 Poster: A snowHead
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Hello all,
I'm looking for an Austrian resort suitable for both a nervous second weeker and a reasonably lazy (though improving all the time) intermediate. We're looking for:
Empty runs
Plenty of flattering, wide blues
Some nice steep reds
easy access (inc.by ski bus) to at least 70km of piste (though not necessarily in the same place)
Attractive village, quiet preferably (I liked Rohrmoos)
At least an OK snow record, as we're travelling in Jan.
Easy to arrange DIY holiday
Can anyone think of a place that ticks those boxes?
We went to Saas Fee last year and loved it, but there didn't seem to be much to progress to for a second weeker. I do love Switzerland, but my partner would like to give Austria a pop.
My ideas so far (in no particular order!)
Ehrwald/Lermoos
Anywhere in Montafon
Neukirchen (Wildkogel)
Alternmarkt/Zauchensee
Kirchberg
Igls
Dorfgastein
Or Flims/Laax (even though it's in Switzerland!)
Anyone been to this lot?
Any help gratefully received! And I apologise for asking such a predictable question!
Thanks, Liam
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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lrx28,
DIY January I'd book flights and see where the snow is good to be sure of that bit. Altenmarkt is pleasant with plenty of skiing up at Zauchensee.
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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'm a big fan of Lermoos. And you can easily ski several other areas nearby (included on your ski pass). Very laid back atmosphere, but a surprisingly good mountain. For some reason it's full of Dutch people, though, so be warned. The English all seemed to congregate in Berwang, the next village over. Lermoos is the better mountain of the two.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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I've only been to Dorfgastein on your list and skiing wise it would meet your requirements. The runs are really long and wide. It wasn't particualrly busy when we visited at new year but it had snowed a lot which may have stopped a few fair weather skiers. Nice scenery - plenty of tree lined runs. We were based in Bad Gastein so I've no idea what the village is like for apres ski.
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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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lrx28,
Obertauern would be snowsure in January. Wide open pistes and v.good lift sytem.
Um, couldn't call the town "quiet"(bit of a party town), and not a traditional super pretty Austrian town - but shouldn;t be bad in January.
You've also got other resorts available on the Lungo pass or sazburger superski pass.
Very easy access from Salzburg (1hr)
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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I'd agree with what Hayls says about Dorfgastein. I didn't stay there either.
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Kitzbuhel is great.
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Try Zauchensee.
Ticks all boxes, except the pretty one.
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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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well, i hope Dorfgastein is good for beginners/intermediates because my mum who this year skied for the first time after 20 years is booked up to go there next new year...
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Dorfgastein is pretty good for beginners as is the neighbouring area above Bad Hofgastein. Dorfgastein is linked to Grossarl on the other side of the mountain so gives plenty of skiing! Not sure what the apres ski is like. Like Hayls, we've always been in Bad Gastein. I think Dorfgastein maybe a bit sleepy.
One of your other suggestions, Neukirchen (Wildkogel) is really nice too. Great for beginners, nice wide long blues and reds.  IT's not all that well know either I don't think. You may get a bit bored with a whole week there but its not much of a problem because you can take the ski bus to the Zillertal Arena.
Cheers
Kersh
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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You should go to Ischgl
everything you have asked fro you'll find there
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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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I was only a youngster when we went to Lermoos and because it was an allocation on arrival we were slightly disappointed not to be sent to Mayerhofen. However looking back on it now skiing wise the place was great and also had the snowsure glacier which was quite good fun to ski to and on. We were disappointed by the nightlife as it was really much too quiet for us except for one Dutch bar which was ok, but if that is what you like it is a really nice resort.
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Didn't ski in Zauchensee (just went there to play skittles at the hotel owned by Micheal Walchoffer's family), but it has a good snow record.
On the same lift pass, but a bit of a journey away is Wagrain/Flachau. We had complete beginners through to 6/7 weekers who all enjoyed it.
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You know it makes sense.
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Thanks all for the advice! Lermoos is sounding particularly appealing. baba4ko -I'd love to try Ischgl but isn't it quite expensive (I can't get the online accommodation booking thing to work)?
