Choosing between Austrian resorts

A snowHead

Hi folks, great forum.. first post here.
Going to Austria for the first time in 2 weeks. There will be 4 of us - two couples: the guys are advanced but not experts and ladies are beginners. Trying to choose between Saalbach, Soelden and Ischgl. Looking for decent snow and runs appropriate for the skills and something to do at night, but not too crazy.
Would I be correct to think that from the snow standpoint Ischgl is the best bet this season?

A snowHead

Antipod, welcome to snowHeads

I've not been to Saalbach, Soelden or Ischgl! However I wouldn't mind going to either Saalbach or Ischgl. I believe Ischgl is pretty high and at the moment that's a really good thing in Europe, although it looks like we're in for a lot of snow at the beginning of next week.

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

Only skied Sölden (should be in Ishgl at the moment but weather and work have delayed that).

Speaking to firends who have skied all 3 resorts ...
They are all lively with Ishgl probably being the wildest then Sölden then Saalbach.

Sölden has the advantage that its the higest and has a glacier which should make it more snow secure. Ishgl is lower with Saalbach being the lowest.

Terrain wise Sölden looks to be the most difficult but smallest. Ishgl is the largest and has the best lifts.

http://www.bergfex.com/soelden/
http://www.bergfex.com/saalbach-hinterglemm-leogang/
http://www.bergfex.com/ischgl/

For couples I'd point you in the direction of Saalbach (snow depending). It rained last night but temps should be dropping and snow is forecast.
If I were you I'd hand in there a few days and see where the snow falls. http://www.skiinfo.co.at/index.jsp?count=25

Obertauern is another resort to consider that is high up and not too wild.

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Antipod, I've been to both Saalbach and Ischgl, but not Soelden. I would say either Saalbach or Ischgl would be fine for your group, but the snow is at the moment better in Ischgl although next week's snow might make this a moot point.

Both have fun nightlife and are very 'austrian' in style (dancing in ski boots on tables etc.), although I would say Ischgl might just be the more 'trendy' of the two. Both occasionally get slightly rowdy but not too much!

In Ischgl's favour, I would say it is a better ski area for a mixed ability group to still maintain contact i.e. meet for lunch etc., and the skiing is definitely more extenxive and more varied, so will keep your advanced skiers busier for longer. However, Saalbach is quite a bit cheaper so if that's one of your considerations then it might be worth bearing in mind. It's also very pretty skiing and so if you're all looking for a slightly more relaxed week it might be the perfect choice.

Not been to Soelden but from my drives through there on the way to Obergurgl and from other people's reports, I understand it has obviously high glacier skiing so snow will be good, but from a resort point of view it seems a bit disjointed - it's kind of strung out along the main Oetztal road and doesn't really seem to have a centre as such. I've also heard the nightlife can get very rowdy, but this is hearsay and I would be happy to be corrected on any of these points!

Happy sliding!
D

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Ischgl is a top quality resort in every sense. Pretty village, great Austrian / German apres, enough skiing to keep anyone happy on or off piste for a week or more, quality accommodation, reasonable transfer time from Freidrichschafen / Innsbruck / Zurich. TThe only thing I would say is, how "beginnery" are you? Blues? Easy Reds? Average Reds? If you can do easy reds then the Alp Trida Bowl on the swiss side will be just fine for you. There's plenty of reds and blues on it and its easily accessible from Idalpe via a lift and a longish blue. The other reds in the resort may be too hard for you, particularly those to Fimbatal and down to the village, and those to Samnaun in Switzerland.

Saalbach is also good an te runs there will be great for your group. They are however a lot shorter than the Ischgl runs in general and the south facing side of the valley (50% of the runs approx) suffer in warm weather and bad snow years.

Solden is probably similar to Ischgl in terms of quality and runs although there are less of them, but there is a largeish glacier if conditions generally are poor. The Solden apres is probably the most germanic in the alps, the loudest and the most raucous. It's absolutely banging from 2-3pm and you have to look hard to find a quiet place for a drink. The restaurants are supposdly not as good and varied as Ischgl either but I rarely got that far in the 4 days i was there.

