Popular Post Mike Pow 52 Posted June 23, 2014 Popular Post Share Posted June 23, 2014 "ROYAL SKIING AT THE KINGDOM OF SNOW" Over lunch a month ago my uncle mentioned that he needed to move furniture from his home in Wales to his summer (ancestral) house in northern Italy. Being the dutiful nephew that I am, I offered mine and Nerys' services to drive the van to the small village of Granelli just outside Bardi in Emilia-Romanga - the area where a large number of the Welsh Italians "Taffia" originated from. And on the way back catch a couple of days skiing on the Stubai Glacier in Austria - Nerys' first taste of European skiing. We took the Dover - Dunkirk ferry with DFDS and drove through France, Belgium, Switzerland on the way to Italy. We left at 8am on Sunday 08 June and after a short night's sleep just outside of Basel got into Granelli at 5pm on Monday 09 June. Glorious weather all the way down, and earlier in the day we took the Gothard Pass road via Andermatt rather than take the Gothard Tunnel. Nerys in Andermatt town centre Birdos skis On the way over the Gothard Pass we stopped to take in the views. Plenty of snow around and plenty of people touring and skiing. We spent Monday evening, Tuesday and Wednesday morning in Granelli and Bardi kicking back, drinking espresso and red wine, and dining on fine food and catching some sun in the 30 deg temperatures. Granelli Bardi Wednesday lunchtime we headed north over the Brenner Pass to Austria to spend two days skiing on the Stubai Glacier. When I was looking into which areas were open for skiing at this time of year the Stubai Glacier won out because it had good snow conditions great coverage comparable vertical and length of run to what Nerys had experienced on Hokkaido (thanks Clarky999) and this killer deal 2-night B&B and 2-day ski package for 99 euros per person http://www.stubaier-gletscher.com/eng/Winter/Search-Book/Packages/Sunshine-skiing-special You don't know where you're staying until after you've booked the package and we were assigned the Gastehaus Danler in Neustift-Milders, about 15 km drive from the lifts http://www.hotels.ru/eng/hotels/austria/neustift_im_stubaital/gastehaus_danler.htm Neustift-Milders was all you could wish an Austrian alpine village to be. Beautiful and charming. And green green. Gastehaus Danler is a lovely place. Great welcome. Plenty of room. Great continental breakfast. Free wifi. Walking distance to everything in Milders. Highly recommended. Had dinner at one of the local hotels and then got an early night in preparation for the first day on snow in a while. DAY 1 ON SNOW : THURSDAY 12 June 2014 We woke to glorious sunshine and blue skies and after breakfast drove up to the base station. The lifts run from 7.30 to 12.30 at this time of the year and the place was deserted. The Gamsgarten I gondola takes you from the base at 1750 m to the Mittlestation Fernau at 2300 m and you stay on to the start of the skiing at Gamsgarten at 2620 m. From there it's a short skate over to the Rotadl 8-seater chair which accesses the blue and red runs off the Rotadlkopf and the blue, red and one black run off the Daunferner I t-bar. The skiing goes from 2620 m to 3109 m for a respectable 489 m of vertical. It was possible to ski to within a couple of hundred metres of the Mittelstation Fernau at 2300 m with a short walk back to the gondola station where the snow had melted - approx. 700 m of vertical. Stubai Glacier Piste Map http://www.stubaier-gletscher.com/eng/Winter/Ski-Area/Lifts-Pistes/2D-Piste-Map/2D-Piste-Map The pistes were well groomed and the snow was soft but not wet. The off-piste snow was consistent, smooth and a little grabby. No queues and plenty of terrain available despite the closed off areas for race training. Available ski area Nerys Coffee & cake was 5 euros, and lunch of 1 beer, sparkling water, main meal was 15-18 euros. We finished skiing around 1pm, had lunch, and got off the mountain around 3pm. Back to the B&B, quick shower and then out for sightseeing and afternoon tea. Grawa Waterfall DAY 2 ON SNOW : FRIDAY 13 June 2014 We paid for an extra night at Gastehaus Danler at 24 euros per person and after breakfast headed up for our second day on snow. After warming up on the warming up pistes we spent the rest of the morning skiing the off-piste terrain. Big improvements for Nerys