 Poster: A snowHead
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Have just been given the ok to work remotely for the next winter and I'm pretty keen on spending 2 - 3 months in Austria working and riding, just wondering if anyone has lived in Innsbruck or lives there currently. My plan so far is to find decent shared accommodation and wing it from there. I was wondering what transport to the snow parks is like from the centre of town, if it takes long and what's the best type of season passes for the area. Also if you have any tips on places to rent short term that are close to transport, nightlife, slopes that would be good as well.
If you have better suggestions than Innsbruck let me know, I'm on Aussie Dollars which aren't that great right now so somewhere that isn't over the top expensive, easy enough access to slopes without a car, I need to have reasonably good internet available for work and travelling solo so somewhere with a bit of a nightlife would be good as well.
cheers
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@doped_y0uth, clarky999 should be along in while to tell you about it.
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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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Hey!
I lived in Innsbruck for two and a bit years and still spend every weekend here (I work in Montafon during the week). Innsbruck is rad! Best city in the world.
https://vimeo.com/131368663
So first finding 'long short term acommodation' can be quite difficult - generally apart from holiday rentals the standard contract is for 3 years, and you can only quit without penalties after the first year. However, there are thousands of students, many of whom often do semesters abroad, so you should be able to find a room in a shared flat in a (called a 'WG'). The best place to look is this Facebook group - obviously everyone writes in German but all students can speak English to a decent level too (and there are plenty of non-native-German-speaking students too):
https://www.facebook.com/groups/wohnungsboersefj12.nsgm/?fref=ts
These guys also specialise in renting rooms/apartments by the month - for people coming on business etc: http://www.boardinghouse-innsbruck.at/en/en/standorte-en/suedtirolerplatz1-en I have no idea how much it costs per month, but could be ideal. You'd want the Sudtiroler platz one - it's right by the city centre and less than 5 mins walk to the train station (where you can get busses to all the ski areas). The Mitterweg area is around 25 mins walk from the city centre, so not the end of the world for living, but getting to ski areas without a car would be more complicated.
So the ski areas (public transport is quick, efficient and on time):
- Nordkette is the closest a furnicular train takes from the city centre to the cable car. If you like real snow, skiing steep offpiste, and can look after yourself and make good decisions in the bckcountry its rad (even if you can't the two main couloirs are avalanche controlled). It does get busy and you need to be there an hour before the lifts open on a pow day, but the area is deceptively big - there are way more lines and stashes than you'd expect (I'm still finding them, despite living at the foot of the resort for 2 years). The park is also popular, and the are regular Igloo parties at the middle station.
My lame video from a semi pow day on the worst snow year in recent times:
https://vimeo.com/87421053
- Patscherkofel is next closest - you get there for free on the Bus (line J) in about 15 mins (the bus goes from Nordkete to city centre to Patscherkofel). Personally I don't really go there. It's probably actually quite ok for piste skiing and I think they've been working on the park, but neither are really my thing. It also gets lets snow than any of the other resorts, and is one of the uglier mountains you'll ever see...
- Axamer Lizum - rad! Not a big resort, but one of the bigger local ones. Gets a lot of snow and has a lot of fun terrain. The lifts provide easy access to the Kalkkögel touring area, which is filled with 30-odd steep, wind/sun protected couloirs. Sooo much fun. Takes about 20 minutes to drive there, and I think 30-40 on the bus.
My lame video from a warm late season storm and v high avi danger:
https://vimeo.com/93421561
My less lame video from a May 16th ski tour after a storm, though my mate broke his binding so we couldn't ski the couloirs:
https://vimeo.com/95663922
- Schlick2000 - I don't really go here that often, but not really for any particular reason... Again it's one of the bigger local resorts, and has a deceptive amount of terrain, and some nice tree skiing. Couple of notable big/steep couloirs if you like to hike/climb too. Don't ski the trees to the village on a pow day as they're designated as an avalanche control area, and the polica catch and fine lots of people for doing it (legend say they have cameras hidden there...). 25/30 mins by car, 45 mins or so on the bus, probably less on the tram.
- Stubai Glacier gets a lot of hate on sites like TGR, but actually I really like it. Everyone complains it's pretty flat, which is generally true, but there are enough steeper hits to have fun (even if they are quite short). Being a glacier it's very snow sure and you can ski from September - end of June. Loads of great touring from the ski area, including one face that's filled with steep Alaskan style fines... Very burly and very exposed, but if you can get there on bindings strong/heavy enough to ski that sort of terrain on a stable good snow day you'll have a good time... Not that I know anyone who has managed that! Stubai is an hours drive form the city, a little more on the bus.
My mate's very good Stubai video:
Following Smiles all the Way Down! from Sqikunst https://vimeo.com/90537288
Some short crapy vids I from Stubai:
https://vimeo.com/88565903
https://vimeo.com/128814312
Note non of those vids show any of fthe steeper bits.
