Benoit enjoying sunshine and powder!

Berger making us amateurs look somewhat professional.

Me feeling lucky to ski with Berger.

Another tasty dinner in the chalet.

Team Canada and friends.

Gamsk on Sulz spitze.

Eric Berger was back in St Anton last week with a great crew from Canada, Spain and England.  Eric is a professional photographer based out of Whistler.  He recently scored another cover of Powder Magazine with Dan Treadway and we were excited to have him back in the chalet.  Ben and myself had the opportunity to take a few pictures with him and were pretty blown away by the results.  Thanks Eric!

It was a stellar week with the bunch that included great days skiing around the white circle, touring up Augstenburg, racing down the rodel track and the odd beverage at the Krazy Kanguruh and Piccadilly.  Thanks for a great week – we look forward to many more like it!

We have a very nice group from Sweden right now and they have been enjoying the skiing in St. Anton and dinners at the chalet.

Snow is in the forecast and it is shaping up to be a great spring so please contact me if you’d like to come in April.

Kind regards,

R&M

(All photos above are property of and copy write by Eric Berger)

Ski touring up Wild Ebene with Kaltenburg framing the shot.

Janna making the way to Verwall from Maroital.

Brother’s MacKimmie 2013.

Nelly, Rudy and Maaike. Team Shred!

The Royal Norwegian Airforce Sqaud 331 working the white circle.

After multiple storm cycles at the beginning of February we saw steady small snowfalls which kept the resort soft for the remainder of the month.  In the last week we have been enjoying stable high pressure and perfect conditions for ski touring in the Arlberg.  There has been little to no wind, blue skies, stable snow and limitless options for those who like to walk.  We have hosted guests including my brother and his regular crew, the Royal Norwegian Airforce and now members of the original Team Canada.  Great weather, great company and fantastic times at Chalet Rafalt.  We are now fully booked until April 5th – so come on down after that for some spring skiing, live music and outdoor apres ski!

Kind regards,

R&M

Martin making the most of the DEEP.

Malcolm Sangster of Sherpa’s cinema checking out nearly two metre’s of snow in Stuben last week.

Malcolm storm skiing in Langen forest.

Blue skies and DEEP powder.

The northwest weather pattern determined our weather starting on Jan 30th through until now brining lots and lots of new snow to the Arlberg.  I’d estimate as much as two metres where the most snow fell in Stuben.  With a relatively quiet mountain it has been a powder skiing paradise.  Run after run of deep untracked powder has been the story of the last days.  We hosted Malcolm Sangster of Sherpa’s Cinema for a few days after he finished up promoting their new film “Into the Mind” at the ISPO ski show in Munich. (Link below)  He was certainly impressed by variety of runs and size of terrain here in the Arlberg.  That combined with conditions about as good as they get made for quite the trip!

We have the first two weeks available in April and the snow pack is shaping up nicely for some great spring skiing.  Please contact me for details if you’d like to come and stay at Chalet Rafalt!

Kind regards,

R&M

http://vimeo.com/54348266 (Into the Mind trailer – Can’t wait for this one!)

Jennewein Main Store

Rowland. This guy knows boots!

Jesper at the Nasserein Store. New DPS line and Stockli’s on the wall.

Peppi setting his personal best ski jump of 70m in 1939 – on pure wooden skis! (photo courtesy of Martin Jennewein)

Being the cradle of Alpine skiing St. Anton is rich with history.  Part of this history is the Jennewein family.  Benedict Jennewein originally came to St. Anton to help build the rail road in the 1890’s.  He was responsible for making wooden barrels to transport supplies.  This craft involved using steam to bend wood.  Coincidentally, skiing was also starting in The Arlberg at this time.  It only made sense for Benedict to use his skill at bending wood to make and supply skis for the first alpine skiers.  The Jennewein family continued to grow roots in ski history when Peppi Jennewein won the world championships at age 17 making him the youngest ever to hold the title.

Don Smith coming down from Zurs to Stuben.

Guests enjoying another classic Arlberg vista.

Looking way down to Alpe Raus.

Zurs.

Schindler chutes skiing great!

Cheese fondue night.

It has been a fantastic run of skiing over the last couple of weeks.  Surprise snow has kept us mostly off piste and has provided some epic days for our guests from Banff.  We had 50cm’s on the 12th and another sneaky 50cm’s a few days ago even though there was only a few cm’s at the chalet.  Runs down to Verwall and Langen from Stuben have been as good as they get and we even skied a new run for me from Zurs to Stuben which was also memorable.  The Banff crew has been thrilled by the variety of terrain and the quality of snow and have stamped their approval enthusiastically.  Their spirit has certainly showed this during apres ski!

