My brother Matt, my sister-in-law Laura and my nephew Sam (7 years old) had skied Val D'Isere, France the past two Easter holidays, but they were looking for something different this winter.
And they were ready to let Sam loose with Uncle Mike and Aunty Nerys!
On the recommendation of many on the snowheads and snow.com.au forums, especially Kletterer and Heinz, I proposed Serfaus-Fiss-Ladis, Tirol, Austria for the excellent children's ski school and facilities & extensive skiing.
7-nights accommodation with breakfast, afternoon tea & 5-course evening meal
6-day Serfaus-Fiss-Ladis ski pass (we skied an extra day and the hotel was able to get us a reduced day rate ticket at 33 euros)
Lasinga is a medium sized family run hotel, recently refurbished with excellent levels of service & comfort.
Our room had a balcony that looked out to the valley below.
The food was excellent, varied and plentiful. We were spoiled.
It's a short walk (approx 100m) from the ski room to the Moseralmbahn and Schonjochban I gondolas and uplift to the whole system.
It was possible to ski back to the ski room the first two days but the sun started to eat at the snow the remainder of the holiday, so we walked back at day's end.
Highly recommended.
SATURDAY 19 MARCH 2016
Travel day.
I was already in the area having skied Corvara, Marmolada, San Martino Di Castrozza, and Trafoi the previous week
I drove from Trafoi, Italy to Innsbruck airport to pick up Nerys, stopping at the hotel on the way to to drop off my bags and orient myself.
Easy 80 minute drive back from the airport to the hotel and we were settled in watching the last weekend of the 6N rugby on the computer drinking G&Ts waiting for my brother and family to arrive.
They got in just after 6 and after unpacking we had a few drinks and then on to dinner.
SUNDAY 20 MARCH 2016
Glorious sunny day. Below 0 degrees to start but warming up to +5 C at the base by day's end.
Full coverage top to bottom. Piste in great shape for most of the day. Home run got churned from mid-mountain down last thing.
Breakfast at 8am, at the lifts for 9.30am
The inital plan was to put Sam in ski school for the morning then meet for lunch and ski together in the afternoon.
Over dinner a few weeks back we decided that Nerys & I would ski with him in the morning, we'd meet Matt & Laura for lunch, and then we'd all ski together in the afternoon.
Sam learned to ski at Beaver Creek, Colorado, USA when he was 4 and has had two trips a winter since.
He's been 'fed a lot of pizza' at the Beaver Creek, Stratton, Megeve, Val D'Isere and Grindlwald ski schools so my aim was to have fun, get plenty of mileage under our skis and work at getting rid of his 'power plow'.
We spent the morning skiing the blue and red runs off the Schonjochban I gondola and the themed run through the forest, the Pirate Ship and the Fiss Sunpark (a mini park with boxes and berms)
We met Matt & Laura for lunch at the top of Schonjochban I gondola and ate al fresco in the sunshine.
Typically our lunches would run to 15-20 euros each for mineral water, a glass or so of wine, and a large main meal.
All the restaurants we ate at durng the week were excellent.
After lunch we all skied down to the bottom of the Zwolferbahn chair. The snow was a lot better and drier on this side of the mountain.
Sam skiing the Plazor downhill (red 21) at Fiss
Sam working on relaxing the inside leg on the steeper pitches
Then it was homeward bound back to the bass of Fiss.
Sam skiing the Schonjoch downhill (red 52) at Fiss
Laura, Nerys, Sam and Matt
Schonjoch downhill (red 52) at Fiss
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
MONDAY 21 MARCH 2016
Glorious sunny day. Below 0 degrees to start but warming up to +6 C at the base by day's end.
Full coverage top to bottom. Piste in great shape for most of the day. Home run got churned from mid-mountain down last thing.
Breakfast at 8am, at the lifts for 9.30am
There were healthy queues at both the Moseralmbahn and Schonjochban I gondola base stations each morning of our stay - it was Austrian school holidays - but the queue was constantly moving and we never took more than 5 minutes to get on a gondola.
Once we were up on the mountain we didn't queue for more than a couple of minutes at any of the other lifts all week.
Nerys, Sam & I took the Moseralmbahn gondola and Sattelbahn lift to Sattelkopf and then skied the Joch downhill (red 80), Seables downhill (red 104) and Mittel downhill (blue 90) to Serfaus first thing.
Glorious long, wide piste skiing with no one on it. Fantastic.
We took the Komperdellbahn gondola to the plateau, played in the Bear run, Deer Park and Dino World and then took the Lazidbahn to restaurant Lassida to meet Matt & Laura for lunch.
Amazing views from the terrace of this restaurant. Another great al fresco lunch.
Much more alpine and steeper terrain in this area and beyond on Pezid and Masnerkopf.
Sam in the bear's mouth
Sam and the Bear
After lunch we skied Lawens Direct (red 132) to the bottom of the Lawensbahn chair; up the Lawensbahn chair; Arzkopfl downhill (red 123) and Mittel downhill (blue 90) to the Konigsleithebahn chair; and then Kerbboden downhill (red 60), Wonne downhill (red 51) and Moseralm downhill (red 64) back to the base of Fiss.
@Mike Pow, nice one! It's a great area isn't it? Never understood why it is not more popular with Brit skiers.
