 Poster: A snowHead
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
Hi Oldsnowy
Sorry cant help. All my reference material does not cover this resort. Suggest you suck it and see. Just remember there is always next year. Try Ishgl if you are after apres ski - spoilt for choice. Dancing monkies, gingham girls, animated moose you name it!
|
|
|
|
|
|
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?
|
oldsnowy, sorry I can't help as have never been there, but would be interested in reading a report when you get back if you have time/inclination to do one. I have considered the Serfaus/Ladis/Fiss area but not made it there yet. It's meant to be one of Austria's 'best kept secrets' so to speak, which I know a lot of resorts would say, but not many would seem to have the combination of snow and volume of terrain, and be in Austria, and really be quite unheard of.
From what I've seen online, I'm sure you'll have a great hol, but please come back and tell us all about it!
Happy sliding!
D
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
I am in Ischgl for 5 days in the week commencing 19 Jan. I shall drive to Serfaus/Liss/Ladis for a day trip. It is supposed 36 miles from Mathon (after Ischgl).
Serfaus should have 185 km of piste and 53 lifts according to its web site which indicates every lift is open.
I have been looking up Austria resorts recently and one site lists over 300 of them and omits a few I have visited. It is my beief that there may be a lot of nice resorts there which the TO have no package deals with.
I got the feeling Serfaus/Liss/Ladis may be less expensive than Ischgl as the latter has 230km piste with 40 chirlifts and is linked to Switzerland. I managed to avoid the high price by staying in a hotel 5 km from the Ischgl.
Ischgl is listed as the top No. 1 and Serfaus in the 11 position according to this site which has a data base for 318 Austrian resorts.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
Accomodation was booked last week, so we'll soon find out what its like and hopefully get to report back. Coincidentally, today on ifyouski.com was a banner advert for serfaus.co.uk. Looks like they're tring to attract a few more British skiers their way? We have hired a car to get to the resort as transfers are more expensive (from Innsbruck to Fiss = 100k) at €50 per person each way. Total cost for 3 of us at €300 - we're hiring a good size car for less! Public transport is available but not at the correct times for our flights.
Apre ski may not quite be up to our usual requirements - we were in Ischgl two years ago..........Hotel Elizabeth was fantastic! We could have a designated driver each night to go around there just for the apres ski?
Sounds a very family orientated resort, mostly intermediate level skiing (57%) and lots of activities besides skiing.
It will be an interesting week. 
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Just came back from Ischgl having spent 5 days there. We took the first day driving to Serfaus/Fiss/Ladis resort and stayed 4 days in Silvretta. The journey was 38 miles each way.
Serfaus/Fiss/Ladis piste map has "Home for family holiday" printed so that should tell everybody what the resort intention is.
It is more like a French resort with 11 hairpin bends for access into it whereas Zillertal Valley, Silvretta region, Solden/Obergurgl valley, SKi Welt and Arlberg seldom have twisty winding roads to the resorts.
The resort is flat by Austria standard and so there is a large number of blue slopes, even at the far end of the domain Masnerkopf peak. It is also prestty wide with Ladis, Fiss, Serfaus and the Masnerkopf each having a valley in their own right. Two days will have to be spent just go clockwise and then anticlockwise to explore the extreme ends. We only had one day so didn't manage much in the 185km domain, except went to the two ends. There were various facilities for fun ridings (presumably at extra cost) but weren't open during our visit.
We spent a week in Zillertal Valley (Fugen/HochZillertal/Zillertal Arena/Mayrhofen/hinterlux) before going to Silvretta region (See/Kappl/Ischgl/Galtur) and have skied every area of them.
As typical of Austrian resorts Serfaus/Fiss/Ladis has plenty snow and every run and lift were operational. Our memory was left with difficult runs in Mayhofen (Karakiri the steepest piste in Austria), Wind-swept in Hintertux and upmarket place with Ischgl (dominated by 4 and 5 star hotels with facilities and restaurants to match). Serfaus/Fiss/Ladis appears rather harmless and mild. It is certainly a nice and quiet resort for visitors with children.
