Ski Season 2019/2020

a148pro

Seemed more rock bar than euro techno ski boot frenzy to me alright

qwabercd

Anyone know the best apres spots in kitzbuhel?

dzer2

qwabercd wrote: »

Anyone know the best apres spots in kitzbuhel?

Place a cross the road from the hanenkam. Dont cross the railway tracks.

If you smoke there's a little popup bar behind the hahenkam.

The londoner good enough loads of brits in there.

maddness

If you can get to the alps now, awesome skiing to be had. I’m in Italy and it’s warm so raining at resort level so snowing up the mountains.

kal7

Snow looking good so far, but Foehn wind, causing some thaw at lower levels.

Just 4 weeks to wait now.

Must stop watching Ski A&E on tv, too many injuries.

A guy from dubai went straight up hill, first time on snow on a black and predictably fell and broken two bones. I suppose the indoor slope in dubai has a "Black" section, all of 3metres.

Donie75

Just back from a few days in Val d'Isere. Great trip, very good snow but the conditions were a bit mixed. We only had one afternoon of sunshine out of 3 1/2 days skiing. The rest was cloudy with very flat light. Plenty of snow and it was a whiteout when we left yesterday but it wasn't very cold at resort level around zero degrees. We had about 8-10 inches of fresh powder on Saturday morning so that was nice.
Overall, I was a bit disappointed with the infrastructure in Val. Lots of old chairlifts and gondolas and a lot were not running. Some seemed to be having work carried out and there were also a lot of runs closed. We tried skiing down a red to the resort but it was closed so had to ski down a very tricky black that hadn't been groomed at all.
Overall it was a great trip but I think I'll stick to the old reliable, Austria. Especially for value for money.

mollser

Going to Kirchberg on Sunday, weather looks to be the polar opposite to last year's blizzards, snow conditions look good with plenty of sun on the way! Can't wait!

maddness

Donie75 wrote: »

Just back from a few days in Val d'Isere. Great trip, very good snow but the conditions were a bit mixed. We only had one afternoon of sunshine out of 3 1/2 days skiing. The rest was cloudy with very flat light. Plenty of snow and it was a whiteout when we left yesterday but it wasn't very cold at resort level around zero degrees. We had about 8-10 inches of fresh powder on Saturday morning so that was nice.
Overall, I was a bit disappointed with the infrastructure in Val. Lots of old chairlifts and gondolas and a lot were not running. Some seemed to be having work carried out and there were also a lot of runs closed. We tried skiing down a red to the resort but it was closed so had to ski down a very tricky black that hadn't been groomed at all.
Overall it was a great trip but I think I'll stick to the old reliable, Austria. Especially for value for money.

I’d a very similar trip weather wise to Champoluc last week and it was snowing hard when we left on Sunday. I believe that Val had a lot of runs closed due to avalanche risk last week so it sound like you were a but unlucky. How did you rate the skiing compared to Austria?
As said in previous posts, Val is probably the most expensive resort in France which is generally expensive as a rule.

Donie75

Maddness, I found the skiing good in general but there were a few slopes that didn’t seem to have been groomed at all this season and were very soft mogully slopes. There were also a few runs that just weren’t ready yet. There was a red mentioned on the radio one morning and they said they hoped to have it ready to open soon. There was loads of snow so I’m not sure what the delay was.
With the santons red closed into Val and The Face on the other side a black, there are limited options for skiing back into Val.

maddness

Donie75 wrote: »

Maddness, I found the skiing good in general but there were a few slopes that didn’t seem to have been groomed at all this season and were very soft mogully slopes. There were also a few runs that just weren’t ready yet. There was a red mentioned on the radio one morning and they said they hoped to have it ready to open soon. There was loads of snow so I’m not sure what the delay was.
With the santons red closed into Val and The Face on the other side a black, there are limited options for skiing back into Val.

That doesn’t sound great in fairness.

a148pro

I have the feeling too many of those places are trading on their reputation, val, St Anton, Chamonix, with creaking lift systems compared to other places with a lot better lifts but a much lesser profile. I did like tignes though, but I remember a lot of old chair lifts towards the top of val.

Sheedy234

Heading back to saalbach next Saturday again after been there in January.Can't Wait fantastic chair lift system .

Donie75

Yeah, it’s really hard to beat a lot of the good mid-priced Austrian resorts. I’m a regular in Mayrhofen and find it hard to beat when you include the neighbouring resorts. There were a number of lifts closed in Val and they were not all due to wind. Came across two being repaired or maintained.

a148pro

Short notice but planning a jaunt tomorrow, ryanair flights to munich 200 euro return, fresh snow for fieberbrunn / ski circus, seems to be 2 hour drive, plan is to ski the snowfall Saturday, get a guide for some safe off piste sunday then ski the sun monday, if anyone is interested pm as I'm otherwise alone. Have mates in neighbouring resort but they're with family, might see them on the pistes monday.

