 Poster: A snowHead
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Hello
Loadz of information on here but i have two specific questions i need an answer too , please :
Thinking of Zell Am See in early March or late Feb .
1) Lifts : Im hoping there are none of those terrible button lift things about here , im after a user friendly lift system ?
2) Language : Language wise , will i get away with English speaking , my language skills are dire to say the least ?
From reading the reviews etc on here , it seems the best place for us beginner skiers / boarders . We were heading for Arc 1950 last year but never made it , although Zell looks better .
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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1) no button lifts
2) fine with English but you should always try tp use a little of your visiting countries language.
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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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I made the big mistake of trying a little german in Crazy Daisies in Zell am See restaurant with the waitress!!! However, she completely misunderstood my polite danke/bitte etc.. for 'this guy wants to practice a little - best let him'. after an our of my best bluffing I just gave up.... turned out as she began to speak in perfect english, that she had worked as a nanny in London for 4 years.... she even had a cockney accent!!!!!!!!
So beware, sometimes its best just to be open about a lack of lingual ability!!!!!!!
Zell is a fanatstic place though. Would recommend if you need nursery slopes picking your hotel/accom very wisely!!!!
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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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Alorko, There are a couple of buttons on Zell's own slopes but you don;t need to use them. However, if the snow is very poor in Zell and you go to the Kitzsteinhorn Glacier at Kaprun, then it's drag lift heaven!!! As it's a glacier most of the lifts are buttons or T Bars once you've gone up the mountain by gondola.
There's loads of Engish spoken in Zell. Many of the staff in the hotels are Polish, Hungarian or Slovakian and tend to speak English nd German. There's aloso quite a lot of Scandiavans who work in the resort - they speak better English than we do!!! 
If you are absolute beginners maybe staying in Scuttdorf would be a better option as it's got it's own nursery and has the easiest access to the "progression" slopes. If you've done it before, stay in town and use the CitiExpress Gondola to access the mountain from the village to save catching a bus to the Zell nursery area.
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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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Alorko, Zell am See attracts a lot of native English speakers who want to work a season....so language shouldn't be an issue.
As SnowGod says, there are drag lifts on the glacier, however it is possible to get the cable car up to the top and ski down from there. Not the most excting to be doing all day, but the T-bars can be avoided.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Mattmulkeen, Hope you had a good time in Zell over christmas. I was there then also and the weather was superb was it not? The skiing was far better than anticipated too. Going again in 2 weeks can't wait  I agree Schuttdorf better for absolute beginners.
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Elizabeth B,
Hello , thanks for all the advice .
Can you tell me where you stayed in Schuttdorf , ie hotel and was it any good and although not as busy \s the main town , is there still something going on in the evening , is it easy enough to find somewhere to eat . drink etc ?
Also although we are beginners we will have had a lesson or two at a snowdome just to find our snow feet before we go ,Schuttdorf does seem best option .
Ta
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Alorko, you probably don't want to know about my trip......it was with 80 school kids!!
Schuttdorf is quieter than the main town, but there are a few bars around (didn't go in any of them, though). Hopefully someone else can be more help.
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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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Alorko, We have just bought a place over there and whilst there are a few nice apres ski bars and restaurants in the small town, there is certainly nowhere near the amount there is in Zell am See town. You can always walk into Zell by the lake though. It takes between 12-20 minutes dependent on where you are staying in Schuttdorf. Or you could get the bus (5 mins). Hope this helps.
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If I was a beginner I would book somewhere around the two cable cars in the smitten area - smitten area is really scenic beacause you are up the valley.. The schwebabahn is an excellent hotel with the nursery slopes out the back or the wilderbachof is a good cheapie hotel/apartments. Taxi to town on a night about 9 euros. Personally, I agree though that it is easier to be near the skiing and to do a bit of travelling on a night.
iloveskiing, yes conditions were suprisingly excellent! I take it you had a few people on here tell you it wouldn't be? Hence your tangle with your friend carled!!!
(ps i could post pics of the area if someone tells me how)
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Mattmulkeen, Exactly, they come across as really amiable people, don't you think? Carled, best buddies now you know!!!! 
Do not know how to post pics though. Maybe someone else could tell us??
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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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Mattmulkeen, iloveskiing, I too was in Zell around Xmas... it was like Spring but with better pistes!!! Shame there was nothing to do off piste, but given what I was expecting, conditions were excellent.
Alorko, It all depends how competent you are and whch ski school group you go in as to where is best to say. I appreciate Mattmulkeen, 's comment about Schmitten but a word of warning... as it's in a steep sided valley the sun goes of it very quickly after lunch, and like I said before... if you're not competent enough to do an average blue run then you'll struggle as soon as you go up the mountain in either of the cable cars. At least if you stay in Scuttdorf you have a nursery at the bottom which gets more sun so is a more pleasant experience than the Schmitten nursey, and you can jump straight in the Areitbahn gondola to the easy progression run by the Glocknerbahn chair lift, and come back down in the gondola at night. From Schmitten, you get a large cable car to the very top of the mountain and there's a narrow (for beginners) blue run down. The other cable car is not suitable for beginners.
Schmitten is, in my opinion, a better location in the village itself, more pleasant, more alpine than Schuttdorf, but you have the same issue with both in that the best bars and restaurants are in Zell town and its a long walk or short taxi ride to there from either for any nightlife. Also, if you do try and go up the mountain from Schmitten and decide you don;t like it, it's then a bit of a ball ache to get the us from there to Schuttdorf every morning.
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I would also just add that the Schmitten cable car always has the most queues typically 30 minutes approx, whereas Areitban only tends to have queues first thing 20 minutes approx but varies. I agree with all other posts though.
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