 Poster: A snowHead
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Early retirement is fast approaching and we want to celebrate with one or two memorable trips including a month or so skiing.
I'm not that keen on going to France, I think Switzerland (my favourite) might prove just too expensive so it's looking like Austria as the top pick.
We plan to self-drive in a four by four so we can take plenty of stuff - and take a couple of days to get there as part of the trip. The idea is a self-catering apartment in a resort where's there a fair bit to do and options to travel to other areas (multi-area lift pass?).
Not that keen on staying in, say, somewhere like Innsbruck as we'd like more of a resort vibe.
Any suggestions for a suitable base would be very much appreciated. The plan is for either January or March 2021.
Many thanks, in advance.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Get the Ski Amade, or Salzburger Superski pass, and base yourself around Flachau/Radstadt area. Loads to do, lots of nearby resorts, and a great area.
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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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There are so many options in Austria. There is more availability in January than March and prices are cheaper. But snow depth, daylight and sun angle is greater, longer, and higher respectively in March.
My suggestions (in no particular order): Badgastein, Lech/St. Anton, Serfaus-Fiss-Ladis. There are plenty of other resorts and multi-resort regions, big and small, that might be preferable depending on your other priorities.
Congrats on pending retirement.
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We did something like this a few years back. We stayed in Altenmarkt, and visited nearby resorts by car each day. The Salzburger pass is great value, and there are so many great places to ski (including some you've never heard of).
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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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I have absolutely nothing useful to add, but just wanted to say I am very jealous.
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Thanks for these very prompt responses. I do like the look of the Ski Amade region and Serfaus-Fiss-Ladis. Probably give St Anton/Lech a swerve this time around (been there lots of times). March is my favourite month to ski but January has its attractions too - particularly the price of accommodation, if nothing else. Sorry you are jealous, @London_Falcon, I understand as I get very jealous of those lucky people who live in the alps or go for a complete season!
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As others have said, Ski Amade or Salzburgerland Super pass - (which includes Ski Amade, plus loads of other areas too), and purchase it before Dec as its loads cheaper. We have hosted several SH who have enjoyed exactly this. Happy retirement planning. Ange 
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Thanks, @flangesax, much appreciated (I loves the planning, I does!)
One more thing; we don't want to use the car every day - somewhere with enough skiing locally would be great.
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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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@LOTA, somewhere round Schladming area or Flachau (Ski Amade). Lift and bus served
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@holidayloverxx, thanks. Are apartments easy to find in Flachau?
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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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Thank you.
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A couple of other options for area passes. There is the Tirol wide one (excludes Arlberg but includes most other areas) https://snowcard.tirol.at/de/skigebiete/alle-skigebiete (I cant spot the English version but sure it is there) and the Super Ski card https://www.superskicard.tirol/en/super-ski-card-ski-pass-tyrol-salzburg-skiing-in-austria.html (basically SkiWelt/Kitzbühel & Saalbach/Zell/Kitzsteinhorn plus some smaller areas).
The Tirol one is well worth considering especially if you are looking at March as it covers a number of the higher areas (Ischgl, Serfaus and a number of glacier areas) as the weather towards the end of March can be very spring like. As to location, the Zillertal is probably a good option, there is a lot of skiing in the valley (much of it above the tree line) and there are excellent transport connection to other locations, maybe Fügen or Kaltenbach would suit. Further west (ie not far from Ischgl, Serfaus etc) not so easy to find a good "resort" location but maybe Oetz in the Ötztal, there is a bit of local skiing but Kuhtai is very nearby and Sölden up the valley, Serfaus, Ischgl and Galtür are all possible day trips plus other places a bit further afield. Valley towns such as Landeck, Imst, Jenbach and Wörgl are probably good for cheaper accommodation but then you loose the "resort" feel. If you fancy the Super Ski card St Johann in Tirol or Fieberbrunn might be good, train stations in both so it is possible to access many of the resorts without using a car and accommodation should be cheaper than in some of the bigger places.
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You know it makes sense.
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Thanks, @munich_irish, not too bothered about a railway station as we will have the car. Not keen on the Otztal either - done that a few times over the years and the same might well apply to the Saalbach region, to be honest. Thought about valley towns but we definitely want a resort vibe. More likely January than March, I think.