Basically need to get away from the kids after a long Christmas.

andyd12

Heading to Solden for a week on 18th of January with group of 9 snowboarders, different abilities and different motives when there ha! Organized through crystal ski, half board etc. Looking to get up to hochgurgl/obergurgl at least 2 days, looks like a really good resort!?

Then on Paddy's weekend in March for 4 days, heading to hopfgarten-markt with 4 snowboarders. Will be the first time doing a DIY trip. Flying into Munich, car rental to the resort and self catering etc when there.
Interested to see how it is compared to organized, half-board etc trip which we usually do.

maddness

a148pro wrote: »

Short notice but planning a jaunt tomorrow, ryanair flights to munich 200 euro return, fresh snow for fieberbrunn / ski circus, seems to be 2 hour drive, plan is to ski the snowfall Saturday, get a guide for some safe off piste sunday then ski the sun monday, if anyone is interested pm as I'm otherwise alone. Have mates in neighbouring resort but they're with family, might see them on the pistes monday.

Basically need to get away from the kids after a long Christmas.

I've just booked flights to Munich for Friday 17th early flight and back late flight Sunday with a couple of friends. Will wait till a day or two before to decide on a resort.
Be good to hear how you get on. Enjoy

a148pro

maddness wrote: »

I've just booked flights to Munich for Friday 17th early flight and back late flight Sunday with a couple of friends. Will wait till a day or two before to decide on a resort.
Be good to hear how you get on. Enjoy

I'm actually back here one resort over on Thursday next week with the kids. The car rental staff in Munich airport will know me by name!

a148pro

andyd12 wrote: »

Heading to Solden for a week on 18th of January with group of 9 snowboarders, different abilities and different motives when there ha! Organized through crystal ski, half board etc. Looking to get up to hochgurgl/obergurgl at least 2 days, looks like a really good resort!?

Then on Paddy's weekend in March for 4 days, heading to hopfgarten-markt with 4 snowboarders. Will be the first time doing a DIY trip. Flying into Munich, car rental to the resort and self catering etc when there.
Interested to see how it is compared to organized, half-board etc trip which we usually do.

Was in Solden last Easter and really enjoyed it. Good apres too if that's what you are after. Obergurgl well worth a visit, but quite sedate. If you're into wellness there's a great wellness resort about 15 mins down the road from Solden, ease those tired muscles.

andyd12

a148pro wrote: »

Was in Solden last Easter and really enjoyed it. Good apres too if that's what you are after. Obergurgl well worth a visit, but quite sedate. If you're into wellness there's a great wellness resort about 15 mins down the road from Solden, ease those tired muscles.

Super thank you. Little bit of apres but for me its mostly about the snowboarding. Ye looking at the webcams, Obergurgl looks pretty quiet, which I love. As for the wellness, I dont bother too much but thanks for the tip anyway:)

Bloody Nipples

Just back from 3 days skiing in Borovets, very much a "you get what you pay for" experience.

Accommodation was €250 for 4 nights B&B for two people and paid €190 pp for transfers from Sofia, equipment rental and lift pass.

Flew on the 27th and there was basically no snow in resort coming into Christmas week but luckily it snowed the 3 days before we arrived and continued snowing the 3 days we were skiing.

Upsides were price, convenience from Sofia and there's 50km of slopes if they're all open.

Downsides were slope management, slopes closed despite good cover, didn't seem to have enough piste bashers to groom what they had. I'd say it could be a great place to ski in Jan/Feb but we were just a little early and had some unseasonably warm weather beforehand which melted any snow cover they had.

As a result, skiers were funnelled into 5-7 pistes with queues being a little crazy as a result. I wouldn't rule out Borovets again but I wouldn't be rushing there as an early season skiing spot.

Girlfriend managed to strain her knee as well on the second day which called a halt to things early on as well

blue note

Any suggestions on somewhere to go for a mini moon? Say 25th Feb to 1st March, so not a full week. I'd be the weaker of the two and able for a few tough reds / gentle blacks. If we could get ski in / out it would be amazing. I have cervinia in my head. What's that like as a resort? Or would anywhere in France be particularly good. The problem is we don't want to rent a car so might have to pay for a private transfer, so ideally somewhere not too far from an airport.

We were in soll 3 years ago and Zell am see the last 2, so are leaning away from Austria. Although solden does sound interesting.

And I'm leaning towards a higher resort because it's late in the season. Is that fair or unnecessary?

what2do

blue note wrote: »

Any suggestions on somewhere to go for a mini moon? Say 25th Feb to 1st March, so not a full week. I'd be the weaker of the two and able for a few tough reds / gentle blacks. If we could get ski in / out it would be amazing. I have cervinia in my head. What's that like as a resort? Or would anywhere in France be particularly good. The problem is we don't want to rent a car so might have to pay for a private transfer, so ideally somewhere not too far from an airport.

We were in soll 3 years ago and Zell am see the last 2, so are leaning away from Austria. Although solden does sound interesting.

