 Poster: A snowHead
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My friend hired the skis from Jennewein, and they let us leave the shoes in the back of the shop FOC, so that worked out ok. It also meant we could use their bench to boot up/off, which was handy too. Skis were this season and in very good condition. Good service, would recommend.
Very mixed conditions on the hill today. St Anton itself is greener than a green thing, up to about 1800m (pistes excepted). It started out dry with a couple of lifts still closed, but Schindlergratbahn had opened by the time we reached it, so we did a few laps around there in a moderate gale with light snow. The pistes were rock hard bashed snow with a light dusting on top, but improved a little higher up. The ski routes were similar, but with maybe 10cm fresh snow. Side piste was more like skiing ice blocks hidden by fresh snow, so we didn’t bother with that.
We moved to Kapall side where the black run (Kandahar?) was in quite nice condition, but visibility had deteriorated and heavy snow was now blowing in sideways. By the afternoon, enough snow had fallen to start to freshen the pistes up and not hit the base every turn, but the wind had closed pretty much all the other lifts and a lot of pistes/routes, so we no longer had it to ourselves and plans to move on were shelved. At the top of Kapall, it was -4C and 50km/hr winds. We missed a turning on one run and ended up skiing to Nassereinbahn. Don’t do this, below mid-mountain it’s horrible leg-breaking snow and not worth it at all.
If the pistes are bashed tonight (they will be) and it continues to snow, tomorrow/Tuesday will be really good. Even off-piste will probably be skiable again if it keeps going as forecast, but the wind is going to be a problem.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@Scarlet, sounds very similar to yesterday! Tuesday looks the day I reckon!
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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?
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Update from Lech… started snowing yesterday and still going (5pm). So lovely snow today but poor visibility especially this morning. I did feel sorry for the ski school kids going across 210 in fierce winds with no poles for the flat bits. I’m late to skiing and very cautious so I like to think today was good for my bravery! I’ve actually never snowed thick fresh snow before. Kids (teenagers - vg holiday skiers) had a great time but not as good as Mr Soozm on his board. A very happy man.
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@Scarlet, The "lounge" is a useful spot to get changed, a refuge from the gales and driving rain which seemed to follow my visits this year
@Soozm, Hopefully you might seem some sun tomorrow.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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The winter season started today with the biggesd dump of the season,,,
Deep POW on Bachseite ...
Sunnny tomorrow but this week from Thursday rain rain rain ......
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@munich_irish, let’s hope so!! Have been to Lech before, as a non skier and last year as a skier. This time last year I was sunbathing on the balcony. That was crazy but a drink on a sunny terrace before the week is up would be perfect 
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brief blip in temps Wed/Thurs with cooling temps again by the end of the week - freezing temps down to around 1600m!
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| munich_irish wrote: |
| The "lounge" is a useful spot to get changed, a refuge from the gales and driving rain which seemed to follow my visits this year |
Oh yeah? Where’s that then?
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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.
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@Scarlet, That's the bit at the top with the lockers, ski & boot racks & the snowboard hire spot
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@DB The tree saved the bus from going into the Gauge...
In case your at home in your Offices etc.. Today was the best Powder day of the season ... Deep Pow with Perfect Sunny Blue skies ...
There were multiple slides on Rendl North Face and other areas ....The Debris field (Snow Pile) was massive amd not passable on the Northe face run out cat track....so Helicopters were lifting Skiers/borders out
The temptation (risk vs reward) was to good for folks heading into the Open spaces on Rendl & Closed areas Steißbachtal/Matun .....
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Rain in town next few days upto freeze level 1800-2300M.... SNOW again at the Weekend !!
Official Weather from the locl meteo guy... trust no one else..
With the wind turning from north to west, the air comes more from the Atlantic to us from the middle of the week, so that it temporarily becomes much milder again.
But for the time being, we are still dealing with the polar air that has flowed into us, which, however, is already pushed away by milder Atlantic air on Wednesday night.
This rise in temperature is accompanied by extensive cloud fields, which cover the sky on Wednesday and repeatedly provide a little precipitation.
The snow line rises over 2000m during the day. On Thursday, new, extensive cloud fields will follow, whereby in the morning and at noon foehn southwesterly wind can briefly provide a few loosening.
From the late afternoon, the next fault system catches us. From Friday to Sunday, the weather continues in this volatile key. However, cold air is gradually seeping into us again in late winter.
At the weekend it snows again below 1300m.
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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.
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Amazing day in Lech and Warth today, cold, sunny from 10am and just piles of snow. Happy faces everywhere! The man in our ski hire place says there’s maybe 5 days like this a season. We are all exhausted!
