 Poster: A snowHead
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Oh, and you can actually get a good cup of tea in the cafe at the tourist office end of Dorfstrabe 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Thanks everyone for your continued info.
This is going to be so helpful in planning my days.
I'm going to have to made notes on a piste map before my trip!
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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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| Mjit wrote: |
Yes @Ionizingskin, we get it. You don't like Ischgl and seem to have joined SH just to moan about it.
I've just had a look and all of your 9 post so far have been bitching about Ischgl. How about posting something positive, say a report on a resort you like? |
Oh yeah they also dont put on enough buses - money saving again I guess - everyone has been packed to the rafters and quite often you have to wait for the next one.
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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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@Ionizingskin, Where did you stay? Pretty much every hotel in the village is easily walkable to one of the three gondolas.
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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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Odd, one of our group can only ever do a part week so does the flight to Innsbruck/train to Landeck/bus up the valley and he's never mentioned it being busy. Also the time we took a day trip up to Galtur the bus was more or less empty with spare seats both ways.
Of course if you're staying out of town and getting the bus in/back at peak commuting times I expect it is busy, especially if you're only just out of town so the bus has passed loads of stops before it gets to you. Very much like the bus I was taking every day from Morzine to the Prodains gondola in the PdS last week. We were getting on at the first stop so no trouble getting seats. By the time we were leaving Morzine it was standing room only and quite often it just drove past people at the stops along the way as it was full, so they would have been waiting at least 15min for the next one.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| KateP21 wrote: |
Ischgl has good reviews as an intermediate resort, but some forum comments suggest some Austrian slopes can be graded a bit strange...some blues more reds, some reds more blacks for example. |
Depends a lot on the resort as they'll need to have a reasonable mixture of blues/red/blacks.
Saalbach for example has a lot of runs on the south facing side of the valley down a slope that is similar grade all the way along - some runs are red, some are blue, and aren't that distinguishable.
Obergurgl has a number of blacks on the piste map, but most are really red, and one continues a blue and is of no different grade. Only one serious piece of black there - 100yards max off the Top Mountain Star.
Ischgl is well graded I believe, except that most of the runs in Samnaun really are pretty easy - the reds there could mostly be blue elsewhere.
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Yes - it is fine for all levels of skier.
make sure you go to Schatzi and Freeride bars. Both awesome. 
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| buchanan101 wrote: |
| KateP21 wrote: |
Ischgl has good reviews as an intermediate resort, but some forum comments suggest some Austrian slopes can be graded a bit strange...some blues more reds, some reds more blacks for example. |
Depends a lot on the resort as they'll need to have a reasonable mixture of blues/red/blacks.
Saalbach for example has a lot of runs on the south facing side of the valley down a slope that is similar grade all the way along - some runs are red, some are blue, and aren't that distinguishable.
Obergurgl has a number of blacks on the piste map, but most are really red, and one continues a blue and is of no different grade. Only one serious piece of black there - 100yards max off the Top Mountain Star.
Ischgl is well graded I believe, except that most of the runs in Samnaun really are pretty easy - the reds there could mostly be blue elsewhere. |
All resorts blur the lines on piste colours a little in order to claim a good range of blue/red/black runs and be as attrative to as wide a range of skiiers as possible (caugh, Alpe d'Huez Sarnne 'longest black run', caugh). If anything compared to other resorts I've skied Ischgl's generally optimistic (I've skied one or two blues in other resorts that are harder than one or two of the Ischgl reds, and there's a few Ischgl runs that I can't work out why one's red but the other's blue).
