colder than normal winter is in prospect).
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
@munich_irish, at risk of upsetting you by repeating the gist of previous conversations, the middle of March has been a good time to ski the Ski Circus - certainly in recent years. I would go so far as to say that the middle of January and the middle of March have been pretty well optimum.
That is not to say that mild, sunny weather will not occasionally afflict the resort, in common with all other resorts that happen to be enjoying a taste of early Spring.
The ski area consists of three valleys (not one as you imply). It is fair to say that the slopes of the Kohlmais, Bernkogel, Reiterkogel and Hochalm are predominately south-facing, and that, after offering excellent skiing during the mornings, they are therefore prone in hot, sunny weather to become heavy, and slushy lower down, in the afternoons. However, as in all big skiing areas, there are plenty of other pistes that are oriented in other directions, and most sensible skiers (we are not always sensible, being happy to take the view that “it’s all good practice”) will plan their days so as to take advantage of good snow in other parts of the area, such as Schattberg East and West, Zwölferkogel, Leogang, Fieberbrunn, and now also (since it was linked in the 2019/20 season) Zell am See. There are around 350km of piste (not including Kaprun), and only about half of them are south-facing - and even those are a joy to ski in mid-to late-morning Spring conditions.
I should perhaps add that it isn’t unusual for the air temperatures to be cold enough in mid-March to guarantee good piste conditions throughout the day, in which case none of the above would apply. Cold snaps are just as likely as heat waves at that time of the season - and, even in a heat wave, lack of snow (as opposed to snow quality) has never been a problem - not at least in my experience. The season generally closes around the second week of April, and it is lack of skiers, rather than lack of snow that brings it to an end. We have never yet been unable to ski back to the village (Saalbach), and to the door of our accommodation, from any one of the three directions (Kohlmais, Bernkogel, Schattberg) through to end of play in April.
Last season was unusual for many reasons. Quite apart from the pandemic, which gave us perfectly groomed pistes (“millionaires’ skiing”) throughout the day through to April, most of the powder dumps occurred during March. March would have been a better time to visit the Ski Circus than January or February.
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
Thanks everyone for your answers!
We'll use Kitzbuhel as our base as @munich_irish suggested
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
@tatmanstours, You really need to a be bit more realistic here.
There is a huge difference in being a seasonaire/local like you, or a one-week-holiday-skier.
As a local you can and will pick your optimal moments throughout the season, whilst in a one week holiday you're much more limited.
It is a simple fact that from early March, the chance of slush is rapidly increasing on south facing slopes, up to 2000 meter (not just lower down). Everywhere throughout the Alps.
And Saalbach/H. simply has a LOT of south facing slopes between 1000 and 1800 meters.

By the way: Kitzbühel is too low for mid March in my opinion too... Indeed Obertauern, Zauchensee, and also Gastein are better options. Schladming is another interesting option. Very low too, but a lot of north-facing slopes.
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 Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
@Langerzug, with the utmost respect, I am being completely realistic in pointing out that a very large ski area with say 50% south-facing pistes (out of say 350km of piste), and plenty of north- and west-facing areas, is no worse, as a potential destination for a skiing holiday, than a medium-sized area of say 100-200km of predominantly north/east/west-facing piste.
It’s a facile argument, so nuff said. I honestly have no interest in increasing the amount of traffic in my home resort in mid-March; merely in introducing a sense of balance to the conventional and simplistic “March is hot, south-facing is bad, Saalbach is mainly south-facing, all snow on south-facing slopes is “slush”, all slush is the same, all slush is terrible to ski on and must be avoided at all costs” narrative. The truth is a lot more nuanced, as those who know the area intimately will recognise.
I wouldn’t disagree that exceptionally low altitude resorts, such as Kitzbühel, are not prime destinations as you get past the middle of March, although ultimately it’s all dependent on the weather, wind direction and air temperatures. I suspect that we would agree that the sun has developed some power, by the time that late season beckons, and that Spring skiing (icy pistes early in the day, perfect corn snow later, and soft, heavy snow during the afternoon) becomes the norm in sunny weather in most non-glacier resorts. During late season it is however usually possible to find good snow on sheltered runs in most resorts - especially those that cover several valleys and have plenty of north-facing terrain, as well as the terrain that is especially exposed and vulnerable to the sun.


Last edited by Ski the Net with snowHeads on Sun 10-10-21 12:07; edited 1 time in total
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Having skied in the kitzbuhel/Kirchberg area every March for the last twenty years yes Kitzbuhel may be at 800 metres in the valley but I disagree with up the top in the Steinbergkogel bowl area. Very often the last area in the whole of the non glacier resorts still open and skiing even into mid April
It’s usually the last part of our area still open despite Pass Thurn being higher altitude
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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.
@jafa, agreed. What it boils down to is that, instead of assuming that the snow will be more or less the same all over the ski area, as one tends to in the early season, as the weather gets warmer (for those who like to generalise, say from the middle of March onwards - although this could apply during January and February, when the weather is exceptionally warm), it pays to think more carefully, plan itineraries, and concentrate on the areas that retain the best snow.
In my own area, it is certainly no secret that the best snow in the afternoons and in hot weather will generally be found at Leogang (predominantly north-facing), and on the north- and north-east- and west-facing runs of Schattberg and Zwölferkogel. That applies to early April skiing too.
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