 Poster: A snowHead
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johnboy, How was your 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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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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See my report on Elizabeth's Feedback Thread
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Saalbach valley (200km piste) seems a bit cooler and more snow-sure. Being much larger than Zell (130km including Kaprun) and so the pistes are less spoiled. I also found it to be a better place to ski than Zell/Kaprun.
As far I am aware Hinterglemm at the far end of the valley is a party place at night as people do the drinking outside, although that may have to do my visit being at Christmas time. No similar atmosphere found in Zell or Saalbach though. We could stay late at night in all these three places because we had a car with ourselves.
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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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| Durham Red wrote: |
| We're off to Zell in January, so the snow should be good. Has anyone stayed at the Seehof Hotel? My wife likes cheap, family run hotels and I'm always dubious (though rarely disappointed) . Anyone got any reviews? |
Stayed there a couple of years ago in the summer. Very friendly, nice place. Only problem was the noise from the railway at night, if you were on that side of the hotel.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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IncogSkiSno,
Any news of what the snow is like or are you having too much fun?
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Just put some Zell pics in Mediazone
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Webcam showing +9 degrees today.
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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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johnboy, nooooooo. I need it colder than that!!
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-0.5 at 2000m
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Hi
I'm a new member who stumbled across the site and was very glad to see such a nice big Zell thread as I'm off there for a long weekend skiing a week tomorrow.
Looks like the snow's beginning to deteriorate now which is a shame 
We're staying at the new Mavida Balance hotel (which only opened in Decembr) in Schuttdorf.
I haven't been skiing for 3 years & my husband's never been, so we'll be pottering about on the easy blues I think!!
Does anyone know if you can still skate on the lake?
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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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claireW,
Welcome to our little world. I don't know that Hotel. Not aware that you can skate on the lake, but the ice was about 1ft thick when I was there. I was there last week and snow was good although has warmed up a bit. Will still be good in Kaprun and Saalbach is definately worth a look.
Have fun.
I have put up some pics in the media section
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johnboy, Did you manage to sort out those photo's of the Crazy Daisy for me?
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You know it makes sense.
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stocky,
I got one of inside the place, but it has my wife in the middle of it. Will post on mediazone later
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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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claireW, welcome to snowHeads 
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Poster: A snowHead
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johnboy, Thanks mate. Glad you had a good trip.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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IncogSkiSno,
How was your week?
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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.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Zell am See 18th – 25th March 2006
We arranged our holiday as a late deal through this website:
http://www.teletextholidays.co.uk/WebSki/Homepage/HomeSki.aspx?area=ski and our TO was Thomson. Ski and Board.
This holiday was our first ever stay in a Chalet, a 2* one at that, and we did have some concerns before our arrival as to what we could expect in terms of the host, food, comfort and other guests etc. We were met at the bus Station by a young man, who turned out to be our Chalet Host. He had a very busy day with all his new guests arriving before 2.00 pm but his previous guests where still in the process of departing, so our room was not ready. Our host was both charming and helpful despite being rushed off his feet, so we went off to book our skis and passes.
After enjoying a walk around Zel am See we returned to our Chalet. Our accommodation was very basic but comfortable. Next we were to meet the other 10 guests; they were all couples in their mid 20’s – early 30’s and all were snowboarders except one couple. We enjoyed a good meal and 14 carafes of red wine and had some laughs getting to know our fellow guests.
Our first day on the slopes was a Thomson/Crystal Skiing guide of Zel am See, our Reps and our Chalet Host gave us a fast paced tour of the resort, stopping off for lunch at Schnapps Hans at the top of the Schmittenhohe, NOT TO BE MISSED!!! Hans himself was doing the rounds of the tables, singing a bizarre variety of songs, whilst skiers dance on the bar in their ski boots EXCELLENT STUFF!!! According to the reps he once asked some Germans to leave his bar because they didn’t like his music. Our first days’ skiing was in glorious sunshine and the snow conditions were ok but getting a little soft especially on the bottom runs. We skied most of the blacks and found that most of them were as easy as most reds elsewhere.
Monday we toured with our reps the Kitzsteinhorn Glacier at Kaprun (25 minutes in a crowd free bus, which run every 30 mins) here we found the snow condition to be far better and we really enjoyed the area, although it’s not as pretty as ZaS, but the views are fantastic. There is only one black run at Kaprun and we decided that we wouldn’t attempt it, as it was quite steep at the very top and moguled.
Tuesday we had a guided tour of Saalbach in glorious sunshine, and we went at quite a fast pace anti-clockise the whole of the circuit, we did stop for two drink breaks and for a long lunch too. We were very impressed with Saalbach and would definitely consider the resort for a future skiing holiday and the snow condition was a little better than at ZaS.
Wednesday we skied ZaS again and by chance met up with the others that we had previously skied with on the Guided tours. We stopped off at an out of the way restaurant called the Pinzgauer Hutte, and were towed back by a Skidoo, which felt much like water skiing. The skiing conditions were by now getting quite bad with great big mounds of slush on the bottom runs, which made the skiing hard work.
On Thursday we skied Kaprun with our new friends again, which worked really well as we were all about the same standard. The weather started off quite foggy especially on the bottom runs. We stopped off at 11.30 at the Krefelder Hutte for a hot chocolate and some relaxation in the deck chairs in absolute peace and quiet, soaking up the sunshine whilst admiring the spectacular views. We later returned for lunch, but it was colder and overcast by then, so we decided to eat inside. We had a wonderful hearty Goulash with large chunks of beef for €7. After lunch we took another look at the black run, and two of the group decided to ski it, whilst the rest of us opted for the train down, a wise decision, as we witnessed a skier lose both his skis and poles, and was struggling back up the mountain to fetch them. We skied the off piste run that leads off of the black run, this was great fun and was totally different to skiing on piste.