And I'm leaning towards a higher resort because it's late in the season. Is that fair or unnecessary?

I am just back from Zermatt and we skied to Cervinia- really impressed, lots of wide reds- food was WAY cheaper than Zermatt, and I just love the view of the Matterhorn.

Personally i’m a big fan of Zermatt but cost is hard to justify! Just over 3 hrs by train from Zurich airport....

a148pro

Cervinia is two an a half hours plus from an airport so you'll pay for the transfer. Maybe the 3 valleys as I think there's a bus from geneva, or at least there used to be, at 100 euro a head. It's high and there is endless skiing. If by moon you mean it's a honey moon there are some fancy restaurants there over the connected resorts.

I wouldn't be too worried about that time of year, though it's never a bad idea to go high or at least have access to a high part of the resort.

maddness

blue note wrote: »

Any suggestions on somewhere to go for a mini moon? Say 25th Feb to 1st March, so not a full week. I'd be the weaker of the two and able for a few tough reds / gentle blacks. If we could get ski in / out it would be amazing. I have cervinia in my head. What's that like as a resort? Or would anywhere in France be particularly good. The problem is we don't want to rent a car so might have to pay for a private transfer, so ideally somewhere not too far from an airport.

We were in soll 3 years ago and Zell am see the last 2, so are leaning away from Austria. Although solden does sound interesting.

And I'm leaning towards a higher resort because it's late in the season. Is that fair or unnecessary?

Fly to Geneva and it’s 90 minutes to Courmayer in Italy. It’s full of lovely hotels and excellent restaurants, three with Michelin Stars. Enough skiing for a few days and more great restaurants on the mountain too.

a148pro

Yep, or chamonix and do a guided trip down valley blanche, nice town to Potter around and quite a few nice restaurants too, lots of transfers from geneva airport quite cheap. Skiing more Bitty though.

random_banter

blue note wrote: »

Any suggestions on somewhere to go for a mini moon? Say 25th Feb to 1st March, so not a full week. I'd be the weaker of the two and able for a few tough reds / gentle blacks. If we could get ski in / out it would be amazing. I have cervinia in my head. What's that like as a resort? Or would anywhere in France be particularly good. The problem is we don't want to rent a car so might have to pay for a private transfer, so ideally somewhere not too far from an airport.

We were in soll 3 years ago and Zell am see the last 2, so are leaning away from Austria. Although solden does sound interesting.

And I'm leaning towards a higher resort because it's late in the season. Is that fair or unnecessary?

Having gone to Austria the previous 10 years or so, we went as a couple to Samoens (in the Grand Massif ski area shared with Les Carroz and Flaine - 250k of piste) last year and it was terribly romantic as a resort and we loved the ski area. 1 hour from Geneva and €88 shared transfer return (let me know if you want the name of the transfer company).

Samoens is not ski-in/out as you've to take a gondola up but we didn't mind this as so used to Mayrhofen. But this year we're going back to the same region and staying in Les Carroz for ski-in/out in the same ski area. Got an Airbnb right on the slopes. Les Carroz also has a lovely authentic French village vibe. The food in the area is excellent (raclette and fondue to die for) – we've had some great meals in village and on mountain. The area is favoured by the French (except for the upper, modern, village of Flaine which has a lot of British folk and less lovely architecture) so you won't hear too much about it unless you're looking. Bit of a hidden gem in our opinion.

You also can get away with a small budget in this area. The accom/food/drink prices are a lot cheaper than the 3 Valleys or Cham. Lots of airbnb and booking.com options too. We've just booked our trip today

Wherever you go, enjoy the mini-moon!

thejaguar

Heading to Kirchberg for a couple of days at the start of Feb.

Haven't skied for 4/5 of years - would have been able to handle pretty much any red and some simpler black slopes at my best - would be grateful for any info on whether there's good areas to aim for to get the legs back and anything in particular to look out for (either ski or apres ski).

Rew

Looking at Zell am See in early March. How linked are the areas bit lifts and pistes versus busses?

a148pro

Its certainly a bus to Kaprun. I'm not sure how convenient the lift / run down to Saalbach is. I was in Saalbach this week and you could see the slopes in Zell well enough. But it looked a bit of a schlep to get to it from where I was. I have mates there now I'll ask. The buses in Saalbach and Fieberbrunn were surprisingly infrequent.

blue note

I had a fantastic ski instructor when I was there 2 years ago. He felt the link was more a marketing ploy than anything else. He felt the distance over and back was too great to be able to enjoy your time in saalbach from Zell and you'd be better off getting a bus over and doing a proper day there that way. Kaprun is a bus ride away. I'd love to do it again- we spent ages going to the viewing point and stayed indoors for too long because it was cold that day. There was way more skiing to be done that day in my view, and the runs there are beautiful.

Zell is a beautiful resort though. Went there for my second year and went back there to propose, so that will take you what I think of the place!