 Poster: A snowHead
|
Had an unique week for me last week, although I've travelled to snow holidays alone a few times I've ended up in a chalet so easily met folk.
On this occasion I made the most of the relaxed covid requirements for Austria and booked a reasonably last minute solo trip to Hotel Post in St Johann in Tirol (SJT from here on), Austria via Crystal. At time of booking there were a few nearly half price solo deals which was unusual so bit the bullet.
There and back -
Dead easy TUI flights from Newcastle to Salzburg, I like that Salzburg put skis etc straight outside, I only had my boardbag so no luggage scrum for me just a wander into the fresh air and wait. I was last flight in so no hanging around BUT for either covid or brexit reasons there was no rep on the transfer bus. This caused a bit of confusion regarding some missing lift passes for another group and more importantly no-one to point you in the right direction when the driver chucks you off the bus in an unfamiliar town square at 9pm. Google maps solved that issue but was a bit weird. Return was the same and I nearly wasn't allowed on the bus as the driver forgot to check page 2 of his manifest but no harm done in the end.
Hotel -
Lovely modern hotel, great staff and great buffet breakfast. Lovely ski room and 5 mins walk from the back door to the bus/train station. The hotel bar is very modern and has been geared more towards the general public rather than guests which put me off really but that's a matter of taste more than anything else. I ate in the restaurant one evening and it was lovely and always looked very busy at other times
TO - Had nothing to do with them 
The week -
I went fully aware that SJT was quite a small mountain but was determined to put the effort in to use the infrastructure and the 7 day SuperSKiCard that I purchased to full use while there. All public transport between Worgl and Hochfilzen is included with the lift pass and/or your hotel guest card. The VVT app is tremendous for planning buses and trains and works better then other travel apps I’ve tried.
Day 1: Explored the STJ mountain.
Very nice and a good mix of runs, a couple of older lifts have been turned off for the season but didn't really affect me greatly. Skistar have spent a few quid on new lifts at the Eichenhof side and the Penzing cable car but they have now sold to a local crowd so hopefully some development will continue. The Jodalm 2 man chair is painfully slow! I can see the huge appeal to learners and families greatly, though for mile munchers a day or 2 would be enough probably. Although the in-town skibus system isn't as frequent as other similar areas, it is on time and the walk to the main lift station isn't that far at all.
Day 2: First day trip, Fieberbrunn, SkiCircus.
Knowing that weather was changeable later on in the week I decided to do the most "link-dependent/don't get trapped" visit while the weather was good. And it was glorious! 8.55 bus left the station on the dot and dropped off at the lifts about 20mins later. I did most the circuit excluding the Leogang sector as I was getting a squeaky bum about the TirolS link closing at 15.30pm, I made it for 15.10 with no lunch stops but a very stressful maintenance stop where my ratchet popped off my binding at the bottom of the zwolfer nordbahn, luckily I found it in the snow and even more lucky was all hardwear was still there so disaster averted. Got the bus back around 5pm very happy.
Day 3: Ellmau, SkiWelt.
As seems to be the norm at 8.55 the bus towards Worgl took me to Ellmau for my day in the SkiWelt. The bus here drops you at the bus station a little away from the lifts but there are ski buses every 15 mins so not long to wait to save the walk.
It was a snowy, pea-soup kind of day but I’m not a fair weather snowboarder so still went exploring. I’ve been to Soll quite a few times so know the area BUT my Lord I’d forgotten what a warren the piste map is. Up is down and down is up and with near zero visibility bearings were hard to grasp. Got lost a few times but still made it over to just above Hopfgarten before lunch and working my way back.
Day 4: Kitzbuhel. 8 minutes on the train!
8 minutes!
And the train drops you off at the Hahnenkamm lift. Been here before too so knew a rough layout so get onway straight away. I do like the abundance of posh chairlifts and cablecars here, makes the v expensive pass worth it almost! Lovely sunny morning and cloudy later but had a great time doing top to bottom runs with a lovely lunch over near the baranbadalm before making my way back. When will they upgrade the massive t bar F8 to a chair, i didn't do that run because I couldn’t be bothered with the tbar back up hahaha.
