 Poster: A snowHead
|
|
I've just entered a competition to win a holiday to Saalbach - fingers crossed!!
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
|
What's everyone's experiences of car hire at Salzburg airport? Looking at the holiday shuttle option versus car hire and the car hire option a fair bit cheaper. Arriving Saturday 30th January late afternoon. Is there any quietish route to go. Few years ago we flew into Munich for Zell and samerberg sue gave me a route that took us via saalfelden - on the map function on my phone that was one of the suggested routes. Any help would be appreciated.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
|
@boabski, Salzburg - Bad Reichenhal (DE) - Lofer - Saalfelden - Saalbach is a very easy route. It takes 90 minutes on a good day, but obviously longer on changeover Saturdays with heavy snow. The Shuttle recommends allowing up to 2 hours longer on a bad day, so you should certainly allow that if the weather is bad on your return drive to the airport. There isn't really a quiet route - if you do the motorway loop around to Zell am See, you'll just get stuck in the Zell traffic. As long as there are no accidents it is a straightforward run - I noticed that there are now lots of new speed cameras on the route.
Car hire is competitive at Salzburg. I usually use a broker such as autoeurope and see what deals are on offer. Sometimes it is Buchbinder, or Budget, or Europcar and so on. The car hire firms are all located in the multistorey car park opposite the main terminal. All the hire companies now appear to charge a few Euros extra for taking the car into Germany. You must tell them if you are taking this route, otherwise you're uninsured in Germany. You may get stopped at the border, but I've only been stopped once in 5 years/20+ trips on this route and there were no border checks when I did this route last week.
Before you completely write off the Shuttle, remember that you don't actually need a car in Saalbach and it's a pain if you have to dig it out on the morning that you're returning. Have you looked at booking a VIP taxi from the Shuttle company. This is the best and cheapest option if there are 4 of you and works out about £125 each way - which can't be much more than the cost of a hire car + fuel.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
|
Car hire from Salzburg is a very easy, straightforward process. However, there might be additional charges for things like snow chains, ski rack etc... We didn't need either when we hired, but it was the end of March and we knew we didn't need to be driving up any hills so risked having no chains. We could also put the skis in diagonally in the back of the car once we hired, however, this would have been more difficult/impossible had we had skis and luggage with us at the airport.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
@HoneyBunny, Holiday Autos are very good with the lowest prices I could find. Snow tires are mandatory in Austria, so they HAVE to include them in the price. It's very, very unlikely you would need snow chains I would think.
But do check the contract they actually get you to sign at the rental desk. Last year, the one they gave me was different to the deal I had booked via Holiday Autos, and I had to fight Avis to get the extra back.
Lastly, do consider using a company such as iCarHireInsurance. This is MUCH cheaper then the excess insurance they will try and add-on at the desk. You will be covered for your loss damage waiver excess; and for tyres, windscreen, roof, key loss etc.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
@PeDaSp, Honeybunny hasn't won yet! 
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Thanks folks. Will just book a taxi. Once you add on the €100 to hire chains for the week the taxi becomes cheaper and less hassle.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
|
| boabski wrote: |
| Thanks folks. Will just book a taxi. |
Always the best way
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
|
Taxi booked... check
Ameprozole to help out with apres ski.....check
Apres ski playlist banging out at home....check
Snow.......er, oh well end of Jan a long time away, so .....check
Bring it on. Can't wait to spend by first full week in the area. Have visited for one days skiing a few years ago and a couple of day drips in the summer
|
|
|
|
|
|
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
|
@boabski,
| Quote: |
| snow.......er, oh well end of Jan a long time away, so .....check |
no worries there at the moment : currently around 70% of the runs are open and the last three days' skiing has been great on 100% artificial snow
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
@geoffers, I am not worried in the slightest 
Looks like they've done a great job with the artificial stuff
|
|
|
|
|
|
You know it makes sense.
|
Is the night skiing in action?
Love skiing in the floodlights!