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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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@LOTA, January in Flachau - Ladies night slalom race - fab few days
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Poster: A snowHead
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@LOTA, the problem with "resort" places is finding ones where you can easily get to other locations. For example staying in Ladis (which is the smallest part of Serfaus) still leaves you part way up the mountain and not best placed to get elsewhere. I know what you mean about the Ötztal, its not my favourite either. The Zillertal is definitely worth a look, there are a number of different areas Hoch Zillertal, Zillertal Arena, Mayrhofen, Hintertux and a couple of small spots. The road over the pass through Gerlos leads to Neukirchen and Hollersbach (back way into Kitzbühel) and you can stay in a smaller cheaper location but still with local skiing. That said especially in January the SkiAmade area is a good option too.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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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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@donie75, I have that book!
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Schladming is a pretty good call. Easy access to lots of other resorts. Plus night race if you are there in January!
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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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@donie75, +1 on where to ski, - the best source of info I find@LOTA, worth purchasing IMO
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@LOTA, we are in Altenmarkt at the moment for our second week. We had a fortnight in Kirchberg previously so we bought season passes for the Super Ski area as the most economical way of doing it. We do take our car most days but the bus stop is just along the way from the apartment we are in.
We stayed in Radstadt last year, very comfortably with Flangesax, but found we drove round to Altenmarkt most days.
So many places to stop for coffee and lunch, very reasonably priced, we don’t tend to do lunch out on our own every day but have friends staying at the moment.
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Sansicario, Italy.
Italian food, scenery, and relaxed lifestyle.
Access to the world's 4th biggest ski area.
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@Pamski, thank you. The more I look, the more I like what Radstadt/Altenmarkt/Flachau have to offer.
@Whitegold, not Austria and not an area I'm desperate to return to, thanks.
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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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A lot of good recommendations here. Some possible drawbacks to Ski Amade (which might not be depending on perspective): relatively low elevations (Dachstein glacier the exception) and comparatively limited exciting/advanced terrain. Obertauern is another popular resort in that region, although I don't think it's part of the Ski Amade pass.
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Ski Amadé is a huge area, parts of which are connected. The ski areas start at elevations of c. 900m up to and over 2000m so potential for lots of vertical. This far east the snow line is much lower than the western side of the Alps, so elevation is less of an issue. The ski season often starts in November and runs until late April with generally low temperatures and good conditions. The other advantage of lower terrain is that there is a lot of tree-lined skiing for bad weather days. This is pretty important in January, less so in March. For that reason many of us avoid skiing in Obertauern and on the Dachstein glacier, it's pretty bleak on a cloudy day, plus the runs are short.
As to limited exciting/advanced terrain, the ski teams all train on Reiteralm, so I guess it's advanced enough for them. There's also plenty of off-piste terrain if that's your thing.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@altaski8, Obertauern is part of the Salzburger Super Ski Pass which is what I’d recommend to make the most of being in the region for a month or more. Certainly what I and a lot of other people on here based in the region use. It takes you as far west as Kitzbühel.
Can’t imagine you’d really run out of exciting things to do, though I agree it’s a different feel from the high Tirol resorts which are inherently more adventurous, but there’s something charming about skiing through the trees past the cow sheds whilst kids hammer nails into tree stumps outside the hutte.
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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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| queenie pretty please wrote: |
As to limited exciting/advanced terrain, the ski teams all train on Reiteralm, so I guess it's advanced enough for them. There's also plenty of off-piste terrain if that's your thing. |
No disagreement. Just from a comparative perspective, this region is slightly lower, less advanced, and less exciting that some other parts of Austria. That doesn't mean it's not interesting or not potentially the best choice... just something to consider.
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@LOTA, Sent you a PM.
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You know it makes sense.
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Friends of mine go skiing for 4 months a year in Austria. They are not retired, they just made a life decision 5 years ago to get out and enjoy their lives and they decided to learn to ski. They are based in Zell am See. It is a beautiful town and they ski all up and down the valley, think there are over 30 resorts covered in their ski pass for that area.
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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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Thanks all. Interesting comments. Actually, we don't need an especially 'exciting' ski area. I've been skiing since the early 1970s (so slowing down quite a bit these days) but Mrs LOTA is a cautious 'true blue' skier (as Where To Ski and Snowboard describes it) so, again, Ski Amade sounds just the job. We haven't discounted Zell or Saalbach yet, either!
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Poster: A snowHead
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@RedandWhiteFlachau, thanks, replied.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@LOTA, I did this in 2010. Rented a nice 2 bedroom apartment for a month having done a deal with the owner for about £2.5k (will be a bit dearer now). Another advantage of the two bedrooms was that various friends came to stay whilst we were there. They then made a contribution towards the cost as it was much cheaper for them than their normal holiday) Also drove out and back as you plan to which meant plenty of room for kit and fully equipped apartment with washing machine and dryer allowed us to do laundry as normal.