That said I'd disagree with the Samnaun run being pretty easy, though a lot depends on snow conditions. I remember getting dragged down it by my friends at the end of my first week skiing. There was lots of snow up high, leading to soft mogals (and also a little bit of poo coming out) on a couple of steeper sections, a whole lot of poling on the flat section before Samnaun, and a lot of post lunch sweating on the long, flat, porridge section to the gondola  Done it since and now struggle to work out where those steep bits I remember are meant to be (but still hate the post-food run to the gondola)
Last edited by After all it is free  on Thu 6-02-20 15:09; edited 1 time in total
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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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| Snelly55 wrote: |
Yes - it is fine for all levels of skier.
make sure you go to Schatzi and Freeride bars. Both awesome. |
Each to his own - think those two are at the bottom of our list, especially Freeride as while it's nice to sit outside Schatzi with a beer watching the carnage at the bottom of the home run every time we've been in Freeride it's felt really sleezy. But then we've never had an especially good night in the Trofanna Alm either and other report some great night, so a bit of good week/bad week and bit of looking for a different sort of apres. Thankfully Ischgl offers you such a range of apres options that almost everyone can find what they want.
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@Mjit, sometimes a run can seem totally different after a bit more experience.
On day 2 of my lessons this year I actually told the instructor he was mad for even suggesting he takes us down one steep section.
By day 5 I couldn't understand why I was so freaked out!
Sounding positive I'll be fine in Ischgl.
I'm definitely happier if the say runs are red but the consensus is they are more blue. Think I can cope with that!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| KateP21 wrote: |
@Mjit, sometimes a run can seem totally different after a bit more experience.
On day 2 of my lessons this year I actually told the instructor he was mad for even suggesting he takes us down one steep section.
By day 5 I couldn't understand why I was so freaked out!
Sounding positive I'll be fine in Ischgl.
I'm definitely happier if the say runs are red but the consensus is they are more blue. Think I can cope with that! |
It depends. The reds on the Swiss side are definitely easier than the reds to the right hand side of the Ischgl map which I think are proper reds. Fair bit of blue around the Idalp bowl, though not my favourites later in the day. Top of red 12 (I think) is not nice late on (well travelled and not wide). In general the Idalp bowl is the busiest part of the resort - go left or right!
Look out red 7 though - lovely run, but will be busier this year as there's a much better route back from it with a new lift.
As a boarder be very very careful about the Smugglers run - red 80 (another easy red). It's gorgeous at the top (I have a picture of it as my PC desktop), but the way back to the cable cars at the bottom is VERY flat (and quite long) even for skiers.
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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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| buchanan101 wrote: |
| Look out red 7 though - lovely run, but will be busier this year as there's a much better route back from it with a new lift. |
They have't gone and spoilt 7 with a friendly chair have they? Meh! Always used to be a bit of hidden gem as many were put off by the home-or-two-man-chair ending.
Bloody money saving Ischgl spending all the lift pass revenue on maintaining and improving the lift infrastructure again, taking out chairs that are better than the ones being put in over in France!
| buchanan101 wrote: |
| As a boarder be very very careful about the Smugglers run - red 80 (another easy red). It's gorgeous at the top (I have a picture of it as my PC desktop), but the way back to the cable cars at the bottom is VERY flat (and quite long) even for skiers. |
The answer there is to catch the free bus to the gondola after lunch. I've been tempted to do in and I'm on skis
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| Mjit wrote: |
| buchanan101 wrote: |
| Look out red 7 though - lovely run, but will be busier this year as there's a much better route back from it with a new lift. |
They have't gone and spoilt 7 with a friendly chair have they? Meh! Always used to be a bit of hidden gem as many were put off by the home-or-two-man-chair ending.
Bloody money saving Ischgl spending all the lift pass revenue on maintaining and improving the lift infrastructure again, taking out chairs that are better than the ones being put in over in France!
| buchanan101 wrote: |
| As a boarder be very very careful about the Smugglers run - red 80 (another easy red). It's gorgeous at the top (I have a picture of it as my PC desktop), but the way back to the cable cars at the bottom is VERY flat (and quite long) even for skiers. |
The answer there is to catch the free bus to the gondola after lunch. I've been tempted to do in and I'm on skis |
Yes a nice big 6 seater from where the 2 seater started but right up to the top of the run just beyond the Pardatschgratbahn top station. Yes it was a hidden gem.
The lifts in Ischgl are fantastic - must be better than anywhere in the Alps save possible Saalbach?
They've also put an 8 seater from Alp Trida in place of the 4 to Visnitzkopf - I was only commenting to my fellow skiers last year that the area up there had too little access capacity - some nice runs, but no doubt be busier now... So 2 new lifts in a year.