If one go there with a car I recommend taking a day trip to Ischgl. Arlberg's St Anton/Zurs/Lech is of similar distance too. Basically the valley to Serfus/Fiss/Ladis, Silvrettta region and Arlberg all join approximately at Landeck so staying in anyone of them and doing day trips, say within 40 miles limit, to the others is reasonably relaxing. This is a good insurance policy if one should find 185km piste not enough for a week's skiing.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| saikee wrote: |
The resort is flat by Austria standard and so there is a large number of blue slopes, even at the far end of the domain Masnerkopf peak. It is also prestty wide with Ladis, Fiss, Serfaus and the Masnerkopf each having a valley in their own right. Two days will have to be spent just go clockwise and then anticlockwise to explore the extreme ends. We only had one day so didn't manage much in the 185km domain, except went to the two ends. There were various facilities for fun ridings (presumably at extra cost) but weren't open during our visit.
...... Serfaus/Fiss/Ladis appears rather harmless and mild. It is certainly a nice and quiet resort for visitors with children.
|
I'd agree Serfaus/Fiss is well laid out for families but with a 1600m height difference (1.200 - 2.800m) I wouldn't call it flat. Many other Austria family resorts are just easy runs but at the top of most peaks in Serfaus/Fiss there is the possibility to take the easy option (blue / easy red) or more challenging black / offpiste routes.
http://www.bergfex.com/serfaus-fiss-ladis/panorama/
Did you manage to ski the blacks off "Pezid", "Lazid", "Obere Scheid" or any of the offpiste routes?
http://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?p=830813&highlight=serfaus#830813
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
DB,
My comment was based on Austria resorts I have visited. Popular Austria resorts are full of red piste and that was my impression with Zillertal Valley, Arlberg and Silvretta Region, making Serfaus/Fiss/Ladis less steep than the others. I agree there are many steep sections in Fiss. I generally found Swiss and Austria resorts are not suitable for beginners and early intermediates as they cater for their own nationals who are supposed to know how to ski.
I just went to Mayhofen to do its Harakiri and the devil's run. The former at 78% gradient is being quoted as the steepest piste in Austria. Thus I commented Serfaus/Fiss/Ladis harmless and mild.
We did skied couple of black runs, one of them was Lazid, when we did a loop in Serfaus/Fiss/Ladis. In general we stayed away from the offpiste routes. I did try every black slope that crossed my path in Silvretta (Ischgl, Galtur and See) and they were challenging but not as much as those in Mayrhofen, Zell am See or Kitzbuhel.
I hope snowheads reading the words "by Austria standard" will understand Austrian resorts have no green slopes and red piste is the norm. Austria and Swiss resorts are generally more demanding than the French and the Italian.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
saikee,
Thanks for the clarification, just found it surprizing that you reffered to Serfaus as flat. Everything is relative, just looks like we compared it to different resorts.
The Austrians tend to take their children on small local hills that typically have a few blue and gentle reds to learn. Enough terrain for a day but not a full week. I doubt the English holidaymaker sees many of these small resorts, these are what I used as my reference to compare Serfaus with.
Serfaus isn't going to compete with St Anton etc for extreme skiing or to the Harakiri for steepness but I've yet to find another Austrian resort better than Serfaus when looking for a resort that caters for the whole family and different ability levels (gentle blues to blacks and offpiste).
I don't agree 100% with these ratings but they are a good general indication for different types of Austrian resorts.
http://www.j2ski.com/ski_resorts/Austria/TopAustrianSkiResorts.html
Source: J2ski.com
|
|
|
|
|
|
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
|
DB,
You have just confirmed my observation that there are a lot of small Austrian resorts and some of them are good for beginners but not suitable for a week's skiing for the British skiers.
I am rather amzed by the 319 resorts quoted in this Austrian site where I could not find Zell am See or Kaprun. This makes me think there could be significantly more resorts in Austria than what the TOs are parepared to do them.
One of the many things I have discovered with the Austria resorts is that they are seldom larger than 200km linked piste. Many areas quoted in your link above refers to regions. I would say comparing with the French 3 Vallees (600km) and Italian Sella Ronda (510km) the largest fully linked Austria resorts Ski Welt 250km piste is small by comparision.
As Austrian resorts are mostly smaller than 200km piste they are seldom big enough to support a week's skiing and so their resorts are seldom catered for the internal skiing parties with mixed abilities. Instead Austrian resorts appear to me catering for daily visitors and tend to have big and free parking facilities for the day trippers. To me that is to cater for the national, regional and local needs more and so the piste standard tends to reflect this too.
