It has been a strange Winter this season here in the Arlberg Region of Austria. Though we have a blanket of snow covering the mountains and even down to the valley it has been a season of very little snowfall so far.

When Steve got back home in mid-January, the first snowfall came and giving it a few days to settle, he and Jakub went to our home mountains ski touring.

We had a very cold spell during January that helped keep the snow up on the mountains but it turned the Rosanna River to ice! With temperatures around minus 20 degrees for more than a week, it made the rare sight of the Rosanna completely frozen over. Once the weather warmed up, Steve and Jakub headed into the mountains on more ski touring missions. With a long skin up, they made their way to the Leutkircher Hut and from there with a little more elevation gain they managed to ski some sweet powder down to Pettneu am Arlberg.

This is a fantastic ski tour, with some outstanding views and of course there is always something special about skiing back home! With a big high pressure over the Alps, Steve and Jakub have been making the most of the stunning ski touring conditions. They even met a mountain goat on the way to one of Steve’s favourite tours.

Lets hope some more snow arrives and we can get back to accessing some of the quieter backcountry ski areas the Arlberg has to offer.

Winter in Arlberg Region, part 1