|
|
|
|
|
|
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
|
|
@Mattmulkeen, No night skiing at the moment as there is only a thin strip of artificial snow on the lower pistes. At present there can't be more than 200 guests in the resort, which means fantastic empty pistes. Above mid-station is surprisingly good. I made it from Saalbach to Leogang and back in just over an hour on Sunday as there was hardly anybody on the slopes or on the lifts. The few people I met were season workers, instructors and a bunch of very fast kids doing race training above Polten who flew past me, and I thought I was zipping along! A great hours skiing in the sun under blue skies, but clearly much more snow is needed.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Poster: A snowHead
|
|
I too had a good day's skiing in the Glemmtal today. Coming over from Fieberbrunn, I then did a clockwise circuit, from the Bernkogel down, through Saalbach and over to the Schattberg, then to Hinterglemm and the Zwölferkogel. From there by bus to the Hochalm and then back along to the TirolS for the return. The snow was good in places but often hard packed, tending to icy. Still fine skiing, though.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
I arrived in Saalbach yesterday (after a sleepless night spent packing and travelling) and have to confess that I didn't get my ars* in gear and head off up the Bernkogel - if I had I would have witnessed, or participated in, an enormous pillow fight to celebrate the official opening of the TirolS, the new gondola link to Fieberbrunn (https://www.facebook.com/Skicircus/videos/1193142510699979/?pnref=story. )
It gets worse: I missed a day's skiing today (and hence the opportunity to post a report on the conditions), as a result of becoming embroiled in late night shenanigans, which encompassed Bobby's Pub, the Underbar, Castellos, the Taverne and the Otzi Bar and went on until after 04.00am.
However, I spoke to numerous people who had been skiing yesterday and were able to tell me all about the current conditions. They were uniformly impressed by what has been achieved in terms of snow-making and piste maintenance, given the current snow drought. Apparently it's possible to ski around most of the circuit and the snow quality is generally very good. One guy, who has been here for the last week, said that he's been averaging 50km a day. Above mid-station it's pretty well business as usual, whilst the lower pistes down to the village are obviously much narrower than usual but nonetheless skiable. I got the impression that, despite the current situation, there has been a lot of enjoyable skiing going on, which comes as quite a relief - however this may be short-lived once the New Year crowds descend on us!
|
|
|
|
|
|
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
|
|
Tatman's Tours what is quite impressive in that is your 24 hour day waking day given the time of the flight yesterday. Nice to meet you by the way!
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
|
@hammerite, I did manage to grab a short nap on the flight. Good to meet you too. Enjoy your holiday1
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
|
Still impressive!
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
|
There are some illuminating snow reports on the thread titled "Saalbach - Snow Conditions", including one that I've just posted.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Update: Our Christmas week guests have just left, saying they've had a "great week" (their first visit so they're not comparing it to what's normal).
61 lifts out of 70 are in operation. The main links are all open, so it's possible to ski around the circuit and plan itineraries between Saalbach, Hinterglemm, Leogang and Fieberbrunn. Also the main pistes down to the village are open. That's not to say that all of the pistes are in great condition all of the time, but there is enjoyable skiing to be found, especially in the morning. One of the surprises that we get that makes it different from late season skiing, is that, since the sun is low in the sky, when you get down to the lower slopes that have been in the shade, the snow is invariably better than higher up. So, when skiing the south-facing slopes during the afternoon, you go from good snow at the top, through the crud, and then back to good snow at the bottom. A good example was the run down to the bottom at Hochalm yesterday - the final steepish piste down to the road is not usually a beginner's dream, but yesterday our novice skier reckoned it was the nicest piste he'd done all day - hard-packed with a coating of light powder.
Apart from that, it's typical spring skiing conditions - below freezing last night, so the snow cannons were running. The general feeling has been one of relief that it's been so much better than last year; however the coming week could be a different story!
When the weather finally breaks, it could all change in the course of a few days (like this time last year).
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Is the local weather forecast showing a break from warm to cold and possibly a few snow dumps? All forecast I'm seeing on the usual apps are showing highs of around 5 for the foreseeable. I am in Saalbach on the 9th Jan. Thanks
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
|
|
@Rhumage, http://www.snow-forecast.com/resorts/Saalbach/6day/mid predicts that the temps will start to cool on Tuesday, with the daytime freezing level dropping to 850m (150m below the height of the village) on Friday morning. However no new snowfall seems to be forecast. At least the cold temps will allow the snow cannons to top up the pistes. We can only hope that the cooling-off presages the long-awaited arrival of winter, and that snow will follow. In the meantime we have freeze/thaw conditions. We're setting off to Leogang reasonably early tomorrow so will report back on the state of the pistes.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
I said I'd report back after skiing to Leogang - this is a copy of what I posted on the parallel thread, "Saalbach snow conditions".
"Skied over to Leogang today (with our novice skier) and had a cracking day. Some of the bottlenecks are distinctly mogully, but hey, it's good practice. We did the Asitz run and the new piste down to the Steinbergbahn mid-station and 90% of it was excellent. Chicken 'n' chips at the Asitzbraeu didn't disappoint, especially as we were being serenaded by a group of oompah musicians. We made it to the Bergeralm for happy hour and managed to ratchet up a bill of EUR 130 between seven of us, before skiing in the dark to the bottom without having to call for a helicopter. We abandoned our plan to join the Hinterhag apres-ski party - wisely I think. For the first day of New Year week, the pistes weren't as crowded as I expected. Off to Wallners for a pizza shortly."
