 Poster: A snowHead
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We used the ski school last year for our young beginner kids and were very impressed with their organization, facilities, and general manner.
Having been to most of the major Austrian and French resorts serfaus is absolutely up there with the best especially if you have kids. Just don't tell too many people. We're back there in a few weeks for the third year in a row.
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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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@gbium, Honestly I think you'd struggle to find better. Like everything here it's top class both group and private and the set up for kids is unbelievable. 'Snow Stars' programme for kids covers all aspects, freestyle, slalom, freeride and Avalanche awareness and safety, amazing.
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Only used the ski school for adult lessons, kids were too young at the time, and found them decent. Our instructor was good and coped well with multiple languages as it was a mixed language group. There are not too many Brits so good chance you'll find the same. Didn't bother us though might not suit everyone.
I liked the fact that the lessons took us on a pretty good tour of the mountain as well rather than doing drills on the same runs over and over. If you go private would be even better. The kids lesson area (which we didn't use) looked fantastic in terms of facilities, it's also at just shy of 2000m so tends to have good snow rather than resort level slush. For really young UN's there's even a dedicated musical called car to take you up the mountain I kids you not!
Anyway all in well worth a go and you have no choice anyhow 
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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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Thanks all, was going to book my daughter in (confident and able to turn properly when not skiing with me) but was thinking of doing something myself. My lad has chosen to go skiing with his chums over his dad (the cheek) so my ski buddy won't be around. I was looking at the two day freeride course or may just go for a couple of half-day private lessons.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Love this place - stayed last year in the kinder hotel Lowe which was a place of heaven for my nearly 3year old daughter - best kids facilities I've seen anywhere and allowed Mrs. D and I to ski about 6 hours per day without any worries for dd
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Any other current reports? Be there on Saturday and wishing I could relocate some of that Arlberg pow to Serfaus...
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@comish, i thought it looked good for this week with the latest projections in the weather outlook thread?
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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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@comish, @Levi215, snowed yesterday and is snowing again today but they don't get nearly as much as the Arlberg resorts - it's the one slight drawback...
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We had a great five-day break in Fiss a couple of seasons ago. Arranged own flights and transfers and stayed at the Hotel Fisserhof - http://www.fisserhof.at/welcome-facts/. A lovely hotel, with afternoon tea (including a hot option) served every day - a treat when you return from skiing. It's a short walk uphill to the gondola, but easy to store skis and boots next door.
Loved the skiing here and will definitely be back some time.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Story of my 2 visits there.
-1st time, maybe 50cm base in Serfaus with stones everywhere on the front side and too few runs for the capacity of the chairs making the pistes very crowded. Drove into St. Anton for our 2nd week where it was dumping down and we skied waist deep pow for a few days.
-Last year was terrible everywhere. St. Anton was no better.
-This year looks like a reversion to the norm with St. Anton looking like it has plenty at this point with people saying they have lost track of how many snow days in the last week, while Serfaus is getting little bits of snow.
There is some awesome terrain in Serfaus, they just need more consistent snow to take advantage of it, although at least its relatively high elevation for Austria so you don't have the worries about rain as in most of the lower resorts.
I can also confirm almost no one skis off-piste there. My 115 Atomic Atlas's were slightly out of place, but I was able to just lap an untracked bowl last year, albeit on a reeeally thin base. Kids ski school and facilities are solid. The groups were large, but the kids had fun which is what matters. The hotels are excellent and more reasonable which is why we end up there for a week with the inlaws and then head back to Mecca for the 2nd week to really ski 
Arriving Saturday! Anyone want to sit with us while we fly 3 kids, 6 and under across the pond tomorrow from the west coast? Nothing like a 12 hour flight with kids!
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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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@comish, ironically it was only a couple of seasons ago that the Peak Leaders gap year ski instructor course people had to be bussed to Serfaus every day from St Anton was there wasn't enough early season snow...
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| comish wrote: |
| I can also confirm almost no one skis off-piste there. |
Is this true? I am getting a few days in Serfaus this winter as part of my ski bum tour across the Alps.
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You know it makes sense.
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@Feast, 'Ski Dimension' is marketed (successfully) as family resorts and so all the powder hounds do tend to go the the usual honeypots further west.
There is a very marked difference in the clientele of St Anton / Ischgl and S/F/L. Plenty of people hire guides and go off piste but there's are a lot less ski bums.
Snowed all day today
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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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@red 27, It'll be 3 days in Serfaus and none in Ischgl at this rate
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Poster: A snowHead
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@Feast, oooh no - gotta do 'em both...  Lots to like about Ischgl - you just need to inure yourself to (probably harmless) groups of Bavarian stags apres-ing in fussball shirts and (probably harmful) groups of stone faced Russians discussing munitions in the gondolas.
