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Quick question - Zurs to Lech?

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
In St A and planning to ski in Lech tomorrow (following advice on here previously). I am diligently studying the piste map and cant see how to get to the several blue runs above Lech (serviced by Petersboden and Welbermahd lifts). It's all supposed to be one ski area but cant see that. The early bus from St A only goes as far as Zurs, it's the later bus that then continues to Lech (not a problem but wanted to be out earlier). Am I missing something?
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
I recall scratching my head thinking the same thing, as it turns out the Madloch double chair is your friend (can be big queues on it sometimes) and then the 171/170/172 or 171/173 ski routes (from memory these are groomed and pretty wide, might be a good idea to get a confirmation on this), not sure why they're not on the piste map as regular runs though Puzzled
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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?
The route down to Zug can be a bit variable so entirely depends on how confident a skier you are. You could alternatively do a couple of warm up run in Zurs and then hop on the bus down to Lech if you don’t want to ski there, it’s a quick trip.
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Thank you!
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
There are free ski buses, ie the Blue buses, that connect Zürs and Lech. Get the early Post Bus to Zürs, which will drop you at Trittkopfbahn and jump on a Blue Bus. They run about every 10 mins.

If you are a reasonable intermediate skier, then the run from Madloch to Zug is pretty straightforward first thing in the morning. It does get crowded later. At Zug, the Zugerbahn will take you to Lech.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
I’m in St Christoph just now, and its snowing heavily yet again.

I have the current piste map and 170/171/172/173 are all shown as unprepared and unpatrolled routes. Is that correct?
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
They're marked as routes rather than pistes but do actually get groomed fairly regularly as otherwise they can get pretty mogulled lower down. If you're looking for blue runs you might want to give it a miss and just get the bus down to Lech.

If the visibility is good then the return ski route from Lech to Zurs via the Rufikopf cable car is well worth doing. The blue piste is a bit flat but the red "route" is usually very well listed and a great piste with excellent views.
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
Since you’re looking for easy pistes you should definitely avoid the Zürs-Lech connection.
Head to Lech straight away by bus, as indicated above
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
@Snow&skifan, for reasons best known to the lift company the grading of "ski routes" in the Arlberg is a mess. Some of these routes eg the Madloch ones you mention above and the Schindlerkar in St Anton are basically pistes, they are prepared daily and marked (a little less comprehensively than the official pistes, a line of poles in the middle rather than markers each side). Some of the red ski routes eg the Osthang under the Galzig lift really should be black routes and some of the black routes are considerably easier than others eg Mattun. It really would be sensible to sort this but the reasons for this mess seem lost in the mists of time..

Given good conditions the Madloch runs are not difficult, there are a couple of steeper pitches towards the bottom which can get icy towards the end of the day (but so can some of the pistes) and they should be well within the capabilities of reasonable intermediate skiers. Arguably these runs are no more difficult than some of the blue runs. I would say they are easier than the Muggengrat / Zürsertali piste which is an official red run. The Madloch runs are an integral part of the "White Ring" promoted by the tourist offices https://www.skiarlberg.at/en/regions/ski-area/lech-oberlech-zuers/the-white-ring . The biggest issue is often the size of the queue for the slow 2 person chair (which does restrict the number of people actually on the run at any one time).

As always the colours of the runs shown on the piste map are only a guide, snow conditions and how many other people are skiing them play a far bigger role in how difficult they are. No doubt Lech has a good number of straight forward pistes, the difference between the blues and reds is small. Zürs also has straight forward pistes though Hexenboden is on the steep side for a "red"
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 Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
For the very first time, we (myself and my two teenagers), just skied from St Christoph to Zurs. My youngest child is a bit under confident as a skier and being asthmatic is held back from getting fit. Anyway, it went very well. The top of the Galzig is a short-ish black, but that was very unclear from piste maps/giant electronic boards. The other thing that was unclear is that you cannot immediately ski a pisted red run when you get out at the top of the Flexen Gondola. That would entail a 200m trek on a narrow off piste pathway. Instead get the next stage Trittkopf II Gondola up to red run 134.

I suspect that the piste map is too small a scale, covering a huge ski area, so details are inevitably lost.

But a very rewarding trip out, the Austrians had created this link expertly.
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 snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
@munich_irish, sorry, but saying that Zürsertäli is more difficult than Madloch is the biggest Arlberg nonsense ever.
Well, maybe equal to saying that all roads around St.Anton are flat. (Ever driven to the acco’s around Mooserwirt?) And that Flexen is the highest alpine road open in winter. (Think Cervinia, Obergurgl and -oops- Val Thorens)
You really need to work on your facts. Or your words.
You’re listening to stanton too much.
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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.
@munich_irish, having spent the season guiding in Lech last year I would consider Zursertali an easier run than Madloch.
The initial pitch of Zursertali can be tricky but the rest is pretty straightforward and rolling. I do think though it's the best run in the Arlberg.

Madloch at the end of the day can be very tricky and tiring particularly for holiday skiiers, and can essentially turn into an incredibly long mogul field from top to bottom.
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 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
Chipping in to say thank you. Got first bus to Zurs as it didnt go on to Lech, plan was to have a couple of runs then hop back on the bus to Lech. As we got off, the Lech-Zurs free ski bus turned up so we got on that.

Lovely day skiing the blues in Lech, over towards Warth and Oberlech. Thanks for all the advice.

P.s. the Madloch lift was closed first thing but think it must have opened quite soon after.
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
Good to hear, one of my favourite ski areas going for cruising the blues.
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
@lewisb22, Maybe I have been lucky but I have always found Madloch in a relatively good condition but I can see that it could get moguled and potentially icy after a busy day, perhaps I have always done it in the morning on the way to Lech and in the afternoon have been going the other way. Even the piste map describes the first pitch of Zürsertali as a "anspruchsvollen Steilhang" (challenging steep slope), though after that it does become much easier but agree that it is a first rate run.

The issue of long runs becoming unpleasantly moguled by the end of the day also seems to apply to the pistes down to Alpe Rauz and has occasioned a good few complaints.
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
@munich_irish, the headwall of Zürsertäli has become less challenging over the years as the start point has been pushed further and further around. That said, it can still be a handful later in the day, when moguls of soft snow have formed, separated by ice. I usually go down the side piste, with a preference for the far side of the piste. Nicer snow and no crowds.

Equally, the exit from Zürsertäli, near the road, can get challenging later in the day. That final steep pitch gets quite bumpy and you have a mixture of people setting up for a high-speed tuck in between those unsettled by the bumps and weaving all over the place. Not a great combination.

Madloch - Zug has many faces. First thing in the morning, on fresh groomers, especially after a dusting of new snow, it is lovely cruisey run, well within the reach of a reasonably competent intermediate. Very much a blue run. Later in the day, after the traffic has chewed it up, and in the crowds, it can be as unpleasant as the bottom pitch of Valfagehr in similar conditions. In particular, the 2 icy, steepish pitches near the bottom, and often also the pitch after the SOS hut, will be a handful for many intermediates. If I have to ski it later in the day, I usually stick to the side piste as much as possible.
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