 Poster: A snowHead
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Hi there.
Last year I did a 1 week intro to off-piste course in Chamonix but didn't have much opportunity to practice by myself on fat skis after that.
I'll be in Austria in a few weeks, which Austrian resort would you recommend for an experienced on-piste but beginner off-piste guy? I'm looking for "safe" options, don't plan to go deep into the trees/couloirs away from civilization.
As I will be alone, I want to stay close to the groomed slopes, easy monitored but not groomed runs would be amazing, just need an easy run that I can fall all the time and practice some drills. Any tips? St Anton maybe?
Cheers,
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I would not recommend St Anton.
It is so popular for off piste that all the relatively safe areas (I know "safe" is subjective) will be tracked out in no time.
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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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Hochfugen/Kaltenbach in Zillertal has freeride areas including a beginner area inside the piste area, lift served. On the website they also advertise free guides at weekends (skifriends by Dynastar).
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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What a great question. One of the reasons I love N America is the "inbounds" rule rather than the "on piste" rule. I'm always nervous in Europe with stories of "if you break your leg 3m away from the edge of the piste you have to pay for the helicopter personally" etc etc.
I went to Morzine just before the Great Flu, I found Avoriaz has something called The Stash, a sort of freeride area mainly through trees but also with rails, jumps etc.
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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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@AndreSilva, For easier, accessible off-piste, don't go anywhere known for off-piste. It all gets tracked out two minutes after the lifts open. Ordinary, less well known resorts you can often get fresh tracks days after the last snowfall.
I am also concerned that you will be alone. It is very easy to say that you will only go a little off-piste, but then you spot another line and end up further and further from the pistes. It is also very sensible to make sure you carry tranceiver, probe and shovel (and know how to use them) at this stage, so it becomes routine to have them. Nowadays we almost always take avalanche kit out with us, even on piste days, just in case we get tempted by nice looking lines.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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as col the yeti says but also zell am ziller has plenty of easy off piste terrain you'd enjoy yourself in. If you didn't know that's short ride just down the valley from kaltenbach
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| RobinS wrote: |
| @AndreSilva, For easier, accessible off-piste, don't go anywhere known for off-piste. It all gets tracked out two minutes after the lifts open. Ordinary, less well known resorts you can often get fresh tracks days after the last snowfall. |
This. Family resorts are great, as is anywhere small and not advertised as being for fearless hard core people. You probably want to make sure there's sufficient, you know, snow depth, too. And some fresh snow helps as well.
But if you want to ride alone, then north America is a safer bet, especially until you learn what's what.
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Fieberbrunn has some great, long itinerary runs (124d & 124e) which are really easy to get at. Also, the area is accessible from the Saalbach valley so you can also access plenty of easy off piste at the Hochalm and the Asitz bowl.
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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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What about looking for somewhere that does guided off piste groups? That will be safer than skiing off piste on your own and more fun
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| Klamm Franzer wrote: |
| Fieberbrunn has some great, long itinerary runs (124d & 124e) which are really easy to get at. Also, the area is accessible from the Saalbach valley so you can also access plenty of easy off piste at the Hochalm and the Asitz bowl. |
I was going to suggest this too the area is used by the Freeride world tour so there must be good off piste there, the two ski routes there are pretty long and depending on how you feel personally might be OK for a solo skier though there is a higher element of risk over being on piste, the routes are only checked in the area of the line of poles, which does cause a certain amount of confusion. They are fairly committing as there is no easy way off them once you start
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@AndreSilva, If its practice you're after then Flachauwinkel in the Ski Amade has a great little Freeride area off the top of the Powder Shuffle lift. Nice little bowl in full view of the piste. Once you're happy with that then head over to Zauchensee where you can always find lines off the Gamskogel Lifts that will keep you busy. If there's powder it can be epic. I ski it a lot and never get bored on Powder Days. But, it all depends on the snow. Had another Snowhead come out last year and we had a blast on a powder day. If I'm not working, I can show you around. If you don't come here then a really good alternative is where @Col the Yeti, recommends. Hochfugen has a great little ridge under the Achter Jet which has loads of easy lines that drop down on to the Blue Run back to the start point.
