 Poster: A snowHead
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Hello fellow skiers
I'm planning my family ski trip to Europe (Austria/Italy) from NZ and would like your words of wisdom.
At this stage the only fixed dates/places are:
4 January 2024 - land in Munich and rent a car there
4 February 2024 - flying out from Zurich
Currently my plan is:
5 - 8 Jan: ???
8 - 12 Jan: Dolomiti (probably rental apartments 20min away from Alta Badia)
Weekend break
15 - 19 Jan: ??? (either resorts around Innsbruck on City'n'Ski or resorts around Landeck - SFL, See/Kappl/Ischgl, Kaunertal)
Weekend break
24 Jan - 2 Feb: Silvretta Montafon or Ski Arlberg
1. Where would be a nice place to ski 5-8 Jan without horrible crowds? Will Kitzbuhel be a nightmare? Will Skiwelt or Zillertal be better? Are there any smaller resorts that would be great for 3 days between Munich and Dolomites?
2. Or should I go straight to Dolomites and have more time there? We've never been there, but I'm not sure if 7-8 days is too much there, given that we enjoy NZ/US/Canada type of skiing (inbound off-piste)
3. Silvretta vs Arlberg for off-piste?
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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@keezaa,
5-8 Jan should be fairly quiet everywhere but there are so many different resorts in the Dolomites just find another base in the Dolomites from which to ski another area in the Dolomites.
I'll be spending a week in the Dolomites on a "ski safari" but I will only get a glimpse of the different areas around the Dolomites.
The Dolomites are very different to the other mountains in that part of Europe the whole area is a Unesco World Heritage Area (incredible scenery).
For off piste St Anton and the Arlberg is amazing but don't forget there is no "In Bounds Off Piste" in Europe, you are either on piste or off piste as soon as you're outside of the piste markers.
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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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| welshflyer wrote: |
@keezaa,
5-8 Jan should be fairly quiet everywhere but there are so many different resorts in the Dolomites just find another base in the Dolomites from which to ski another area in the Dolomites.
I'll be spending a week in the Dolomites on a "ski safari" but I will only get a glimpse of the different areas around the Dolomites.
The Dolomites are very different to the other mountains in that part of Europe the whole area is a Unesco World Heritage Area (incredible scenery).
For off piste St Anton and the Arlberg is amazing but don't forget there is no "In Bounds Off Piste" in Europe, you are either on piste or off piste as soon as you're outside of the piste markers. |
San Martino di Castrozza in the Dolomites has lots of within resort area off-piste skiing accessible straight off the lift which spits you out back on the cat track to the lift base station.
Lots of tree skiing.
Lovely little town with great restaurants and one of the best mountain bars IMHO, Ranch
https://www.instagram.com/explore/locations/184993054997077/ranch-the-dolomites-bar/
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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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| welshflyer wrote: |
@keezaa,
5-8 Jan should be fairly quiet everywhere but there are so many different resorts in the Dolomites just find another base in the Dolomites from which to ski another area in the Dolomites.
I'll be spending a week in the Dolomites on a "ski safari" but I will only get a glimpse of the different areas around the Dolomites.
The Dolomites are very different to the other mountains in that part of Europe the whole area is a Unesco World Heritage Area (incredible scenery).
For off piste St Anton and the Arlberg is amazing but don't forget there is no "In Bounds Off Piste" in Europe, you are either on piste or off piste as soon as you're outside of the piste markers. |
Thanks @welshflyer
Would Val Gardena and Alta Badia be considered as different areas?
Re off-piste I was thinking about the 'ski routes' in Austria. I'm assuming they are ungroomed but patrolled (at least at the end of the day) and avalanche safe? Am I correct?
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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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A large number on european countries are going back school on 8 january this season, so less crowdy for early january is not something I will bet on.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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@keezaa,
I don't know the geography of the Dolomites. I suggest you ask that specific question in the "Resorts" section of the S/Heads forum.
In Austria you are correct about ski routes. However they must be regarded as "off piste" because they do not have markers down each side of the run. There are simply single markers down the "centre" of the route therefore you could be a short distance from the marker and be in a dangerous place. This can be very dangerous when skiing in poor visibilty.
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| keezaa wrote: |
Thanks @welshflyer
Would Val Gardena and Alta Badia be considered as different areas?
Re off-piste I was thinking about the 'ski routes' in Austria. I'm assuming they are ungroomed but patrolled (at least at the end of the day) and avalanche safe? Am I correct? |
Val Gardena and Alta Badia are different areas in as much as you can get separate limited area passes for each bit as well as the full dolomite ski area but they are adjacent too each other and are very straightforward to ski between so open up less different skiing than areas further apart.
If it was me going I would choose two different areas but a little further apart from each other , this year I'm going to Cortina and Alta Badia on the same trip. Somewhere like Alleghe and Val Gardena would open up very different possibilities. The potential within the dolomites is vast and although I have been on several occasions there is plenty left for me to see. Though equally I have repeated bits.
The ski routes in both the Ischgl area and Arlberg are marked and patrolled but not pisted. Personally I prefer the ones in the Ischgl/Galtur area a little as they are less intensively skied with more people going on the regular pistes but others would probably prefer the other way round either way both areas are great to ski in.
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@keezaa, 4-8th January is a very busy week in Austria, their Christmas break goes on until 7th.
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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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@keezaa, also the further you get into the season, the better the likelihood of a good base being built up. Christmas/NY can be a bit and miss snow wise - but everything is generally sorted by mid-Jan. In most years, early Jan is also fine, but you just need a snow-drought or warm temps over Christmas dragging into the first week of Jan and you might find conditions aren't the best. I guess what I'm saying is, I'm sure you'll be fine but maybe don't go too low for those first 3 days.
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If you're only landing on 4 January after a long flight perhaps it would make most sense to then make your way down to the Dolomites in a leisurely fashion, perhaps seeing somewhere like Kitzbuhel on the way, for a nice lunch and tourism, rather than skiing, then having a good chunk of time in the Dolomites and a week in the Arlberg on the way back to Zurich, by which time there'll be more chance of good snow cover for off-piste.
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