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Just booked for next week (1-8 Apr). Driving out, so held off until now to see where looks most promising…hope I’ve got it right!
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You know it makes sense.
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It rained a bit in Lech yesterday afternoon and evening (at least in Oberlech, not sure about higher up), it’s ok today and the forecast is very promising for next week.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Flying out on Saturday, can't wait! Rain today and tomorrow before a bit of snow returns but we can't have everything can we. Looks like some sunny skiing up high midweek. Absolutely buzzing
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Poster: A snowHead
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Incredible conditions next week
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Hopefully the snow line will be just below the village when we arrive on Saturday evening. Looks quite close but I expect we won’t get there before darkness which should help that.
Can someone help me with knowledge about restaurant reservations since we’re BnB for this holiday?
Says on the Crystal app most hotels close their restaurants on Wednesdays so book for this night. Is that still likely to be true for next week? And we’re arriving pretty late on Saturday, any decent guaranteed straight in no messing straight to table food places for 2 hungry children (and the adults)? Think the hotel is in the centre, it’s near Spar anyway. Expect the hire shop will be shut for the night and Sunday morning is going to be manic getting the kids kitted out and ready for their lesson. Not looking forward to that.
And will I need to book lunch spots? Thinking we’ll try at least 1 of the summit restaurants, either Valluga or Rufikopf. Is 1 better than the other? Any other great lunch spots accessible for a pedestrian too?
The kids have 3 days of ski school so I think lunch those days might be a mix of Spar and Basecamp as there’s only an hour between lessons, but has anyone experience of this and other ideas?
Thanks for any pointers!
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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?
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@what...snow, St Anton or Lech? There is no summit restaurant on the Valluga, there is one in the lift station at the top of the second stage not sure it is worth a special effort to get there more a coffee bar sort of place, Rufikopf has a nice terrace on a sunny day. If you are looking for a nice view Balmalp above Zug is not bad as long as you are happy with the rather forced "cool" vibe, next to the gondola so accessible for non skiers.
Assuming St Anton walk in spots are all likely to be busy, there is Pomodoro next to the tourist office though quality not that good pizza probably OK pasta less so, The Dorfstub'n opposite Bar Cuba / just before Murrmel is OK for typical Austrian fare but seats often at a premium, similarly the Fuhrmannstube (past the Spar) Austrian but usually a long queue to get in (no bookings). If you are in the Nasserein area then the San Antonio is good and they will often try to squeeze you in but bookings better. Not sure about the hotels not serving on Wednesdays, sounds a bit old fashioned to me, cant see the 4 & 5 star spots doing that. Skiing Buddha (Thai) next to the station is good but you need to book especially on Saturday evenings.
If you have a choice for ski hire then go to Jennewein (directly opposite Galzig lift or next to Nassereinbahn), not the cheapest (book online for a small discount) but tends to be a bit less busy than the other spots though they are all about the same.
Take out a second mortgage if you plan on spending much time at Basecamp! The restaurant / bar by the Galzig roundabout does fish & chips no guarantee how good!
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I stay in an apartment and so cannot comment on hotels closing their restaurants. I would however be surprised if hotels did. TO Chalets are another thing. They usually give their staff one night off during the week. Maybe Wednesday?
What time are you arriving? If not too late then maybe Ski Buddha or Pizzeria Pomodoro. Both are a short walk from Spar.
You don’t need to book at most lunch spots and places like the lift co restaurants, eg the restaurants at the top of the Glazig, Rendl, and Gampen lifts don’t take booking anyway. They are more like cafeterias, but the food is good and reasonably priced.
I have never eaten in the restaurant at the top of the Vallugabahn, so no comment there. It is pretty small. The Ruffikopf restaurant is in Lech and we eat there regularly. Good food, reasonable prices, and spectacular views.
NB: we are not the sort of people who do long, big lunches. Grab something simple, maybe just soup, and back out. We don’t eat at the sort of places that require reservations.
One other thing to note is that some places are already closing for the season.
If you have the budget, and looking for a spectacular night out, then try al fuego. We went this year and were blown away by the food, the service, and the atmosphere.
If have any more questions, then blast away. There are a number of StA regulars, like myself, who post here, like MunichIrish and Markymark. One of us will surely have the answer.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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@munich_irish, snap!
