The Altitude Comedy Festival is returning to Mayrhofen in Austria in 2014 with a larger line-up than ever. The big draw this year is John Bishop, who has previously appeared at Altitude both as a rising star and again in 2013 as a conquering hero. Bishop will be starting his new UK tour in Autumn 2014, dates here, so this may be a chance to get a sneak preview of some of the material he will be airing in arenas in his new show. A new Altitude attraction is Irish superstar Tommy Tiernan, who has also just announced a run at the Soho Theatre from  January 20. The Altitude festival starts on March 31 and ends on April 4.

Further big names will be announced later this year and in the run-up but other names announced today include - hold the front page – some women. Last year's line-up was notable for the lack of female comedy talent, though the organisers said that they did try to book women. This year Nina Conti, Zoe Lyons, Luisa Omielan and Roisin Conaty will be heading out to Austria for comedy and possibly skiing too.

Also appearing are Altitude founders Andrew Maxwell and Marcus Brigstocke as well as Daniel Sloss, Terry Alderton, Craig Campbell, Benny Boot, Abandoman, Joel Dommett and many more. Fans can book all-in packages including travel, accommodation and gig tickets or they can make their own way out there and buy tickets for individual shows or for the whole festival. 

Full line-up and booking details here. If you want a flavour of what makes Altitude so special here is our report from last year's event and here are some pictures.