Am I odd because i tend to ski in the same place every year?

A snowHead

Ok so about 12 years ago I got back into skiing after a long time away as i met my girlfriend (now wife) who was happy to have a adventure / cold holiday. our first trip together was basically a pot luck with a TO, i logged on a bought the trip based upon where was cheap and had a nice hotel. (for the record it was soll in march at the postwirt), it snowed heavily the day we arrived and then was sunny and awesome the rest of the week, perfect for getting back into the swing of things.

Our 2nd trip, organised in much the same way was to Mayrhofen, again perfect weather, amazing lifts and area size and met some wonderful locals that we now call friends. After that I have been very lucky to manage 2 or 3 weeks every year (infact 2019/2020 i had 4 weeks on snow). But we have found ourselves constantly drawn back to Austria and in particular Zillertal. We even got engaged / married there!

We have explored a bit, I've skied weeks in.

Chamonix - loved it but expensive and the lifts are crap, plus you really need a car.
Saalbach - amazing skiing but found the town to be a bit soul less and just full of drunks and strip bars, again expensive for accommodation.
Kitzbhuel / Kirchberg - was just ok...lifts were old
Selva val gardena - really enjoyed it, mountains were amazing- and so was the food and value for money, but the town lacked any life, 1 bar, no one out walking at night.
verbier - amazing skiing and lifts but i've never been so aware that i'm not rich haha!

So i guess my question is are we odd for constantly returning back to zillertal every year? do others do the same? basically just your happy place and you can ski the same place all the time?

A snowHead

It's a holiday so do as you please, when you please.

I've been back to the same resorts on more than one occasion but I also like to try new places; so last season, one week in Sweden (new resort), one week in Switzerland (a resort I've been to many times). That's a balance that works for me.

If you like returning to Mayrhofen (never been there) then good for you! Very Happy

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

Can't blame you for loving the Hof ! I return often. Do you use the Zillerbahn train and explore the other ski regions in valley? I love it all !

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@enduroaid, indeed good for you if you have found somewhere that suits your needs. However I would say that on my last visit to Kitzbühel last season there were a lot of new lifts, it looked quite unfamiliar!

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

@enduroaid, no, I don’t think odd at all. You’ve tried other places in Austria plus popular areas in 3 other countries.

If you’ve decided you prefer to return to the Zillertal that sounds fine to me. Your time, your money, your choice.

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Not really. I absolutely love Austria and found that exploring nearby ski areas on the same pass was a great way of seeing different ski resorts. I skied in Zell am See for a few years before I found it too small. I looked at the Superski pass and found that hiring a car gave me access to loads of different places within an hour of Zell.

I still base trips to the region in Zell am See, as it is a nice town and centrally positioned for access to various places like Saalbach, Hochkonig, Gastein Valley, Wagrain, Kitzbuhel etc. All within an hour, or considerably less. I haven't tried Zillertal yet but Konigsleiten isn't too much further than Mittersill, so it's on the list. I don't tend to ski in Zell am See for more than a day during the week!

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I’ve only ever skied in one area but I have been there easily 25 times & I am in no rush to try anywhere else.
I love knowing the shortcuts , when certain lifts are going to be busy, where the cheap eats are & if you need coffee where to go.
I also like seeing the differences in the runs with the different snow.
That’s before we even talk about the benefits of knowing the town & restaurant owners.

After all it is free

I think that once you have seen a dozen or so resorts, you understand what works for you.
So if you're limited to a couple of weeks per year, why take the risk of it not being as good / suitable as the place you love.
Before moving to PdS, we had skied a few places in Italy, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Oregon, Andorra, and the big French ski regions (EK, GM, 3V, ED) etc..
There's bits of all of the others we liked, but we chose to live in the one which was the best "overall" fir for our needs / likes.
So whilst we manage a few days each year in other resorts (Aletsch, Verbier, Cham, Pra de Lys, Bernex, Samoens /Flaine) we do the majority in the PdS,
So to answer the OP question : No, I don't find this "Odd".
Smile

@enduroaid, We've skied all over Europe in the late 80's/ 90's (apart from Pyrenees) and we now for last few seasons (well about 10 actually) have skied only in Arlberg 4 weeks a year (prior to that we'd mix and match), also visiting in summer for hiking/ biking most summers (not 2020 obviously). We've skied most of the big resorts in France, Switzerland and Austria and took a view the we know loads of people there, and can meet up when we are out there if required, we know the area wel enough to ski all day every day without a piste map, are still discovering new off-piste on every trip, and where we can ski safely, plus we can stay in lots of varying places and ski it from a different start/ finish perspective, sometime staying in the villages/ or in town/ or in Lech or Stuben. No 2 days are ever the same.

