 Poster: A snowHead
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| Peter Leuzzi wrote: |
Rebelski, ouch! I am out there on the 5th for about 4 days so am quite concerned by that.
Soll experts - should we be super worried? I really dont fancy icy then slush but thats how its sounding.
Where should one head from Soll if conditions are like that? (to ski/bus to within the Ski Welt please, smart a**es  ) |
Hi Peter, I think you'll be fine. Obviously Heidiky is the one to confirm this but we've never had any drama with the snow in Soll or the Skiwelt even when it looks patchy. Ski Brixen in the morning in the sunshine (two gondolas up from Soll and then down the black on the other side - nice to start to any day). As a matter of interest, does anyone know if you can get around to Brixen by taking lift 43 (to the left of the HochSoll gondola) up and skiing around on 43a/7a to lift 7?
In the afternoon, go to Scheffau or Ellmau both of which you can ski to from Soll once you're up. Or take the gondola over from Brixen to Westendorf which is at the bottom of red 6.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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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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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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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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It sounds like there will be a few snowheads in Soll next week - how about meeting up somewhere up the hill say Monday or Tuesday - anyone any suggestions ?
heidiky, I'm toying with getting an AllStars pass and exploring a bit wider afield. Do you know if it is possible to get a bus to Leogang (to also get access across to Hinterglemm/Saalbach) and back ?
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Just a quick bit of info for those staying at Lodge Mounty. The hotel is OK and the rooms are generally good. It's not as good as the basic chalets that Cyrstal offer in Kitz. The thing that caught use out is you don't get free table wine. Neilson's Chalet holidays do provide this, but even though it's on the chalet section on the website it's not included as it's a 'Lodge' holiday. Not that we are a bunch of alcoholics but it's an additional you'll have to take into account with spending money.
The ski area is fantastic but just make sure you leave enough time to bet back to Soll at the end of the day, some of the villages are not linked by buses.
Finally, if you get chance have a go at the sledging from the main gondola station, it's awesome!
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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jimberetta, thanks for the info. Staying Lodge Mounty 5th March. anything else I should look out for? heard getting the bus to the slopes is a nightmare! walkable journey?
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freshlegs, Yep you must have missed it! As you go underneath the siller lift head straight ahead and over the crossroads. There's a little restaurant on the left called the Frankalm(?) or maybe Kraftalm... but opposite this is a little blue track between the trees. Go down the track and it's the house on the left! You in resort at present I take it? If i'm not working tomorrow i'm sure I could show you where it is 
deerman, All stars pass is good if you want to head over to the other side of Westendorf and hen to Kitz. I'll have a look into buses, maybe a bus to kufstein then the train, would be a long day though! If you hired a car you could ski all over, just an added expense. Would be good to have a snowheads meet up/apres beer!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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powellshire - yeah, the bus can be a nightmare. Everyone gets on though!. Best advice is to get the one about 8:20 and be up the mountain asap. If you get the next bus (9:20) the queue for the gondola is awful! (40 mins plus!). The walk across the field is about 30 minutes to the lift. I did it one day, it isn't too bad and you get a bit of a warm up before hitting the slopes. The staff are really good at the hotel and will go out of their way to help.
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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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deerman, if you are going by bus to Leogang, you will probably have to change at St. Johann in Tirol. Looking at the Postbus timetables I see there is a bus leaves St. Johann at 08:27 and reaches Leogang at 08:53. That would probably be the best for a day's skiing, though it would mean an early start. A bus from Söll to St. Johann leaves Söll at 07:20 (ugh!) and reaches St. Johann at 08:26 (it must go round the mountains). Maybe that's a connection but it looks tight! If you were taking it and hoping to go on to Leogang, maybe the driver could radio ahead and make sure the connection works. Maybe a taxi Söll-St. Johann would be better. I haven't investigated the return trip.
However, if you're really desperate to ski Saalbach-Hinterglemm, perhaps I could pick you up somewhere (St. Johann or Fieberbrunn) and that would be more flexible. The only complication is that I have a friend staying with me next week and I'm not sure she will want to ski great numbers of miles. We did ski Leogang-Saalbach and back last year but I don't know whether she will want to repeat that. But if you think that might be interesting, PM me and maybe we can arrange something. We will probably ski the Hohe Salve some day next week too but again I don't know any details yet.
