Whats New in the Austrian Tirol for 2012-13

The Austrian Tirol region saw some September snow and the glacier ski resorts on the Stubai and Pitztal will opened at the end of September. Kaunertal and Sölden open in October.

The new Ski Jewel ski area, connecting the Alpbach and Wildschönau valleys, will open this winter and there are new hotels in St Anton, East Tirol and Kappl. Excitingly, there are new flights direct from Manchester to Innsbruck with Monarch Airlines. Getting to the Tirol has never been easier.

Ski Jewel shines brightly

After eleven years of planning, the Alpbach and Wildschönau valleys will be joined together to form the Ski Jewel ski area for the 2012-13 ski season. The joining of the two respected ski areas will offer 145 km of pistes served by 47 lifts. Combined with the existing Poeglbahn cable car from Inneralpbach, the new 8-person cable car to the Schatzberg on the Wildschönau side will cause the ‘Ski Jewel’ to enter the ‘Top Ten’ of Tirolean ski areas. The merging of these two ski areas is important for the survival of the smaller ski areas, as skiers are drawn increasingly by the attraction of large, modern and sustainable ski areas. A six day lift pass for ‘Ski Jewl’ will cost under €200 per person in high season.

New Wildspitze cable car and Austria’s Highest Cafe

Austria’s highest ski lift, the Pitz Panorama gondola, will be replaced by the new Wildspitze cable car from October 2012. The 8-person cable car will take skiers and boarders to the Hinterer Brunnenkogel at an altitude of 3340m in under 6 minutes; this is a ride of over2km. And for the more fragile of you, it has heated seats! At the top station is Austria’s highest cafe, with breathtaking views of the Wildspitze, Austria’s second highest mountain at 3774m and more than 50 surrounding Pitztal mountains over 3000m.

Monarch Introduces New Flights

Monarch Airlines has announced new winter routes for 2012-13 offering affordable alternatives for you to get to the Tirol. Direct flights from Manchester to Innsbruck will operate three times a week on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday, will commence on 13th December. Prices start from £34 one-way.

Monarch is also adding flights from Leeds-Bradford and Birmingham to Munich airport, serving the entire Tirol region, and from Birmingham to Friedrichshafen giving easy access to the resorts in the west of the Tirol including the Arlberg region and the Ischgl- Paznaun valley.

New Gradonna Mountain Resort Hotel in Grossglockner Kals-Matrei

Osttirol (East Tirol) is home to the Hohe Tauern National Park and the Großglockner resort of Kals-Matrei with 110km of pistes. The 4-star Gradonna Mountain Resort will open its doors on the 8th December. This hotel village resort is situated at the bottom of the slopes with superb views of the Großglockner, Austria’s highest mountain. A fusion of contemporary design and traditional elements, the hotel bedrooms are made of Zirben; Zirben is a stone pine reknowned for its therapeutic properties aimed at helping guests get a good night’s sleep.

New Zhero Fashion Luxury Hotel in Kappl

The Zhero Fashion Hotel will open in Kappl on 12th December, with 60 luxurious rooms, 9 suites, 5 penthouse suites and a large spa, beauty and fitness centre. Highly regarded as a family resort, Kappl sits in the Paznaun valley suiting those looking for a quieter alternative than its more famous big brother, Ischgl, without having to compromise on luxury or design.

Anthony’s Life & Style Hotel opens in St Anton

The four star Anthony’s Life & Style Hotel opens this season in St Anton’s pedestrian zone – literally just a stone’s throw from the lifts – and will be familiar to St Anton visitors who have already had a taste of what to expect at Anthony’s steak-house, cafe and bar. Sadly, Bar Platzl and the Funky Chicken had to give way for the new development and no longer exist, while Pizza Pomodoro has been relocated to the opposite side of the street.

News from The Ski Holiday Companies

VIP SKI has added St Anton to their portfolio for winter 2012-13. The super-stylish Hotel Montjola, the second hotel added to the impressive list of VIP Ski chalets, has undergone an overhaul during the summer by a team of interior designers to give it that special VIP twist.

Inghams will launch a brand new chalet development In St Anton in December this year. Built specially for Inghams, the new stylish mountain lodge complex is made up of the Chalet Albona, Rendl, Gampen and Kapall, named after the surrounding ski area’s famous peaks. The style is smart and contemporary, with attractive open-plan living areas, sleeping up to 10 guests. Inghams is also introducing ski holidays to the resort of Neustift in the Stubai Valley, with prices starting from £695 per person at the four star Hotel Berghof.

Neilson has introduced a range of Snow Skills Freestyle Courses for adults and teenagers at the Vans Penken Snow Park in Mayrhofen. In association with SnowSkool, the 6-day intermediate level freestyle camps will include evening seminars covering board prep, biomechanics, video analysis and more. Camps will be taught by a fully qualified BASI freestyle coach, with some camps led by a former TeamGB freestyler Voted the best Snowpark in Europe in 2011, the Vans Penken Snow Park, has six different lines to suit all riders – there’s the Kids Area, Fun Area, Medium Area, Advanced Area, Pro Area and the half pipe. Adult courses run 15th December 2012 and 19th & 26th January 2013. Teen (age 9 – 16) courses run on 16th February and 30th March 2013.

Ski Club Freshtracks has introduced an Austrian Off Piste Weekend in Fieberbrunn. Fieberbrunn is famed for hosting the Swatch Freeride World Tour in March and boasts an enviable amount of freeride terrain and some of the best snow records in the Kitzbuheler Alps: one of the best-kept secrets in Tirol.

Ski Total catered chalet specialists have added Chalet Frieda to its St Anton portfolio and family ski specialists

Esprit has added Chalet Markus in St Anton. One welcome addition to all their properties will be FREE Wifi and free private group transfers for big groups.

Crystal Ski offers free lift pass for children up to 15 in all resorts of the Ski Welt (Söll, Ellmau, Scheffau, Westendorf and Hopfgarten) and a new flight from Liverpool to Salzburg for resorts in the east of Tirol. For more information visit www.crystalski.com

Altitude Comedy Festival back in Mayrhofen

The Altitude Comedy Festival is back in Mayrhofen and the dates have been confirmed from 18th-22nd March 2013. Last year’s stellar line-up included Jimmy Carr, Frankie Boyle, Kevin Bridges, Tim Minchin, Milton Jones, Sgt Motormouth Jones (from Police Academy), Rufus Hound, Marcus Brigstocke to name just a few. The full line-up for 2013 to be announced soon and tickets will be available from the Altitude Festival website.

Create your own Ski Movie in St. Johann

This winter the Snowpark in St. Johann in Tirol will be maintained and professionally shaped by QParks, Europe’s largest operator of snowparks. The snowpark will be created with boxes, kickers and jumps for beginners to advanced, as well as a boarder cross with waves and steep turns. The brand new ski movie route means you can swipe your ski pass card, film your best bits and then check out the results on the www.skiline.cc.

For more information on the Tirol region visit www.visittirol.co.uk or keep updated at www.facebook.com/visittirol