Good tip in Ischgl is the Feriengluck B&B
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Last year I was literally the only one lapping a particular bowl that had about 6" to maybe 8" of untracked fresh right next to the piste. Not sure I saw another airbag backpack there when in the Arlberg they are practically required. Very very few people go off-piste. But you need to snow to both cover up the rocks on the higher elevation terrain and to make it worthwhile and that is Serfaus downfall. Great terrain, just need more of that fluffy white stuff from above.
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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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@comish, The Arlberg snow arrived today and it's still dumping 
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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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@comish, Only seen one airbag and the bloke who was wearing it stopped me as I'm the only other person he's seen with fat skis. Still needs a lot more snow as lots of rocks and small trees still showing but tomorrow should be epic
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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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Nice! Good to hear! You still there next week? I'm still bringing rock skis...
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| Feast wrote: |
| comish wrote: |
| I can also confirm almost no one skis off-piste there. |
Is this true? I am getting a few days in Serfaus this winter as part of my ski bum tour across the Alps. |
We've been twice, and the first time the snow was superb and we got plenty of pow. Not exactly a lot of competition for it 
I find the same in Lech/Zurs and Ischgl. We basically go there hoping for pow as it gets tracked out so slowly, one decent storm can provide deep stashes for days.
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What's the snow like at the moment? We've got flights booked to Innsbruck on the 18th but haven't quite decided where to go. Thinking Lech but would prefer Serfaus.
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@erica2004, Roughly half the area opened up now and more should be opening up in next couple of days. The piste skiing is very good but off piste still needs more coverage
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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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Joined the top ski school group this morning and finally got in to the off piste in low viz. Wind blown and slabtastic at the top but pretty decent lower down. It's a bluebird forecast tomorrow so hopefully get to do some more. Standard not great but good fun.
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My son had his last day in the 'Snow Stars' programme with ski school. As well as skiing, he had a test on piste signs and they went out on snow bikes this afternoon. Cannot emphasise just how good the ski school is, can't imagine there is a better set up anywhere in the world. Also found out today you can join an adult ski school group just for a morning, they don't advertise it on their website but handy if you want to ski with other people whilst kids are in ski school
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Stunning bluebird to start the year. Went on a hunt for good lines with a Slovakian guy from the ski school. It was great fun but hit and miss. We had to make several tactical withdrawals from breakable crust and a couple of lines we just weren't happy with. Two big slides close to an area we were scoping as the temperature rose dramatically. Cannot emphasise how dangerous it will be here off piste after next snowfall it wasn't that clever yesterday with several slides on runs that had been skied so please take care and use excellent local Avalanche bulletin https://www.serfaus-fiss-ladis.at/en/service/avalanche-bulletin
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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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@Guernseyfreerider, excellent advice. Looks like there could be a substantial snowfall on Saturday night into Sunday morning, followed by a cold night then some day time warming on Tuesday.
Some sources are suggesting strong winds could also accompany the weekend snowfall, just to ratchet the avalanche risk a little higher.
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@Feast, Started raining at 2000m this afternoon and still raining in village now.
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You know it makes sense.
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Spring conditions today. Went across to Fiss for the first time, soft grippy snow on the front side. Headed up to the Nordzeiten where pistes were bullet hard and very bare in places apart from just off the pistes where it was mint. Never done this before but booked with the hotel for next year. The next storm is much needed as the base is still poor in places. So impressed with this place, was going to write a report on tripadvisor about hotel but decided I don't want anyone else to come
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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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Poster: A snowHead
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BUMP ..... Do we have any snowheads currently in SFL / just back from SFL? any update on conditions - need my little fix ... starting to count down the weeks to march trip ....
BTW, for anyone heading there shortly, the webcams are looking pretty and white today, and the resort forecast is looking promising for the weekend ...
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Snowing now in Nauders, which looked to have come from over Serfaus way.
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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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Was there last week. Rained everywhere on Saturday so I would assume it's pretty bullet proof there as I don't think they got that much s ow on Sunday. The Arlberg got a foot and it's still pretty icy on places here.
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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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Conditions are excellent here at the moment. There was 10-20cm fresh on Saturday and temperatures have dropped. Base is a bit thin lower down but you can ski happily down to the valley and conditions up top are excellent. The off piste is now largely tracked and a thin crust on sunny/exposed slopes but fresh lines to be had still.
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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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@kamikaze, Good to here you've had a nice top up out there.
Can't wait for my trip in March
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Heading home tomorrow after am excellent week.
Light snow all day today had deposited maybe 5cm on the mountain. Slopes were looking slightly worn in places with too much artificial and heavily skied faceted snow. Snow felt better today with that slight top up but there was heavy cloud and low visibility today so harder to enjoy. Major dump could well come through at end of January judging by GFS forecasts, which would help build up the base.
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@kamikaze, thanks for taking the time to let us know what the conditions are - glad to hear you've had a great week - it's a lovely mountain and not really well known at all for english speakers , don't know why?
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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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@kamikaze, lovely pics - they've got the old juices flowing! Roll on March!
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Looks like a decent dump out there today - anyone in resort to confirm?
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