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powellshire, I second what jimberetta says, the bus from the mounty is a bit irregular but get your timing right and you'll be fine! And the staff are lovely too - food is great, chef Liam is a good'un!
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You know it makes sense.
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powellshire, I second what jimberetta says, the bus from the mounty is a bit irregular but get your timing right and you'll be fine! And the staff are lovely too - food is great, chef Liam is a good'un!
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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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heidiky, sorry that was my fault. I was looking at the map (and google earth - I really have to stop this  ) and I'm not in the resort at the moment. We'll find it in March though I hope.
By the way, what's the story with the carnival in the Skiwelt for that week? We struggled to get rooms for three nights when it hasn't been a problem before and I'm told it's due to the Carnival which means that everyone is on holidays and it seems it's going to be jammers. It has something to do with the start of lent (hardly a reason to celebrate I would have thought) apparently. Can we expect a parade or is it just a week of public holidays in Germany/Austria?
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Poster: A snowHead
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freshlegs, No worries, it's me being blonde!! I'm not sure about the carnival thing, they celebrate pancake day, call in fasching and dress up as literally anything, but I thought that was feb some time. Hopefully someone else can shed some light on it! It could just be that it's a weekend and loads of Germans might be planning to ski.
Sorry guys for my comments going through twice, bloomin slow internet doesn't register 1st one all the time.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Carnival (also called Fasching in southern Germany, Fasnacht in Switzerland and round about) is the period leading up to Lent. Sort of making hay while the sun shines - as the name says "goodbye to meat" - carne vale (pardon my Latin). Since Lent is dependent on Easter (40 days before), carnival is also a movable feast. Fasching begins actually on the 11th November and, in Germany, the time up till the start of Lent is used for balls, parties, etc.
This year, because Easter is late, so is carnival. Lent begins on Wednesday, 9th March (Aschermittwoch - Ash Wednesday). The big celebrations take place from the previous Thursday (Unsinniger Donnerstag - women cutting off the bottoms of men's ties) and on the Monday (Rosenmontag - big processions, especially in Rheinland) and the Tuesday (Faschingsdienstag - again processions in some places). On the Wednesday you traditionally eat fish and there are meetings of political parties (not of much interest to skiers).
In many ski areas it doesn't have any great effect. There may be processions in some villages and you may see folk in fancy dress on the slopes. There are places that make more of a show, e.g. the Firschingalmfasching at Spitzingsee, a ski area near Munich. Here you will see many skiers in costume and there are also races for crazy vehicles, ancient skiing, etc. All in all Fasching is a good excuse to have a party and enjoy yourself.
The big effect on skiing is that, e.g. in Bavaria, the schools have holidays that week, so you can expect the slopes to be busier than usual (and traffic to be bad at times). However, I've never found it disastrous on the pistes. In Austria the school holidays are in February.
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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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[b]espri[/b, thanks. I will keep an eye out for it next time.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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| Quote: |
If you get the next bus (9:20) the queue for the gondola is awful! (40 mins plus!)
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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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Okay, so its very apparent that its going to be warmer while I am in Soll 5th until 9th which is this Saturday until Wednesday.
Having not been there or anywhere at the Ski Welt previously are there any tips then that people with local knowledge have as to where we should head in such conditions and where we should avoid. For reference I am a 7 or 8/10 intermediate scale skier (where upper intermediate is a 10 and a few weeker is a 1) and my mate is a 6/7 - or more simply for us a black run is something we have to do because we messed up and went the wrong way, we'll do it but won't want to!
Also, heidiky, are they/will they use snow cannons in these temperatures?
Thanks in advance - all opinions, comments welcome as I'm at that pre-trip stage where I will read, read again and devour anything anyone says about it!
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Peter Leuzzi, Looking at the webcams http://www.wilderkaiser.info/en/livecam.html, and having skiied there 3 weeks ago in similar conditions when we even had rain up the hill, I would not be worried. They look after the snow very well at Soll and the other resorts. I'm heading out there tomorrow and looking forward to it.
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deerman, thanks for that. Very encouraging.
Anyone else?
