Steiermark

March is shaping up to be a veritable winter month and there's plenty more to come on top of the existing base as Ullr is working overtime on the atmospheric machine. The only fly in the ointment is the significantly higher snow line than recently.

While I was sitting on the plane, Ullr thought to himself: "Oh, skiing with a base like this is nicer, I'll send a load right after. And to make sure I surprise everyone, I'll put more pressure on the models.

The long awaited and since at least last week hyped northern storm has arrived. My colleague Orakel has already summarized the practical information (short version: in the east - Salzburg/STMK area - it looks best in terms of amounts and base, it will be very windy), so we are less concerned with the result of the current weather situation and more with its general structure.

When Ullr orders a Melange and a snowfall for five euros for the bus driver at the tobacconist, you know that it will only snow in the east of Austria.

The Bikepark Planai is home to one of the World Cup downhill routes in Austria. But the small Styrian town at the foot of the Dachstein also has plenty to offer bikers away from the 1000-metre downhill route. Together with the guys from the WS crew, we tried to find out whether the bike offer has the same potential as the World Ski Championship-proven winter sports offer.

First published in 2014, the Rother ski touring guide "Obersteiermark" from the mountain publishing house of the same name presents 50 tours in Styria - from the Salzkammergut to the Hochschwab region. In addition to popular tours, the book also includes some lesser-known routes. The different landscapes offer a wide variety of options for ski tours, from leisurely tours to challenging day trips.

Okay... I have good news and bad news. You want it like in the action movie? The bad news first?

Ullr has a heart for the East and before it gets really warm for a few days, he really covers the almost Polish-Russian areas of the Eastern Alps.

What does a true freerider want from her favorite? Right – fresh pow. And what does Ullr give us? Nordstau and fresh powder.

After the previous northern accumulation remained just under a meter, and thus only met my standard values of 50-100 cm, it's now starting again! Snow will start falling again from central Switzerland to the east this afternoon. The snow line will remain in the lower powder regions and the amounts will be huge in the east.

I'm barely back from Valais and I'm already here to tell you about Ullr's new presents. Here we go again. This time, please be surprised, again in the north. But, and this is different, the massive traffic jam also extends to the east. So, dear Styrians and Salzburgers: you too can expect a big packet in addition to the usual suspects from the north.

The Tauern highway marks the eastern end of the Alps. At least that's what many freeriders from Germany, Switzerland or even Scandinavia think. Only the very daring venture a few kilometers further east from there to satisfy their addiction on the slopes of salt mines. But beyond that, the wide, wild east really begins. Some even believe that the mountain ranges of this largely unknown region already belong to the Balkans. But what does it really look like beyond this ominous "border"? As a native of this area (which long ago formed the heartland of a country called Kakania, a fact that the region still can't quite hide today), I would like to contribute a little to the clarification of this ski-geographical no man's land and pay tribute to its characteristics from a freeriding perspective in the form of a small photo reportage.