The past two days were a trip down memory lane in St. Anton, the number one freeride area in Austria. After about five weeks without snowfall, which made March a particularly poor month for freeriding, snow was finally in the forecast again. Well not exactly the motherload, but enough to ride some powder again.
30 cm on the mountain
With very favorable avalanche conditions (avalanche danger 1 low on the mountain, avalanche danger 2 higher on the mountain), it was nice freeriding again. And what was especially nice: winter is back. It was a bit colder, the trees were white again and there was a nice layer of fresh snow. The differences in the large Arlberg area were striking. The Schindlerkar was in great shape, but in Stuben the sharks were not far away. The Madloch in Zürs was also in good condition.
I hadn’t been to St. Anton for a few seasons, but these two days made me want more. Maybe take a day off next weekend. Snow is coming again. And this first week of April is better than all of March has been. The snow may not have fallen in the past five weeks, but the freeride vibe in Anton has never gone away. Today the wide skis and ABS airbags appeared from nowhere and St. Anton showed again why it is the freeride capital of Austria.
New and old
Many lifts have also been replaced (and added) to the area. Of course the Flexenbahn so you no longer have to take the bus from Alpe Rauz to Zürs. The gondola that takes you to the Albona. The Schindlerkar chairlift has been replaced by a gondola and we can go on like this for a while. Nice improvements, but I was also very happy with the fact that the old two-seater from Stuben is still there.
