Austria - Spring Skiing in Sportgastein in April 2014

Sunny day Skiing on the 14th April
The air was crisp and fresh and the snow to the middle station was perfect. On a day like today it is difficult to beat Sportgastein. No queues for the Gondola and friendly people on our shared rides to the top. It's not always like that, there can be dumb, glum snow-boarders or free-stylers intent only on on their next run.
It can be icy first thing in the morning but not today, just soft powder.
TW enjoyed the Blue Run and a great lunch at the Valerie Haus. It was standing room only for the ride home on the bus but we had the front seats. TW is an ace at bus-boarding these days!

The view North down the Gastein Valley towards Bad Hofgastein

Giving a lift - the T-Bar at Bad Hofgastein

Looking out from the gondola

Postcard from Bad Hofgastein in April 2014

Spring in the Alps in Austria
A very late Easter this year so the lifts are running until April 21st. A very good opportunity to get some late season skiing. Fresh snow meant the snow conditions when we hit the slopes on the 26th March were absolutely perfect. Whilst other resorts struggled with a lack of snow we had loads on our pistes - and very few people. We did take a day out to Dienten and the Hochkonig but the snow there was a lot thinner so we were glad to be back on the slopes in Gastein the next day.

Empty seats on the Hohe Scharte chairlift

On the Hohe Scharte - now shall I take the Nord or the Sud Abfahrt?

Wonderful mountains - snow on the rocks

A stone splitter blooms above 2000m

Plenty of elbow room at the Haitzingalm

Room to turn and run

Saturday Party at the Weitmoseralm

On the South Facing side of the Angertal Valley it is getting green

On the North Facing side of the Angertal Valley the runs are parfect

Two Gentlemen from Bremen insisted I have an early Williams!

TW walking on the Kaiser Willhelm Weg

Fresh cut logs - ideal for smoking apparently

March in England

When the rain stopped

Old Harry Rocks have changed shape this Winter

The fierce winter storms have changed the shape of the coastline.

TMIL and TW head to the beach

Bournemouth and  Boscombe Beach have weathered the storm pretty well. Bit tricky for the rollator with all the sand on the road.

On a Sunday cycle

A ride back in time on a sunny Sunday in March. We took the high road over the bridge whilst the pony took the wet route.

Daffodils bloom around the Chestnut Tree

Posh Wedding Reception at Wentworth

An excellent atmosphere at the wedding of D and S.  We enjoyed ourselves.

Before the Feast

After the Feast

Job done! Food and Wine demolished.

Thames - water receding

Down by the Thames the water was at last getting back within its banks. Be biking on tow-path before we know it. Small matter of a trip to Austria first!

Bike in the Chilterns in February 2014

Back on the road again

It took until the 16th February but, at last, I am back on the bike. The dire weather, which seems to have been with us since November, has meant that the bikes have been locked away. The trusty Trek 520 had a run out today to Henley via Turville and Christmas Common today. It's had a makeover since the entanglement with the rather large beech tree. With the very necessary replacement handlebars and stem plus a new chain and block it is 'all systems go' for the old tourer.  Met TW for lunch at the Chocolate Theatre Cafe and then pedalled back via Lower Assendon and Northend. Quite a few trees down but the roads were fairly dry. There is no real evidence of the wet weather unless of course you go down to the Thames where the riverside residents are still struggling. Up in the Chilterns the sun was shining and the snowdrops were in bloom. For the first time did not miss skiing too badly today. Only 5 weeks to go!

Fire Service asking for a top up at the The Angel in Henley

Chocolate Theatre Cafe - a wet outlook

Henley on Thames - a bridge over high water

And the trees keep tumbling!

Austria - a Postcard from Bad Hofgastein in January 2014

It's a hard life in the Mountains

The Haitzingalm 2 man chair - a leisurely ride

Sunny back in the 30's

Most of the guests arrive one Saturday and are gone on the next. For us it is Groundhog Day or, more appropriately, Marmoltier Tag? Each week we see again the lost souls at the bus station trying to find their ski buses, the couples poring over their piste maps and others walking awkwardly in their hired boots and new brightly coloured ski jackets.

For us its a wonderful regular commute as we climb aboard the funicular railway with the familiar faces of the early morning skiers. The retired Chef who always stands in the same place in the Cable Car, the Professor from Vienna, the local Golden Girls and the ski instructors to name but a few. We do not have to check out the Mountain Huts to see which serves the best Strudel, we have tested them already. We know where we can get a nice morning coffee with a chocolate. We know which lifts open early and we head for the Weitmoser Sixer for a warm up run and then at around 9am for the Hohe Scharte two man chair. Fresh Coduroy or freshly fallen is the snow choice. No awkward bumps to negotiate or ridges made by the Snowboarders.

TW arrives later, she doesn't take the cable car, she prefers a slow and leisurely ride on the Haitzingalm two man chair. She knows when and where to go to practice her turns, always within reach of a comfortable chair.

Blue skies on the Haitzingalm

Morning Coffee - the view from the Haitzingalm

Fresh snow in January

On the Training Piste

Heading down to Bad Hofgastein

Sometimes the guests have difficulty with the routine. Some think they are here for a rest and struggle to make the 08:26 bus in the morning. They get their Size 12 Boots stuck in the door of the Senderbahn and stop the entire lift. Apparently its a design fault? They order a Strudel in Grossarl at a self service only to have it snatched by a sweet-toothed Lady Pensioner. A Schweinhaxe at the Bertahof is too big for them and the cooking of boiled eggs in the morning by yours truly is too inconsistent. Yes, for some skiing is tough. They think their ski hosts are trying to kill them but hey, its only Groundhog Day!

GDC joins a Groundhog at the Waldgasthof

Austria - Return to the sunshine

Normal service resumed in 2014

Lunchtime Parking Place for skiers in Bad Hofgastein

After a wet and windy Christmas break we have made a welcome return to the Austrian sunshine in January 2014. The hard work of the piste bashers has maintained the superb snow conditions that started with the big dump in November. The Christmas and New Year crowds have departed and we now have near empty slopes. No queuing for lifts or lunch at the moment. The home run maybe just a 'white snake' in the otherwise brown and green fields but it is very much open for ski business. With new snow forecast, later in the week, we are currently making the most of the great visibility to ski and capture the stunning scenery. The Daily Telegraph reckons we are suffering due to mild air and low snowfall, not sure that suffering is the correct term. I think enjoying the mild air and superb piste conditions would be far more accurate.

The summer Stubneralm relaxes in the winter sun

On the run

Helmets hang over lunch at the Weitmoser Schlossalm

TW and AG heading up to the Hohe Scharte

Spot the skiers

Still corduroy at lunchtime

Heading off after a good lunch in the sun at the Haitzingalm

Wet and Windy Winter - 2013/14

Getting through the Winter Break

Boxing Day was one of the few nice bright days over Christmas and New Year. Mostly the rain fell and the wind blew. A good day to walk along the front to the Sandbanks Hotel for a coffee.

Bournemouth on Boxing Day

Marlow had a nice tree and simple decorations on the High Street. Rosinante is now repaired so am ready for Touring in 2014, as long as the knee works anyway.

Lusitania Statue in Marlow

Marlow Bridge

Christmas in Marlow