Snow History in Kaprun and Cross Country skiing in the Austrian Tyrol

 Kitzsteinhorn Lift station and restaurant complex above Kaprun

Snow History in Kaprun

Naturally if you are going on a ski holiday, you want to have an idea of what snow conditions you can expect. The igluski  gives a detailed breakdown of the snow conditions from November 2006, through the winter months into spring,  upto to the present day. So if you are looking for a Skiing holiday in Easter or November the site gives you a bit of guidance to go on.

Don't forget that with Kaprun there is the Kitzsteinhorn glacier rising to 3000+ metres it gives you even an even longer extended ski season into the summer. With the possibility of skiing into the summer or in the Autumn season. Don't just take our word for it, the attached you tube video of Skiing on the Kitzsteinhorn  gives you of what skiing is like in the middle of April  (2006), it  puts some pictures to the statistics.

Certainly the possibility of glacier skiing gives an extra assurance for a late or early ski holiday.

Cross Country Skiing not for the faint hearted

Interesting link, on the sport of cross country skiing or  nordic skiing, some may think this is a soft option as opposed to charging down a mountain to pieces of plastic resembling planks. But the article
puts the case that it is not an easy option but physically demanding, with its on unique technique and style.

Cross Country Skiing in the Tyrol

 In the Kaprun-Zellamsee area of of the Salzburgerland  there are cross country ski courses following the valley bottoms. They actually follow the cycle routes which are used in the summer. In addition there is an area set aside on the Kitzsteinhorn glacier for nordic skiing

 Nordic skiing on the Kitzsteinhorn glacier above Kaprun

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Who visits Zell am See and Kaprun?

Kitzsteinhorn glacier ( note the snow!)  where it is possible to ski  throughout the year.

 Kaprun and Zell am See are popular tourist destinations within Austria.  With the opening of Tauern Spa Kaprun, the Kitzsteinhorn glacier, a 36 hole championship golf course,  winter sports,  cycling and the lake at Zell am Zee the area is seen very much as an all season all destination what ever the time of the year you visit.
Around 2 million visitors  holiday in the area in each,  with slightly more than half of these visiting in the November through to April ski season.

A great place to visit

 Winter Visitors

For this six month period taking advantage of the winter sports and the extended ski season with the glacier on the Kitzsteinhorn, around a quarter of visitors are from Germany, followed closely at arpound 15% of the total being Dutch guests, after that around 10% are Austrian and another 10% visitors from the United Kingdom, closely and in more recent years an increasing number of Polish and Rumanian visitors, followed by Scandinavian visitors.  English is widely spoken across Austria, and Austrians are famous for their hospitality.

Visitors come for the winter sports, Christmas markets, wellness breaks, culinary experiences and just to relax unwind and to soak up the scenery


Summer Visitors

In the months from  May through to October around 900,000 take advantage of the area in and around Kaprun and Zell am See booking accommodation.  Again unsurprisingly German visitors are most popular about a third of the overall total. Next most popular at about 1/8th  of visitors is the home market for Austria, with the British taking up around 10%  with the Dutch taking in excess of 7% of the accommodation.

Krimml waterfalls awe inspiring

Over the last few years there has been an increase in the number of visitors to the area. With the new spa complex opening in Kaprun in November 2010, at a cost in excess of 85 million, and the extended ski season allowed by the Kitzsteinhorn glacier, it  it is expected as a driver to confirm Zell am See and Kaprun as an all year resort.

The area has been marketed as the Europa Sports Region, and the name sums up the abundance of sporting activities which includes :-wild water rafting, canyoning, golf, cycling, walking  and numerous water sports on the lake at Zell am See, and summer skiing also a possibility on the glacier

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Snow Park Mellow Park on the Kitzsteinhorn above Kaprun opens.

The Mellow Park ski park on the Kitzsteinhorn glacier above Kaprun opens its doors for  the "White  out"  of  the  official  ski  season in Kaprun,  this normally  takes place around the  first or second weekend  in November.  With  the benefit  of  the glacier the  start  of  the ski season is  almost guaranteed.

Planet snow  along  with other weather forecasts  can give  a good  prediction of  snow conditions  With reports of snow "Snow looking Pretty good" across Europe, it sets a white back cloth to build on.

Planet Ski reports that RyanAir is offering a free ski transfer with flights booked over the next few days. Looks like an extra incentive to get that ski holiday booked?

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Snow park on the Kitzsteinhorn glacier above Kaprun wins award

The German magazine ADAC Reisemagazin in its published Ski guide reports on the testing Euorpe's ski resorts terrain parks. The Kitzsteinhorn glacier Ski area above Kaprun has been judged for the year of the report. The Kitzsteinhorn has been very successful and has won in the category of "Snowpark" in front of other leading resorts such as Les Deus Alpes and Davos/Jakobshorn.

To summarise the Kitzsteinhorn Mellow Park is considered to be world class!

If this is not enough there are plans for the snow park areas to be extended and the "park shapers" are waiting for their turn to build up again the Glacier Park, the DC Central Park

To have a look for yourself please have a look at the web cam via the attached link to the Kitzsteinhorn Mellow Park

News update:-

New Superpipe Being Built at Austrian Ski Resort of of Kaprun

The Kitzsteinhorn stands at a height of 3203 meter with it's glacier offers the ability to ski all year round. The area shuts normally (weather dependent) for 2-3 weeks a year in June to allow for the ski lifts to be relocated higher up the glacier slopes.

Come and discover this area for yourself, the Skiing is great and the views superb don't just take my word for it have a look at the attached you tube clip of the parks, the film is rated 5* who am I to disagree? For those who prefer their videos in German here is a separate clip to give you a flavour of the Kitzsteinhorn ski area.

For further info on the 3 ski areas of Kaprun and Zell am See known as the Die Europa sportregion, which consist of the Schmitten, above Zell, the Maiskogel where you can ski down into Kaprun or the Kitzsteinhorn with its glacier see the attached link for a map and further info


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