After two days of storm skiing at Warth and Damüls with little or no visibility, today was payback. I went to Brandnertal -- a Vorarlberg ski area located between the two large regions I'm visiting: Bregenzerwald and Montafon -- on a beautiful sunny day with plenty of off-piste powder from the past 48 hours.
As I understand it, the Panoramabahn tram was completed in 2009, joining two separate ski areas, Brand and Bürserberg, in a valley just a few minutes from the city of Bludenz. From an infrastructure point of view, they couldn't be any different. Bürserberg's lifts are all older fixed-grip chairs, while Brand has a number of high-speed lifts. I started the day on a Bürserberg chair that screamed "early 1970s" and got me right in the mood for a family place that's completely off the beaten path, but only a few minutes from the Autobahn.
I eventually made it to the top lift and saw a nice entrance to the skier's left. The top part was tracked, but deep:
Then I traversed further left:
After lapping that twice, it was time for lunch.
The next table over was a group of Italians who looked like they'd just left a photo shoot.
A couple sinful desserts:
Including my personal favorite, Kaiserschmarrn:
The Vorarlberg flag on the way back to my skis:
And I headed back to Bürserberg.
As I understand it, the Panoramabahn tram was completed in 2009, joining two separate ski areas, Brand and Bürserberg, in a valley just a few minutes from the city of Bludenz. From an infrastructure point of view, they couldn't be any different. Bürserberg's lifts are all older fixed-grip chairs, while Brand has a number of high-speed lifts. I started the day on a Bürserberg chair that screamed "early 1970s" and got me right in the mood for a family place that's completely off the beaten path, but only a few minutes from the Autobahn.
I eventually made it to the top lift and saw a nice entrance to the skier's left. The top part was tracked, but deep:
Then I traversed further left:
After lapping that twice, it was time for lunch.
The next table over was a group of Italians who looked like they'd just left a photo shoot.
A couple sinful desserts:
Including my personal favorite, Kaiserschmarrn:
The Vorarlberg flag on the way back to my skis:
And I headed back to Bürserberg.