What's Kitzbuhl like?

A snowHead

I thought this was new thread, but now I see I have already posted on it.
Unfortunately I am banned from Kitz by the misses, so I cant go there any more.
So now I want to find an alternative that I can take my dear wife to.
I'm lucky enough to have been to almost all the major Austrian resorts, but I still haven't found anything that can match Kitzbuhel.
We had an enjoyable week last season in Soll despite rubbish weather.

But where next?
I still haven't been to Zell am See, Obertauren, Schladming and the smaller areas to the south and not far from Innsbruck.

I'm not looking for tuff stuff or raging apres ski. But more the shops, piano bars, Irish Coffees served by charming dirndle clad ladies.

Where would you choose?
Dont say "Hemmel Hempstead!"

A snowHead

@DrLawn, you need to work on the missus. Kitz is the place that ticks all the boxes for you!
Maybe Zell am See?

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

How about Kirchberg 😄😄😄 hopefully she won't realise( unless of course she goes with you)

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I was actually a little underwhelmed by Kitzbuhel. I had been dreaming about going there since I was young. We had already done Soll, Zell am See, St. Anton as well as many other European resorts and expected Kitzbuhel to blow them all out of the water. Although it was a few years ago I thought the skiing wasnt as impressive as I thought it would be. The town as well i thought was a bit lifeless in comparison to a lot of the big resorts. I fancy trying Ischgl this year after a few years of Val D'isere and Verbier.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

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Sorry @mk28 That you did not love it.
I hope you enjoy Ischgl then, I loved it, but it was a tiny town with not much going on the last time I was there...
Twas a long time ago and Tina Turner played there that year.

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

Sorry @mk28 That you did not love it.
I hope you enjoy Ischgl then, I loved it, but it was a tiny town with not much going on the last time I was there...
Twas a long time ago and Tina Turner played there that year.

After all it is free

staying in ellmau for 1 week with a group of 20 jan 7-14 would like to have 2-3 days siing in kitzboulh for 2-3 nights 3-4 people any recocomendations of accomadation .we are driving so flexible

Kitz is just down the Valley from Ellmau. If you get the right ticket it's also covered and can be skied from the Ski Welt via Westendorf, so you can just stay in Ellmau and cover Kitz as well.
If you do want to relocate then I recommend staying in Kirchberg at this place : http://www.hotel-sportalm.at/en/start.html

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Mmmm Kitzbuhel, wish it was my second home. Love the oldie worldy towns historical buildings, fantastic skiing (yes I have skied France 3Valleys/Tignes/LaPlagne), the area is really ieasy to get around, a great variety of slopes for all standards, good efficient lift system, always being upgraded/improved, great food/drink all at reasonable prices (pre Brexit).

I go second week in March and have had good snow conditions, except once where only the pistes where white and the Farmers had started muck spreading it was that warm, but also had similar in France.
The hahnenhahm gondola is efficient and never too busy both up and down the mountain. Yes the town is very Chique and upmarket, but also has its lively bars.

Ive stayed in the Hotel Tirolerhof in Bichlalm (5 mins from Kitzbuhel) and the Maria Theresia (in the town), Tirolerhof a lovely hotel but slightly inconvenient getting to and from by bus, taxi is an option though. Maria Theresia I wasnt impressed despite a four star, the food was bland, rooms needed a refurb, though I believe it has had a full refurb since. The jewel in the crown is the Hotel Edelweiss a two star hotel with five star hosting and ambiance, a few minutes walk from the hahnenkahm gondola (along the station platform), great food, quirky rooms but lovely and comfortable

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The Edelweiss is a lovely place to stay. The owner speaks excellent English, is a really nice guy, a great host and an endless source of information about the area in general and the downhill race in particular.

snow reports

@skitech, @Corky, I've seen the Edelweiss when wandering about. Is the railway line behind it a problem? Did you DIY your trip?

No, no issue with the railway line. Can't remember seeing or hearing a train. We went DIY but was available through a TO, Thomsons I think. In the morning you just walk along the platform to the gondola.