All in all, if you can cope with the terrain, I'd go for Ischgl every time, but then it is my top resort in the alps!!!

Note: not a huge amount of English spoken in Ischgl and even less in Solden. Saalbach fine though.

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Ischgl....next question?

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

Thanks for all the replies.
I see a lot more acommodation options in Ischgl than in either Saalbach or Soelden. There seems to be a lot more decent apartments with better facilities available in the price range EU150-200/night. Maybe it's just me looking in wrong places. This may well be the deciding factor between the three resorts regardless of anything else, but on the other hand Ischgl maybe the right choice for us anyway.
And the weather outlook is looking a bit more promising now!! I am missing good snow... This winter here in Michigan has been awful..

After all it is free

The hamlets around Ischgl are very "sleepy". All the action is in the main town. It is also prudent to get their fairly early in the morning to ensure a car parking space close to the lifts unless you want a long walk in ski boots. The alternative is the ski bus for which there can be a big scrum to get onto after skiing. If you can, I'd stay in Ischgl, unless apres is not your thing. Email the tourist office for vacant apartments on the dates you are going. They are very helpful and speak good English. Also a lot of the pensions in town have a couple of apartments which you can book with or withour breakfast.

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Thanks SnowGod..
I found a place in the main village called Garni Binta. Seems to be quite nice. Has anyone stayed there?

Also, any suggestions for where to rent ski?

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Going to Mayrhoen in Austria on 17th Feb. Can anyone say, is 1800 m considered high or low altitude? And bearing in mind altitude and the time of my trip (mid-late Feb - is that a good time of the season for snow) what are my chances of good snow.

So anyone here been to Mayrhofen? In other respects, are there well-stocked supermarkets around there within walking distance? And what's the average price of a decent meal, and lift passes, ski hire - is Austria considered cheap or expensive in this respect?

ETA: Oh, forgot to say, i'm vegetarian. Is Austrian cuisine heavily meat based?

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Ridha,
IMHO, I would say 1800m is considered pretty high altitude ( although not when comparing it with the US). I have been to Avoriaz (village at 1800m) for the last 4 years and its always been excellent, and its 'sold' as a high altitude/snow sure resort. Seeing you have picked to go mid Feb, I would say, in general, you have given yourself the best chance of snow out of all the weeks of the European winter.
Never been to Mayrhofen, but its supposed to be superb, I was in Seefeld 2 weeks ago and found the people much more friendly than the French in Avoriaz. The difference in prices is significant, both for food and drink. About 15 years ago Austria used to be a bit expensive , but not any more - the Austrians don't want to rip people off, which I have found is not the case in France. In France, a very large beer will cost at least 5 euros in a mountain restaurant (last Feb) , whilst sitting at an outside table in a restuarant overlooking Seefeld it was 5.8 euros for 2 of them - Excellent value in my opinion. Lift passes (adult) - bank on about £100 a week for all decent Austrian, French, Swiss, Italian resorts. Food - you won't like this - they like their meat - goulash, sausages etc, went to an Austrain wedding this month near to Seefeld - it was a meat feast - rabbit, partridge, venison, pork were all involved - lovely it was.
You could always stick to the germkonodals (doughballs with vanilla sauce) with a Jagertee to wash it down.
Nice people the Austrians - you'll love it (PS they don't like the Germans either!)

I have to say I find France a complete rip off and wonder why so many Brits seems to love it so much. Tatty apartments sleeping 6-8 people (3 comfortably!), obnoxious lift attendants, instructors who pretend not to speak English and all they really want to do is teach french kids to race slalom, extortionately priced self service cafeterias on the mountain with surly staff which make Newport Pagnell Services on the M1 look like it deserves a michelin star, snotty nosed kids trying to push you out of the way in the lift queues, high drinks prices, souless characterless purpose built resorts with high rise apartment blocks with a token bit of wood on the fascia to give them an "alpine feel"... give me Austria or Switzerland any day of the week.

I concede that there is good and varied skiing in some of the large french resorts but you can find just as good skiing in parts of Austria and Switzerland. Also, with much of Austria being pasture land you don't need 3 metres of snow to hide the rocks like you do in a lot of France.

For me it's about the totaly holiday experience and Austria wins on that score hands down every time.