today. Patience and lightness at the start of the turn to stay above the soft snow Greater confidence and comfort accelerating in the fall line Far more adventurous line selection, including skiing between rocks and in gullies We left around 9am on Saturday morNing and drove back via Innsbruck, the Zugspitse area in the German Alps, and through Germany into Belgium. Stopped for the night about 30 mins from Brussels, and 90 mins from Dunkirk in an Ibis Hotel. Excellent value at 65 euros for the room. Got the mid-day ferry from Dunkirk on Sunday and we were back home in Aberdare by 6.30 pm An excellent road trip to Europe and an excellent & cheap way to get a couple of days skiing on snow in the summer months. Highly recommended. 2 Link to post Share on other sites
Metabo Oyaji 71 Posted June 23, 2014 Share Posted June 23, 2014 Nice one, Mike! Why do the lifts stop so early? Link to post Share on other sites
Mike Pow 52 Posted June 23, 2014 Author Share Posted June 23, 2014 Cheers. To try and preserve the snow for as long as possible I think. Link to post Share on other sites
Metabo Oyaji 71 Posted June 23, 2014 Share Posted June 23, 2014 I guess that makes sense. Stop people from splashing around too much when the snow softens up in the afternoon? Link to post Share on other sites
pie-eater 207 Posted June 23, 2014 Share Posted June 23, 2014 Great stuff Mike. Don't worry about us sweating it out here! Link to post Share on other sites
Slippery Jim 65 Posted June 23, 2014 Share Posted June 23, 2014 Nice TR, Mike. Wish I could've been there. Link to post Share on other sites
muikabochi 208 Posted June 24, 2014 Share Posted June 24, 2014 Looks great Mike, thanks. Snow seems so far away! Link to post Share on other sites
Go Native 70 Posted June 24, 2014 Share Posted June 24, 2014 Did you notice if they are still using the plastic sheets on parts of the glacier to help reduce ablation Mike? Link to post Share on other sites
Mike Pow 52 Posted June 24, 2014 Author Share Posted June 24, 2014 Thanks guys. Only over the terrain park features from what I saw Go Native. Link to post Share on other sites
69 5 Posted June 25, 2014 Share Posted June 25, 2014 Looks great MikePow. Look forward to the next one! Link to post Share on other sites
Big Al 16 Posted June 25, 2014 Share Posted June 25, 2014 Very nice mate. Did the Kitzsteinhorn in (northern) summer back in 1989 and while the skiing is a lot less extensive than the Stubai, there are summer water sports available for the afternoon at Zell am See. Fond memories.. Link to post Share on other sites
Mike Pow 52 Posted June 25, 2014 Author Share Posted June 25, 2014 Cheers. Hoping to sneak another trip in this summer, but the way S America has started I could be looking west Link to post Share on other sites
seemore 66 Posted June 28, 2014 Share Posted June 28, 2014 Cheers Mate Link to post Share on other sites
iiyamadude 6 Posted July 1, 2014 Share Posted July 1, 2014 Great stuff Mike. You don't take much time off from the snow, do you? Link to post Share on other sites
Mike Pow 52 Posted July 1, 2014 Author Share Posted July 1, 2014 Thanks seemore and iiyamadude. Compared with a lot of my mates I'm a part-timer Link to post Share on other sites
JellyBelly 1 Posted July 2, 2014 Share Posted July 2, 2014 Most people refer to part-time as a work thing! Do those guys actually do any work? Link to post Share on other sites
Mike Pow 52 Posted July 2, 2014 Author Share Posted July 2, 2014 Yeah loads of my mates teach skiing on Hokkaido for the Northern Hemisphere winter and then teach in Australia, NZ or Chile for the Southern Hemisphere winter. Some rack up over 200 days on snow per calendar year. Link to post Share on other sites
Boolugu Mez 3 Posted July 5, 2014 Share Posted July 5, 2014 Yeah loads of my mates teach skiing on Hokkaido for the Northern Hemisphere winter and then teach in Australia, NZ or Chile for the Southern Hemisphere winter. Some rack up over 200 days on snow per calendar year. Speaking of tuition, been meaning to ask you for details of your services - as I don't know how to do private message on this site - do you mind getting in touch with me to discuss? Will be in Niseko in feb 2015 with my family and they will want lessons...... thanks in advance !! Link to post Share on other sites
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