 Poster: A snowHead
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I've just booked to go to St Anton mid March with Mark Warner. I heard that St Anton is not for beginners, but unsure whether I qualify as a beginner, and whether I should go to Val D'Isere instead. Oh and I don't like steeps!
At the moment Im a level 2/3 skiier (Oxygen Ski School Classification)? Last year I skiid 10 days (Val D'Isere and Morzine) after a 12 year gap (3 weeks skiing before that) - able to do all greens and blues. Right now I'm going to Hemel 2 times a week - and doing level 6 Ski Performance Coaching (2 hrs) on a Thursday night. In Jan I'll be in Meribel for a week also and taking lessons in the mornings.
Was booking St Anton for March a mistake and should I go to an easier resort or stick with it and keep on with the lessons?
Thanks
Paul
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Welcome to  cyberil
Having done both as a very nervous intermediate I understand your caution. However, you have nothing to worry about as IMHO the on piste in Val D'Isere is similar in difficulty to the on piste in St Anton. With your extra week in Meribel you'll have a great time!
Lucky you!
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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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cyberil, In the immortal words of Public Enemy - Don't believe the hype. By the sounds of it you'll cope absolutely fine as I certainly would not class you as a beginner. Stick to Rendl area for the first day to get your ski legs (usually quiet but new gondola being built which will undoubtedly increase its use). Yes some of the blues can be red in places but some of the blacks are blue in places. Oberlech is a great place to build your confidence (if indeed you are lacking any) - nice cruisy blues etc. Skiiing around Stuben nice too, as is Zurs.
The only real issue as far as I'm concerned is the main run back into St Anton (Schleissbachtal ??? never spell that one but Happy Valley to us Brits) does get very busy from around 2.30 onwards. It's not a difficult run, in fact quite the opposite but it's just the number of folk skiing it that can put timid skiers off. All my kids have skied it a few times including my 5 year old this year. The main benefit of skiing this run is to take you to all the onslope apres - mainly the Mooserwirt and Krazy Kanguruh (neither of which should be missed)
Keep the booking and I'm sure you'll love it
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Do it. I went to St Anton this Winter just gone (admittedly to work the season) with only just over a week's previous skiing experience (snow, the odd dry slope session) 11 years previous. Whilst it took me a little while to get my legs back (not helped by ill-fitting boots initially, damn my wide feet) it improved my skiing no end.
As said above, start with Rendl as the blues are wider than the Galzig/Gampen side and is less crowded (tho how much this will change with the new Rendlbahn I don't know, I'll find out come December when I head back for another season there).
Have fun!
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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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The runs there are not that difficult. Probably the same as everywhere.
However I found my legs were far to weak to cope with poorer grooming and bumps of snow.
Lech and Rendl are great for cruising.
You will find some nice blues in St Anton as well: runs to Alpe Rauz, St Christoph, under Osthang and Arienmahder chairs (left on the St Anton Piste map).
Great place!!!
Last edited by Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do. on Fri 21-08-09 21:33; edited 1 time in total
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Thanks everyone for your responses
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Cyberil, with your experience, you will be fine. For the best intermediate skiing, be prepared to move about. Virtually anywhere is fine first thing in the morning - the runs are groomed and there are usually few people around before 10am. Between, 10 & lunchtime, Stuben will probably still be quiet. Alpe Rauz, Osthang, and Kapall will be a circus by then.
Lech and Zurs are usually quiet until 10:30, and many people do not seem to come back after lunch. If you want to do the Zurs - Lech (really Madloch to Zug) segment of the White Ring, then hit it early. It is a blue cruiser then, but can (and often does) become a field of moguls later. Avoid it just before lunch, as the queue on Madloch can get huge because (I suspect) many people head back to Lech for lunch.
Two ways of getting from the StA area to Lech and Zurs:
1. Post Bus from West Terminal at StA (near Galzigbahn and the new Rendlbahn). Cost is a little over EUR5 return. (We buy a weekly ["Wochenkarte"] which works out much cheaper if you do the trip moer than a few times.)
2. The free "blue bus", which runs between Alpe Rauz and Zurs/Lech.
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