Day 5: Stormy/windy day. Was meant to go back to Kitz and do the Horn side but weather put paid to that so mucked about in SJT for a few hours before wind up high and strange slow melting snow down low put paid to that. The snow was weird, I like playing in slushy afternoon stuff but the surface was like glue dragging me back at every opportunity. Not fun.
Day 6: Steinplatte, Waidring.
Guess what time the bus was?
Now I might be in love with this wee place. The Line D SkiBus dropped right off at the lift station (or around the corner for the PostBus). The decorated gondolas reminded me of “Journey to the Centre of the Earth” type design.
Starting at what could be, at a glance, a service station on a main road, the gondola whisks you up to a high plateau of wide cruisey blues, mostly modern lifts, a few high more challenging reds and a drop down into Germany on the other side. I was so glad I took the trip out here and conditions were lovely, the higher pistes a bit wind scrapped from the previous day but it just made for a different challenge. There’s a very friendly feel to the place and although small I reckon it would be a great place for a beginner week but intermediates a day or two at most. I even saw a big pink dinosaur wandering around for the kids! I loved it, it delivered more than I expected, and the Bar back at the base station looked like it would be lively post-covid!
Day 7: SJT.
Bonus day as my transfer home wasn’t until nearly 15.50pm so up and out for first lift and lapped the runs and lifts to my heart's content. A piste was closed for kids race practice but that was fine and since it was my last day I braved Black 7b. A lovely run and I wish I hadn’t left it late to do it, it’s a red at best for the vast majority and conditions were lovely that morning a bit of fresh overnight gave a lovely forgiving surface on top which felt great under the board. The hotel stored my stuff for me so headed back to pack up about 2pm and do some trinket shopping on the main st.
I ate out a few times in the evening the highlight of which was the Huber Brau rooftop bar/restaurant lovely place and well worth a visit!
Overall a thoroughly enjoyable place. The traveling back and forward to different areas might not be to everyone's liking but honestly it is a doddle and opens up a HUGE amount of possibilities. This should be SJT’s big selling point, yes it’s a nice town with lots to see and do but for those who get bored easy or like to explore a bit then it's a perfect location for getting about.
Any questions or if you want bored with pics/strava links just ask. 
Joe
Last edited by Poster: A snowHead on Fri 25-02-22 16:42; edited 1 time in total
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
|
Nice report, thanks
|
|
|
|
|
|
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?
|
|
Sounds like a great trip, kudos for taking full advantage of the public transport to get the most out of your lift pass.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
@joe1978, went to the Huber Brau and loved it, but my wife asked for a glass of wine to which the comment from the waitress was ' We are a brewery'! Made me chuckle as she sipped her beer!!
Good report, enjoyed SJT but stayed in resort most of our week, managed to get the train to Kitz for the day, but just didn't realise how easy the bus routes are .
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
| denfinella wrote: |
| Sounds like a great trip, kudos for taking full advantage of the public transport to get the most out of your lift pass. |
A 7 day Superski card isn't cheap but does work out better value than days passes for each area (it's actually not much more than a kitzbuhel alone pass, but thats kitz for you)
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
@Simon94, I asked for a beer menu and got a blank look, I eventually managed to get some different beers by using the website and asking what they had "von fass" all very high on the % too  Really enjoyed it though and the town in general.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Good read, Glad that you were able to ski so many areas.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Nice report. Very helpful as one of our plans for the next couple of seasons is to get a SuperSki Card and travel to various resorts for a month on the trains using the various resort railway stations. SJT and Kitzbuhel are certainly central to those plans.
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
|
Great report, thank you! Really useful to know about the public transport (and that it works!)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
I was there 2 weeks ago and completely agree re Steinplatte - it’s a fabulous day out for beginners and intermediates. Booking to go back to SJT for the third time next year
|
|
|
|
|
|
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
|
| ElzP wrote: |
| Great report, thank you! Really useful to know about the public transport (and that it works!) |
Works exceptionally well. One thing I would add even though you can get frequent trains to most the ski areas there can be a decent walk or skibus link to get from the trainstation to lifts. It's on these occasions buses, even though it takes a tad longer, are actually quicker.
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
@joe1978, thanks for the TR. All the more thankful as just last night I was eyeing this exact type of trip from SJT for our holiday next season.
Good to see it works well, and busses are easy enough to get round on for a week!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FAQ