I visited a total of 10 resorts in my 11 days skiing in Zillertal and Silvretta Valleys in my last trip. See (Silvretta) has only 33km piste but the area was full of kids. Kappl and Galtur (Silvretta) each has 40km and they attracted mostly Austrians and Germans skiers. The main international area in Silvretta I found was Ischgl which has 235 km piste. We enjpyed every resort large or small. Ischgl stands out an up market resort with top notch facilities. Whereelse can one see 10 snow bashing maching grooming a run in a convoy overlapping each other in a staggered formation?
Zillertal Valley isn't much different either. Ahorn, Fugen and Gerlossteinwand are very small and visited by locals skiers where the international skiers would stick to the bigger areas of Zillertal Arena, Hochzillertal and Mayrhofen.
What I have been surprised was the standard of the small resorts was very good and much better than the equivalents I have met in France and Italy which tend to have more dated equipment and facilities.
The wife and I have graduated to like to ski in Austria more than the rest of the Alps. There were seldom queues, the food is always top quality, people are always friendly, resorts are more snowsure, choices are plentiful, booking accommodations is always easy and the level of information provided is better than those provided by the French and Italian.
Serfaus/Fiss/Ladis appears to be a major Austrian resort suitable for both local and international skiers. I never heard of it until after I booked Ischgl and investigating the resorts nearby.
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
Sorry, Oldsnowy, a bit late for your purposes. We started our daughter at 3.5 years in Ishgl in '91 which was rather daunting for her. We stuck with it for a further two years before we went to Serfaus in '93. Much nicer for a young beginner and still OK for us parents. No cars in town except for access. Travel within town on the undergrund railway or 'shanksies'. Nightlife wasn't 'sophisticated' but sufficient. Fiss and Ladis had yet to be joined at that time due to difficulties with lift company agreements, apparently. We went for two seasons. We've not been since but I would certainly to give it another look except I seem to be locked into a St Anton, Lech, Zurs thing.  Well, not this year...dollar rate, you know! BTW, we booked the hotel through the tourist board (no internet then) and drove down. Does add another hour at least to the normal St A drive. The traffic at weekends around Landech could be 'orrible.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
elj221c,
Serfaus, Fiss and Ladis are now fully linked.
In Silvretta Galtur (40km piste) and See (33km piste) are much better for beginners and early intermediates. Ischgl is really for the enjoyment of experienced adult skiers, judging by the ratios of children and adult skiers at them.
Last edited by So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much  on Wed 30-01-08 19:14; edited 1 time in total
|
|
|
|
|
|
You know it makes sense.
|
|
saikee, What do you mean there not fully linked? I think if you look on there web page at the piste map you will find they are fully linked.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
|
Looks pretty well linked from this:-
http://intermaps.feratel.com/skimaps/serfaus2/
But then, I've not been recently.
We did three seasons, staying in Mathon, Galtur then Ischgl. Even when staying in Galtur, and with a young child, Ishgl was to be prefered. Again, though, not been recently.
Serfaus skikindergarten definitely more friendly than Ischgl/Galtur at the time.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Poster: A snowHead
|
Sorry, an topo error of "not". Should have been "now".
"See" (a resort name) at the front end of Silvretta is great for children. Apart from the nursery slopes the top righthand side of the main chairlift is a massive flat beginner area served by a drag lift.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
Spent only two days in SFL, came back yesterday. Stayed in Ladis, close to the cabin which takes you directly to the slopes.
First of all, SFL is a paradise for kids. I have never seen anything like this in Austria. Lots of kid parks, everything about the kids, there is even a cabin only for the kids.
It was kind of warm, +8-10C, but the pistes were really good.
If you want you can leave the kids in the kindergarden and try the challenging black pistes on the Serfaus side.
The resort has spent a lot of money on the lifts, only a few drag-lifts remained to ensure connection when it is windy.
I have also tried these the Skyswing. It is a 12-meter sudden drop and then swinging for minutes. This activity is definately not before lunch.
185 km pistes, fully linked, good lifts, the only thing that bothered me that the pistes were marked by names, not numbers which were difficult to read when skiing.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FAQ