Maaike has made some great meals in such as cheese fondue and Spaghetti Bolognese.  It has been quiet and cozy and comfortable after some the storm of apres!

Easter week is still available so please inquire if you’d like to come experience the Arlberg.!

Kind regards,

R&M

Breakfast table set for Christmas morning.

Gail, Jack and Maaike ready to ski powder down to Verwall from the top of Maroi.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from Chalet Rafalt!  It has been a great holiday season in St. Anton with friends and families celebrating from all around the world.  Christmas day was a warm and beautiful day and gave the chance to thaw out after a very cold few weeks to start December.  The slopes were filled with skiers dressed as Santa Claus and wearing elf hats which added to the spirit.

December 28th brought a late Christmas gift of 39cm’s overnight which put skiers back into deep powder off piste.

There were all sorts of parties for the new year and new year’s day.  We were in Petteneu with our guests on the 31st and had a fantastic night filled with a great fondue, music and dancing.  It was a different perspective to watch the midnight fireworks as we looked back up the valley towards St Anton at the thousands of colourful explosions lighting up the night.  On New Year’s day we joined our guests at the Hospiz for a truly rocking party with a very talented band from Vienna who has preformed there on the 1st for the last 15 years.  They had the crowed dancing on the benches and bottles of champagne and red wine littered the tables as people started their 2013 off with a bang!  It is quite the spectacle to see the Hospiz doing its best impression of Apres ski at the Krazy Kanguruh and made for a memorable afternoon!

All the best for 2013!  We hope for snow and happiness for all of you and hope to see you this season!

Kind regards,

R&M

Super quality powder and blue skies.

Schindler chutes looking prime.

Langen forest in great condition!

Clouds lifting in Sonnenkopf.

Sunset view from the chalet.

Fantastic skiing on a daily basis since the lifts opened on December 6th is the story from early season in St. Anton.  There have been no lift lines, almost daily snowfalls, deep snow, plenty of faceshots and smiling faces over the last two weeks.  The coverage over the Arlberg is great for this time of year and we are skiing classic runs such as Stuben to Langen and Schindler Kar all the way down to happy valley.  The lift company is set to open Rendl tomorrow and things are in great shape for all Christmas holiday makers who will be arriving this weekend.  We are thrilled to have the Gower clan back at the chalet and will be again taking lessons from Jack and Rory on how to go fast!  It is shaping up to be another super winter in St Anton so please get in touch if you would like to join in the action this season!

Kind regards,

R&M

Krampalar night on Dec 5th.

Another large overnight snowfall in the car park of the chalet.

Thomas enjoying great early season snow.

Martin trying to hide from the camera!

It has been a great opening in St. Anton.  The Krampalar night on Dec 5th is a tradition that features some incredible costumes and  masks that take up to a year to make.  There is a parade down the main street complete with back firing tractor’s, torches and stilt walking.  The Krampalar’s also whip and scare people as they make the way to the finale which involves a firework display.

The snow has continued almost non-stop since Dec 2nd and we are in currently back in a north westerly pattern of weather which is bringing lots of snow and cold temperatures to the mountains and village.  St. Anton is looking picture – postcard perfect with everything blanketed in white.  Most of the lift system is open now with Schindler and Kapall being be the most recent.  The skiing has been consistently incredible since the lifts opened and this week is promising more of the same.  At the chalet we have the last week of March and first week of April available so come get into the action!

Kind regards,

R&M

Martin getting into the low density 100cm of Arlberg Fluff. This is what is waiting on the mountain when the lifts start tomorrow!

Looking out the back of the chalet. This was brown on Dec 2nd. Winter is back in St. Anton

Winter has returned to St. Anton this week.  We have received between 60-80cm at the chalet and Galzig station is now reading 104cm.  We took a quick tour on Galzig and found exceptionally deep powder skiing!  It is going to be a fantastic start tomorrow when the lifts open.  There are three weeks available still for the winter 12/13 and we would certainly love the opportunity to host you!  Fingers and toes crossed for lots of days like this!

Blue Osthang ready to go!

Martin opening up Bachside for the 2012/13 season.

A solid 30cm in St Christoph.

I arrived in St Anton on November 28th.  Lake Louise was firing on all cylinders and it was hard to say goodbye to great friends and deep powder.  Thankfully this post is made with a big smile from ear to ear after today! St Anton received a decent amount of snow at the beginning of the week and we decided to take a walk up to the top of Galzig and see how things were looking.  I am pleased to report that we skied boot deep snow all day down bachside and the coverage was between 40 and 70cm.  With lots of snow in the forecast and my wife on the way things are looking great for early December!