- Kuhtai is on the lift pass, but a bit out of the way near(ish) Ötztal. Very high (base is over 2000m) and get good snow. Generally uncrowded, and a lot of generally mellow offpiste from the lifts that stays untracked for quite a while. Short hikes access a good amount of gnarlier terrain, and there's a lot of good 'real touring' terrain. Runs from the lifts are quite short - the resort feels a lot like Scottish resorts to me. I don't go that often, but I think it's around 40 minutes by car, probably close to an hour buy bus.
Then there are a lod of big resorts nearby that you probably don't need any introduction too: St Anton is an hour by train, then you also have Ischgl, Kitzbühel, Ski-Welt, Sölden, Obergurgl, Serfaus, Mayrhofen, Zillertal, etc etc. The Dolomites are only 90 minutes drive as well, some of the Ost Tirol resorts like Obertilliach a little more - which as the get snow from a different direction to the rest of Tirol are well worth the treck when a storm comes form the south!!
There's also a metric poo-poo tonne of fun touring very close to the city - my favourite is Serles Nordrinne (here's my TR, though a lot of the photos don't work since SnowHeads stopped being able to handle embeds from Facebook): http://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?t=109871
There are two season passes you should look at. First the Freizeitticket, for Innsbruck residents (you will have to sign in as one, but it's easy). Under €400, runs all year with mtb and swimming etc in the summer, skiing on the glacier from Sept-June. Covers all the local resorts, with 3 days in St Anton and Ischgl too
http://www.freizeitticket.at/bergbahnen/
The other is the Tirol Snow Card, which costs more (€600?), but covers over 90 resorts without restrictions (including big ones like Ischgl, Mayrhofen etc, but not St Anton). Runs from Oct-May, and also covers those Ost Tirol resorts I mentioned earlier. Really nice to be able to ski there - on the other side of the main alpine ridge - when we get southerly storms that dump on Italy etc but leave North Austria dry.
http://www.snowcard.tirol.at
Hope that helps?
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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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Clarky That was the best reply thank you for your help, when I was living in Banff it was taking me 2 hours from my bedroom door to the top of the lift, sounds like it will be a lot easier in Innsbruck and the Tirol snow card sounds like a winner I will have to look into that more! Thanks for the info 
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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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@doped_y0uth, No worries dude - give me a shout when you're in IBK and we can grab a beer or some turns.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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@clarky999, wow super videos, if only I could do that too 
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@mooney058, @Hurtle, hahaha thank you!
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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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Really useful, informative post clarky999! 
I do really like Innsbruck, have often spent short periods there and hope to be there more often next Winter.
One small point though -
| clarky999 wrote: |
| There's also a metric poo-poo tonne of fun touring very close to the city - my favourite is Serles Nordrinne (here's my TR, though a lot of the photos don't work since SnowHeads stopped being able to handle embeds from Facebook): http://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?t=109871 |
Please don't blame snowHeads for this.
All the links to your images in this TR are broken as in, the images are not where your links point to. This is nothing to do with snowHeads.
If we assume they were there when you posted the links originally, then unless you deleted/moved them yourself it's safe to assume that Facebook has since changed their location for you, presumably to fit you into their agenda better.
This is not something that I/snowHeads (nor any other site) can rectify since I don't know where your images are now.
You need to track them down and replace the broken links with ones to their current location - if indeed Facebook lets you. I suspect that what they would prefer is for you to send people into Facebook to see your pictures rather than let them see them on snowHeads.
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Thanks @admin.
I didn't mean to 'blame' SH per se - we spoke about this before and I totally understand that adapting to however FB works now would/could take a lot of work that might well not be justifiable for you/SH. Previously pasting the image adress from FB into the [img][/img] worked to embed photos in posts here (works on TGR). I don't know anything about this stuff or what might have changed.
If anyone does know a workaround for photos that would be really cool, as it would be nice to just upload to FB then share from there, rather than upload individually to FB, FLickr, etc.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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If you can find a working address for the image the [img] tag should still work (unless facebook actively prevents referrals) but the images in that topic just aren't at the locations pointed to any more.
For example: the first missing image is
https://scontent-a-vie.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-frc1/t1.0-9/604066_10153948573800291_695899339_n.jpg
Paste its address into a browser: there's nothing there. Facebook just responds "Content not found"
I don't know, perhaps only fbfriends are allowed to see them or something?
If you can lead me to them, I may be able to figure out a way to get them to display. It would be nice if your TR was complete again.
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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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Test
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You know it makes sense.
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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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@admin, ok, so the URL from the bar at the top of the page works in the img tags, but not the 'right click image address' address. Weird haha!
But thanks for the help, that's really good to know! I'll update the photos in the TR when I get some time.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@admin, thanks a lot - that's really helpful.
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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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This dodgy facebook type of image link is now supported when wrapped in [img][/img]
If you have an old post that contains one of these images that still isn't showing correctly: click the edit button and repost it as the fix is in the code 'posting' or 'editing' a post.
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FAQ