Stayed in Zell am See as that is a resort I know well but it actually worked very well as its really central for more ski resorts than you could visit in a month never mind actually ski at as pretty much every resort east of Innsbruck and west of Schladming is doable as a day trip. We drove to the likes of Ski Amadè and took the train to Kitzbühel as we also could have done for the Ski Welt (Brixen Westendorf, Soll etc) the resorts in the Hochkönig around Maria Alm are 20 mins away. Developments since 2010 now place ZamS on the doorstep and in fact connected to the Saalbach-Hinterglemm-Fieberbrunn-Leogang area that is pretty much the biggest of them all now. In the hopefully unlikely event of a poor winter you have the glacier on the Kitzsteinhorn next door.
if you go in January its nice and quiet for most of the time. I arrived on the 9th January and left on 6th February which was perfect as all the Russian New Year mob had left the day of arrival and the half termers just started to arrive the day of departure. Funnily enough 2021 has the exact same dates -you've got me thinking of a repeat now!
We also took in the races at Kitzbuhel which was great fun.
Zell am See being a year round resort is well provided with other things to do in terms of spa, swimming pool, ice rink etc. Also plenty of decent restaurants to eat out at and supermarkets in the town and also on the outskirts (much cheaper) given you'll have the car to shop and cook for yourselves.
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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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@robboj, Thank you. Good intelligence, much appreciated. Those dates sound like a plan! Actually been looking at a place in Viehofen, so that region is definitely on the radar!
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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| LOTA wrote: |
| @robboj, Thank you. Good intelligence, much appreciated. Those dates sound like a plan! Actually been looking at a place in Viehofen, so that region is definitely on the radar! |
You're welcome. Viehofen would be a good option too although there's not much there in terms of facilities it is the link point from Zell into Saalbach - although that only really works partially until they build a lift on the Saalbach end. Its more restricted than it could be this winter as Saalbach piste 168 which runs down to Viehofen has been closed almost all winter for lack of snow as its wide open and south facing. Again they want to install snowmaking on the run but there has been issues over planning for the reservoir location (usual 600 legged beetle spotted there B.S.)
I'm just back from a week in Saalbach and it was great, probably enough for a month in itself tbh but if you base in Viehofen you'll spend more on taxis if you're out for meals or refreshment and a lot of time on the ski bus so I suppose it depends how much cheaper a Viehofen apartment would be than Zell or Saalbach or anywhere more self contained?
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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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@robboj, I've been to the Glemmtal before, staying in Vorderglemm. Have sourced a potential, very good value spot in Viehofen which would make the whole trip a bargain! Not given up on Ski Amade (or others!) just yet!
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Another option is the Steiermark Joker:
https://www.steiermarkjoker.at/
This includes all the mountains around Schladming (Planai, Rieteralm, Hauser Kaibling, Fageralm), the Dachstein glacier (and Ramsau), the Schneebaeren resorts (Riesneralm, Planneralm, Tauplitz, Loser Altaussee), two decent Murau mountains (Lachtal and Kreischberg), as well as a selection of other off the beaten track resorts. For example, Mariazell is just a single small mountain, but the gondola starts from the centre of the town and the town is lovely (https://www.mariazell.at/ we went there for a couple of nights over New Year).
Also places like Salzstiegl are completely local resorts, where you'll find very few other tourists, mostly just Austrian (and maybe a few Slovenian) families having a day out, apart from a few huts no real apre ski to speak of, very low key. Graz is about an hour and fifteen minutes away if you wanted to include a short city break.
Turracher Höhe probably worth the visit too.
As I say, if you want big resorts, big mountains and lot of apre ski, the Steiremark Joker isn't for you, but if you want at least one big center (Schladming) and then want to explore off the beaten track a bit, it might be worth investigating.
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@phillc, thank you. Not somewhere that was on the radar but I will have a look. Appreciate the joker covers 31 different ski areas but it appears to be quite an expensive pass, initially.
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@LOTA, Seems to be not found any more on the Joker website, but there are discounted prices if you purchase before December of the season. Also, the pass includes access to a few spas as well. Nonetheless, it's not cheap. I was considering buying one this season and I think I calculated I would need a minimum of 20 days at the covered resorts to see the value. As I'm still exploring many resorts, quite a lot in Carinthia and thus not covered by the Joker, I decided not to buy it.
Edit: Also adding TopSkiPass. This only covers Carinthia and East Tyrol, but is more "cost effective" perhaps than the Joker: https://www.topskipass.at
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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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@phillc, Many thanks. Plenty of food for thought. 
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