Snow cover in April

Mother Hulda sends us one last white greeting

The Waldschenke on the Sternstein (900m) was snowed in(Bild: Bergfex.at)

As soon as the season is over, it snows heavily once again. Of course, nobody in the ski resorts thinks about opening the lifts again. The white splendor that people have been hoping for all winter is now standing in the way of extensive preparations for the summer season.

Thick snow and winter landscapes wherever you look: This was the picture presented to the webcams in Upper Austrian ski resorts and at higher altitudes in the Mühlviertel region on Thursday morning. Some places, such as Bad Leonfelden, were also covered in a continuous layer of snow in the morning.

Beautiful appearances
But appearances are deceptive: "Even if it looks like deep winter again now, the snow is not suitable for skiing," says Helmut Holzinger, Director of the Hinterstoder-Wurzeralm cable cars. "There is a lack of base, and the snow will probably not last very long at lower altitudes." At the top, at 1800 to 2000 meters, there is still more than enough snow with 100 to 150 centimeters, which has been holding the fort since the beginning of December, but to get there, you first have to overcome the snow-poorer layers. Opening the ski lifts again now would be unthinkable.

There has been plenty of fresh snow on the Hochficht again since Thursday...(Bild: Bergfex.at)

...while on February 18, skiers were skiing in the green.(Bild: Schütz Markus)

Not safe
"The slopes may look good, but they are unprepared and even dangerous: there may be stones or holes hidden under the thin layer of snow," says Holzinger. He advises against ski tours on your own.

Great effort
Apart from that, the guest workers have been signed off since the end of the season, snow grooming equipment has been mothballed and the permanent staff are already in the middle of preparing for the rapidly approaching summer season. In this respect, the white blanket that the lift operators had hoped for all winter is now even hindering operations: "We have to wait until the snow has melted before we can open the hiking and cycling trails or downhill trails," says Holzinger. "After all, we can't attract hikers up the mountain just so that they sink into the snow at the top."