Friday we skied Zel am See again. We skied alone for the first time taking things a little slower and making time to take some photos. The runs at the bottom are now in a poor condition though and only the very top runs were nice to ski.
We mainly did early Apres, my favourite bar was the Crazy Daisy, but my SO didn’t particularly like it as it was too loud. The music was cheesy Austrian pop but it had everyone singing and dancing. We also drank at the Reisi Bar (sp?), Deili Bar (sp) and we went to Greens on our last night to treat our Chalet host to some cocktails.
We had an excellent weeks skiing, the reps were great fun to ski with. Our Chalet Host served up excellent food every night and always kept the wine flowing, his attention to detail was second to none and he made our stay really special. Our Chalet guests were great fun, as were our skiing buddies. All in all we had a great time and would be very tempted to return, despite the fact that we do like to try new resorts.
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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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Excellent report IncogSkiSno,
The Pinzgauer Hutte is something novel, isn't it
Any pics?
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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johnboy, I hardly took any pics, but i will load them asap, the first 3 days the skies were solid blue and I never took one piccy, it was all too fast paced to stop and take pics. So you went to the Pinzgauer Hutte too then? I didn't appreciate the trek up the small hill to get back up to the pistes though 
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IncogSkiSno,
Yeah, on the last day we skied with the group of brummies we befriended. Their mates son was a directski rep and took us to a few interesting places. The last wee bit was a bit of a climb though
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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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IncogSkiSno,
Thanks, it was nice to see the view of the valley from the glacier. The day we went it was cloudy in the valley
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Yes, nice pictures.
Its always nice to see places you have good memories of.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Okay...here's my few photos from Zell. Hopefully I'll get a chance to take some more next week - keep an eye on the April section!!
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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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IncogSkiSno, pm me your email address and I'll send you a copy...although I'm not sure when I'll have internet access over the next month.
Didn't do Saalbach or Kaprun...although I expect to do Kaprun next week. I'm sure I'll take some more pics....I'll post them when I get a chance.
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You know it makes sense.
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I'm amazed at the sucess of this thread on such a little modest resort. Obviously loads of people have fond memories of Zell
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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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johnboy, it's nice to see some Austrian resorts getting the attention. So much is focused on France. I have never skied France partly because I hear a lot of horror stories about long transfers, bad chalets and expensive food. The range of skiing does look good though. But all the Austrian (and Swiss) experiences I've had have been good so I'm now reluctant to change!
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Poster: A snowHead
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Elizabeth B, I'd do Saalbach ahead of Kaprun if I had to choose one and all things were equal - meaning snow conditions. Obviously at this time of year Kaprun would offer more reliable conditions.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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hayley t,
Couldn't agree more. I was previously weary of Austrian resorts due to their low altitude, but on the other hand as most of the skiing is on pasture they don't need much snow to operate. My 2 trips to Austria have both been fantastic and good value for money.
Have been to Morzine, Flaine, Alpe D and Crest Voland in France but much prefer Austria or Italy
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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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johnboy, Austria is brilliant, and I will always go there over France. This said, I have always enjoyed France, but I haven't done any of the real biggies 3V etc. - yet  I am now tempted with italy after our 1 day in Cervinia.
johnboy, Did you ski the off piste adventure in ZaS?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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IncogSkiSno,
Although France ain't my favourite I am curious to have a trip to 3V or V'Disere.
Where was the off piste adventure?
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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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johnboy, Do you have your piste map ? There was one in ZaS which we didn't do, but nearly did, it was to the right of the No 20 draglift. Sorry the one I skied was in Kaprun  Just off of the number 1 black at the very top, showing as a red dotted line with a red diamond, it was great fun, you would have known if you'd skied it. The other two were further down and one was a natural half-pipe the other was quite moguled with quite a few trees.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Looks like the season is coming to an end in Zell. Only 10 cm at bottom. Webcams show patchy conditions at bottom. Hope it will be OK for Liz
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| Adamski wrote: |
| Elizabeth B, I'd do Saalbach ahead of Kaprun if I had to choose one and all things were equal - meaning snow conditions. Obviously at this time of year Kaprun would offer more reliable conditions. |
Unfortunately I don't get a choice. I'm with a school group (mostly beginners), so I have to go to the same place as them.
Conditions at Zell are heavy but skiable. The run down to Schuttdorf was very rough at 4pm today....but all the surrounding fields are green, so they've done well to keep it open at all.
BTW. Found out today that the Castle ice sculpture is actually a birthday cake!!
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Elizabeth B,
Keep the reports coming. Can you ski down to the city express? Is the lake still frozen?
I take it ski-ing is OK above mid station?
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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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Hi
We got back last night from our long weekend.
As Elizabeth says, the runs are getting pretty heavy on the legs after about 11am, with the piste bashers out by 2 to try and restore them a little.
The temperatures are really high at the moment - on Saturday it hit 18 degrees.
The runs and lifts are lovely and quiet, although a guy from the ski school says 2000 British schoolkids are due out this week (Elizabeth's crowd are probably included in that!)
The glacier's busier, but conditions up there are great. Skiing down to the top of the City Xpress is still fine - it's lovely first thing. We were staying in Schuttdorf, and the run down to that was pretty shabby, but above Areitbahn I the coverage was still fine. Melting quickly though!
Oh - and it's a birthday cake for Mozart! On his birthday they lit it up with candles to celebrate!
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FAQ