We were actually thinking a cheeky pre-Christmas week in Tignes this year (but clearly that isn't now happening), and may do a South America thing next summer, but we know what to expect when we get away in Arlberg so it's a winner from day one. I've been to loads of places and after a few years get bored (4 Vallees, Davos, EK, 3V, PdS, La Plagne, Cervinia/ Zermatt, Kitzbuhel, Villars, Laax/ Flims), ironically the only place I don't get bored is the place we've now visited 50x. May try Dolomites some time but in no great rush tbph. Got my eye on some smaller Swiss/ Austrian resorts for a 2-3 week tour maybe 21/22, and follow the snow around Europe in a van.

So in conclusion, I know there are folks on here that think it's wierd to keep going back to the same place, and like to "do" a new place all the time, and personally i'll always have a special place for Chamonix, Val and Verbier, and will always go now and again, but i'm in no rush to go back to most of the places we've skied, happy to go rather than not ski.....don't get me wrong they're all OK, but for now i'm always up for discovering new lines and gaining a better understanding of an area we love, and where to avoid the crowds so why not keep going back, plenty of time for exploring still, North America would be cool but if I went to US/ Canada anytime soon there's more I'd want to do than ski and I don't have the time, same with South America.

So from my point of view - ignore everyone else, ski where you want, its your cash!

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I think it also depends if you're asking if you're odd as in "do other people find it odd" or "am I missing out on something"

The argument whether other people find it odd shouldn't matter - you make up your own fun, and your own definition of what you like. Enjoying the comfort of predictable places is for some a real holiday. So if you ask someone that gets their "high" out of ski touring, yeah, they're probably gonna find it odd to stay in one place for years, but if you ask someone that wants to relax, ski and have a high amount of predictability, it will be a very interesting offer.

Now, the other aspect, of missing out on stuff - maybe. But you might also be missing out on experiences you won't enjoy. Maybe Japan would be interesting to discover, but then again what's the point of investing the money if the maximum "high" you get out of it is a lot less than what you get from a relaxed holiday.

And there's obviously mixing and matching, as many have said - some predictability, some adventure.

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I don't think you are odd at all. We ski mostly in France and now have a place in the 3V. The plusses are that you get to know the ski areas really well, you then get to know some of the locals, and then you find yourself exploring a bit further, both in winter and then in the summer

However, that's not to say that some destinations offer "better" or different aspects to the experience. We totally loved out 2 trips of Japan, and I can't say I have every had more fun skiing in the powder between the trees; I love Italy cos of the friendly locals and amazing food; Zermatt-fab-but not somewhere I would like to have a ski pad (were that even to be an option).

If it makes you happy, I'd say, carry on!

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Agree with Perty: we've been around a bit - tried Austria, Switzerland, Italy and France - but have settled on La Plagne, and La Plagne is "home". We know the locals, the shops, the bars and restaurants, and the runs. We know where to go in what weather, where to avoid. We know how to avoid the crowds. If we want, we can asily drive to a few other places, but we rarely do. We like La Plagne.

Nothing odd at all. I used to go to jungfrau every year and often somewhere else as well on a two week trip. Self driving meant you could have a day elsewhere on the journey down or back and on transfer day. What it taught me was how relatively inferior the Jungfrau lift system had become, my knees had got too old for two weeks and so i dropped the jungfrau week and explored austria and dollies. As there are now some replaced lifts in jungfrau i might, covid permitting, but more likely 21/22, return this season.

You know it makes sense.

if it ticks the boxes, then nope.
Lots of people own Ski apartments who go back to the same place year on year.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

+1 if someone goes always in the same place.
You know the place, the hidden gems, where to ski, where to eat, how to avoid all the bad circumstances etc etc and furthermore you could see how you improve your self...

Unfortunately i can not do that as regards as skiing.
In summer we go always in Zillertal.
For skiing holidays is a little bit difficult for us , since with two children is a little more complicated...still searching

A snowHead

No it's not odd. Yes you may be missing out on something because in any given week there may be someplace somewhere that would be even better for you. You can kiss a lot of frogs looking for a prince however

I'm a creature of habit too, albeit my habits are shared across wider geographies. I always try to make the effort to ski somewhere new to me each year. Sometimes even weather and pandemics fail to conspire to make that possible.

A snowHead

If you always have the same room in the same hotel and sit at the same table at dinner then you're odd.

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

@red 27, +1

That would be wierd

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@red 27, I have rented the same apartment in the same resort multiple times.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

No. It's not odd at all.

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@rjs, That's nothing. I always park in the same space at Sainsburys.