Liam
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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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lrx28, Think about Ski-Welt - That's Ellmau, Soll, and Scheffau and a few other resorts as well. Nothing too difficult but great opportunities to travel distance around the mountains and and the mountain restaurants and "huttes" are fantastic. Check out the web sites and brochures - I promise you won't be disappointed
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Poster: A snowHead
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If your budget allows it, I am a very very strong supporter of Lech. The touist website has a good search engine for all accomodation and you can filter out all of the v expensive places.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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For what you’re looking for, I think Lermoos is a lovely choice.
The village has a number of shops and a few restaurants and bars, but it is definitely not wild. There is very much a family vibe. I remember sitting in an après bar with large windows that looked out to the sledding hill. So at the end of the day you have parents having a drink and keeping an eye on the little ones. It is also shockingly beautiful.
The mountain is great for intermediates up top, and a lot for beginners at the bottom. It is actually a lot larger than it seems when you first arrive, and the gondola gets you up to where you want to be very quickly.
You are also within a 10-30 minute train ride (runnung at least hourly, sometimes more) of Erwald, Bichelbach-Berwang and Garmisch-Partenkirchen. You can also get the cable car up to the Zugspitze (worth it just for the views, never mind the skiing). There are also busses in addition to the train. This is all covered on your ski pass (except train fare, which is anyway cheap), as is Mittenwald and Seefeld, although that is a bit farther to travel. Not included on your ski pass but only about 30 minutes by train is Reutte. I haven’t had the chance to go there (the cable car was being repaired when I wanted to go), but I’ve heard it’s also a very nice little area.
So you have lots of options there to keep you busy. This is not a mega resort, but rather several small to medium sized, quaint villages. It’s fairly quiet with a lot for intermediates, but if you want to challenge yourself, you can find some good runs for that (Garmisch has the Kandahar, for example). The price is also right, too.
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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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| simo1234 wrote: |
| If your budget allows it, I am a very very strong supporter of Lech. The touist website has a good search engine for all accomodation and you can filter out all of the v expensive places. |
Agreed, it will tick all your boxes. There's miles of fabu cruisy blues easy to get to above the town, plus more challenging stuff when you want it..
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Mayrhofen. Lovely typical Austrian town. The one downside is that you can't ski/board into the town apart from one run that I can't remember the name of and never got that far over anyway. Some fantastic, very wide runs. And no drag lifts 
I love it there.
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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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Saalbach? Went there for the 1st time in Jan, fantastic place, going again next Jan as well!
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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lrx28, Ischgl for a nervous and lazy skier? - hardly. Ischgl is one ski resort that it is imperative you take out adequate insurance and a helmet. And yes.. it is very expensive. Mainly because it is the most innovative ski resort in Europe!
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ami in berlin, agree with all of that. The Zugspitz Arena is much underrated and almost completely neglected by Brit travel ops. That may be what makes it attractive of course! Definitely worth a try.
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Lech. Good skiing. Decent vibe. Closeish to the slopes.
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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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| Whitegold wrote: |
| Lech. Good skiing. Decent vibe. Closeish to the slopes. |
... and horrendously expensive...
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oasis13, I agree for Lech and also the same for Ischgl. Irx has given us some examples of his preferences. For Ehrwald Lermoos not a big enough ski-circus. Montafon - very spread out with a number of delightful small resorts - not very compact though. Kirchberg, a satellite of Kitzbuhel, some of ski-ing might be a bit difficult for year 2, but may be some of you out there have better info. Igls and the Patscherkofel mountain I would say limited ski-ing and possibly busy at weekends with an influx of locals from Innsbruck. Zauchensee - I don't know personally but I have looked at the web site and the resort altitude of 1350 metres is appealing and and the ski area looks interesting. The other area not mentioned by Irx is Saalbach/Hinterglemm - this area I know quite well and I reckon this is well worth considering - it is close to Salzburg airport and bus services are probably pretty good. The altitude is OK and the ski-ing is very varied and not too difficult with opportunities to ski over to Leogang.
In conclusion I think Zauchensee, Saalbach and my own recommendation of the Ski Welt probably tick all the boses for you. Interested to hear what you decide
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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DAVID SNELL, why didn't I think of that... The Ski Welt is perfect for Irx28's needs.
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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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Kuehtai - beside Innsbruck, vilage atmosphere, pretty, guaranteed snow some nice runs on the Drei Seen , few Brits.....
