Where to Ski And Snowboard -

Snow returns to Saalbach

11th February 2012, by Chris Gill

Warming huts on a cloudy day in Saalbach-Hinterglemm

I am writing this blog from Innsbruck airport, where the sun is now out on a few centimetres of overnight snow. Reason I have time to write this: flight delay. Only it is not as you might expect due to the weather at the Innsbruck end, but due to a ‘little’ snow in Bristol and a technical fault with the plane.

You’ll be pleased to hear though, there is more fresh snow to welcome the half term travellers to Austria. It had been threatening snow all day on Thursday in Saalbach, with overcast skies and a chilly breeze that strengthened mid-afternoon. Temperatures barely lifted above minus 12, so Wednesday’s lovely weather was certainly short lived. And the forecast is for it to remain very cold, so wrap up well – face protection is a must.

Thursday’s snow began at 5pm and kept going all the way through on my lengthy drive back to the city. It wasn’t super heavy, but sufficient to give a covering a valley level and more on the mountain no doubt. And it gave me an adventurous crossing of Pass Thurn. Winter tyres are great, aren’t they?

I had a quick rendezvous with the circus, aka the lively Saalbach-Hinterglemm – a good long day covering some substantial mileage. My first lift queue of the week announced the imminent February holidays, and Saalbach was noticeably busier than my previous days in the SkiWelt and Kitzbühel Alps.

But again conditions in the area are very good. South-facing slopes gave firmer, packed piste conditions; most of the off-piste is tracked out now, with some windslab; but there are pockets of soft snow to be found too.

I started the morning with some cruising above Vorderglemm, a lift station on the outskirts of town, before tracking across Saalbach’s series of interconnected peaks towards Hinterglemm and back, with a quick potter on the more challenging north-facing slopes. You can do almost all of this on wide blue runs if you wish and the area’s numerous fast chairs will whisk you from peak to peak.

Doing the complete circuit, taking in both sides of the valley, is a good day’s outing that warrants an early start, but doable by adventurous intermediates.

A smaller, folding version of the piste map now shows three suggested circuits; the full ‘Runde’ includes Leogang in the next valley and estimates five hours – but you’d need to be going at warp speed and with no stops or queues along the way to make that a sensible starting point.

This year Saalbach tackled its weakest link in the ski circuit, at Bernkogel, by installing a new gondola to replace the old chairlift. The slopes are divided by the village main street here, so a short walk is involved to progress, but it is painless – and queue-free on my visit. The change is a welcome improvement; only the T-bar above it needs an upgrade to complete the speedy link to Reiterkogel (which also has a new lift, a six-pack).

An efficient new gondola at Bernkogel

The cute Sonnalm hut below Reiterkogel provided sustenance in the form of a hearty grostl (7 euros!) before more of the same and a great 1000m or so vertical descent to the valley to end the day. Saalbach is another of Austria’s renown party towns, and the music was kicking off near the centre as I left. It also provided the third of my big ski areas of the week; I love the sense of travel and exploration you can get by going from piste to piste – the SkiWelt, Kitzbühel Alps and Saalbach-Hinterglemm are all covered by the Kitzbühel Alpen All Star card and have more than enough slopes between them to keep you occupied for a long time.

I can recommend the drive too: an easy round that passes through lots of villages and also the ski areas of St Johann in Tirol, Fieberbrunn and Zell am See for example. But more importantly, my choice of starting points at Brixen im Thale, Kirchberg and near Saalfelden / Leogang all offer the opportunity to arrive by train from Innsbruck, and stay at a cheaper cost than their nearby major towns (Kitzbuhel, Soll, Saalbach etc).

And so the great season in the Alps continues: regular snowfalls and cold conditions to ensure that the slopes are kept in fine condition.

Saalbach’s church guards the steeper northern slopes

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• new lift
• leogang
• saalbach
• hinterglemm

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