The Stubai Glacier in the Austrian Tirol is the latest to announce its opening for the 2013-14 ski season, this Friday, 20 September 2013. There’s currently a 20cm base on the glacier with recent falls of 10cm and 5cm of fresh snow in the past week.
It joins the Pitztal glacier which opened last weekend (And reports 16cm in the past 24 hours, a foot in the past week), the Molltal glacier which opened in the summer and the year round Hintertux ski area as the fourth area open in Austria.
With only two areas open in Switzerland (Saas Fee and Zermatt) and one in Italy (Passo Stelvio), and none elsewhere in Europe or north America, that’s believed to be more than the rest of the northern hemisphere put together at present.
The Stubai will be offering skiing on the Windach and Eisjochferner glaciers accessed by the 6-seater Eisgrat gondolas I and II, the 8-person Schaufeljoch gondola, the Windachferner T-bar and the Eisjoch II drag. Three runs will be open Eisjochferner Piste 1, Piste 1a Schaufelschuss and piste 6 Windachferner.
Stubai says it will open new runs later this winter including a new ski route “Bildstöckljoch” and five new ‘Department of Powder’ runs will be extended. There will also be a big new family fun slope on the Eisjochferner.
