As I move into Day 3 of this trip, here's a quick reminder about where I am in Vorarlberg, the westernmost state of Austria in red:
There are several regions inside Vorarlberg, several of which I've already covered, including Brandnertal in the Bludenz region and Silvretta/Montafon, Gargellen, and Golm in the Montafon region. As mentioned before, the Brengenzerwald (Bregenz Forest) region, southeast of Lake Constance, gets far and away the most snow with Warth-Schröcken at the top and today's stop, Damüls-Mellau, not far behind.
After taking the gondola up a couple thousand vertical feet from the base and arriving at the main lift juncture, you see the resort's branding loud and clear: Welcome to the Snow Kingdom.
They're able to play with the Schneereich wording as it also can be used in lower-case as an adjective meaning "rich in snow" or simply "snowy."
When I was here seven years ago, I got the schneereich treatment in spades. This time, it'll be the exact opposite with no recent precipitation and mostly clear skies. From the top, you realise that the almost three-mile-wide Damüls sector of the ski area is like a king's crown with lifts on virtually all of the facets:
Conditions were a bit scratchier than yesterday due to the cold springtime temps with the best skiing once again on the north-facing terrain. Still, it's always great to be able to move across long distances on skis and admire views like these:
This line can be accessed via a knife's edge traverse along the ridge. I have no idea where it leads and the lack of tracks strongly suggests that it's a local's-only shot. Still, nice to admire from a distance:
Heading into the village of Damüls:
I lost count of the high-speed chairs at ten, including five six-packs with heated seats. I must be getting old because I used to sneer at the very idea of them and now I find the heating component somewhat enjoyable:
Who knew that Doppelmayr has a mascot named Skippy?
I stopped here for lunch:
... and saw someone ordering a couple Germknödels, the pride of Austria and Bavaria -- fluffy yeast dough dumplings (I've seen them much larger than these). They're filled with plum jam and sit in a bath of melted butter or vanilla sauce, served with poppy seeds and powdered sugar. Delicious but needless to say, if you're watching your calories, this ain't where you want to be:
Around 3 pm, I was getting tired so it was time to head back to the base. One of the fun things about skiing in the Alps is doing the Talabfahrt: the "valley run" that takes you back to the bottom of the ski area. You're always looking forward to seeing the words "Talabfahrt offen!" (valley run open!), which means game-on: 4.2 miles down to the base. For the record, it's considered weak sauce to download on the gondola unless absolutely necessary.
You start by going past a grove of haunted trees:
After spending the day at a completely above-treeline ski area, it's fun to cruise through a dense forest:
A conveniently-placed hut where you can sit in the sun with drinks or a snack:
Into the home stretch where you can see that there's coverage right down to the valley floor at 700 meters:
Past the Grease garage:
Before gliding to a stop at the parking lot, 20 yards from my car:
There are several regions inside Vorarlberg, several of which I've already covered, including Brandnertal in the Bludenz region and Silvretta/Montafon, Gargellen, and Golm in the Montafon region. As mentioned before, the Brengenzerwald (Bregenz Forest) region, southeast of Lake Constance, gets far and away the most snow with Warth-Schröcken at the top and today's stop, Damüls-Mellau, not far behind.
After taking the gondola up a couple thousand vertical feet from the base and arriving at the main lift juncture, you see the resort's branding loud and clear: Welcome to the Snow Kingdom.
They're able to play with the Schneereich wording as it also can be used in lower-case as an adjective meaning "rich in snow" or simply "snowy."
When I was here seven years ago, I got the schneereich treatment in spades. This time, it'll be the exact opposite with no recent precipitation and mostly clear skies. From the top, you realise that the almost three-mile-wide Damüls sector of the ski area is like a king's crown with lifts on virtually all of the facets:
Conditions were a bit scratchier than yesterday due to the cold springtime temps with the best skiing once again on the north-facing terrain. Still, it's always great to be able to move across long distances on skis and admire views like these:
This line can be accessed via a knife's edge traverse along the ridge. I have no idea where it leads and the lack of tracks strongly suggests that it's a local's-only shot. Still, nice to admire from a distance:
Heading into the village of Damüls:
I lost count of the high-speed chairs at ten, including five six-packs with heated seats. I must be getting old because I used to sneer at the very idea of them and now I find the heating component somewhat enjoyable:
Who knew that Doppelmayr has a mascot named Skippy?
I stopped here for lunch:
... and saw someone ordering a couple Germknödels, the pride of Austria and Bavaria -- fluffy yeast dough dumplings (I've seen them much larger than these). They're filled with plum jam and sit in a bath of melted butter or vanilla sauce, served with poppy seeds and powdered sugar. Delicious but needless to say, if you're watching your calories, this ain't where you want to be:
Around 3 pm, I was getting tired so it was time to head back to the base. One of the fun things about skiing in the Alps is doing the Talabfahrt: the "valley run" that takes you back to the bottom of the ski area. You're always looking forward to seeing the words "Talabfahrt offen!" (valley run open!), which means game-on: 4.2 miles down to the base. For the record, it's considered weak sauce to download on the gondola unless absolutely necessary.
You start by going past a grove of haunted trees:
After spending the day at a completely above-treeline ski area, it's fun to cruise through a dense forest:
A conveniently-placed hut where you can sit in the sun with drinks or a snack:
Into the home stretch where you can see that there's coverage right down to the valley floor at 700 meters:
Past the Grease garage:
Before gliding to a stop at the parking lot, 20 yards from my car:
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