Where to Ski And Snowboard -

Cut off in Vorarlberg

9th January 2012, by Dave Watts

Dave enjoying the powder on Sunday – he has got his skis on, honest

Wow … it has been snowing here for the last ten days and the amount that has fallen has caused chaos on the roads and slopes. I’ve skied here for the last three days with very limited lifts and runs open because of the quantity of new snow and accompanying high winds. The road to Gargellen has been closed and we’ve been unable to get there.

Today I was due to drive to St Anton but the road into and out of the resort (even via the Arlberg tunnel) and all the lifts and slopes are closed this morning (Monday) because of super-high avalanche risk. All this means it promises to be a long season with no snow shortages throughout the region. But it has made the travel and skiing for anyone out here at the moment very limited.

On two of the three days I have been staying here in Schruns, the skiing has been confined to the few runs served by the access gondola and cable car on Hochjoch and a couple of lifts that go slightly above them. But what slopes have been open have had fabulously light, dry, knee deep powder that has been great fun to play in – and on the lower treelined slopes to the cable car mid-station visibility has been good too.

On Saturday there was a brief respite from high winds and the whole of the Nova-Hochjoch ski area opened, including the new gondola linking the two areas to form a combined area with around 160km of pistes. But visibility remained poor on most of the slopes because they are above the treeline. In the morning I spent a couple of enjoyable hours skiing the small (34km of pistes), treelined Golm area, which is very popular with families.

In good weather, the area has huge attractions that we had hoped to experience – such as 7.15am ascents up the mountain to enjoy deserted pistes followed by breakfast, the Silvretta Ski Safari to Galtur in the next valley with the return journey being towed by a snowcat, the Madrisa ski tour from Gargellen to Klosters in Switzerland and back, abundant off-piste including the Nidla ski route in Gargellen, a fun-looking alpine roller coaster ride through the woods and a night-time zip-wire ride – both on Golm.

I’ll have to return in better weather…

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