You know it makes sense.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

Thanks for the info

A snowHead

does anyone have any advice where to watch the kitz downhill. is better to bring the skis or watch at the bottom?

A snowHead

@fullducknodinner, done it a couple of times, always stationed just below the Mausefalle and at the top of the Steilhang. You learn to respect those guys when you hear the way their skis thunder over the ice.
Not sure how it works these days. I understand you have to pay to get to the entire length of the course. Used to be free when I did it

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

Didn't pay last year, started at the top and worked down to all the different vantage points then finished up in a restaurant where we could see most of the race on TV then watch the final jump and finish area.

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Kitzbuhel, a typical beautiful Austrian village steeped in history. Lovely historical buildings mixed with modern architecture. A great variety of skiing from cruising blues to steep blacks. A great lift system, fast efficient and continually upgrades to high speed detachable 6/8 person chairs. I go every March, and rarely encounter a major lift queue, whether that be going up/down the Hahnenkahm or within the ski area, (Im not saying there never is, as with every resort). A great variety of mountain restaurants, some nosier than others, as with bars in the town. Every where is clean and efficient, (even public loos). Great hospitality the Hotel Edelweiss comes highly recommended, and five minutes walk from the Hahnenkahm Gondola.
Austria cant compete with the massive ski areas of France or the ski in/out convenience but I would suggest trying it, as it is so different.

Having skied Austria (Mayrhofen) in my early skiing years, then sampling France, (Tignes/Val D'isere, Val Thorens/3Valleys, La Plagne)with a week in Obergurgl in betwee, I was a confirmed France skier. Then one year I went to Kitz by default, as I couldnt get to a French resort I wanted. I was pleasantly surprised to the point this March will be my sixth consecutive trip there

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

I love Austria in general but Kitzbuhel - nah, probably wouldn't go back. A group I love to ski with decided to try it for a change this year, so I'm not going. It's not worth the risk for me. I'd book it last minute if the snow report was good, but I wouldn't book it in advance.

Gorgeous village of course, but if you want serious skiing then no, there are better options in Austria.

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So KItz is the first non glacier open nearly every year. And normally the last closed. Apart from winter 06/07 when the whole of the Alps suffered, Ive never NOT been able to ski somewhere in the Kitz area. Your friends going out in will be sending you messages/phots that will make you regret not going.

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

@jafa, yep!

After all it is free

I hope they do have a good week, but no regrets for me! I don't just want to be able to ski "somewhere" in the area, I want a good chance of decent conditions.

I loved it years ago when the ski trip was all about the atmosphere, apres and nothing too challenging in the way of skiing, but not now that I can actually ski!!

The top lift stations being lower than village level in Tignes for example is enough to make up my mind.

@Pending, you simply can't compare Austria with France. It's further east (hence colder) and the alpine meadow nature of the slopes means you need hardly any snow to be able to ski, whereas in Tignes you have a rock strewn landscape that needs significant snow to avoid destroying your skis.
As has been said, Kitz is usually first to open and last to close.

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I've just re visited this thread again .. Kitz is just great!
I cant understand those who are disappointed with it .. I think they just don't get it.
As @Steilhang says you need hardly any snow to cover an alpine meadow as
your more likely to hit a cow pat than a stone.

I read a comment above by Skitech who'd stayed at the Bichalm, although its not convenient for the whole ski area it has a charm of its own.
I bet its a great place to wake up on rare powder day, just out the back to a piste on your own.

The first time I discovered it there was a one man chair that went more or less right through the restaurant.
It was the first and best place that I discovered Tyroler Grostl.

See:
http://welove2ski.com/austrian-cooking

I don't know if its the same now ... it was 1982

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Going to Kitz in a couple of weeks (after the race) and starting to read the mixed reviews about the skiing. Hopefully the current snow will have bedded in by the time we get there so conditions should be fine ....a couple of questions about the piste map for anyone with detailed knowledge - what are the ski routes marked in orange? "Giggling" for example!!???!! Would be interested to know how tough/easy/interesting they are. Also, a trip report mentioned lots of piste/roads/cat tracks combined - which ones are they so I can try to avoid....

