 Poster: A snowHead
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| a very irate customs official who chased them unbeknownst to them when touring and was furious when they had nothing and he hed to skin all the way back up as they were in a blind valley. |
A great story with an unhappy ending for the customs man. I feel all warm inside. 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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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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Frosty, Axsman, I am not thinking of fixing up a hol there myself, but was prompted to ask on the basis that people were strongly recommending it as a bash location & so I was curious as to why. 
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Butterfly, you only have to look at the all the 'Party Lardies' who are pushing for it to realise its true draw . . . 
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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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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| T Bar wrote: |
One downside of staying outside Ischgl if you only intend to ski the area is that you cannot buy a purely local pass unless you are staying in Ischgl/Mathon. You have to buy a full valley pass which is a fair bit pricier. In Samnaun they don't seem to worry. |
Dunno about this? We bought a local ski pass in march this year from our hotel in Ischgl when we arrived. And I'm sure the lift ticket windows had them for sale? There was enough terrain at Ischgl to keep me happy for a lot longer than a week.
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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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gortonator,
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Dunno about this? We bought a local ski pass in march this year from our hotel in Ischgl when we arrived. And I'm sure the lift ticket windows had them for sale?
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It was widely posted at the lift ticket windows. There were still a lot of rows going on about it, you had to have an Ischgl guest card to buy the local area pass.
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The Jagerhof Hotel right next to the underground travellator is a good location.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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I don't know why SH are so much interested in the Ischgl's VIP ski pass which is slightly cheaper at 170 Euro (Ski Classic for 6 days) valid for guests staying in Ischgl or Mathon upon presentation of a guest card.
The standard Silvretta Pass for the same 6 days is 189 Euro available to anyone who is willing to pay.
The cheaper VIP ski pass is valid for only the 40 lifts in Ischgl whereas paying extra 19 Euro one can ski 67 lifts in the entire valley including resorts like Galtur, Kappl and See which are denied to the VIP pass holders, unless with extra payments.
If a beginner or early intermediate has skied the other areas in the valley he/she may wish to practise his/her skill outside Ischgl because other areas are more beginner-friendly and have a lot less crowds. My point it is not much point to expect Ischgl to be easy with beginners when they can learn better in places like Galtur and See.
Ischgl has ranked number one and consistently higher than places like Lech, Obertauern, St Anton, Kitzbuhel, Zillertal Vallley and Solden by the Austrians. Don't think it needs to sell itself at all. It is an upmarket place but if you are prepared to stay away from Ischgl, say in Kappl and Mathon then it cost not much different from any other resorts in Austria.
I found its skiing as good as anywhere in Austria. The place is whiter in general and does have a lot of snow because the valley is quite narrow and has no massive development. Ischgl main skiing area is actually one to two valleys away from the accommodation area.
Hard to say Ischgl is the best but you should find many things are done right and properly there. The restaurants at the mountain top have the best quality food I have come across. Can't point a finger at any particular aspect but you don't find big crowds there, the place has an up market feel everywhere, some common area in washrooms/toilets are as large as hotel lobbies with sofa to sit on while waiting for your partner, restaurants have waitresses/waiters in uniform, when you are served you get the feeling of being well looked after, people generally well behave (can't vouch those inside the bars though), can't find poorly maintained or neglected buildings, snow on the roads are cleared more regularly and cleaner than elsewhere, etc etc. Thus all in all it does gives an impression one is skiing in a place better than the others.
I suppose at the end of the day if one hasn't ski Lech and Ischgl one isn't sure what the best Austria can offer.
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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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Spent first week of April in Ischgl this year. Snow cover excelent and plenty to more while there. Great variety of both on and off piste. Enjoyed the apres-ski and great village athmosphere. Will certainly go back again.
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You know it makes sense.
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Ischgl may not be cheap by Austrian standards, but it is cheap by French/Italian/Swiss ones. This winter we went to Ischgl, Serre Chevalier, and Cervinia, and Iscgl was best value price wise. The infrastructure is also better than anywhere else I have been, almost all fast detachable covered chairs, or state of the art gondolas. What happens to beginners when the gondolas shut because of wind - they don't, the Silvrettabahn was designed and built to operate in much higher wind speeds than most gondolas, as it is both large, and suspended on two seperate cables rather than one.
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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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I am another Ischgl fan. I put in my report that it's not the best place in the alps for complete beginners, and I mainly put that because you have to buy the full lift pass, and skiing back to the village is more of a second or third week activity. The gondolas down to town are pretty sheltered, so don't tend to close in bad weather, i.e. you wouldn't get stranded up there, they mainly close when the ski area itself is closed.
However, aside from that, as Axsman says, there are lots of blues for people of that level onwards.
Ischgl is pricey by Austrian standards, but from what I've read, nowhere near as pricey as a lot of the 3V.
There is quite a bit of sheltered tree skiing but it is mostly red run standard and above.
I absolutely love the place, as the variety of skiing is fab, and the accommodation is of almost uniformly high quality.
D
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Poster: A snowHead
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Don't forget from Ischgl you can get the 'double decker' to Samnaun the 'DUTY FREE' resort. We did, and if you really want to you could do that every day and save a packet!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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as RobinS said.
I stayed 4 star in Ischgl and it was significantly cheaper than 3 star in La Plagne, all costs considered.
Butterfly - the more difficult reds are below Idalp, the "home" runs which you can avoid by taking the gondola down. You can start yr hols in AlpTrida area which is full of blue runs and easier reds. If I remember correctly you get there and back on very gentle blue runs all the way after you get off the gondola at Idalp.
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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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Hi Does anyone know if easyjet fly to innsbruck on a saturday in the winter as i'm trying to organise accomodation at ischgl and want to get the day right
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They did this year, but not sure if they have launched schedules for next winter yet. Some routes into Innsbruck were 'original' Easyjet routes, but some were old GB airways routes and I'm not sure if they will carry them all on. Although they apparently had very good loads on them all winter, but we all know how budget carriers can surprise us where starting and stopping routes is concerned! However, Austrian fly from Gatwick on a Saturdayand a Sunday too so it's not just Easyjet.
One point to note is that booking accommodation this early, you will be hard pushed to find anyone to offer you anything other than Sat-Sat. Ischgl property owners/renters are stricter about this than anywhere else I have been. We did Sun-Sun but had to pay for the Saturday before we arrived, and move out the Saturday before we left (so we were still paying Sat-Sat but only staying 6 nights). We skied the last Sat and transferred down to Innsbruck on the Sat at teatime for a night out and cheap overnight there. Still worth it and convenient, but something to look out for if you were hoping to do anything other than Sat-Sat.
D
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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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juliebenn, They did on some routes this year, but not others.
Bristol - Innsbruck was three days a week including Friday and Sunday, but not Saturday
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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FAQ
Nervous skiers and beginners - there are better places to go to. Crowds of Germanic drunken men CAN line the streets but this does depend on the week you are there. also Russian money has led to many topless lap dancing bars 
. having siad that, these are generally owned by 4 star hoteliers and are kept away from the eyes of children and families. These are the negatives but the positives are massive ski area, very snow sure, mountain restaurants a fraction of the cost compared to the large French resorts, great fun, not many Brits, good off piste, fast lift system great quality accommodation and service. Overall it is a winner and my favourite resort 