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Thank you, all. We are staying in St Anton but I’m expecting at least 1 (sunny) day later in the week the kids and I will ski somewhere and meet the Mrs for lunch there. She’s happy to get the bus but wants to get a lift up to a high restaurant. Last year we were in Alta Badia where there is an amazing (and reasonably priced) restaurant near the top of every valley lift (and everywhere else on the slopes). There was a lovely off road path along a river that went past our hotel and was an easy walk to 2 villages where she could get a gondola to meet us at a restaurant. I thought Zürs would be good but apparently not (according to this thread) so somewhere around Lech looks the best option. Might even combine it with a go on the Oberlech-Lech toboggan run if there’s a restaurant near there that doesn’t cost an arm AND a leg.
We were supposed to be going to the Aosta valley this year but at the last minute I spotted a “Crystal bargain“ so we can definitely justify a few splurges. I’ve since read the whole thread, made a list and Al Fuego is definitely on it (along with Skiing Buddha).
As it was fairly last minute, I booked our lift tickets and ski hire/ski school for the kids via Crystal. They were all miles cheaper than DIY (I had a little check) and figured I’d sort the difficulties their arrangements would cause later  I have been ignoring the “come back and feed your kids in an hour” problem in the hope that there’s some easy solution when we arrive that is nothing to do with Crystal.
Ski hire is from Alber which appears to be near Galzig but the flight arrives in INN at 1730 and the hire shop seems to close at…1900. Can’t see how Crystal are going to organise that transfer in time for sorting out a pair of pre-teens so I’m resigned to getting them there as the shop opens on Sunday morning (presumably along with 200 other punters who arrived on the same TUI flight).
Even with everything going smoothly, I can’t see us being on the hunt for a restaurant before 8 and I can’t really make a reservation as there’s all sorts of things that could delay us further. Whatever time we do arrive, I’m going to have a very hungry 11 year old who needs food NOW and I’d like to have a solid plan (or 3). Thanks again for the help.
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@what...snow, from what you have described, Ruffikopf may well fit the bill for a lunch with a spectacular view. Your wife can catch the Postbus to Lech Rufiplatz. It leaves from St Anton Bahnhof forecourt.
Note: every second Postbus finishes at Zürs Trittkopfbahn. No drama. Just change to the free Blue Bus at the same place.
Your other option for lunch might one of Oberlech terraces. Limited views and a large concentration of tossers.  They are however close to the Rodelbahn and are probably a pleasant place to sit in the sun. In that case, your wife should get off the bus (either the Postbus or Blue Bus, as the case may be) at the Lech Postamt and then catch the Oberlech cable car.
The Lech Balmalp restaurant has great views - if you are next to the windows or on the terrace (or in the men’s). The food there is pretty good, but comes with a liberal dose of attitude! It also a faff to get to on foot. You have to get to Lech and then catch the bus to Zug.
In Zürs, the only option that seems to fit the bill would be the BBQ Station at the top of Trittkopfbahn II. It looks nice inside, but I have not eaten there, so I cannot vouch for it.
If your flight arrives at 1730, you will not get to Alber by 1900. Just get up and hit the shop at opening time.
I cannot really help you much with dinner on the first night. We tend to eat in. San Antonio Pizza is good, but about a 15+ minute walk from Spar or a pricey taxi ride (check the price when you get in - they have known to “inflate” prices, if they think they can get away with it).
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We dined at Al Fuego this March, they are open for daily reservation by phone from 11 AM.
Frankly it was less tasty than what we expected, regular steakhouse but with very good service and a kids play station.
The rather bad impression might be due to the fact that we all asked for medium but got well done.. Might be our bad luck but it was a slow evening so..
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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.
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Another vote from me for the pomodoro pizza for the first night. That's what we usually do on the first night. They don't take reservations anyway but it does get busy so a bit of patience waiting is often needed. The turnover of customers is fairly quick though so it's usually possible to get a space.
The spanish tapas place (Bodega) on the main street is also good and they usually manage to squeeze people in somewhere, it's quite small and they use every available space.
Bobos (the bar underneath the Dorfstubn mentioned previously) servers Burgers, Ribs, Fajitas and is good, the portions are big, don't over order !
The Skiing Buddha is good and a nice change from Schnitzel and other Austrian food for a night. The kitchen closes at 9pm but they take orders right up until that time and there didn't seem to be any rush to get people to leave when we went there. We didn't book and there was plenty of space (on a Thursday) but the general reports are it gets busy.
For Lunch the Balmalp is good as others have mentioned. You can get to it from either the new Zug lift or the Kriegerhorn lift in Lech (but the latter needs a bit of speed when you leave the lift and probably a short uphill walk since the restaurant is slightly uphill at the end.
