First Trip Skiing in Soll: Some Feedback!

Arequipa

Hi! Last weekend I went for my first ski trip with 2 mates to Sol Austria.
I arrived in the airport for our flight to Munich. All was good until we realised the girl checked us in for the Frankfurt flight?WTF?! Through pure luck and lots of pleading, we managed to get oursleves and our bags onto the Munich flight. On arriving in Munich, we got the train for 2 hours approx and 15 minute taxi to our accomodation in Soll.
I was quite tired after work, mix up at airport etc!!
We walked around Soll which seemed really quiet. 4/5 big gangs of lads walking around;that's it!

Next day I arranged ski lessons. It took us over an hour to get all our skis,boots,poles etc together & eventually got to our instructor by 10.15! I went onto the nursery slope and tried my best;was good and enjoyable. After lunch we went up to the blues slopes (near Gerhard Berger's house?!!) I did well until about 3.30pm and then began to tire and fell quite a lot! My two other mates went down the red slopes. I met them at the bottom. One of my friends looked like he was going to have a heart attack;the slope scared the **** out of him. So we went into Moonlight for a few beers. I was tired and dehydrated, so went for lots of water and cordial. The lager on tap, wasn't the greatest! Moonlight was good fun; lots of drunk,sweaty, people drinking & dancing to very dodgy Euro Pop.
That night we had food and coupla beers; but found that the town was dead. And no ladies anywhere;2 of us are single so we were a bit disappointed!
Next couple of days we skied up blue and red slopes. We had lunch at the top of the mountain one day which was really nice.
Sunday night we had a huge pizza each. That night 2 of us got really bad food poisoning and/or the Soll vomitting bug, which the lady in the Pharmacy assured us was rife at the time. I was sick all night. The next day I had to lug all my sick friends ski gear back from Edinger's to town. Two of my friends stayed on because they were too sick to travel. I got taxi + 2 hours train + 2.5 hours flight home to Dublin. I was tired on arrival,but happy to be home.

The snow was poor in Soll; icy and all the hills around were green.

Overall, an interesting weekend, but will I ski again;........ Maybe?!!!!


Thanks for reading!


Arequipa..

Overflow

I wouldn't let one bad experience turn you off ever going skiing again.

1. Snow is never gauranteed
2. **** happens

I have had some amazing ski holidays and some **** ones, which included vomiting bugs, hardly any snow and injuries.

Either you like the skiing or you dont. Maybe skiing holidays are not for you.
If you do like it and got the skiing bug, then this holiday you had shouldn't stop you from going again.

If its the nightlife your after you should check out one of the more lively resorts, a bit of research into when the high seasons are (lots of people), snow history of the resort and what the apres ski is like, goes a long way. Also note that generally the busiest times in the pubs are between 4-8, Apres Ski. After that most people head back to bed to get up early the next day again. But most resorts do have loads of other late night clubs/pubs, just dont expect it to be like Temple Bar on a saturday night.

Try one of the bigger more lively resorts next time, Saalbach or St. Anton. You wont be disappointed with the nightlife there, or the lack of ladies.

Overflow

I also just noticed you went on a weekend, this is generally the quietest time because most people stay saturday to saturday, so most people are just leaving or getting ready to when you arrived.

Arequipa

Hey thanks for the reply!
I will heed your advice re nightlife!
Think the flight mess up & vomiting bugs were just bad luck; the next day I was so wasted & I had to lug all my own & my mates ski gear back to the shop in town; Jesus I am such a moan! I found the ski boots very heavy & restrictive walking around; putting my shoes on @ the end of the day was like walking on water!
Saw two people being helicoptered from mountain with fairly serious injuries; is a serious sport & I respect the skill involved a lot more now!
I was amazed by some of the kids over there; literally flying by big awkward me!

So overall a good experience & onwards from here!

Don't mean to be overly negative!!

Overflow

Yeah i would just put this trip down as experience, you will be more prepared for the next one and know what your looking for out of a resort.

Re the boots, a good tip is to rent a locker at one of the gondolas or near one, so when your day skiing is done, you can just ski down there, change your boots and leave them in the locker till the next morning. Saves you walking like Frankenstien all around town.

It is a dangerous sport and you will see a lot of people getting injured, its just gives you more respect for the mountain and other people around you. I have gone the past 4 years without any injuries, just a lot of sore muscles and bruises, which is normal

I'm glad your treating it as a positive experience, because once you get a good skiing trip under your belt you will be hooked for life. I cant recommend enough how good Saalbach is. If you can take a week there next year, go for it. Between now and the end of Feb are generally the best weeks to go !

bcirl03

Hi Arequipa, sorry to hear about your trip.

I feel so bad now as it was myself who gave you some pointers on Soll, how was the accommodation?

Please don’t let this one bad experience put you off as previous poster says once your hooked that’s it

I dont know

Has anyone any more encouraging stories about soll?? I'm heading there on saturday for a week with a group

Fattes

I don't know; Soll is the definitive Punters resort. Designed for first time skiers with loads of night life.

It is quite low and relies on snowmaking an awful lot of the time.

Arequipa I always find it hard to recommend Soll to people when they ask it is set up for apres more than ski.

bovril

I dont know wrote: »

Has anyone any more encouraging stories about soll?? I'm heading there on saturday for a week with a group

I was in Soll the past two years. Had the best holiday ever in 2009. 2010 we went late in feb and it was much quieter. Salvenstadl is main pub for apres ski. You can't miss the place. Rent a locker in Edingers or Stoll and you won't have to cart your gear around. The main nursery area is low down and the run is small which can be affected if the snow is bad but they'll progress you up to mid station usually after lunch on the first day or definately the 2nd day.