Ridha You can get vegetarian options in a lot of Austria now but they are really a eat eating nation in general. There's always the safe old pizza and pasta options and there are several noodle based veggie dishes. I'd say is a lot easier to get veggie options in the resort than on the mountain in most Austrian resorts.

You know it makes sense.

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

SnowGod, Peter B, shhhh. Please don't tell them all. They might all get the idea wink

FRANCE IS THE BEST.....HONEST!! snowHead

A snowHead

I was wrong, and I now agree wholeheartedly with Elizabeth B.... France is the best... keep going there, all of you wink

A snowHead

What a pile of tosh!!

Can I ask how many French resorts have been visited to justify a statement like "

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

Frosty the Snowman, Really... gosh and there's me thinking there was only "Courchevalski" in France ....

Actually been to Alp D'Huez (twice), Les 2 Alpes, Serre Chevalier, 3 Valleys (twice), Morzine.... think thats about it. Certainly enough to be entitled to an informed opinion which is not "a pile of tosh".

And, in my humble but reasonanbly well informed opinion in terms of cost v quality Austria beats France every time. Atmosphere, ambience & village charm - same applies. People - same most certainly applies. Each to their own though .... you keep going to France, I'll keep going to Austria. Better that way - we'll both be happy.

PS Also skied and lunched in Montgenevre and La Rosiere.... forgot about them... almost instantly in fact...

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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Erm... well not exactly... for a start I'd hardly call Serre Chevalier a mega resort... or les 2 alpes for that matter (well there was nothing "mega" I found about it anyway, apart from La Grave which was wonderful.)... or Montgenevre or Risoul either.... Actually stayed in a small village in the 3 valleys one time, can't recall the name as it was a while ago. The other time was in Meribel which I personally found awful for a whole host of reasons. So, a reasonable selection I'd say.

Sure, there are loads of places in France I've not visited, as there are indeed in Austria. The difference is, for me at least, is that I come home from France thinking "Have I just been mugged by a bunch of guys who didn't even really appreciate me being there" and I come home from Austria thinking "What a great holiday... when can I get back to this wonderful country to see my new found friends again".

Life'd be boring if we all liked the same things. Clearly you and I don't like the same things Frosty, but hey, I'm not bitter! Like I said - you stick to your beloved France, and I'll give my custom to Austia.

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SnowGod, One of my ambitions this year was to holiday outside of France....failed miserabley Embarassed

As I said above I love Austria, similarl feelings to Italy. I would acknowledge that most of the resorts you have been to are pricey but look at the less well known resorts and you will find cheaper lift tickets, food, instruction, accomodation, and you will probably get a bonjor of the lifty and a more intimate feel to your holiday.

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

Any recommendations? ... because after 7 trips and a couple of "ski overs" I became totally disillusioned with the whole place, and haven't been for maybe 5 years. Keeping an open mind I might give soemwhere else in France a go for a weekend. One of the key things I like about Austria is the lively apres when the slopes close, and I found most french resorts somewhat devoid of that... Don't get me wrong - I don't mind spending money on skiing holidays at all... in fact Verbier, St Anton and Ischgl are probably my favourite three resorts which tells a story in itself. I just like to feel like I'm getting the things I want for my money and that hasn't happened for me in France.

As for skiing in Italy, that's a totally different experience altogether... where the whole day seems to revolve around lunch!

After all it is free

SnowGod, We always go with the kids and therefore apres is not part of the equation. My experience of French Apres (EoSB)was not cheap. If Apres is a significant part of your holiday then i can't argue with your reasoning

Frosty the Snowman, big fella. France IS a rip off compared to Austria, even the big resorts like St Anton, most I paid for a large beer in St Anton was E3.90. Even in La Plagne, which isn't exactly the biggest French resort in the alps, beer prices were well OTT. This isn't just French ski resorts though, but France in general. I almost collapsed when in Nice last summer and was charged 8 Euros for a 1/2l of Amstel, not in a club, but just a street cafe!!!

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neustift im stubaital, stubaier gletscher for guarantee of snow, **** nightlife though, but the view is just absolutely fantastic!

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Choosing between Austrian resorts

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