Thanks snowHead

snow reports

I have only ever skied the Giggling and Pengelstein-Süd ski routes once or twice and that was long ago (before the 3S gondola was built). They weren't particularly difficult then but I expect a good deal depends on conditions on the day (and snow cover). The Schwarzkogel run, 56, down to Aschau should also be good, though I have only skied that in the days when it was classified as a piste. Most of them require you to take a bus at the end, though we walked from the end of the Pengelstein-Süd run, 34, to the Hausleiten T-bar at Jochberg - marked as Fußweg on the piste map (and there were also taxis waiting at the end of the run in those days).

@sergeantslow, to your second point: if you are doing the Ski Safari, e.g. from Jochberg to Pass Thurn, you do use connecting sections much like tracks at times but I don't find them off-putting.

You know it makes sense.

thanks @espri, ski route classification can cover a wide range of things - will seek out some more local knowledge when I get there. Maanwhile the webcams look fantastic and the weather set fine for tomorrow's downhill!

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

A snowHead

I liked Kitzbuhel as well and would go back
The snow and coverage was good when other resorts in Italy and France were suffering in the same week as I recall and that's because of the reasons people stated already i.e. in the east and meadowy terrain

A snowHead

Ski route 34 is rarely skied these days so stay fairly untracked when the snow comes in. Before the 3S lift was built you had to ski it to get to Pass Thurn so whilst it's not piested it is not a difficult ski route. The last bit of it follows a track which is quite flat. You then have a either a 10minute walk to a drag lift or you can take the taxi which will be waiting there.

Black 56 down to Achau is a must. Not normally piested (last year first time in 20 years I found it piested). If you don't have a bus timetable there's one displayed in the Penglestein restaurant at the top so you can time your run for when a bus is at the bottom though the restaurant at the bus stop is excellent just be aware there can be a rush for everyone to pay their bills as the bus comes in.

Definitely get the Kitbuheler Alpen lift pass it's only a 5 minute bus ride from Ski Rast to the Ki West link to Westondorf. The run under this lift is empty and excellent condition in a morning.

I love skiing this area yes At Anton has more off pieste but you can find some fun stuff over the wider area and the investment in the lifts and snow making mean we return most years.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

I am fairly sure trains are Free of Charge with Alpen lift pass , if you wanted to train it to nearby ski resorts
Train station in Kitz, v easy to get to

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Came back last Saturday from the trip to Kitz. We had a great week - it snowed lots just before we got there, and was then very cold, so we skied soft, light powder for the first 3 days, and were still finding untracked bits of off piste. Really enjoyed it, needn't have had any misgivings.
The only time we queued for more than a couple of minutes was when the only lift open was the Hahnenkamm, so the only place you could ski was back down to the bottom of it. Very pleasantly surprised by the number of 6 and 8 man covered chairs, and heated seats?!!
Might not have the mileage of some of the french resorts, but still plenty for a week, especially when all the fresh snow meant that we could lap the same bits of off piste several times and ski a new line each time. And the grass underneath did mean that despite it being the first big dump of the season, it didn't matter too much if your skis bottomed out.
Stayed in the Jagerwirt, which was nice, although I don't have other hotel experience to compare it with. The lack of wine with dinner, afternoon tea, or tea making facilities in the rooms were a bit of a shock after being used to chalets. Definitely not ski in ski out, though.
Maybe the apres ski isn't as good as some places, but the youngsters with us dragged us out on more apres ski than we have done for 15 years, cos the same youngsters have meant that apres ski has been out of the question for those 15 years! Mostly went to the Irish pub, heard a duo called 'The Frog on the Tyne' play twice, and took one of our group on a trip down memory lane to the Londoner.
Kitz itself is very pretty, much nicer than most of the French resorts, but the prices in most of theshops were eye watering- not a place to go shopping.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Loved it

Pass thun perfect for on piste intermidiots

Top tip is hut on bottom third of run 77

Town not as stag do feel like st Anton and ischgl.

Pistes in good nick bit warm at the moment but I'd say the season is safe now

Enjoy

Help!!

What's Kitzbuhl like?

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