Ski Club 2.0 Home
Snow Reports
FAQFAQ

Mail for help.Help!!

Log in to snowHeads to make it MUCH better! Registration's totally free, of course, and makes snowHeads easier to use and to understand, gives better searching, filtering etc. as well as access to 'members only' forums, discounts and deals that U don't even know exist as a 'guest' user. (btw. 50,000+ snowHeads already know all this, making snowHeads the biggest, most active community of snow-heads in the UK, so you'll be in good company)..... When you register, you get our free weekly(-ish) snow report by email. It's rather good and not made up by tourist offices (or people that love the tourist office and want to marry it either)... We don't share your email address with anyone and we never send out any of those cheesy 'message from our partners' emails either. Anyway, snowHeads really is MUCH better when you're logged in - not least because you get to post your own messages complaining about things that annoy you like perhaps this banner which, incidentally, disappears when you log in :-)
Username:-
 Password:
Remember me:
👁 durr, I forgot...
Or: Register
(to be a proper snow-head, all official-like!)

Italy vs Austria - suggestions please

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
I've hardly ever been to Austria or Italy to ski (actually once in each some time ago), but a friend has asked me for some recommendations for him and his wife for early March. They've decided on either Austria or Italy, he's in the expert range and his wife is a very good intermediate. They like long cruising reds, with the occasional stupid black so the male of the family can indulge in a bit of adrenaline rush. They're not into big après ski but like decent restaurants and quiet drinking holes. I have no idea of the relative costs between Austria and Italy but for no reason at all I've always assumed Austria would be the more expensive, is there any significant difference?. They've skied lots in France and enjoy the large linked resorts such as the PdS and 3Vs, ValD and Tignes etc..
So your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to offer some insight into the relative merits of the two countries, with some recommendations for resorts.
ski holidays
 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
@MikeM, I’ve not noticed a big difference in either country regarding costs. The Sella Ronda area in the Dolomites would certainly give them plenty of miles to clock up and there’s a mix of Italian and Austrian foods on offer. The area used to be part of Austria before World War I, hence the mix of cuisine and language. Arabba would suit as a good base for their abilities.

Saying all that, I also really like Austria and have been to both countries many times over the last few years. There are some large areas like Ski amadé, which gives access to many resorts, although they’re not all lift linked. No problem if they’ll have a hire car but there are bus links too.
ski holidays
 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?
I would expect Italy to be way out in front in terms of food, wine and antifreeze.

Oddly, I’ve never skied in Austria, but have visited many times and the eating, while you can find perfectly good food - is just not a patch on Italy.

Suggest somewhere like Champoluc. Monterosa fits the skiing prescription, some awesome restaurants, lovely wines... and excellent vfm.
latest report
 You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
Sella Ronda may well fit the bill here but I'll suggest they take a look at all the resorts you've both suggested. Many thanks for the help.
ski holidays
 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
@MikeM, Take a look also at the Ski Circus. As I'm based in Saalbach I will no doubt stand accused of bias; however the 270km fully interlinked area does have the feel of those big, cruising resorts in France that you mention, and, like say the 3Vs, it's normal to plan daily itineraries which involve clocking up big mileages without doing the same piste twice. (The longest itinerary covers 72km and 32 lifts and takes all day.) Friends and relatives or ours, who have skied for 20 or thirty years, including all the big French areas, keep coming back to Saalbach year after year for its extensive skiing and great mountain restaurants (60 in total). Some of them tried Sauze D'Oulx last year and liked it, so that is no doubt also worth looking at.
snow report
 You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
The Sella Ronda resorts would be ideal, a good mix of Austrian & Italian cultures, with some local Ladin thrown in for good measure. Costs are reasonable compared to French mega-resorts, a lot more charm too. Food is good and it's an extensive 450km linked ski area. I would second Arabba as a good base for experienced skiers who don't want late nights.
snow report
 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
@MikeM, No difference in costs between the two countries, and both are slightly cheaper than the French mega-resorts.

Although as your freinds are obviously regular skiers and enjoy decent restaurants it hardly seems likely that they will care whether a beer costs €3 or €4

What type of accommodation are they looking for?
snow report
 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
The Sella Ronda is great for the skier looking for long cruisy reds however testing black runs are in short supply. Arabba with it's easy access to the Marmolada area might be the best.

Ischgl or St Anton both have a good range of cruisy reds and some testing blacks. I think the expert skier would be happier in either.

St Anton / Zurs / Lech is a little more chocolate box, Ischgl has more raucous night life.
ski holidays
 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.
Madonna di Campiglio could work well. If you search on here there's quite a few threads on Madonna.
latest report
 Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
@MikeM, “expert range” ?

His opinion or yours? Bearing in mind that “experts” are usually paid or at least get free skis ...
ski holidays
 snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
under a new name wrote:
@MikeM, “expert range” ?

His opinion or yours? Bearing in mind that “experts” are usually paid or at least get free skis ...

