It is hard to comprehend how much snow came down on the Austrian glaciers over the weekend. We pulled on our avalanche bags and headed to the Stubai Glacier. Where weeks before there were cars, now there were a scattering of vehicles amongst the drifting snow. The near deserted Stubai Glacier ski area offered flat light, driving snow and powder routes in depths that we hadn’t experienced in the entire winter. May 5th 2019 offered the deepest and some of the lightest powder of the entire winter.
End of season revisions meant that some of the ski area was closed but skiing took place on all but the highest slopes. In places the snow was too deep to ski and the face-shots were more reminiscent of January in Hokkaido than May in Austria. It is hard to contemplate the end of the ski season when 6m of snow lies on top of the ice sheets, but the Stubai Glacier is now entering its final month of snow sports action, with a scheduled closing date of 10th June 2019. The Hintertux Glacier with a staggering 5m of snow will be offering skiing throughout the summer months, subject to daily weather variations.
