Aparthotel Arabella Nauders

... setting up the chalet's etc. Our chalet is MASSIVE! and very hi tech as well - our kitchen is a proper industrial kitchen with a dishwasher which washes things in 90 seconds - have tried to attach a picture but it probably doesn't come across brilliantly. We went out and got pretty drunk and went clubbing the night we arrived and then on Wednesday night there was an opening party for Bar Cuba where the theme was "bright and black" a couple of our guys dressed up as black men ...

... of fresh snow fell on Tuesday night. Visibility was perfect and the clear blue skies allowed the sun to shine brightly all day. The piste was perfectly groomed and those who felt adventurous enough to venture off-piste were rewarded with soft powder which was surprisingly deep in parts. I have a few pictures from that day which I have posted below and with more snow forecast for the next few days, hopefully we will get some boarding/skiing pics on here soon.

... the lure of steep, untracked mountain faces is simply too much for some to resist and combined with a lack of local and general avalanches safety knowledge, many skiiers and snowboarders fall victim to slides which claim the lives of, on average 20-30 mountain users each winter. Despite the multi-lingual warnings signposted throughout the resort and village, the resort keeps the fatality statistics well and truly under wraps so to ...

... recommend w*tching the short video th*t I h*ve posted here:(http://www.f*cebook.com/home.php? #/video/video.php?v=216309103938&*mp;re f=nf). The only downside from the evening w*s th*t due to Austri*'s *ntiqu*ted smoking l*ws, the venues were filled with * thick bl*nket of smoke th*t resulted in sore eyes, lungs *nd very smelly clothes the next d*y.

In the morning we ventured into ...

... lies nestled within the Tyrolean region of Austria (St Anton am Arlberg) which is normally accessed most easily from Zurich (3hrs by rail) or Munich (5hrs by rail). Tori (my girlfriend) and I have a rented apartment for the 2009/2010 winter season. Having organised the rental using the internet, we were a little uncertain of what exactly to expect, but having seen some photos and liased frequently with the owner/manager Silvia ...

... want to arrive at 11, and have to pitch up in the dark, so we decided to drive until about 7 - 8 p.m., and find somewhere to stay, then catch the group up at Val D'Isere the following day. As we didn't have a roadbook for the route, we just had to figure it out. This wasn't too difficult with the maps and GPS, so we set off to see how far we could get that evening.

After leaving Cortina in the morning, we drove into Austria and made a stop for a couple of hours in Imst to ride the alpine coaster there. Unlike the summer slide near the Salzberg Lakes that we rode, this one was on rails and was the longest in Europe at 3.5km or 2.1m. All of us rode it once ...

During our stay we got to know several people from various places including Barbara and Jurjen from Netherland and another cool couple from Finland. Of course, today it took us forever to pack up and leave the campsite as everyone wanted to say goodbye and chat some more. No big deal as we had made some great new friends.

Once we were able to get underway, we started our trek towards Passo Di ...

I flew into St Anton Austria on March 20th and for a few days skiing with my old college friend, Mike, and a few other mates from Ireland who also happened to be in town.

The weather was outstanding, the day we arrived it was forecast to snow about 4ft of snow ...

... inimtühi, sest see oli hooldamata ning hüpekad olid liiga järsud. Lisaks olid osad rajad kohati "loiud", st et suusakeppide abil sai küll edasi, aga laudurid pidid laua alt võtma ja kõndima kuni järgmise laskumiseni või liftini. Osad nõlvad olid suusatajate poolt päeva lõpuks lausa liiga muhklikuks sõidetud, niiet põlved said kõvasti vatti.

Ilm oli iga päev TÄIESTI erinev! Esimesed päevad siras päike, siis paar päeva sadas lund ja nähtavus oli lausa ...