Yes, relative skills are not well described for skiers! Let's say he can ski the mountain on or off piste without any problem. How about "advanced intermediate" Very Happy
snow conditions
 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.
@MikeM, that’s better Happy
snow report
 So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
Thank god thats cleared up@MikeM, rolling eyes
latest report
 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
So that's the next 3 years of trips planned for them, Austria and Italy Smile

If they've only skied the mega French resorts they are in for a treat!

Champoluc , St Anton area and Ischgl.

Can they book last minute and go where the better snow is from the 3 resorts above? I'd say St Anton has the hardiest skiing with the various itineraries. Champoluc is the "smallest" but has great off piste if they are into that and prepared to hire a guide to show them around.
ski holidays
 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
They've decided on either Saalbach or Sella Ronda and will probably look to a last minute booking/decision depending on snow conditions. St Anton was in the mix too. Thanks to all for the suggestions they've been very helpful.
snow report
 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Saalbach and Sella Ronda are good choices. March though? Maybe a little higher than Saalbach though Tatman would disagree (the skiing will be fine, but most likely spring skiing on lots of the slopes which mainly face south). Ischgl has lots of reds and a few blacks, and skiing is quite high and mostly faces the right way. To be really sure of good snow in March I'd say Obergurgl, though skiing may be too limited for them.

I am biased towards Austria; best lifts, best snowmaking (along with the Italians), cheaper than France or Switzerland and some big resorts now
snow report
 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
I'm not sure a comparison of two countries spanning all the way from the western alps to the eastern is all that valid. Both have dozens of resorts, some linked, some under a joined pass, some large and some small and everything in between. In once country you'll find many price ranges as well.

What I can say is that the Sella Ronda area of the Dolomiti Superski region is rich in pistes and good food and one can indeed clock many miles there, but it is not rich in challenging black runs and in recent years, most importantly, it has not been rich on snow either Crying or Very sad
ski holidays
 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?
Snow throughout much of the Alps, through much of the last couple of seasons, has been rather disappointing. The Sella Ronda has the advantage of much better snow-making than many areas. The best bet, if you are looking for good snow, is to wait till the last minute to decide on a resort. Sometimes the southern Alps does much better than the north, sometimes the east does much better than the west. Or, indeed, vice versa.
latest report
 You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
pam w wrote:
Snow throughout much of the Alps, through much of the last couple of seasons, has been rather disappointing. The Sella Ronda has the advantage of much better snow-making than many areas. The best bet, if you are looking for good snow, is to wait till the last minute to decide on a resort. Sometimes the southern Alps does much better than the north, sometimes the east does much better than the west. Or, indeed, vice versa.


Agreed - Italy and Austria are best for snow making because they've had to be.
snow report
 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
@buchanan101, I don't think that you will find many people who would opine that early March (after the peak half term holiday season) isn't a good time to ski in Saalbach - still an excellent prospect of good conditions, and before the weather really starts warming up. Also not much to pick and choose between Sella Ronda and Ski Circus in terms of snow reliability IMHO. Our final guests of last season - all competent skiers - arrived on 8th April and found enough decent skiing for a week. As they had a car, I suggested that they might consider the half hour drive to Kaprun, where I could personally vouch for the fact that conditions on the glacier were typical of the best that January typically offers - cold, sunny and powdery. However they didn't bother, as Saalbach's last week of the season was providing them with enough satisfying skiing (Schattberg, Zwoelferkogel and Leogang sectors, since Reiterkogel, Hochalm, Bernkogel and Kohlmais sectors, as well as the link to Fieberbrunn had closed for that last week).

Since I started spending whole seasons here, (and at risk of stating the obvious) I've realised that the snow conditions across whole swathes of the Alps literally depend on which way the wind is blowing, and the wind could be coming from the south or the north just as easily in January (which has been known to be unseasonably warm) as in March (which often has cold weather and useful dumps of new snow). I remember that a few seasons ago one of the best weeks of the season was the first week of April. It varies, 'like the weather', from year to year. Last year I would say that some of the best piste skiing I had was in mid-December. February invariably seems to be either very snowy or very mild and sunny. March is totally unpredictable, although there always seems to be a good prospect of a huge dump in the second half of the month.

What does make a difference, of course, if the height of the sun in the sky and the amount of warmth it generates. Early in the season the sun does little damage to any of the pistes (even the south-facing ones will often be protected by shade from surrounding mountains), whereas, as March progresses and the weather becomes increasingly spring-like, the pistes do become soft and slushy in the afternoons. This applies to many, if not most, resorts - all have a proportion of pistes that face the sun, but big areas like the Ski Circus and others mentioned above will be able to offer enough slopes that face in other directions to keep most skiers happy. In mid to late March the Ski Circus is no different from many big resorts I can think of - 3Vs, Paradiski, Serre Che, Verbier AlpeD, for example - in that, when the weather is sunny and mild, it pays to get out fairly early and concentrate on the south-facing slopes in the morning, and plan itineraries that will enable you to take advantage of the best slopes in the afternoon. The north- and west-facing slopes of Schattberg, Zwoelferkogel, Fieberbrunn and Leogang will still add up to more kms of skiing than most resorts can offer.

