Austrian Alps - Information

The Austrian Alps are Europe's major range of mountains, spanning from the Mediterranean coast of France via Switzerland, N Italy and Austria to Slovenia. A considerable area of Austria is part of this mountain range, accordingly hiking, skiing, snowboarding and cross-country skiing rate highly among Austrian's favourite pastimes.

The clean air, spectacular sights, lakes and glaciers and well-tended trails and hikes contribute to the Alps allure and attract numerous tourists and visitors. The Alps flora and fauna is unique as well: the Edelweiss, Austria's national flower, and Gentian ('Enzian') may be rare, but they have shaped the world’s image of Austria and the Alps. Local animals such as chamois, marmots and ibexes are well adapted to the alpine habitat.

Would you fancy a Snowboarding trip to Austria? The Arlberg region has an interconnected lift system linking the four major resorts of Lech, St. Christoph, Zurs and St. Anton. The trails of the Arlberg region are mostly big, rolling slopes above the tree line. St Anton is the largest of the four with 260 kilometers of variable terrain and is particularly satisfying for snowboarders.

Ruapehu New Zealand

In the centre of the North Island of New Zealand you will find three volcanoes that rise up out of the centre of the island plateau. Mt Ruapehu, New Zealand is the southern most of these three volcanos. Mount Ruapehu, New Zealand has three ski areas. The two main areas Whakapapa on the north-western side and Turoa on the southern side of the volcano join together for marketing purposes as 'Ruapehu'. These fields are found in New Zealand's Tongariro National Park.

Whakapapa is New Zealand's largest and busiest ski area. On Mount Ruapehu, New Zealand you will find unpredictable and rapidly-changing weather conditions. The field has an array of bluffs and drop offs which can be tricky in the white out conditions experienced at times on the mountain. Higher parts of the mountain have easier areas to ski on than lower level parts of the mountain.

Turoa on the south western side of the mountain shares the same lift pass as Whakapapa and has Australasia's biggest vertical drop (720m) when all parts of the field are open. Turoa can be an extremely cold place to ski. I have done most of my New Zealand skiing in the South Island and could not believe how cold it was skiing at Turoa when I went there. We had to stop at one of the chair stations going down the field to warm up going down.

There is no easy skiable access between the two fields.