 Poster: A snowHead
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Trying to work out which of Saalbach or Hinterglemm to stay in with friends, and as everyone's quite chilled that's probably going to come down to the apres...
Music/vibe wise it's 'cheesy euro pop with stupid dances', rather than 'thumping beats' music, all the way for us.
Also we're more the ski/quick change/apres till 7pm/food/bed types than the get-pissed-on-the-mountain-and-try-not-to-die-skiing-back, or party-till-3am ones.
a) Saalbach
b) Hinterglemm
c) Doesn't matter as both will have what we want.
d) As a tie breaker if you vote c), which has the best post ski/pre apres cafe or cake shop 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@Mjit, what have you started 
I'm in the minority but I prefer the apres in hinterglemm. Goaßtahl (100m from village on the slopes) is a great venue and actually pretty good value for such a busy apres joint. We also love the schwarzagger at the foot of the other side of hill and night skiing. Both cheesefests. Saalbach has much more choice and most people on here prefer it to hinterglemm.
Fyi I've been to St Anton around 12 times or so and I much prefer the apres in S-H, as personally I think the apres in St Anton has got worse in recent years
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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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@Mjit, @boabski makes a valid point that you are most likely to get a Saalbach bias on here and I am in that camp. Only stopped once for a few days in Hinterglemm and then done a few forays at apres, whereas double figures of weeks in Saalbach, so my experience heavily weighted. I like the fact you can get a varied mix from the very busy apres of bauers schi-arm, the small fantastic burgis, spacey’s at Spitzbub (all 3 next door to each other) and then the Soul house now aswell. Add to that a no cheese but a more relaxed drink in Eva Alm and it wins hands down for me.
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@Mjit, Mrs TT and I have been apres-skiing in Saalbach-Hinterglemm for around 16 years, all season for the past eight years. Mrs TT has achieved senior instructor level. She prepares assiduously for every session by getting plenty of sleep in the mornings and not overdoing the afternoon’s skiing, so that she can be up and raring to go, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed by 3.30 every afternoon. I trail along in her wake, trying my best to keep up. Often I’m guilty of expending too much energy during daylight hours on skiing, causing me to be tired and unable to give 100% to the apres-ski. Burning the candle at both ends by getting up and out too early is never a good idea.
I have to declare a bias in favour of Saalbach, since that’s where we’re based, but we’re certainly no strangers to Hinterglemm. In fact we used to make a point of finishing our skiing at Hinterglemm a couple of days a week, so that we could spend the evening (4.00-7.30pm) at the Goassstall. Afterwards we would go night skiing, or to the London Pub/Tanzhimmel, or for a meal, and then a taxi back to Saalbach.
We now do this very rarely - usually when there is a particular reason for wanting to be in Hinterglemm on a particular evening.
My feeing has always been that there is more apres-ski action in Saalbach than in Hinterglemm. However both villages are worth spending time in - it’s very quick and easy to zip between them - a 5 minute taxi journey.
Saalbach was always fun but we think it’s got better over the years. On the other hand we’ve gone right off the Goassstall (they’ve doubled the size of the standing area and built a tacky gift shop that partially obscures the beautiful view. Also, in an effort to be more “modern”, the music can often more drum and bass than traditional cheese, and last time we were there some guests of ours were virtually driven out after half an hour by a woman continually bellowing in indecipherable German over the loudspeakers).
I know that the Schwarzacher is the new kid on the block, in terms of Hinterglemm apres-ski. We’ve never been, but I’ve heard that it’s good, lively fun - possibly Austria’s answer to the Folie Douce. The London Pub is always busy. There’s also apres drinks at the Dorfschmiede’s outside bar, and later in the evening the Glemmerkeller has live music and dancing.
