 Poster: A snowHead
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Hello All
My wife has just given me a pass to disappear somewhere icy this weekend to test my new ski boots out.
Does anyone know of any resorts that are open and skiable in Europe this weekend (4th - 5th September)?
I've heard that Alpe d'Huez, La Plagne and Les Deux Alpes in France are all-year glaciers and Dachstein, Hinterlux, Pitztal, Stubai in Austria, but their websites are dreadful and don't tell you whether they are open and skiable.
As I can only go for the weekend (maybe 3 days), I need it to be fairly easily reached from London airports/destination public transport too.
Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated as I really don't want to have to resort to an indoor slope!
Durham
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Several of us were in Hintertux around the beginning of this month. Yes, it was open BUT there were very few runs open and half of those shut at 1:30. In the afternoon there was only really one run open and that got very slushy at the bottom.
There's certainly skiing to be had but whether it's worth all the effort..... only you can tell.
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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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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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| Durham Red wrote: |
Hello All
My wife has just given me a pass to disappear somewhere icy this weekend to test my new ski boots out.
Does anyone know of any resorts that are open and skiable in Europe this weekend (4th - 5th September)?
I've heard that Alpe d'Huez, La Plagne and Les Deux Alpes in France are all-year glaciers |
Not any more...Les Deux Alpes tends to have a longer summer season, but is now probably closed until the mondial - no doubt our L2A experts will be along to put me riight on that one. Definitely no summer skiing in La Plagne, nor ADH
Even tignes now looks like it's closed until late Sept - http://www.tignes.net/en/ski-a-tignes/grab-your-skis--367.html
Dunno about austria.
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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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Yes LDA closed at the weekend, I'm there in a couple of weeks, no skiing though 
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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http://www.saas-fee.ch/en/misc.cfm Saas-Fee looks open. If you PM me I can get you details of my neighbour who owns a flat out there and could discuss further the lie of the land. He usually goes there end of July beginning of August and skis a few days. Has been snowing in Austria the last 2 days so maybe that's a more viable option???
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There are currently 7 glaciers open in the European Alps, across Austria, Switzerland and Italy.
Most have been battered by the hot Summer and have only a handful of runs open.
Zermatt has a few trails open but they're fairly flat.
Hintertux has about 600 meters of vertical and halfadozen lifts but there seems to be a lot of glacier ice poking through.
Saas Fee has few runs open but they are a little steeper than the other two.
Take yer pick from those three.
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Whitegold, What hot summer was that? I spent a good proportion of it in a hoody and winter boots.
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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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| Lizzard wrote: |
| Whitegold, What hot summer was that? I spent a good proportion of it in a hoody and winter boots. |
Yep summer this end of Europe wasn't that hot either. We had our moments with a few hot days here and there but I'd expect the temp to be below the historical average. It rained a lot more this summer too so I'm unsure why places such as Kaprun haven't enough snow base to stay open.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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DB, are you sure it's lack of snow that's closing them or lack of business? People are back at school/work this month, no holiday time/money for skiing.
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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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| DB wrote: |
| Lizzard wrote: |
| Whitegold, What hot summer was that? I spent a good proportion of it in a hoody and winter boots. |
Yep summer this end of Europe wasn't that hot either. We had our moments with a few hot days here and there but I'd expect the temp to be below the historical average. It rained a lot more this summer too so I'm unsure why places such as Kaprun haven't enough snow base to stay open. |
It's probably that "global warming" I've heard so much about.
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Most of the Austrian webcams are showing snow today!
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You know it makes sense.
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| DB wrote: |
| Lizzard wrote: |
| Whitegold, What hot summer was that? I spent a good proportion of it in a hoody and winter boots. |
Yep summer this end of Europe wasn't that hot either. We had our moments with a few hot days here and there but I'd expect the temp to be below the historical average. It rained a lot more this summer too so I'm unsure why places such as Kaprun haven't enough snow base to stay open. |
The first half of the Summer was hot.
I was in Zermatt in June and it was baking.
Val d'Isere, Tignes and Kaprun glaciers seem to have fared badly this Spring and Summer.