Beat that!

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@red 27, What happens if it's busy, do you drive round and round until its free?

After all it is free

@Markymark29, Thankfully that nightmare scenario has never yet occured.

I'm not sure what I'd do - I think my head would probably explode!

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@enduroaid, No, not odd at all. Much the same here between Zell am See and Obergurgl. been a few other places but almost always Austria and keep going back to the two favourites because I know what I like and they both provide it in every respect.

Have also been to Zell am See several times in the summer and its a great alternative to the beaches of the Med. Just as busy then as in winter and thats probably why its such a vibrant town commercially as well as touristically. Obergurgl is the opposite - tumbleweed in summer and slightly bleak although TBF it doesn't actually market itself as a summer resort. A couple of hotels open for walkers/climbers and mountain bikers but thats it.

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No not odd at all - as has been mentioned, you know where to go, where to eat, where to ski and at what time. It really takes the headache out of the holiday. I have a suite of about 3/4 places to ski that I love going back too.

That said, I do love going to new places (and the reason why I have 3/4 favourites is that I didn't stop when I got 1 favourite). I normally squeeze in two ski trips a year, and one will always be at one of my favourite places (generally the family trip).

I also do the occasional weekend (2 days skiing) and I've realized that they're not the time to try something new, as I spent too much time working out where I'm going etc and what I'm doing, and by the time I've got my head around it all and getting in the swing, it's time to go home!

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I used to think it was a waste, but my wife loves Champoluc..she wont go anywhere else..she goes skiing,walking,drinking etc..so we go there every January, i must admit i do look forward to it, been 11 years now.. but avoid the walking unless its to get to the lift in a morning..i then go elsewhere with other in march

You know it makes sense.

I used to think it was a waste, but my wife loves Champoluc..she wont go anywhere else..she goes skiing,walking,drinking etc..so we go there every January, i must admit i do look forward to it, but avoid the walking unless its to get to the lift in a morning..i then go elsewhere with other in march

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

A snowHead

Not at all odd. Been going to the Arlberg for 18 years now and no interest to change. Apart from knowing your way around, where the best snow is likely to be, how the crowds move, etc... we now have some very close friends in StA. It is very much like going home.

I get that many people like a change of scenery every trip. I also see some of those people on the Galzig, in a storm, trying to figure out where to go, while the wind is shredding their paper map. Very Happy

I guess the Arlberg being such a huge ski area helps. Plenty of variety. An added bonus... the lift co invests heavily in the infrastructure, with a new lift/upgrade seemingly every 2nd year.

A snowHead

22 years in a row in Ischgl, some years twice... this year maybe not, but you are NOT odd:-)

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

Love the Hof, spent 30 weeks or more there over the years but also try to go to a couple of other resorts also each season.

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I go to the Jungfrau region every year, mainly because due to the onset of osteoporosis, my wife has exchanged skiing for winter walking and hiking, and now knows her way safely around all of the winter walking routes in the region. It's plenty big enough for a diverse weeks skiing and because she can get to most of the places that I can (hiker's pass), we manage to meet up for lunch and tea and cake every day as well.

Still hoping to get there this year if we get vaccinated before the snow disappears!

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

No. Having tried various places I am drawn back to Norway, time and again and it feels great knowing the place so well. Same for summer I have my spiritual home for 2 seems of summer sun on French Riviera. And yes some locals are now friends.

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After all it is free

I have to admit I do find it a bit odd when someone that continually goes back to the same resort every year having not tried any others. Until you've tried a few it's difficult to really know what you are looking for and what works. If you've done a few and found one that ticks your boxes I wouldn't consider it odd to return. Myself as an example I was perfectly happy with my first few trips in Europe, then went to Canada and was blown away with the controlled off-piste concept, and now wouldn't really consider Europe for the most part.

Couldn't agree more with others that mentioned some of the benefits being familiar with a place. The multi-resort passes in n America mean a lot of people are visiting more resorts, but skiing less days at each one. I think a lot of them enjoy being able to say they skied all these places (and have a sticker of each one on their helmet just to let you know). Once you talk to them you realise they didn't actually find (or even see!) some of the better areas of those resorts. To get the best out of anywhere you need to spend a bit of time there (or have a nice local to show you around).

We take two ski trips a year, January is always the Dolomites , March is a new resort. The years were we could go only once it was always the Dolomites, we love the area , the people , the food and infrastructure. Going to a new place is exciting and there is beauty in that, going back to a place that you love is like rediscovering an old friend , we always look forward the yearly fix. Very Happy

Btw never been to the resort that u mention, only to zell am see. Going to have a look.

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Am I odd because i tend to ski in the same place every year?

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