However in Saalbach the early evening spots are the Bergeralm (up the mountain - happy hour 3.30-4.30pm - most people leave to ski down between 4.30- 6.00pm), the Maisalm and Hinterhag Alm (on the way down, near the bottom), Bauers’ Schialm, the Spitzbub, and Burgi’s Bar. The Hinterhag Alm has always been Saalbach’s primary apres-ski venue - its answer to the Goassstall, as well as to St Anton’s Mooserwirt. A book could be written about the place; suffice it to say that it’s iconic, insane and very popular. It’s been going since the ‘70s, as has its weird formula of live musicians churning out cheesey, apres-ski anthems to a rapturous audience, a tone-deaf owner who thinks she can sing , a strange diva-like routine halfway through the party, when she distributes stick-on hearts and souvenirs to her adoring fans to the strains of “Unchained Melody”, the rallying call of “Alloooo”....Amongst the plethora of YouTube footage of the Hinterhag, there is even a video of John Denver and Julie Andrews singing “Edelweiss” in there!
Until last season I would have said unhesitatingly that the Hinterhag has gone from strength to strength over the years and decades, which is another reason why we stopped alternating it with visits to the Goassstall. (Also it should be mentioned that the Hinterhag parties are indoors, whereas the Goassstall is mostly outside, which can be a chilly experience). Unfortunately last season the Hinterhag’s iconic and much-loved Slovakian singer, Josef Solar, appears to have called it a day after performing every evening of every winter for the past 35-40 years. It’s unclear whether he’s finally finished with the Hinterhag, or whether he’d expended all his energies and earned enough money singing at “Winter Wonderland” in Hyde Park over the Christmas/New Year period. If the latter, Saalbach’s loss has been London’s gain. Hinterhag regulars missed his warmth and energy last season, but the party continued with other singers and the popularity of the venue didn’t seem to have waned.
The three bars at the bottom of the nursery slopes - Bauers’, Spitzbub and Burgi’s are always a cheese fest between 4.00-7.30pm. Bauers’ had regular live bands last season, and the Spitzbub has really taken off with its riotous apres parties on Tuesdays and Thursdays, hosted by Geordie entertainer, Spacey.
Later in the evening the famed Saalbach apres-apres-ski (9.30-4.00am) kicks off. Amongst the numerous bars we particularly recommend the Crazy Deer (a new one but already a favourite), the Underbar, the Ötzi Bar, and Bobby’s Pub - live music in all of them on different nights - every night in the Scandinavian Underbar, where the atmosphere can get quite insane. The more nightclubby spots are Castello, Taverne, and Kuhstall - live music in the first and last. Spitzbub’s intimate inside bar can also be cosy and convivial later in the evening. Some people also like the Zum Turm and the Alibi, and there is a relatively new Irish bar under the Alpenhotel. The Elvis/Tom Jones impersonator at Burgers’ Sport Hotel is old enough to be the real Elvis, but he has a good voice, and we’ve decided that “he’s so bad he’s good”.
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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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@ribblevalleyblue, yes, I had forgotten the Soul House (formerly the Baeckstaett Stall, but recently acquired by the Hotel Saalbacherhof). The live band that performed there in the early evening last season, and in the late evening in Castello, was absolutely brilliant!
(The smoked spare ribs are also highly-rated, but that’s going off-topic).
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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Another vote for Saalbach. First time in Saalbach last year and thought the Apres was the perfect mix. As much as you wanted. There was some crazy options if you wanted but plenty of chilled and good variety and still quiet for my 70yr old parents 1 street from the centre of the party.
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Cheers everyone, sounds like Saalbach fits the bill - and if my friends complain I can blame you lot 
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@Mjit, either is probably OK for you - we prefer Hinterglemm because it is generally less... um... tacky..?  Anywhere which has several hundred people treading the path between sober and paralytic will of course have its challenges, and both can be raucous in places, including table dance bars. Both also have very limited areas where it happens, and the rest of the villages are quiet and civilised.
The Schwarzacher in Hinterglemm is central, big, brash, fairly expensive and can be very loud. However, it also has a lot of outdoor seating, a good view of the floodlit slopes and park, and we can ski back to our apartment from there up to 9pm via the U-bahn on most evenings so it has its attractions. The Goaßstall remains a good option, despite the gift shop and the shouty woman (who has been there as long as I've been going), and it also does a very impressive transformation each day from relaxed and efficient lunchtime alm to very busy apres venue from 3 to 7, then to a fairly smart restaurant from 7 to 10, and then into a loud nightclub until everyone has left. They've found a formula which works, and they're not going to change it anytime soon.
