Resort advice for 4th weeker

A snowHead

Hi all,

Bear with me as this might be a little rambling, and I know the answer is ultimately “get better”.

I’m just back from a week in Westendorf, my 3rd week skiing and, while I mostly enjoyed it, I did struggle on some of the runs the instructor took us on. For anyone who knows the area, I was fine say, coming down Blue 117 from Fleiding or traversing Red 114 down from Talkaser, but struggled and came a cropper at the top of Red 118 (the steep one off the back of the new Fleiding chairlift top station) and it really ruined my confidence for the rest of the day. There were a few other instances where the steeper pitches on some runs caused me trouble and the instructor would get some of us to go round the road/path while the rest of the group tackled the steep stretch.
Basically I’m wondering are there any similar resorts but where the jump from the learner slopes isn’t quite as big ? I’d love to return to the resort as I really liked it, but would rather a bit more enjoyment and a little less stress if you know what I mean.
Maybe a private lesson might be the answer either ?

Thanks in advance, I know I’m rubbish compared to most on here but the advice is invaluable.

A snowHead

Alpe D'Huez, perhaps. It has a range of slopes ranging from as gentle as they come through to OMG. More than that, the slopes present progressively, a bit like a saucer, with the gentle slopes at the centre, then getting steeper as you move out.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

Maybe, rather than find the right resort, you need to find the right ski school. Instructor leaving the weaker members to go round a road/path is not really good teaching - nor taking you somewhere where you "came a cropper" (though if by that you simply meant that you fell, that's no big deal). It sounds as though you need more focussed, small-group, instruction focussing on the tools you need to tackle steeper pitches. And you can only learn effectively on something you're comfortable with.

A private lesson might be the answer, but a week of lessons with a really good instructor in a small group would probably be better.

When are you looking to take your next ski holiday?

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@wk1974, I think Waidring/Steinplatte would work for you. The ski school there is very good and the range of pistes you can access from the bowl is ideal for steady progression. It's not a huge or particularly "lively" resort but there's a nice atmosphere and Lanzini's at the Gondola has a standard Austrian style Apres scene.

I wouldn't let your experience worry you too much. It happens and we've all been there. On to the next one!

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

I'm at Fieberbrunn - some very nice blues to suit advancing beginners, and the reds are benign and wide.
More scope in other areas of ski Circus (Saalbach, for example) when you feel confident getting about.

Westerndorf can be quite tricky, the reds are some of the more difficult I've come across - narrow, icy, mogully - you did well after only 4 weeks.

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Thanks for the advice and kind words guys, much appreciated. I’ll definitely check out those resorts mentioned.

Yes, by coming a cropper I mean falling, or rather having to throw myself to the snow to avoid whatever drop is off to the right of that piste at the top. To be honest, it was bumpy as heck, I was traversing across, caught a bump, got my weight thrown backwards and couldn’t make the turn downhill. Nothing injured, but confidence dented big style.

To be fair to the instructor I had been able to keep up all week, and to do all his drills etc etc, but I did feel I was right at my limit a lot of the time. Sending two of us around the steep part only happened on the last day to avoid two sections of the run down the the Fleiding chairlift (we were both delighted anyway !).
I think I just wasn’t “on it” on that last day, probably fatigue. He guided me down superbly on that run after I fell and our subsequent routing back to resort down Red 117a. I had been hanging at the back of the line thinking I’d only be holding the others up, but as soon he saw I was struggling he insisted I stay right behind him and it made a world of difference.

Probably won’t have another trip til next year unfortunately, so it’s really just to help with planning at the moment. Actually can’t wait to get back on the horse, as they say.

Ya, I’d seen on some reviews that Westendorf can be tricky to progress on alright, plus it was so busy with the Dutch half termers the runs were getting well chopped up, and it was only my third week ever.

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

Sounds like you did fine, @wk1974. Falling in a tricky situation is nothing to worry about - shame it lost you confidence. It doesn't do to be too worried about falling - unless you hurt yourself, it's absolutely not a problem. I fell twice skiing in Italy in January - no harm done. Unlike when I fell playing table tennis last week - crashed on my back onto a very hard floor, chasing a shot I had little or no chance of returning anyway. Daft. Dented my bum, if not my confidence.

After all it is free

The best way for casual skiers to get off the skiing plateau is to take a 2-week vacation.

Ski every day, for 14-16 days.

A 1-week trip is never enough for the body, fitness, and muscle-memory to progress.

The first week just gets you back to the level of a year ago.

The second week leaps you forward.

That is where the gains are made.

Week 2.

It's a hard balance to make. The instructor needs to push you in order to get better. However, if your finding it stressful rather than enjoyable something is wrong. Do you have any interest in skiing steeps or becoming a good skier? For many people that stuff is not enjoyable and they just prefer to cruise around on less steep slopes, which is also fine. If you do want to do that stuff you have to accept their is going to be some uncomfortable moments.

While a fall can definitely impact confidence it's something you need to learn to deal with. Falls are going to happen. Work out what went wrong, don't do it again, and move on.

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@wk1974, if you liked the atmosphere in Austria, then trying somewhere like Saalbach-Hinterglemm or Flachau would probably work for you, or if you wanted to stay in the SkiWelt then Scheffau, Ellmau or Soll are worth considering as they have a range of slopes and a typically a little easier than some of the reds in Westendorf. Or return to Westendorf and hope for a better season, as the conditions have not been that good this season.

What you've discovered though is that even the most benign run can turn into a challenge in the wrong conditions, so when it is busy, warm, mogulled and you are tired there's both physical challenges and the psychological one of taking on something that takes you out of your comfort zone. On another day, you'd probably have gone down it without drama and wondered what all the fuss was about. In perfect conditions, anyone could ski it if they've been let off the nursery slopes.

The instructor should know all of this and be aware of which pistes are likely to be within the capabilities of his class today before planning the route, so either he got it wrong (and nobody's perfect...), or the conditions changed unexpectedly, or you reacted differently to what he thought you would when presented with the challenge. Either way, falling over in those conditions is not anything to worry about unless you were very out of control or got hurt, so it's just a matter of more experience, more lessons if you can, and from both you will gain more confidence.

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I was in SkiWelt last week and the conditions seemed to change hourly on some days, a long with a noticeable change from natural snow to snow cannon. Made for some lovely mornings and some tricky afternoons. We stayed in Ellmau and covered the whole area as best we could (some runs to the bottom lacking snow). Don’t be too hard on yourself if it was anything like our week one day was 12 degrees and slush, a day of snowfall, a day of rain and 2 flat light days. I bet you’d have found the same runs a lot easier if it had been freezing cold but sunny all week, so the pistes stay pisted for more than 45 minutes and you can always see where you are going.

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Thanks again for all the advice guys, it’s appreciated. I guess I just write it off to experience and work on better technique next year !

Look at Montgenevre, the reds are wide and inspire confidence, the link to Claviere gives you plentyto go at and some slightly steeper but short steeper bits to go at. Apeak is a great ski school if you want lessons

You know it makes sense.

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Resort advice for 4th weeker

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