 Poster: A snowHead
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Our first trip to Ischgl was a massive success. We are dad and two daughters (14/16) skiing, BiL and two male cousins (13/15) boarding and SiL skiing. My wife and eldest are both injured/rehab so needed entertaining in the village. We travelled and stayed with Ski Total at Hotel Abendrot, flew LGW to Innsbruck with Monarch.
Snow - we had five bluebird days and a snowy one when we got 10cm of fresh. The pistes were immaculate, absolutely great except for two patches of ice which we clocked on the first day and steered around. BiL and i skiied 8.30 to 5.00 on the snowy day and the pistes were deserted, every other day they were busier but on the day after it snowed we found fresh tracks until a late lunch at 1.00. Hardly anyone was venturing off marked pistes. The longest queue all week was 15 minutes and whilst we cover a lot of ground we never got bored and are planning a return to do it all again.
Highlights; awesome ski area, hotel location, compact town (ten min walk end to end), FIMBA lift between the two big ones is a little gem, Piz val Gronda natural piste and ski area, amazing grooming, great value restaurants on the mountain, Smugglers Run to CH for a bit of fun. Snow parks favoured by the kids, airbag jump also a huge hit. Return runs were busy but you can skip them although route 7 home is one of the best I've ever done, they're usually so lame!
Non-skiers bought day lift passes and got as far as Samnaun, CH for lunch without skis. They had a lovely time in the duty free shops!! Sky fly zip wire was also a massive hit for them. Some days they just walked around the town and entertained themselves, treating it a bit like a sunny, cold spa holiday.
Apres was sensational; Fire and Ice fun, Schatzi a bit over-rated, best for us by far was Kitzlock (music, atmosphere and people watching). Eating/drinking out was good value and snacking good value too, healthy kebab (fresh chicken, salad and a wrap) EU7.50 , fresh pizza EU9.00, curry wurst and coke on the mountain/spag bog etc etc about EU12.00 right through to some lovely restaurants at any price your wallet can stand. Booze well priced. Short transfer and flights on time/early.
Hotel and Ski Total were superb.
Downsides; some very drunk people, openly drinking at 1000 in ski restaurants. I got taken out by a huge guy who BiL believes did it on purpose as he was watching because the same guy hit him 100 metres up the hill. Whether I'd/we'd inadvertently pissed him off I don't know but the impact span me round and i landed on the back of my head. my brand new Oakley MOD5 helmet was terminated when the tensioning straps snapped. I count myself lucky!! 5'3" daughter also got wiped out!
Would we go back? We WILL go back but watch out for the guy dressed all in black with yellow boots - and if you see him in a dark alley give him a shoeing for me!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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30 minute gondola queues every morning some PITA though. Never experienced crowds/queues like that
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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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@peanuthead, Was that at the Silvretta as it's always busy? The other two are quieter.
@skribble, Glad you enjoyed it. It's a grand place.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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peanuthead
The exact point is that Silvretta and Pardatschgrat were rammed but Fimba is almost a walk on. Most mornings it was a walk on.
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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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@skribble, Good report!
Also try Serfaus / Fiss. It's got all the good bits of Ischgl without the yobs, p1$$heads or strip clubs
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Silvretta. Ischgl quite a big town. Not so easy with kids to walk past the lift nearest where you are staying - seems to be little way round sucking it up. Haven't gone up Fimba maybe good if you are staying close to there
Just wouldn't go back. Good skiing but no contest vs Tignes or Les Arcs where you just leave your hotel, click on your skis, and start skiing
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@red_27
thanks. I'm no prude but those were pissheads on a different scale
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Also once you hit Idalp- it's like Time Square. So crowded. Unpleasant
But the rest is great
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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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@skribble, I hear you...
I always ski the (gorgeous) home runs in the morning and then download the bubble in the evening to avoid the worst of it.
The evening rowdiness I can handle, but Ischgl remains the only resort where I've seen both sexes/genders openly urinating in the street before dusk
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@peanuthead
Sure but i've done Tignes three times and Les Arcs at least four, so nice to try something else.
There's no sucking it up anyway, from where we were the longest time to Fimba was on the travelator. Horses for courses, we loved it, but when our kids were tiny we always did ski in ski out so get your point. Teenagers want freedom and fun in the evening.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@red 27, I have been to lscghl 15 times and have never seen people urinate in the streets. Maybe l have been lucky?
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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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@margaret, I think @red 27, is the unlucky one. I've never seen it in over twenty years of going.
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@peanuthead
"Also once you hit Idalp- it's like Time Square. So crowded. Unpleasant"
Idalp was the busiest place for sure but never that busy to be unpleasant. The queues from any first lift out of Idalp, at any time of day, were never more than three people behind the gate.
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You know it makes sense.
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Never seen anyone urinate in public either. Worst behaviour I've 'seen' is the drunks stumbling home in the early hours, and even then listening to the distant sounds of some drunks trying to sing Delilah but unable to remember what comes after "Why, why, why, Delilah. Da-da-da-da-da-da-da" so just repeating it is a pleasant distraction from my mates snoring.
Idalp does get busy, but then it's one of the main skiing bowles and two out of the three gondolas up from Ischgl drop people there. Even then the only real issue is trying to get through the crowds who have managed to get up the mountain and put skis on but then forgotten what comes next to get your own skis on and ski away.
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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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Re the lifts:
- panda: this is where the buses drop if you stay down the valley, so it's busy
- silvretta: in the main town so busy
- finba: in between and so easy to get to even if you're in the "main town"
Always always finba!!
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Poster: A snowHead
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Just an ordeal with kids. We leave hotel at 9:10 - at Silvretta by 9:20..... and some days it's only in nick of time you have kids in ski school for 10:30. This is not an exaggeration.
Idalp definitely unpleasant with kids in tow- without them you would move much faster and away from there
And definitely need to be very good skier for ski back to town at 3.30. Piste #1 worse than Happy Valley
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@Corky, @margaret, Spend more time in the car park area near the Silveretta Bahn - that's the place for wee watching.
It's the day trippers - they have a few apres oohjars and then relieve themselves before getting back on the coach to Munich/Cologne/Eindhoven
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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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@peanuthead Store your skis either up in Idalp or in the store under the Fimba'. You then just need to hurd the ankle biters a short distance past the Silvretta' to the travellator through the tunnel. Still an ordeal but at least just a walking-in-ski-boots ordeal, not a carring-skis one. For Idalp if you drill everyone to walk out the gondola and turn left along the front of the main building you tend to get some space as the rest of us just walk straight and try to use the same 10' of snow to boot faff/glove faff/ski-up.
@red 27 Can't say I've ever found myself hanging around the car park, but whatever turns you on 
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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@Mjit, Have you ever stored skis in Idalp? It's like Time Square. What a dose getting your skis in and out... seems easier to carry them
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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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Any recommendations for places to stay for 2 keen skiers, OK to share a room, not wildly expensive nor hostel-cheap, but a sauna/steam + wholesome brekky would be good? Late March, early April (before Easter rush) 2017? Any help appreciated, ta in advance.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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@RakTrak, I always stay here. Its next to the petrol station and a short walk to the Pardatschgratbahn and Fimbabhan gondolas. Has a sauna and serves an excellent breakfast. Doesn't do evening meals. It has a few lockers at the Pardatschgratbahn station and, if you ask when you arrive, they may have a spare going for free. The lockers take two lots of kit.
www.neder.at
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