 Poster: A snowHead
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1st time in Saalbach after visiting Kitz, Mayrhofen, Soll and St Anton on rotation. Nice to have a change. Arrived (end returned using Shuttle-bus.at, door to door, not too pricey)
We were staying a 5 minute walk (at least 20 in ski boots!) from Saalbach centre. Buses to Schattberg Express were quite frequent although often quite full. Getting to other stops seemed to be a bit of a pain so we just got off there every day (our final stop).
Weather was particularly warm, with rain and temps up to 14 centigrade. Slushy! but up higher was better and visiting the further out places such as Vorderglemm and Fieberbunn saw some nice uncrowded slopes.
Lift system is great, we only had one bottle neck at the Zwolfkergol ban and everywhere was reasonably busy. lots of them are heated too which I love.
Food on the mountain is as good as anywehere else, loads of places, all the usual stuff can't go wrong.
Skiing suits mostly beginners (there were loads and loads) up to intermidiots. Nothing too challenging as far black runs go, not known for its off piste but there was a bit.
Apres Ski, Saalbach: Starts off on the slopes at the Bergeralm happy hour - 2 for 1! then down to the Hinterhag for live music and a dance, very busy! then down to Bauers schialm which has a big outdoor area and does food but not amazingly lively (bar opposite was also quite good). In Hinterglem, Goasstall lived up to its legendary status and was nice and easy to get the bus from.
Didn't eat out due to being too drunk and tired from Apres! but plenty of places.
Beer up to 5euros, Gulaschuppe around 7euros, weinerschnitzel 11-16 euro.
Evening buses, like clockwork and run late!
Overall, a great week, lots of skiing, lots of Apres, lots of fun and not too many English. I'll be visiting again for sure!
Cheers
P.S. If you were there, I was one of the drunk fools dancing in a onesie and a cycling hat, having a great time!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@Disaster, thanks for the review. i am a big fan of Saalbach (looking to go next weekend) and St Anton, would be interested in how you find Saalbach in regards to to Kitz, Mayrhofen and Soll?
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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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Hi 011y, It's tricky as I've done different things in each place but enjoyed them all a hell of a lot. In earlier times (in Kitzbuhel and Soll) I'd do much more night partying, less apres and less skiing really and I wasn't as skilled as a skier. In more recent times it's much more apres and and skiing and almost no big nights out, so it's tricky to compare. St Anton and Soll are good party places with many English, with St Anton having the far superior skiing. Mayrhofen is also a bit like that but with more emphasis on snowboarders. I think the skiing in Saalbach is maybe similar to Soll. I learned apres in Mayrhofen - Finkenburg to be precise on my second visit a good few years ago.
All said, I think they're all worth a visit of you like to have a few Schnapps and get some good miles in on the ski. Maybe top skiers won't find a challenge in a couple of them though, Saalbach/Soll.
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Also, I have noticed in recent years, it's dead quiet in the late evening. 10 years ago I'd be out til 2am without fail every night and it would be busy, now they're almost chucking you out at midnight...anyone else?
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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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@Disaster, this was a school holiday week so lots of families with kids, and hordes of school parties swarming everywhere. Normally we have no trouble being out till 3am (if we want to be), and winding up in the Otzi Bar till 4am.
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I've just got back and had an awesome time, as you would expect. I agree with @Disaster, that the main liveliness is the Apres rather than late evenings, but that's the same almost everywhere I've been in the last 2-3 years (including Soll and Mayrhofen). Places like Bobby's in Saalbach have a good reputation but were very quiet when we went there (at about 10-11.30pm) on Thursday and Friday. Even Otzi's with (excellent) live music on Wednesday was dead. We tried 2 night clubs, of which Costellos just about had enough clients to make a good atmosphere, helped by a decent live band and stayed open until 2am.
However, I'm not complaining because the après in The Hinterhagalm (in particular), Bauers and Spitzbub was so amazing that anything after that was bound to seem a bit tame.
The sensible thing is to call it a night at around 9pm and be ready for first lifts the next day. Unfortunately being English (and Welsh) we were not sensible and hence finished the night on a less lively note and started the next day worse for wear!
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@EdYarker, It may be partially a question of knowing where to go on each night. Also many people are still having dinner at 10pm so the influx can occur later on. The Underbar seems to be a riot much of the time, and there is live music in there every night (was in there late on Saturday and it was rocking). Bobby's is usually lively on Monday and Wednesday (but quiet on Thursday and Friday - especially Friday when people are getting an early night or packing for an early start on Saturday morning). The Oetzi Bar is lively on Sunday and Wednesday. The common factor is often live entertainment, in the form of Spacey, Cuckoo or (in Bobby's) karaoke. We've had several fairly riotous late nights in the last week (including Castellos one night), and I generally have had to virtually drag Mrs TT (who is an inveterate night owl, but not so easy to motivate the next morning) back home at 1.00 or 2.00am. Thursday night was a great party atmosphere in Burger's Sport Hotel - Elvis (rumoured to be the actual Elvis) and Tom Jones were entertaining.
The weather is also of course a factor - people are less likely to be out late if sunny weather and fresh powder is forecast for the following morning!
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