When the days get longer and warmer, but we still don't want to put our skis in the cellar, it's usually about finding a ski resort that offers runs in as many exposures as possible. And one of the areas that offers ideal terrain for this is Lech-Zürs on the Arlberg. Reason enough for us to head to the Arlberg in mid-April for a firn session, which at times even turned into a powder session.
Powder and firn - spring skiing at its best
From the Rüfikopf, we traverse as high as possible to make full use of the slopes down to the Trittalplift. The Americans would call the light layer of firn on a hard surface "creamy powder"; easy to ski and really fun. After a short snack in the sun, the northern slopes into the Paziel valley are on the agenda. As we traverse into the slope and feel fluffy powder under our boards, we can hardly believe it. We turn around on the spot, shoulder our skis and climb up for a few minutes to enjoy this powder slope in its entirety. We have a similar experience in the afternoon on the slopes to the right and left of the Rinderhütten route. Pure powder snow in April. Elated by the almost perfect April conditions, we end the day with a beer in the sun. Sunday morning it's snowing as we watch the camera on TV. Of course, that can't stop us from putting on our skis. By lunchtime, a good eight centimetres of fresh snow had already fallen and the flakes were still falling thickly from the sky, so we let it go. We'd rather save our energy for tomorrow. Thanks to the fresh snow, a few more dream ski days should be waiting for us in Lech. The lifts on the Arlberg are still open until April 25.