How about Fuegen? Nobody has ever heard of it, it's very very pretty and is part of the extended Zillertalarena network - ie includes Skiwelt http://www.bergfex.com/spieljoch/ .
Just a suggestion
I'm doing Montafon again next year, I love it (St Gallenkirch) but I'm not sure how many of your boxes it really ticks. It's away form the airport, not too pretty, and the DIY bit for a non German speaker may be hard.
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Thanks all for the enthusiastic response and helpful ideas - sorry I should have mentioned a preference for compact resorts (so that I can bug off and leave my partner on the greens!). Still looks like Lermoos then.
ta, Liam
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You know it makes sense.
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fatirishman,
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How about Fuegen? Nobody has ever heard of it, it's very very pretty and is part of the extended Zillertalarena network - ie includes Skiwelt
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Not sensibly it doesn't.
We were bused up to Kaltenbach, which links to Hochfugen (and by bus to Fugen) this year from neiderau.
But that was taking 50 minutes each way from Neiderau, and the closest Skli Welt resort is Soll, which is another 10-15 minutes further than Neiderau.
That area certainly does have a fair mix of skiing though. But it certainly wasn't anywhere near empty when we were there (although that could have been because the lower resorts had no snow), and I don't think the village was particularly pretyt. The ski area was.
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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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Three years since I was there. We had our own transport and nothing seemed too far. We did ski mostly in Kaltenbach though.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Lech is good. We always go in Jan and the snow has never let us down.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Mayrhofen. And Dobz, there is at least one (short) t bar in Mayrhofen 
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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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From the POV of DIY, Flims/Laax is very easy to get to - if you fly to Zurich there's a train directly to Chur from where you simply pick up the Postbus directly to resort and for next season the resort is starting up a shuttle service to and from Friedrichshafen airport for CHF 160 return, timed to meet the Stansted and Dublin flights.
The resort shuttle bus runs throughout the night, which is a plus, Laax Murschetg by the Laax base station has a few lively bars but is quiet away from the main centre; it has 2 or 3 restaurants, a couple of ski hire shops, ski school, supermarket, hole-in-the-wall and a couple of hotels with wellness areas open to non-residents. Laax dorf is quiet but always entails a bus ride to the slopes. Flims village has nice shops and restos but most the accommodation (apart from a couple of expensive hotels) is a hike or a bus ride from teh base station.
As a resort it has the advantage of a lot of linked skiing and several options where a 2-weeker could downlift while the intermediate went down a steeper piste, but I think the intermediate would find it a little more enjoyable. Having said that, a 2-weeker ought to be beginning to progress to some easy reds next season I'd have thought? There are some nice wide blues up on and down from the glacier, as well as on the Flims side and down towards Curnius and Falera, and from the glacier you can cross from the Laax side to the Flims side on an easy blue. And as 70% of the area is over 2000m, the snow is comparatively reliable.
Caveat: I'm biased because we've just bought in Laax Murschetg 
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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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The montafon is really nice and very Austrian. it is much better with your own car and you can use the 4/5 resorts on one pass. DIY flats thro interhome or B+B (cheap) and hotels thro the tourist office. www.montafon.at/ViewPage.asp?Site=MONTAFON&PageID=1&lang=199 in english.
Its lovely.
Avoid busy weeks around Austrian school holidays.
j
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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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| oasis13 wrote: |
| Whitegold wrote: |
| Lech. Good skiing. Decent vibe. Closeish to the slopes. |
... and horrendously expensive... |
Contrary to popular belief, Lech is nowhere near as posh or expensive as many expect. Shop around and there is plenty of cheap accommodation and lowcost restaurants. It can be surprisingly good value. It gets you into the Arlberg without having to stay in frightful St Anton or tedious Zurs.
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brian
brian
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eng_ch, which part of Austria is Flims/Laax in ?
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I'd agree with Whitegold, that Lech needn't be horribly expensive compare with many other places though its usually a bit more than elsewhere in Austria. Nothing frightful about St A though other than a bit busier pistes and lifts, usually friendly whenever I've been.
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brian
brian
Guest
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eng_ch, ach that was right at the end of the post, how much attention span do you think I've got ?
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brian, I'm sitting on my hands
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FAQ