@tatmanstours is the new Irish bar under the Alpenhotel in place of Pipamex? If it is, I can't say I'm surprised
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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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| boabski wrote: |
@Mjit, what have you started
I'm in the minority but I prefer the apres in hinterglemm. Goaßtahl (100m from village on the slopes) is a great venue and actually pretty good value for such a busy apres joint. We also love the schwarzagger at the foot of the other side of hill and night skiing. |
Our favourite for the past decades has been the Goaßtall - not great when the snow conditions are poor on that side of the valley, but you can always use the tunnel to bypass the resort run that goes past it.
When we stayed at the other end of town, the Hexenhausl was also quote busy and not bad for some apres, the last time we were in Saalbach, it all seemed a little flat despite it being a peak week demand wise.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@oofaafuu, never known it “flat”, even during half term family weeks. However you need to know where to go. Hinterglemm’s options may be more limited so you know where to go to join whatever’s going on.
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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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@ousekjarr, no, the Irish Bar is on the street level at the front.
Don’t know where you get the adjective “tacky” from. As you say, drunkenness and raucousness is certainly not confined to any particular village; on occasions you will encounter it anywhere, not least the Goassstall and the Hinterhag. However I can honestly say that in all my years of going out and about in Saalbach I have never encountered any unpleasantness of the sort that you would inevitably encounter in any British town or city. It’s invariably good-humoured, even if some people - a small minority - find difficulty in pacing themselves or handling the Jagatee, or whatever. The table-dancing bars, which Mrs TT finds it amusing to drag me into occasionally tend to be discreetly located in subterranean cellar bars. They can be fun occasionally, but unsurprisingly you pay for the “cabaret” through overpriced drinks. We find plenty of other bars to our liking so don’t usually venture into them, although we have had plenty of single male guests who have found they provide a useful service - to the point of missing a day’s skiing the next day 
I’m not surprised by your description of the Schwarzacher. Regarding the Goassstall, I think it just got a bit too commercial for us - like standing in a football crowd whilst someone plays bad, loud music and tries to sell you things.
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@tatmanstours, we've already agreed to disagree on this one, and I do like both villages. But the pool of vomit and urine outside the roller shutter door at the bottom of the stairs down from Bauers to Skiliftstrasse wasn't a great sight, especially when you see both types of deposit being delivered live, as it were. I've never seen that in Hinterglemm, nor the topless German lads staggering down the main street at 8pm looking for a fight. These were isolated incidents I'm sure as I've not had those experiences on previous trips, but they stick in the mind. As you're there for the season, you no doubt see similar on occasion, and I'm sure that if I stayed in Hinterglemm for the season I'd probably also see the same at some point, so it is very subjective.
And neither is anything like a night out in a typical market town or inner city in the UK, which is why I don't generally have nights out in the UK in those sorts of places.
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You know it makes sense.
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@ousekjarr, sounds as if you were unlucky. The horrible picture you describe is not a familiar one to me, and, as you say, I spend all season in Saalbach. The sight of drunks urinating in ski resorts is of course not unusual; I’ve often wondered why they find it necessary, considering that there are invariably toilets nearby. Not being a drunk - at least not often - my empathy with the apparent urgency of their situation is in short supply.
As for the technicolour yawns, I have no recollection of ever being subjected to that lovely spectacle, despite spending four months of every season living in Schiliftstrasse. In case my memory is failing me, I’ve just consulted my social secretary, Mrs TT, who confirms that she can’t remember seeing it either.
The same goes for shirtless Germans looking for fights. Apart from the odd casual urinator, the worst that we have ever encountered on our frequent sorties into the village (sometimes until 4.00am) is the occasional amiable drunk, usually in salopettes and still wearing ski boots, trying to find their way home. The vast majority of people are just ordinary apres-skiers, out having a good time.
I’m sorry that you were unlucky and that it’s obviously sullied your impressions.
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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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@tatmanstours, it won’t stop me coming back because I love the whole valley, and I’m realistic enough to know that can happen anywhere. As it was just the one occasion, I can write it off as an aberration
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Poster: A snowHead
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What I like about Saalbach is that there are so many options for apres ski and for post dinner drinks. If anywhere is not to your liking then there are plenty of options elsewhere.