I've eaten at the BBQ Station at the top of Trittkopfbahn II a few times, it's a self-service place with various meat/burger options. It's a decent place to eat, we like it, but it's not something special.
The Alber ski hire place is right next to the Galzig lift, it shouldn't be that bad getting kitted out on the Sunday morning, the people in there are usually helpful, I've used them a few times though I usually rent from the Jennewein store just a short distance further down from there.
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@what...snow, Pomodoro is probably your best option, it is not the best quality and a bit noisy & scruffy (not the place to take your wife for a "nice" meal!) but would be fine for a hungry 11 year old. The food comes up quickly so there is a high turnover.
Alber Sports is right next to the ski school meeting place at the Galzigbahn, should be minimum faff to get kit sorted. Make sure you get lockers makes life a lot easier.
If your wife is going to get the bus over to Lech (there really isnt much at Zürs) then note it now goes from outside the train station not the bus station and better to pay cash as it is a good deal of faff to get a ticket with a card from the machine inside (unlike the ski buses it is not free but only a few Euros from St Anton to Lech)
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Randomly just remembered to ask! Last Saturday we had lunch in st anton and there was a very loud air raid warning kind of siren that sounded about 12 noon. Any idea what it was? It was snowing/sleeting but not super heavy.
Also heard from someone out there yesterday that they closed the mountain due to thunderstorms! He also wrote that he got the wettest he’d ever been skiing!
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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.
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@kitenski, In many German & Austrian villages there is a fire alarm for the volunteer Fire Brigade (big social thing) which they test at 12:00 every Saturday.
On my visits this year it has been pretty miserable ( I think I got one nice day) mostly storm force winds, fog & sleety rain 
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@munich_irish, that'll be it cheers! Think I'll take my 5 nice days and 1 average/1 poor then from last week!!
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You know it makes sense.
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Anyone there at the minute and can describe current conditions off-piste? We were considering trying to get a guide for a day but I'm thinking conditions don't warrant it and we should just enjoy sunny piste skiing next week. Any thoughts?
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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I’m not there I’m in Ischgl not too far away and there’s loads and loads of great off piste so there must be plenty there too.
So I’d say hire the guide I’m sure you will have a good day out.
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Poster: A snowHead
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@Meltus, can you chat to the guide? If it rained up high ain't going to be good at the moment....
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@kitenski, unlucky
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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?
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@VolklAttivaS5, wasn't me fortunately! Did you not get rain in Ischgl?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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| kitenski wrote: |
| @VolklAttivaS5, wasn't me fortunately! Did you not get rain in Ischgl? |
No, I know it wasn’t you.
It rained yesterday afternoon yes but it wasn’t raining up high as far as I’m aware. It was certainly raining outside my apartment at 1400m though!!
I was in by then though doing some washing! I had the best of it in the morning and was back home by 2 as I wanted to swerve the George Ezra concert crowds plus had stuff to do. Freezing level was high at 2300m mind so it may have rained below later on. Snow is still great though well below that as I’ve just skied all the way down to 1790m (Samnaun) and it wasn’t sticky or slushy so I’m thinking we escaped it here apart from village level (1377m).
Of course St Anton village level is just a little lower than that.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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@ulmerhutte, thanks for the pithy description of Oberlech! That’s what I would rather avoid. That’s all been really helpful. Hopefully the transfer isn’t too painful tomorrow. Will let you know what I think as a St Anton virgin.
I’ve ordered some euros last night and even checked in already. Will be at the airport tomorrow.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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If there's time for winterweg on a sunny day, there's a beautiful hiking trail 6 km long that starts in Zurs right after the bus top next to the Trittkopf valley station and reaches Lech close to the Rufikopf base station.
Mostly horizontal, following the water trail and towards the end entering the forest above the last mile to Lech.
It's easy to get the return bus from there/have dinner in Lech/go up to the Rufikopf top station
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@what...snow, Hotel Cresta in Oberlech 5 mins walk down the piste from lift station, reasonably priced (for Lech) excellent quality food, no to$$ers (thought that was a bit harsh), and great views.
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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.
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| drporat wrote: |
If there's time for winterweg on a sunny day, there's a beautiful hiking trail 6 km long that starts in Zurs right after the bus stop next to the Trittkopf valley station and reaches Lech close to the Rufikopf base station.
Mostly horizontal, following the water trail and towards the end entering the forest above the last mile to Lech.
It's easy to get the return bus from there/have dinner in Lech/go up to the Rufikopf top station |
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Judging from the webcams, snowline looks to be 15/1600m at the minute which isn't too bad considering it's due to get colder. Might risk getting that guide!
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FAQ