I don't know this should be (considering that accommodation has to be booked well in advance), but the pistes aren't as crowded as expected for NY week - although the Hinterhag was certainly well attended yesterday!
|
|
|
|
|
|
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
|
Had a full day's skiing yesterday - began with the Bernkogel - top to bottom - which was pretty good at around 10.00am. Then went round the valley anti-clockwise. Nastiest piste was the one leading down from the Reiterkogel summit to Reiterkogel Mitte. However the pistes going over to Hochalm, the Zwoelferkogel and Schattberg West and East, and coming down the Kohlmais at around 4.30pm, were all okay - albeit a bit too busy in the late morning and early afternoon for my liking (but that's what you have to expect in NY week)
Overjoyed to report that we saw none of the predicted NYE rain here in Saalbach - in fact there was a light overnight dusting of snow. The local website is forecasting snow on Sunday and Tuesday - fingers crossed it will be enough to make a difference and freshen up the pistes. Happy Russian Christmas!? 
|
|
|
|
|
|
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
|
@espri wrote:
| Quote: |
However, with some more fiddling around and choosing the Griesgasse as the starting point in Kitz (that's down from the centre, I think), it showed the 8301 bus leaving there at 08:25 and going to Fieberbrunn without you having to change. So it seems that the bus does run in winter and would probably be the best bet, if you can get to it easily. The fare is €5,30 (it isn't a free ski bus).
|
Yes, they've updated the timetable now and you can indeed get a bus from central Kitzbühel to Fieberbrunn at 08:25. What a great option for skiers to have a day trip from Kitz but the return will have to be from Leogang train station, an epic circuit across the entire resort. Thanks for the pricing info.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
@deconst, the train station at Leogang is a way from the lifts. Of the two gondolas, the Steinbergbahn is nearer the station. It would be perhaps possible to walk from there, though still a sweat uphill in ski gear. A taxi might be a better bet. 10 cm new snow at my house today
|
|
|
|
|
|
You know it makes sense.
|
We'll be in Saalbach for a week commencing Saturday 16th. Can anyone recommend a ski instructor for the four of us and do we need to book in advance for lessons on perhaps the Sunday and Monday mornings? Or will we be OK booking on our Saturday arrival afternoon.
Thanks, Pete
|
|
|
|
|
|
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
|
|
@PeteMan, Private lessons with one of the Zink ski school instructors can be arranged through Hansi ( http://www.hansis-skiverleih.at/en.html ). You could ring or e-mail him if you're concerned about leaving it until arrival. It's obviously not one of the busy weeks, so I'd be surprised if it proved to be a problem.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Poster: A snowHead
|
|
Tatman's - have you heard about the Pension/Gasthaus fire in Saalbach during the night? According to the radio news the cause was a defective cooker, no injuries and the fire services (plus some gusts I believe) got the flames under control, but typically for Austrian/German news no real details yet. Still not sure if it was in Saalbach, Hinterglemm or one of the outlying places, any chance of an update when you get the info through from your various sources?
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
|
@Samerberg Sue, No, I haven't heard anything - I'll let you know if do (and I'll keep an eye on our cooker!)
|
|
|
|
|
|
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
|
|
Apparently it took 60+ firemen to put it out after bringing it under control! So it must have been quite an extensive one.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
|
😨 hope it's not pension Gabi! Counting the days down now!!
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
|
@Whitty, it's not named in any of the news reports, which is usual for the German media. Apparently a Viennese guest discovered smoke coming out of an apartment in the cellar area and called the fire service. They came from Saalbach and Viehhofen with 9 vehicles and 60 personnel. Due to the early discovery they were able to prevent the fire spreading to the rest of the Pension. Maybe Tatman's knows by now which one it was.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
@matfrazerz, The other easy blue runs in Saalbach are piste 52 on Kohlmais and piste 4 on Schattberg.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Heading to Hinterglemm for half term with a group of 8 (or possibly 12). Does anyone have any recommendations for ski hire? Closest to our hotel seems to be Sport Gumpold rental center 301 Dorfstasse - is this any good? Also, is there an up to date discount code for Sport 2000 in Austria? Any better ideas for getting the best price?
Thanks in advance.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
|
I'l get in quick here and recommend Hansi's near the Schattberg gondola.
Friends used him a few years ago and will do again this year (too many of us again for your apt @Tatman's Tours but we'll be back!!)
Anyone who has a little bar in their workplace is No.1 in my book!!
Joe
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
anymore news on the pension fire?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FAQ
