And then there was SNOW!!! After LONG a week of rain in Aviano, we decided to head back up to the mountains to check out the fresh powder in Austria. On the road by 7am on Friday morning (we had the day off for a family day), we hit the Autostrata and met our ski pals at the first AutoGrill past the Gemona exit. After a nice breakfast of cappucino, hot chocolate and pastries we passed by a display of crazy wigs by the exit and decided what fun it would be to ski in costume. And so.....we each bought a crazy 70's wig to mark a memorable occasion. Shortly after leaving the AutoGrill we hit more SNOW. SNOW everywhere! Feet and feet of fluffy white stuff where ever you looked. I started to worry....not going to be much fun skiing in a blizzard. Zip assured me that whenever we ski with Ryan and Jaime the skys seem to clear and the day turns out perfect. And he was right....AGAIN. Close to our destination, we emerged from a tunnel and we seemed to enter an entirely different world. Blue sky, lots of snow on the ground and COLD COLD temperatures. Around 10:30 we arrive in Flachau, search out the gondola and prepare for a fun day on the slopes. First thing we notice, Andrew's ski boots are a size larger than normal. 23, the same size Katie wears. They seem to be ok, but he complains with every step they are too big and heavy. This is going to be an interesting day....better start it off right with a shot of Pear Grappa: 
Flachau is rated as one of the top ski resorts in Austria with over 31 ski lifts and 111 kms of runs. 26km of blue, 74 km of red and 11 km of black. Take a look at their run map: 
Our first run down the mountain turns out to be a little rough. It's cold. I mean REALLY cold. The snow making machines are on blowing snow in our face at every corner. The base of the runs are a solid sheet of ice, covered with mogles of fresh ungroomed powder. Not my idea of a fun day. To top it off, Andrew is falling about every two minutes and complaining about his boots. Most of the runs are red, so it takes us a bit of time to manuever down the icy hill, but we finally make it to the bottom. We find a ski shop, rent a new set of boots for Andrew in a smaller size and trade Jaime's 150's in for 130's. Now that everyone is comfortable with their equipment again, we start back up the gondola and decide it's time to eat since it's 1pm. Outdoor seating, downwind from the snow blower. HA! No problem finding a table here, so we sit down and enjoy a juicy grilled pork steak with bread and french fries. Just to give you an idea about how cold it was on the mountain. Before we could finish eating, the french fries FROZE!! 
 
After lunch, we decide to take the chair lift to the very top of the mountain. What a mistake!!! It wasn't long before we realized just how COLD it was. The lift wasn't enclosed and it seemed to take forever to reach the top. The wind was blowing and I could feel the moisture inside my nose beginning to freeze! Little chards of frozen ice/snow seemed to be blowing everywhere. Realistically it had to be well below zero, conditions we rarely experience skiing in the Alps. When we finally exit the lift and seem to ski into some strange sub zero Artic place. Frigid wind blowing powder everywhere. We started down the hill and I fell. Didn't take long to get up, but my hands seemed to instantly go numb. This was not my idea of fun, at all.....Zip helped me up and warmed my hands and it didn't take long to reach the restaurant we had eaten at just a few minutes before. Katie was waiting for us there and she was crying, complaining about her frozen hands. We finally reached the bottom again and Jaime, Katie and I decide to warm up at the indoor bar and enjoy a hot chocolate and some Gluwine (hot wine) while Ryan, Zip and Andrew took another run down the mountain. 
The guys had a great run and took advantage of the free time to jump and play in the snow. Check out Andrew covered in powder: 
Initially, our plan was to spend the night in Flachau and ski on Saturday as well, however after a not so great skiing experience we decided to head back towards Italy and try a location on the Austria/Italy border. We arrive in the Hermagor/Tropolach area around 7pm and search for well over an hour for a suitable place to stay. Maybe not such a great idea to look for a room at last minute since this current dump of snow was the first in a long time. Everything was booked up that was in a reasonable price range, so we ended up staying at a little pension in the center of Hermagor about 10 minute drive from the mountain. What a find! What looked like a little hole in the wall from the outside turned out to be great accomodations. 100 Euro for the night for the 4 of us. A big room with breakfast included and the most comfortable beds I have ever slept in ANYWHERE! Some pictures of our room and the pension....     
By the time we got checked in and changed, it was about 8:30 and the pension restaurant had already closed for the night. Austrians eat a little earlier than Italians, but luckily we found a terrific local restaurant still open about two doors down with typical food from the area. The six of us ate several courses with wine and drinks and the bill only came to 80 Euro. Not bad! I had a bowl of tomato soup with mozarella cubes, something that looked like pierogies with mashed potatoes covered in a butter sauce and a salad of cabbage, tomato and cucumber. Different, but good. The next morning we woke up around 8am and enjoyed a typical European breakfast of cold cuts, fresh cheese, yogurt, cereals and breads with a nice cup of cappucino and then made our way over to Tropolach to begin our day of skiing at Nassfeld Ski Arena. By the time we reached the parking lot, it was about 10am and they were already directing cars into the last parking lot! I guess this shouldn't have been too big of a surprise since all the rooms in town were full. Not wanting to walk quite that far, we drove around and found a parking place along a side road, not far from the lift. Check out the snow! It was about 3 feet deep next to the car....  
Nassfeld is another popular ski resort in Austria with about 30 lifts and about 110km of runs. 30 km of blue, 60 of red and 20 of black. Check out the runs... 
Knowing Andrew's boots were too big, we rented smaller boots before starting our day and we also invested in some glove and boot warmers. I was skeptical at first, but the $12 investment seemed to pay off because no one complained at all about being too cold. Zip also took this opportunity to try something new and rented a pair of Blades for the day. (short 100 skis, good for quick turns and playing around....) 
The weather on top of the mountain during the morning and early afternoon was a bit crazy. Visibility was poor, it was snowing and the wind was blowing like a hurricane. In fact, the entire top portion of runs were a giant mogle field. The wind was blowing amazingly hard, I was able to ski straight into the wind without gaining speed! Around 1pm, we found a nice little restaurant on the top of the hill for lunch and had great Schnitzel & fries. Thank goodness they didn't freeze while we were eating today! 
  
A few pictures on the slope.... 
Just to give you an idea of how hard the wind was blowing....check out the trays and dinnerware on the snow! 
This was our last round of grappa before heading down our final run which was 8km long (roughly 5 miles) with the slopes getting progressively more difficult right until the end! | 
Premium