Thanks.
Considering it was a 'low tide' winter in this part of the Tirol the potential is extraordinary.
Didn't have a chance to get off-piste the week I was there but there's loads of fantastic terrain on offer.
Would definitely return.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
TUESDAY 22 MARCH 2016
Third glorious sunny day in a row. Below 0 degrees to start but warming up to +6 C at the base by day's end.
Full coverage top to bottom. Piste in great shape for most of the day. Home run got churned from mid-mountain down last thing.
Breakfast at 8am, at the lifts for 9.30am
And an inversion waiting for us as we got to the top of Schonjochbahn II
Nerys above the clouds
Nerys, Sam & I spent the morning skiing the Fiss Fun Slope down to Genuss Restaurant Zirbenhutte followed by Zirben downhill (red 23) down to the Almbahn gondola.
Sam and Nerys above the clouds at the Zwolferkopf viewing platform
Sam above the clouds at the Zwolferkopf viewing platform
Nerys above the clouds at the Zwolferkopf viewing platform
Sam skiing the Grat downhill (red 31) from Zwolferkopf
We met Laura & Matt at Genuss Restaurant Zirbenhutte for an al fresco lunch. This turned out to be our favourite restaurant and we had lunch here twice more.
Nerys at Genuss Restaurant Zirbenhutte
Matt at Genuss Restaurant Zirbenhutte
Sam, Laura & Matt at Genuss Restaurant Zirbenhutte
Sam at Genuss Restaurant Zirbenhutte
After lunch we skied down to the Almbahn and then Grat downhill (red 31) to Schonjoch downhill (red 52) to Wonne downhill (red 51), the forest run, the Pirate Ship, and the Sunpark back to the base of Fiss.
Another big day for Sam.
22.8 km of skiing with 3750m vertical descent
It was a clear evening and we were lucky to see the Moonrise over the neighbouring resort of Felders
After dinner we caught the Moseralmbahn up to watch the Fiss Nightlfow Show. Cost about 8 euros if memory serves.
Grey and cold this morning, with a couple of cms of fresh snow above mid-mountain.
Thankfully we escaped the rain forecast for village level.
Well below 0 degrees to start but warming up to +2 C at the base by day's end.
Full coverage top to bottom. Piste in great shape for most of the day.
Sam had been fighting a cough since he arrived, so he, Laura and Nerys took a day off and Matt & I skied together for the day.
Even though the light was average we went exploring.
Skied down to Serfaus, and made it over to Pezid.
Snow was much better in this area and the terrain was more alpine and steeper. Looked like some great off-piste terrain accessed from this peak and from the MasnerKopf.
Met Sam & Laura for lunch at the Komperdell Panoramarestaurant in Serfaus and then skied back home.
Coverered a few more kms and got to see another part of this massive area.
Great day.
THURSDAY 24 MARCH 2016
Back to sunshine. Below 0 degrees to start but warming up to +6 C at the base by day's end.
Full coverage top to bottom. Piste in great shape for most of the day. Home run got churned from mid-mountain down last thing.
Breakfast at 8am, at the lifts for 9.30am
Matt's turn to be with Sam, so Laura, Nerys & I skied together today.
Took the Frommes and Long downhills (red 7 and red down to Ladis and liked the run so much we did it again.
This turned out to be our favourite run of the holiday. Good distance with many pitch changes, starting in the alpine then wending it's way through the forest.
And quiet, so you could open it up.
This was the biggest day of the trip for us, 24.9 km with 4530m vertical
FRIDAY 25 MARCH 2016
Another sunny day but much cooler.
Below 0 degrees to start and barely creeping above freezing at the base by day's end.
Breakfast at 8am, at the lifts for 9.30am
Sam was fighting fit, so it was a full complement for our last day on snow.
Matt, Laura & Sam were staying another night, but Nerys & I were planning to head to Verona on Saturday.
Sam, Nerys & I headed down to Ladis and after a good play in the Indian Village - excellent slopeside themed play area - headed back to Fiss and over to Genuss Restaurant Zirbenhutte for lunch.
Indoors today.
The weather was closing in, so we headed home after lunch and enjoyed soup, bread & cheese, and pastries for afternon tea.
This is an indcation of the wonderful food we were served this week.
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
SATURDAY 26 MARCH 2016
10cm in the past 24 hours at Fiss Village level
With new snow on the ground and the sun breaking through the clouds, Nerys & I decided to ski another day and head to Italy in the afternoon.
We stored our gear with the hotel and then made our way to the Schonjochbahn gondola.
We all skied together today and skied the same route as yesterday but stayed on the Frommes downhill (red 7) back to Fiss rather than drop down to Ladis.
Then it was up and over to the Fun Slope & Snow Park Fiss and the Fiss Parallel Slalom race course before lunch in the sun at Genuss Restaurant Zirbenhutte.
Sam and me going head to head in the Fiss Parallel Slalom
We hit all the themed children's areas on the way back to the base of Fiss and finished up a fantastic week's skiing.
Sam made big strides in introducing balanced two foot pivotting and edging through to completion of the turn and relying less and less on the 'power plow' to control speed.
And did really well skiing and enjoying the fresh snowfall on and off the piste.
FAQ
Poster: A snowHead
down to Ladis and liked the run so much we did it again.
