Euros and Luckiest Americans Get Their Glacier Fixes in the Alps

‘Tis the season for training on a glacier, if you have the means and want to practice your on-snow technique before winter begins. Teams from around the world are converging on permanent snow – and some glaciers are now getting fresh dustings of the white stuff to make skiing even nicer.

If you can’t get there yourself, here are some photos and blogs to help you at least visualize real snow as you chug through the last few months of dryland training, in eager anticipation of the winter race season.

Ramsau

There were fears that the European glaciers wouldn’t provide good skiing this year, thanks to a brutal heat wave that rolled across the central part of the continent. In July, temperatures weren’t falling below zero even at night on the glaciers, and daytime temperatures led to a lot of melting and slush.

Despite those scares, many of the glaciers are providing skiing this autumn with no problem at all. Austrian athletes have the easiest access to the Dachstein glacier outside of Ramsau, where you can train at almost 9,000 feet for large parts of the traditional dryland season. It’s probably the most popular glacier destination for fall training.

#trainingscamp #dachstein #blacksnow #winteriscomingsoon #lovemysport 💖🌞❄

A photo posted by Julia Pfennich (@_julypfennich_) on Oct 9, 2015 at 11:07am PDT

The Austrians are lucky to have Dachstein in their backyard, but lots of other skiers travel farther to get to the Dachstein. Vermont’s Craftsbury Green Racing Project hit up the trails in mid-September. Photos from Caitlin Patterson’s blog and Ida Sargent’s blog show tiny skiers meandering through the snow, dwarfted by the giant cliffs of the Alps.

Although…. the weather isn’t always perfect, as these German skiers demonstrate in a video…

Langlauf auf dem Dachstein 🎿🙈 #NordicCombined #Training #Crosscountry #Dachstein #Ramsau #Winter #Wasserski A video posted by Clint (@dominik_schwaar) on Oct 7, 2015 at 3:25am PDT

Alexander Legkov, the Russian ski star, also arrived recently to train.

Russian biathlon World Champion Ekaterina Yurlova was there, too:

#dachstein #Ramsau #Austria #snow #winterseason #ski #enjoy #sun 🇦🇹☀️

A photo posted by Ekaterina Yurlova (@yurlovaeka) on Oct 9, 2015 at 2:40am PDT

  And so is Ski Classics pro Oskar Svärd of Sweden, a three-time winner of the Vasaloppet:  

Vissa dagar är filter överflödigt… Skip Nutrition mot nya höjder (2700möh). En bra kombo med Toko! Vätska är viktigt på hög höjd och behövligt på 3h tur! #Ramsau #Dachstein #skipnutrition #trimtex #toko #swix #atomic #Bliz #lillsport #uswe #centralen #doidea #ålandsbanken #Tvärredsif #lycklig A photo posted by Oskar Svärd (@oskarsvard1) on Oct 12, 2015 at 4:14am PDT

And here’s the Italian biathlon team enjoying the sun.

☀️🎿

A photo posted by DORO (@dorothea_wierer) on Oct 1, 2015 at 3:02am PDT

That makes for an extremely international atmosphere with dozens or even a hundred skiers on the tracks at a time, from all different countries and focusing on all different types of racing. In the afternoons, running, biking, rollerskiing, and hiking are beautiful options for training in the valley below.

Stelvio

  #Skiordie på Stelviobreen med @tim.kent #finito #pizzatime #vinotinto #zweiespressobitte #skarven2016   A photo posted by Eivin Rundberg (@eivinr) on Sep 25, 2015 at 8:01am PDT

Passo dello Stelvio in Italy has seen quite a lot of visitors too. If you want to learn more about the glacier’s history as a ski destination, read this piece by FS Editor-at-Large Chelsea Little: “Summer Ski Odyssey Reveals Decaying Dreams in Italy.”

Luckily, in the autumn Stelvio looks a little hipper than in the hot, hot summer, although the glacier is still a bit dirty from the melting that happened during the heat wave. The Green Mountain Valley School has photos of bluebird days and crisp corduroy from their trip in early September, where they shared the tracks with Norwegian superstar Petter Northug, as well as the Italian national team. Read their blog posts to see the scene: Day 1 / Day 2

And here’s Noah Hoffman’s blog from a quick visit he did to Stelvio in early September as well.

Helt innafor på Stelvio ☀️ #16°C #stekendesol #3300mOverhavet #stelvio #ski #snø A photo posted by Krister Saastad (@kristersaastad) on Sep 26, 2015 at 7:09am PDT

Stelvio has the big benefit of bording on Stelvio National Park, which provides beautiful nature and trails off the glacier. The pass itself has 48 hairpin turns on the northern side, and 27 on the other side. That’s a big draw for cyclists and drivers. The pass has served as the finish for multiple Giro d’Italia stages through the years.

Val Senales

Meanwhile, Maxim Vylegzhanin of Russia is at another Italian glacier: the Schnalstal in Val Senales, nestled up to the Austrian border.

  Началась лыжная подготовка. Сезон совсем скоро. #лыжныегонки #сборнаяроссии #глетчер #fischer #fischerski #alpina_ski_boots #swix #adidas #adidasxcski #адидас #ижкомбанк #фармаимпекс #МВЕУ #Мегастрой   A photo posted by Максим Вылегжанин (@max_vylegzhanin) on Oct 8, 2015 at 10:46pm PDT

The glacier opened for fall training on September 25^th and has seen lots of skiing since then. At 10,500 feet, skiers can peer into Austria as they traverse the six kilometers of tracks. It’s a bit quieter and less-known than Stelvio as an Italian ski destination. But as with most of the other spots, running through forests and around lakes is ideal afternoon training in the valley below.

Hardt å være skiløper på SVGS😩😰👎 #skolebenken #ThorHansenlegende #Thorsdisipler #thuglife #langrenn #fischer #swixsport A photo posted by Vebjørn Hegdal (@vebjornhegdal) on Oct 5, 2015 at 12:47pm PDT

Tignes

How great is the sun in the French Alps? Elisa Brocard, an Italian sprinter, demonstrates with a smile:

  Prima sciata! Che spettacolo!! 😎🎿☀️#Tignes @sportful #saliceocchiali @fischersports_nordic #csesercito @hautesavoienordic_team   A photo posted by @elibroc on Oct 11, 2015 at 9:34am PDT

Tignes was the venue for freestyle skiing at the 1992 Albertville Olympics, but up high sits a glacier that can be used for all types of snow sports in the shoulder season. The Haute Savoie nordic team has video of the beginning of the ski season in Tignes on the Grande Motte glacier.

With the ski area’s webcam, you can even see skiers on the chairlift.

Yesterday conditions were perfect:

#rossignol#skicountry#fis#tignes#settimanatop Grazie Asiva del supporto, come ritornare ai vecchi tempi.. 💪🔝👍

A photo posted by Francois Vierin (@francoisvierin) on Oct 11, 2015 at 3:13am PDT

Tignes, too, is next to a superb park: the Parc National de la Vanoise.

Which one of these spots will you picture as you’re SkiErging?