The last couple of weeks have seen temperatures in resort rise well above freezing, and many days of glorious sunshine. Indeed on several occasion I have been able to wander about in town in just a t-shirt. Consequently, as March begins, many uncharacteristic barren patches have started to appear both in town and to the side of the piste. Places in town, previously covered in snow, are now rather less picturesque barren patches of pavement and rock.

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The past week in resort has been by far the busiest of the season. For holiday makers half term is by far the most expensive time of the season to book a ski holiday. Over the week almost every bed in town was booked out as families flooded into resort in great numbers looking to avoid an ironically snowy British winter.

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Two weeks ago in St Anton a 62 year old ski instructor, Peter Reigel, died in an avalanche, whilst guiding an off-piste lesson. He and his group had tracked up well away from the beaten path in search of fresh powder, a couple of days after a huge snow dump. Although he had been off-piste many times, and was carrying with him the right equipment, this was not enough to save him. Many of the group he went out with, although not inexperienced off-skiers, were, apparently, not fully aware of how to use much of the avalanche rescue gear.

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Having spent the large majority of this season in St Anton, a resort with a reputation for both challenging skiing and lively après ski, when visiting Kaprun for a week I was fairly apprehensive as to how it would match up on both these fronts. Having blogged last week on the skiing in the Europa sport region, which did not disappoint, this week it is time to compare the après options in both towns.

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When given the chance to visit another resort and a different ski area for a week, I immediately jumped at the chance. In recent weeks slight cabin fever has started to set in, having been in St Anton for over two months and the opportunity to experience a new town and ski some different runs seemed like the perfect cure.

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I woke up this morning to overcast, dark skies above St Anton and snow pouring down. In short, it really wasn’t the greatest skiing weather, and today started to seem like it might be a wasted day spent inside. It was only when the man in the ski/board rental shop offered to lend me a board for a day that I sensed that the day might not be such a waste after all. Initially, I was fairly apprehensive, though the opportunity to spend all day outside, albeit, on the nursery slopes seemed better than the alternative, staying inside.

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St Anton, as well as being famous for its wide ranging ski area is well known for its lively après-ski soon. Having now been out here for over six weeks, I finally feel qualified to give an overview, albeit brief of the numerous après ski options that give St Anton this reputation.

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New Year's Eve back home is perhaps the biggest night of the year. In St Anton it is no different. Most of the bars in town charge admission prices to get in. This can range from €90 for the Ibiza imitation style Picadillys (to keep away seasonairres) to €20 for quite a few bars including the English run Scottys and Cuba. As a result of this, we all decided to spend the night wandering the streets of the St Anton (with a few beers in our pockets). This was absolutely fantastic fun. The streets were packed with friendly people, especially when the clock struck midnight, as many of the bars force people outside to watch the numerous firework displays that go on all over the town.

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It is a strange feeling waking up on Christmas day in a foreign place far away from all your family and friends. Everybody back home always hopes and dreams of the clichéd white Christmas. Spending Christmas 2009 in a ski resort, I expected nothing less, and this idea proved some consolation.

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Saturday and Sunday in St Anton saw two massive slope side parties to celebrate the opening of the main Nasserein lift as well as the opening of many of the runs lower down the resort. This has meant that for the first time this season the resort is now nearing capacity. The bars and restaurants are now noticeably more packed and there are more people milling around in the town during the day.

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After almost two weeks out in the Alps, today was the first chance that I got to go skiing. Despite last night’s opening night parties, I got up at just before 9 to collect my skis and headed up the mountain for my first run of the season.

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Thinking of the Alps at the end of November automatically evokes images of skiers, boarders and snowy landscapes. So when I arrived on a cold Friday evening in England for a twenty-hour coach journey out to the resort of Argentière, in the shadow of Mont Blanc, it was this mental picture that I was using to get myself through the journey.

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