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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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| Col the Yeti wrote: |
| Hochfugen/Kaltenbach in Zillertal has freeride areas including a beginner area inside the piste area, lift served. On the website they also advertise free guides at weekends (skifriends by Dynastar). |
I did not know this, but a website check confirms it. €68 for a day pass, but free guiding makes that more attractive. Thanks 
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@AndreSilva, what exactly do you mean by "off-piste"? If you truly mean snow that isn't routinely compacted and groomed, then really anywhere works. And frankly, there are 2 basic families of unpisted snow: a. the things that are fun to ski and b. the things that aren't. A:type snow is generally not that hard and deep powder excepted, doesn't really need much modification of technique; B:type snow, well, just horrible and hard work, up to +/- not really skiable.
Or do you mean powder skiing, in which case you need somewhere with reliable and predictable powder. I didn't really learn to ski powder with any grace until I went heliskiing, aged 35-ish and with 30-ish years skiing quite a lot under my belt. I do appreciate that modern skis change that dynamic a lot, but still.
Also, there's (as I am sure you were taught) a lot more to skiing off piste than the skiing.
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You know it makes sense.
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Some of the itineraries in Serfaus would be ok to practice on. They can get very deep.
After a dump there are usually some fresh tracks available in between the pistes above the Zirbenhutte, and in the Scheidbahn 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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@Scarlet, @Col the Yeti, Ski Friends is not exactly free guiding. It's intended as an introduction to skiing off piste and as such includes information about what equipment you need to take (transciever, shovel, probe etc.) and how to use it, including practicing transciever searches in the Search Field. We talk about the avalanche report and relate it to what can be seen around us. The theory part and transciever search is about an hour. In the second part of the session we go skiing off piste with emphasis on moving safely, looking at features, terrain traps, safe places to stop etc.
It's offered for free, supported by Dynastar in partnership with the Hochfügen lift company and Ski Schule SkiCheck. It's a great opportunity for people to get their first taste of skiing off piste.
You can register for it on the Hochfügen website, or you can turn up and take your chances on the first come, first served system!
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Poster: A snowHead
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@SaraJ, thanks for the input. Cool to know you are involved. How long does it take to ski from the base at Kaltenbach to the meeting point?
The website is a little confusing though, because Freeride Beginner Guiding (which details the same as you have just said) is listed separately to Skifriends which doesn’t mention anything about training.
I still might take friends who haven’t done much freeriding, and extra practice is always beneficial. I’ve never skied there, so it would be good to explore the area and we’re always on the lookout for good spots. Where do you register online?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@Scarlet,
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How long does it take to ski from the base at Kaltenbach to the meeting point?
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From the car park at Kaltenbach - with no queues on any of the lifts it would take about 45 mins. obviously depending on how fast you ski and if you need to stop to rest!
The Ski Friends sessions are every Saturday and Sunday (apart from a couple of dates in February) starting at 09:30 or at 13:00 for 2.5hrs.
The difference between Freeride Beginner Guiding and Ski Friends is that Ski Friends is for up to 6 people and you don't have any say in what you do. The Freeride Beginner Guiding can be when you choose to do it, with who you want. We will always include some safety information in whatever level of off piste course we do, however, if you pay for the Freeride Beginner Guiding you can specify if you want to work on technique, or learn more about avalanche danger, or just want to ski in beginner freeride terrain etc.
I've just looked on the Hochfügen website for a registration button... I assumed there was one because we receive emails from people wanting to register. Having looked, I've no idea how they manage it  I guess they send a message via the Kontakt form and it gets forwarded to us.