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Peter Leuzzi, back in early Jan when I was in SkiWelt, the snow cover was a little less deep than it is currently and the temperatures varied wildly from -13º at the beginning of my trip to +7º towards the end. Nearly all slopes are covered by snowmaking and impeccably groomed, the only difference was that they were rather hard at the beginning of the trip and a bit soft towards the end of the day when it was warm. But you have nothing to worry about, the snow depths are good and they are fabulous at keeping the pistes maintained. Enjoy!
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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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queen bodecia, as someone who has skied the last 3 or 4 Easters and 90% of the time it was freeze-thaw, I experienced the hardest of hard pistes in the morning, brilliant sunshine and maybe 2 runs where the snow was perfect. From then on it was war against the slush with my legs always losing! I am hoping that freeze-thaw at this time of the year isnt as extreme - please agree with me 
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Peter Leuzzi, Temps today were between 3 and 5, pistes are mainly in good nic, just the off piste thats pretty 'variable'!! Cannons have been on, it's actually getting pretty cold at night, but like queen bodecia, was saying they look after the pistes fairly well and there's only a few sketchy patches.
Hopfgarten/Brixen/Ellmau side on a mornig then Sheffau/Soll afternoons. Or Westendorf all day.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Peter Leuzzi, to be honest, I'm really not that fussy. I'll ski anything remotely white. I actually prefer hardpack to mashed potato.
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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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heidiky, sorry for late getting back to you, been hectic at work!
finally got a fitting over here, so whilst I am a good few quid lighter, I do have boots that will not cripple me (like last year's rentals did to me).
fingers crossed for a downturn in the temperatures in time for the weekend...
Pete
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You know it makes sense.
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Had a great week. Weather warm and sunny, but full credit to the piste preparation teams across the ski welt, excellent conditions each day. The south facing slopes naturally suffered in the heat as the day progressed but nothing that you'd say was particularly bad.
Wrecked now. Will post more in the coming days.
Last edited by You know it makes sense. on Mon 14-02-11 11:48; edited 1 time in total
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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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| Rebelski wrote: |
Had a great week. Weather warm and sunny, but full credit to the piste preparation teams across the ski welt, conditions each day. The south facing slopes naturally suffered in the heat as the day progressed but nothing that you'd say was particularly bad.
Wrecked now. Will post more in the coming days. |
Have to agree with all you said there Rebelski, arrived back from Soll myself on Saturday....One of the remarkable things for me was coming back from Westendorf one of the days and seeing that long run into Brixen like a white ribbon winding it's way down through green/brown pastures! They've done an amazing job keeping the pistes in that condition....Here's hoping that there's some good snow on the way to help all the locals out and those due to visit in the next few weeks!
Once again, excellent service in Salven Stadl and great food in the Whiskey Muhle! Martin in Snow/Fun looked after us with excellent skis and the ski lockers up in Edinger Sports made life much easier although we avoided the ski bus and walked up to the first station as a warm up!
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Poster: A snowHead
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Just debating whether to get the ski bus in the mornings? I'm staying at Pension Faistenauer, about 800m from the slopes. I'm wondering whether I'd be better off walking it so I can get there early and be first on the lifts, or is that a daft idea?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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TheDelaney, Not daft at all, and like Ben Dover, was saying it' a good little warm up if you leave your gear at Edingers.
We got a splash of snow this morning, nothing to get excited about but hopefully a sign of things to come
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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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Good stuff! I've given up on the forecasts, they change every few hours! Although it does seem as though it's cooling down quite a bit, which is a relief
How are the slopes holding up?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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TheDelaney, Yeah, was a tad cooler today. The weather changes so much in the mountains I don't really think that it's possible to get a 100% accurate forecast! Slopes are holding up well, just to the side of the pistes (especially lower down) there's pretty much just grass. But the runs themselves have been kept well, just spring like conditions. Don't worry too much, the whole of Europe pretty much is having the same problem! I'll keep you posted if there's any more white stuff from the sky 
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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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TheDelaney,
well worth doing the walk in the morning just to wake up and warm up before hopping on the ski's.
Conditions each morning were great for skiing and we covered quite a bit of the area each day. Had a great meal in the Dorf Stub'n one night, and the Postwirt were really accomodating to our large group too a few nights and very friendly (unlike the Venezia!)
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