It just takes too long to get back from Samnaun - even more so down the other way - blue 60. However there seems to be a plan for a gondola back up to above AlpTrida - in to the Visnitzkopf area (to the top of M2 chair I think)
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You know it makes sense.
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My favourite bar is the Kiwi, near the church. Good wine, music l enjoy and you can talk to each other without having to shout. They do many kinds of cocktails too.
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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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@margaret, I'm with you on that. These days we have a couple of beers outside the Schatzi and then head off to the Kiwi for a few more before moving onto Niki's Stadl.
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Poster: A snowHead
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It is good to stretch your legs during après ski
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| buchanan101 wrote: |
| They've also put an 8 seater from Alp Trida in place of the 4 to Visnitzkopf - I was only commenting to my fellow skiers last year that the area up there had too little access capacity - some nice runs, but no doubt be busier now... So 2 new lifts in a year. |
Geez, if they're making it easier to get up N2 I hope they also expand the Alp Bella restaurant! Was busy-enough when accessed via the 4-man and none of our group would want to miss their regular dose of rotisserie chicken/salad/bread roll!
| buchanan101 wrote: |
| It just takes too long to get back from Samnaun - even more so down the other way - blue 60. However there seems to be a plan for a gondola back up to above AlpTrida - in to the Visnitzkopf area (to the top of M2 chair I think) |
That would be a good addition. 60's actually quite a nice run, but knowing the whole wait-for-bus thing is waiting for you at the bottom does make it a rather occasional one.
@margaret, @Corky, if you like your wine and the more chilled vibe of the Kiwi you should check out the Trofanna Hotel bar. Great wine list (though of course with both hotel and mountain taxes on the prices), usually empty, and a choice of nice social bar 'penises' (safe for work ) or big leather chairs by the huge log fire.
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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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| Mjit wrote: |
That would be a good addition. 60's actually quite a nice run, but knowing the whole wait-for-bus thing is waiting for you at the bottom does make it a rather occasional one.
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Looks like it is planned to be built in 2021 so would be in place season after next.
And yes N2 is now an 8 man - "first 8-seat "D-Line" chairlift in Switzerland" apparently (Swiss lifts are generally inferior to Austrian in my - limited - experience of Samnaun, Murren and Wengen). Look forward to it in March as I like that area - new run down was added last season (68b), straight and constant gradient so not the most interesting.
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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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| margaret wrote: |
| My favourite bar is the Kiwi, near the church. Good wine, music l enjoy and you can talk to each other without having to shout. They do many kinds of cocktails too. |
Apparently Kiwi is nothing to do with New Zealand, but to proximity to the church, the "Ki" being short for Kirche.
Nice quiet bar (SCGB meet there); my hotel this year I think is quite close too.
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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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| buchanan101 wrote: |
| Swiss lifts are generally inferior to Austrian in my - limited - experience of Samnaun, Murren and Wengen |
Yep, mine too. If you do the Portes du Soleil circuit all the French side is on chairs and almost all of them modern, padded ones. And then you drop off the back of Chatel in to Switzerland and drop in to The Land That Time Forgot, with old chairs and loads of drag lifts (though it does mean you can still find fresh 'side piste' snow that side a few days after everything else has been tracked out as people see the drag lifts and decide to ignore the whole corner).
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| Mjit wrote: |
| buchanan101 wrote: |
| Swiss lifts are generally inferior to Austrian in my - limited - experience of Samnaun, Murren and Wengen |
Yep, mine too. If you do the Portes du Soleil circuit all the French side is on chairs and almost all of them modern, padded ones. And then you drop off the back of Chatel in to Switzerland and drop in to The Land That Time Forgot, with old chairs and loads of drag lifts (though it does mean you can still find fresh 'side piste' snow that side a few days after everything else has been tracked out as people see the drag lifts and decide to ignore the whole corner). |
Also in Switzerland (Wengen) seen the weirdest entry on to a 6 fast chair - shuffling in and across from the side in the gap between the chairs rather than being picked up in line like any other fast chair I've ever seen.
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FAQ