You could also send a message through the SkiCheck website www.skicheck.at Make sure it's clearly an enquiry for Hochfügen and/or Freeriding and it will be forwarded to us.
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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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@SaraJ, excellent info! Thank you.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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| Col the Yeti wrote: |
| Hochfugen/Kaltenbach in Zillertal has freeride areas including a beginner area inside the piste area, lift served. On the website they also advertise free guides at weekends (skifriends by Dynastar). |
Do you have a link? Cant find exactly what you speak of… Tia
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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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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| RedandWhiteFlachau wrote: |
| @AndreSilva, If its practice you're after then Flachauwinkel in the Ski Amade has a great little Freeride area off the top of the Powder Shuffle lift. Nice little bowl in full view of the piste. Once you're happy with that then head over to Zauchensee. |
+1 The inbound off piste area at Flachauwinkel is excellent for honing skills and there’s ample piste skiing if you want a break and/or some variety.
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| AndreSilva wrote: |
| …which Austrian resort would you recommend for an experienced on-piste but beginner off-piste guy? |
I would recommend Ischgl. I was there in good snow in Jan 2022. The vast majority of visitors seemed to be there for the excellent piste skiing, but there was plenty of terrain between pistes with a sensible gradient. And we had a fun day in deep snow in Kappl, a short bus ride away down the valley. The latter is a good option in poor weather because more of it’s below the tree line.
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| under a new name wrote: |
@AndreSilva, what exactly do you mean by "off-piste"? If you truly mean snow that isn't routinely compacted and groomed, then really anywhere works. And frankly, there are 2 basic families of unpisted snow: a. the things that are fun to ski and b. the things that aren't. A:type snow is generally not that hard and deep powder excepted, doesn't really need much modification of technique; B:type snow, well, just horrible and hard work, up to +/- not really skiable.
Or do you mean powder skiing, in which case you need somewhere with reliable and predictable powder. I didn't really learn to ski powder with any grace until I went heliskiing, aged 35-ish and with 30-ish years skiing quite a lot under my belt. I do appreciate that modern skis change that dynamic a lot, but still.
Also, there's (as I am sure you were taught) a lot more to skiing off piste than the skiing. |
I'm looking for some powder, but I want to avoid deep powder as I'm still a beginner off-piste.
The most important thing for me is to be close to the groomed slopes and lift access in case I decided that I need to breath a bit.
When I was learning regular on-piste skiing, I was always looking for a nice gentle blue run and was going up and down the whole day... falling down, doing drills and just getting comfortable until I could manage any kind of groomed slope(icy, steep, narrow, etc), it took a few seasons. I'm looking for the same for "off-piste" now that I have some off-piste training and fat skis  . I want to avoid deep powder until I'm comfortable. Shin deep is good for now, and with the current weather forecast, probably won't have much deep snow even if I wanted
I agree with you, there's a lot more to skiing off-piste than the skiing, that's why I want to keep my skiing in the safe side outside of the groomers.
Last edited by After all it is free  on Thu 12-01-23 14:31; edited 1 time in total
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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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| RedandWhiteFlachau wrote: |
| @AndreSilva, If its practice you're after then Flachauwinkel in the Ski Amade has a great little Freeride area off the top of the Powder Shuffle lift. Nice little bowl in full view of the piste. Once you're happy with that then head over to Zauchensee where you can always find lines off the Gamskogel Lifts that will keep you busy. If there's powder it can be epic. I ski it a lot and never get bored on Powder Days. But, it all depends on the snow. Had another Snowhead come out last year and we had a blast on a powder day. If I'm not working, I can show you around. If you don't come here then a really good alternative is where @Col the Yeti, recommends. Hochfugen has a great little ridge under the Achter Jet which has loads of easy lines that drop down on to the Blue Run back to the start point. |
That is very nice from you man! I'll send you a PM in case I decide to go Flachauwinkel, sounds interesting and it would be amazing to have someone to show around
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