There's a great pizza place (can't remember the name) across from hotel austria in the town. Pizza is dirt cheap. The main club is the whisky muhle. It's not for me but it's usually hopping during the week. The bar Rossini wasn't popular the first year I went but was more popular last year. The regularily have bands on mid week.

If you've any other specifics ask away.

digger2d2

I've been skiing on and off for the last 25 years and was in Soll for the first time last year and am returning in February, so there's not a lot for high intermediate to expert on piste but there's fun to be had off piste and the Ski Welt is excellent for groups of mixed ability and for covering lots of KM's. I loved the Salven Stadl for Apres and the Sports Bar in the same building as the Whiskey Mhule was a really good bar apart from the night the reps and their guests do the pub crawl....:eek:

One of the things that struck me about the OP is that I always reckon a DIY trip is a bad idea unless you are a reasonably seasoned skier. There are lots of good package deals to be had and you can let someone else do the 'worrying' for you, for example, I did a Crystal plus to Alpe D'Huez last January for €499...This included flights, transfers, SC apartment, equipment hire and ski pass!!

Re; snow conditions, lots of the alps have struggled in the last 4 weeks and high temperatures have made it difficult/impossible for the snow cannons to operate....The last week has seen a return to low temperatures and to snow showers over Austria....

To sum up to the OP, I have skied in many groups through the years where first timers really didn't ever want to do it again but I guarantee you they are all very happy now that they did try again! Just my tuppence worth

Effin Runner

In soll last year on the 20th Feb.8th trip skiing and found the place second only to Saalbach. Stayed in the Shindlehaus Appartments which was a1 and near the main gondola. Leave the gear up in Stroll just down from the Gondola.Makes life a lot easier!! Loads of terrain to ski for all abilities. Check out the igloo bar in Brixem! Only draw back with this resort is that there is only one Gondola from the base so it gets crowded in the mornings. So up early and go easy on the Jagermeister;) . Enjoy , whoever is going. Back to Saalbach for us this year,cant wait

Arequipa

Hey, by the way accomodation was perfect & thanks for recommendation!
Soll is perfectly set up for a ski holiday - they definitely needed a good dump of snow when we were there, but if it's not snowing, our instructor said they just make it! Nightlife wise I think it depends on the crowd out there @ any given time- to be fair; many people are concentrating on an early start the next day! I think from my many travels over the years, it is hard to beat Dublin for a good night on the beer! Saying that a beer tastes so nice after skiing & in crisp, Alpine air!

If you are going to Soll enjo; u'll have a great time!

sheesh

Bad luck on the snow front as in soll last year and thought it was good going again in february the whiskey mule was the spot when we were there there was a restaurant above it and we ate there most nights It was one of the most chilled out ski holidays I've had (the others were real booze fests!)

If you are going with 4 or more I would advise hiring a car we had a car last year and it was great no walking up to the skilift in the morning(bliss)! went to the surrounding towns skilifts too.

demon83

There is a few of us heading over to Soll in early March, staying in Hotel Rubin. Has anyone ever stayed before?
Its our first ski trip so not really sure what to expect. Advice on this thread so far has been good. I just hope we get snow!!

The Big Gig

Just back from a week in Soll. Was great craic. Snow was a bit thin on the first day but then next 4 days it bucketed down which was great but bad for visibility then the last day clear blue skies!.
The hotel Rubin is attached to the new Bar in the town; The Red Horse. Id say it might get loud at night! but that wouldn't bother me and plus it's a pretty good bar. Good location too.

Shinners85

I went to Soll last Feb. It was my first skiing holiday and I loved it! We had an excellent ski instructor and he had the patience of a saint. The night life was brilliant and I was surprised about how good the food was in the town. We had two excellent meals in the Whiskey Mule, food on the slopes was average though. I would tell anyone to go back to Soll.

I would be instrested in trying another resort in Austria again this yr. I am just back from Italy and I have the skiing bug big time!

We would be instrested in going for new yrs, has anyone any good recommendations? Ideally, somewhere cheaper than Soll.

Thanks

olaola

Shinners85 wrote: »

We would be instrested in going for new yrs, has anyone any good recommendations? Ideally, somewhere cheaper than Soll.

Thanks

I've never been, but from all accounts Soll is one of the cheapest resorts in Austria.

bovril

In was in Soll two years ago and Zell Am See this year.
School was 135 for 5 days in Soll and 155 for 5 days in Zell Am See
Rental was about 20E dearer in ZamS.
A pint in Soll was 3E when I was there, it's 4.20+ in ZamS.

I know this is only comparing two resorts but Soll was far cheaper.

Shinners85

Thanks for that! Fingers crossed we will get going again for Christmas!

porky924s

The food in Soll was generally 'hearty'. The porridge gave me a headache and the other cooked meals turned my excrement 'as black as coal'. I thought that I was getting poisoned.
I would go back to Soll once my mental health improves because it was very bad whilst I was away from home.
But to the person who got food poisoning I would say 'yes' it is highly likely that you and others will get it in Soll. I really want to warn about the dangers of the food in the area, and I have numerous postings on other websites warning people about this especially about C**TA*SK* who are a poor service!!
Whilst I was staying in Soll there were Neo-Nazis in the media and that scared the hell out of me. Soll is definently a Christian friendly place, with all it's crosses and it's big church.
Enough of my ramblings.........cheerio!
:cool:

Stark

Overflow wrote: »

Try one of the bigger more lively resorts next time, Saalbach or St. Anton. You wont be disappointed with the nightlife there, or the lack of ladies.

St. Anton was a complete sausage fest when we were over there. (though fantastic in every other way).