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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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| Lizzard wrote: |
| DB, are you sure it's lack of snow that's closing them or lack of business? People are back at school/work this month, no holiday time/money for skiing. |
Yeah you could be right the base is reported to be 50cm at the alpine centre (if this link is upto date) and 60cm uptop. It does appear that Kitzsteinhorn is closed for a longer period this year though - maybe someone can confirm if this is snow, weather, holiday related etc
http://www.kitzsteinhorn.at/aktuell/
Edit - wait a minute just realized 49cm is fresh snow - what was it like last week?
Last edited by Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name: on Tue 31-08-10 14:59; edited 2 times in total
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Poster: A snowHead
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| Lizzard wrote: |
| Whitegold, What hot summer was that? I spent a good proportion of it in a hoody and winter boots. |
L2A felt hot the week that I was there.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| Whitegold wrote: |
| DB wrote: |
| Lizzard wrote: |
| Whitegold, What hot summer was that? I spent a good proportion of it in a hoody and winter boots. |
Yep summer this end of Europe wasn't that hot either. We had our moments with a few hot days here and there but I'd expect the temp to be below the historical average. It rained a lot more this summer too so I'm unsure why places such as Kaprun haven't enough snow base to stay open. |
The first half of the Summer was hot.
I was in Zermatt in June and it was baking.
Val d'Isere, Tignes and Kaprun glaciers seem to have fared badly this Spring and Summer. |
I've been in Austria all summer and trust me the hot spells have been shorter than normal with below average temps inbetween. This is backed up by Lizzard (my "next but one door neighbour" in France  )
People have been dying in central European floods (as well as Pakistan) while Russia has been burning.
Uptop Hintertux has around 90 cm and Kaprun has around 60cm which isn't great (or extremely low for this time of year either) but with the weather we've had one might expect a bit more.
Edit: Looks like a lot of the snow (ca 50cm) could be fresh though. Was Kaprun really that bad before the recent snowfalls?
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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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I would opt for Hintertux considering the recent snow in Austria. It would be expensive though, why not wait a few months and go somewhere nice late November/early December?
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Thanks for all the quality info everyone. Hintertux is looking the most promising but I might just take Eyeopener's advice and wait a few weeks. You know what it's like when you get a great idea in your head - you just want to get out there!
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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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Durham Red, wait a bit and then if conditions are ok combine Hintertux and Stubai glaciers. Fly to Insbruck and rent a car. They should be quite close, less than 2h drive from one to another I believe. And they are normally quite popular with locals for early trips.
I was thinging about early glacier skiing but gave up the idea. Overall you will spend almost the same as going in normal season but the experience might not be nowhere near - no apres, very limited terrain.
It is different when you live close enough to drive for the weekend but to organise everyting from the Uk is different story. Possible but expensive for what you will get for your money.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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| Quote: |
Val d'Isere, Tignes and Kaprun glaciers seem to have fared badly this Spring and Summer.
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In what sense? Tignes glacier was superb in May and conditions there a week ago were a lot better than at the same time last year - the summer has been a lot more unsettled and cool, with some decent snowfalls at altitude. Snow cover was much more extensive than last August, more runs were open, crevasses were nowhere near as visible/big and the weather was cooler so the snow held up better for longer. In fact it was probably as good as you're gonna get anywhere in the northern hemisphere for the time of year - a fine advert for summer skiing.
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It could be that certain glaciers (e.g. Kaprun) have suffered more from warm rain washing the snow away than from high temps melting the snow this season.
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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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By way of closure, Milton Keynes it was and I hated it. Maybe Hintertux in a couple of weeks.
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Durham Red, I was in Austria last week, but for summer sports rather than skiing. Tuesday saw significant 30-50cm snowfalls down to 1,600m, leading to many high roads being closed and high walking becoming impossible without local knowledge and good equipment. By yesterday (Sat) morning, rain had washed away most snow below 1,900m, but I imagine that most glaciers would be in pretty good shape above 2,000m or so. On Thu I cycled over the Grossglockner pass, and the snow beside the road was very deep above that height.
The local glacier to us was Kaprun. I didn't explore going up to the glacier, but I saw several local signs saying that it was partially closed due to reconstruction of the top lift station. If Kaprun hits your shortlist, you might want to check with the resort before booking anything.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Thanks very much Jonny. I have a soft spot for Austria so I'll keep Kaprun in mind. The flights are always going to be harder to get in summer, I've found.
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FAQ
) - hence the longer-than-planned stay.