Another factor that has to be considered is the subjectivity of what constitutes good skiing weather. Whilst there are those who thrive on continual powder days and don't care about the cold, poor vis and lack of sunbathing opportunities, there are others who like nothing better than to spend a couple of hours in a deck chair in the middle of the day, and to ski in a tee-shirt during the afternoon (late March might be a better bet for them). For me, and a good many others of my acquaintance, Saalbach offers a good mix of the two, and early March is as good a time as any - especially as the second week usually sees a dip in prices as well as numbers. I wonder how many snowheads think that Obergurgl, with its higher but much smaller ski area, would be preferable to Saalbach in early March Puzzled The OP also imples that cost is a factor (Ischgl Puzzled )
snow conditions
 You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
I've had fantastic snow in Obergurgl in the 2nd week of March for the last 3 years (the conditions in 2017 were the best of the year in that week apparently). Even there it was warm this year in March but it has height and optimum aspect for good snow, so the snow was excellent, but yes, the skiing is quite a bit more limited than Saalbach. My one trip to Saalbach was in a very warm February half term, and was spring like on many slopes, but there are many slopes facing other ways - just that Saalbach has a higher proportion of south facing slopes than many resorts; Zwoelferkogel and Leogang slopes were still excellent.

And Saalbach has to have one of the best, if not THE best lift systems in the Alps (Ischgl perhaps is equal) - no queues to speak of at Feb half term (except the yellow gondola out Hinterglemm), and the few bad lifts left (the twin Ts, the tin can gondola) have since been replaced
snow report
 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Quote:

My one trip to Saalbach was in a very warm February half term, and was spring like on many slopes

@buchanan101, I had the same conditions once when I visited Verbier in February (never going there again wink )
snow conditions
 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
Quote:

@buchanan101, I had the same conditions once when I visited Verbier in February (never going there again )


I will however be going back to Saalbach one day - the Ski Miquel chalet was pre-sold out otherwise we'd have been back this year. So Lauterbrunnen it is instead (the father in law organises - he likes Ski Miquel and they were pretty good last time).

I'm sure there are other good chalets available in Saalbach....
snow conditions
 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.
Quote:

I'm sure there are other good chalets available in Saalbach....

Only one other British-owned/run one. The standard of other accommodation is generally pretty high, and the restaurants are reasonably-priced and plentiful, so catered chalets are not not really the thing in Saalbach. Location however is an important consideration.
snow report
 Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Tatman's Tours wrote:
Quote:

I'm sure there are other good chalets available in Saalbach....

Only one other British-owned/run one. The standard of other accommodation is generally pretty high, and the restaurants are reasonably-priced and plentiful, so catered chalets are not not really the thing in Saalbach. Location however is an important consideration.


And apparently this other chalet is in prime location, so I keep reading on Facebook Laughing
snow conditions
 snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
@buchanan101, Actually the one I'm referring to is Pension Enzian, which has an excellent reputation. Good location too (if you don't mind being at the bottom of a black run). All the others have closed (e.g. Chalet Julianne - Neilsons, Chalet-Hotels Traudl and Karlshof - First Choice. Landhaus Michaela - Board & Lodge, Pension Penhab - Matt & Annie. (I was referring to traditional British-run, catered chalets of the type that serve dinner with wine and seem to do particularly well in French resorts, rather than self-catering accommodation that is more the norm in Saalbach due to the different nature of the resort).

To slightly digress for a moment (you may not be interested, but just humour me while I go off down memory lane - it's what we old people do), my first acquaintance with Saalbach and its ski area was in 1986 through staying in a British-run catered chalet in Leogang - a converted farmhouse called the "Thurnhaus", which slept 24 guests. The entrepreneurial guy who ran it was Steve Pearson, and he called his operation "Ski-Tal", later (after eventually going bust) "Ski-Plus, and later still "Ski Leogang". Over the years Ski-Tal grew and added chalets at the rate of about one per year, in other resorts, such as Montalbert, Peisey-Nancroix, and St Martin de Belleville. Steve Pearson went into partnership with Steve McKeown, and they established "Brewskis" in St Martin de Belleville - trying very hard to import the fun and atmosphere of Austrian apres-ski into the French Alps. When they parted company and chalets were shed like falling leaves, Steve Pearson went back to his one chalet in Leogang and called himself "Ski Leogang", and the other Steve became "ABT Ski", running "Brewskis". I wonder how many people remember any of this? I often wonder what became of Steve Pearson. I think that both the "Thurnhaus" in Leogang and "Brewskis" in St Martin were sold off to foreigners (last time I passed the Thurnhaus it seemed to be a Dutch-run chalet). I remember once asking one of the Steves - can't recall which one - why there were not many British-run chalets in Saalbach, and he replied, "Because the Austrians do it so well". I think he may have been referring to the "Gemütlichkeit"!
latest report



Terms and conditions  Privacy Policy