In the case of apres ski, you have three venues all near each other. What I also like is that some of the best nights can happen completely randomly if you come across the right crowd at the right time.
For example, the popular nights in Spitzpub tend to be when Spacey is playing. But our best nights in there have been when he's not playing and with far less people.
Another brilliant night we had was in Zum Turm, popped in there out the blue quite earlyish and had such a blast. One venue I don't particularly like is the outside area at Bauers.
There never seems to be a good jolly happy atmosphere there (as opposed to the inside) even though its usually very busy. And what a shame the apres at the Hinterhag Alm doesn't include the outside area. One of my favourite places for an early apres drink is the soul house (outside area). Can't explain why as it wasn't ever busy when I was there but it just has that nice atmosphere about it.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@jimmybog, which week did you go to soul house out of interest, I was there last week of January last year and it was rocking and pretty full on both of the last runs down we dropped in that week, we ended up stopping there all apres until the band finished and followed them to Castello later as a result, but it was purely by chance as previous years stopped at the umbrella bar outside for a quick drink and that was it as no band.
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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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@jimmybog, and @ribblevalleyblue, The Soul House (formerly the Baeckstaett Stall) was owned by Christian Dulschnigg and his wife until the season before last. (My son worked there for three winter seasons). They have now retired and sold the restaurant to Christian's brother, who owns the Hotel Saalbacherhof. As you probably realise, it's been completely relaunched - the staff were all dismissed and new chefs, bar staff and waiters taken on. Different menu. An attempt has been made to get some kind of apres-ski scene going, and the Swedish band who were the resident band at Castello last season were engaged to do an early evening slot at the Soul House. They were excellent!
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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God knows how many times I'vee skied past it. Will definitely give it a go this year
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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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@tatmanstours, every time I read your apres posts it makes me want to book immediately!!
May have to rally the troops for 2021.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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@HoneyBunny, Do it! You will see loads of changes. Fellow angry birds can’t seem to keep away for long - I skied with Johnny last season and the season before, and Don contacted me a couple of months ago, saying that he was trying to organise a posse for this season.
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| ribblevalleyblue wrote: |
| @jimmybog, which week did you go to soul house out of interest, I was there last week of January last year and it was rocking and pretty full on both of the last runs down we dropped in that week, we ended up stopping there all apres until the band finished and followed them to Castello later as a result, but it was purely by chance as previous years stopped at the umbrella bar outside for a quick drink and that was it as no band. |
It would have been 2nd week in March last year 2018. Once on a Saturday evening when understsandably it was quiet (but I still loved it) and another evening during the week (but can't remember when) though it was busier than the Saturday.
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| tatmanstours wrote: |
| @HoneyBunny, Do it! You will see loads of changes. Fellow angry birds can’t seem to keep away for long - I skied with Johnny last season and the season before, and Don contacted me a couple of months ago, saying that he was trying to organise a posse for this season. |
I don't think it would take too much persuading to get everyone back together. I really miss Saalbach and I want to try all these new places - and I never even went to the Spitzbub!
Also I want to see how the skiing has changed with the new areas and lifts. By 2021 I presume the link to Zell will be open.
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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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@tatmanstours, oh the link is opening sooner than I thought, good stuff.
I think I need to try and make this happen.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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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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@jafa, No, apparently the necessity for a bus journey between the two areas means that it’s two separate areas.
The Saalbach issue has been settled by the German independent piste-measuring expert and lecturer in ski resort management, Christoph Schrahe, who has decreed that, as you can ski from Saalbach to Zell am See in one direction without taking a bus, it counts as one 345km interlinked ski area.
Presumably 345km, rather than 408km, because it’s necessary to take a ski bus between Zell am See and Kaprun, so Kaprun can’t be counted as part of the same ski area, even though it’s included in the same lift pass, and Zell/Kaprun markets itself as one area.
It’s actually quite interesting to read about the science of piste measurement - you can download the top 100 areas here: http://www.montenius.de/files/montenius2016/pdf/Top_100_ski_areas_worldwide_201819_web.pdf
Saalbach is about to be promoted to number 4 in the world, after the Trois Vallees, the Paradiski, and the Sella Ronda.
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