 Poster: A snowHead
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Morning all,
Due to "economic uncertainty" no-one in my usual ski group wishes to commit to booking.
So I'm off with my family to try something new. Aiming at going out Sunday 12th April for a week, looking for family friendly chalet or hotel, decent ski school for the kids (will be 6 and 9 by April). Need flights from Leeds/Bradford or Manchester/Liverpool.
Would like ski in/out, did buses last year in La Ros, never again with kids!
Also require decent skiing for myself and my wife, good "undiscovered" off piste is ideal 
Need somewhere with a good late season snow record.
I've skied in France for years and years, the family has been to La Tania for the past few years, and we tried La Ros last year, so I'm looking forward to Austrian snowhead suggestions....
regards,
Greg
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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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Ski in/ski out in Austria isnt as widespread as in France, and ski busses are the order of the day in most resorts.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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What are the criteria for a 'good family resort'? I can't think of any resorts I've been to which are especially bad for kids and none apart from N.America (because of the quality of teaching) which are especially good.
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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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| richmond wrote: |
| What are the criteria for a 'good family resort'? I can't think of any resorts I've been to which are especially bad for kids and none apart from N.America (because of the quality of teaching) which are especially good. |
Depending on their ability...
IMHO:
wide green/blue/red runs without loonies running over my kids, and allow them to progress
easy ski in/out. Hard enough with kids without having to get buses with 4 pairs of skis
safe sledging areas, areas to play around after the lifts have shut (often warm enough in spring to play outside after skiing)
Easy to get to/from hot chocolate/lunch stops
good ski school (personal recommendations help here) - don't want to see my kids in a 12 long ESF snake all day
short transfers
tree skiing - kids love skiing through trees, little jumps, ups and downs etc
regards,
Greg
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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Obergurgl might be worth a go, heven't been personally but was considering for next season. Very high for Austria so likely to get good snow late season. Its got quite a few hotels and chalets advertised as ski in/ski out from the brochures I was looking at, whether they would be that late on is anyone's guess. Also quite small resort and (alledgedly) not too busy on the slopes so should be fairly family friendly.
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kitenski, how about Obertauern? Most hotels are ski in/out and there's very family-friendly skiing. I think CANV CANVINGTON is a regular there for the off-pisting so that must be OK. Easy 1 hour transfer from the airport - bookable transfer minibus laid on by the resort. Good late snow record. Hotel Schenider I would highly recommend & is quite kiddy-friendly http://www.schneider.at/englisch/index.html
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kitenski, Oberlech is definitely worth a shout. Easy jet fly to Innsbruck and you can also do Friedrichshafen from Liverpool with Ryanair. Only about 1.20 hours from Innsbruck and 2 hours from Friedrichshafen.
Have taken kids to Oberlech once this year and once with my wife and other couple last year. Absolutely love the place. If you stay in any of the Oberlech hotels you get free child care in creche. We syaed at Hotel Montana and it served the best food I've ever had. www.montanaoberlech.at Toursist office website good for finding rooms www.oberlech.com Sporthotel Cresta and Hotel Igla are cheaper alternatives to Montana but equally as good in terms of location - ie direct on slopes, beside (heated) chair and cable car and opposite ski school meeting point. There is also a toboggan run down to Lech which is open till 10 at night, and you take the cable car back up again - our kids loved that as much as the excellent skiing. Can't fault the service standards throughout the region.
Off piste is good too around Lech, end especially so around St Anton. The snow record is good and still had over 4m at top at end of April.
Whilst Oberlech can be expensive to get a room, it is believe it or not cheaper than France once you're there. We even took the kids to the lengendary Mooserwirt one afternoon and they loved that too. This year we're taking them to Stuben (I work in mortgages and commercial loans, so income down this year  ) but this is ideally placed halfway between Lech and St Anton. Very quiet but could work for you too as some really good off piste around Stuben http://www.stuben.com/index.php?id=1&L=1 In general the Arlberg region has a great snow record and you should be fine in April.
Good luck
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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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| kitenski wrote: |
| richmond wrote: |
| What are the criteria for a 'good family resort'? I can't think of any resorts I've been to which are especially bad for kids and none apart from N.America (because of the quality of teaching) which are especially good. |
Depending on their ability...
IMHO:
wide green/blue/red runs without loonies running over my kids, and allow them to progress
easy ski in/out. Hard enough with kids without having to get buses with 4 pairs of skis
safe sledging areas, areas to play around after the lifts have shut (often warm enough in spring to play outside after skiing)
Easy to get to/from hot chocolate/lunch stops
good ski school (personal recommendations help here) - don't want to see my kids in a 12 long ESF snake all day
short transfers
tree skiing - kids love skiing through trees, little jumps, ups and downs etc
regards,
Greg |
Oberlech would tick most of those boxes.. certainly when we were in st. anton with some improver boarders the day trip to lech was great for them in terms of the open pistes etc. Oberlech is ski-in / ski-out and car free which is a bonus. Has great access into the rest of the area. I don't have any ski school recommendations for lech as not used them.
http://www.oberlech.com/winter_en/index.html
Season finishes on 26/4/09 which would fit your dates but obviously the snow might be a bit more sketchy around that time. Txfrs are shortish - about 60 or so minutes from friedrichshafen IIRC - Airportbus.at is a great service for connections. Alternatively fly to Innsbruck but the txfr will be longer.
Only downersides would be the off-piste..yes there is fun to be had but it's not known as a powderhound paradise.. plus obviously it's not the cheapest reort in the alps..still the heated skilifts make the 2-3 extra Euro on the costs worthwhile...
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Definitely agree re Oberlech unless your budget is really limited. Hospitality is superb and it seems to tick all your boxes. There is a series of underground tunnels linking the Oberlech hotels. If you do venture over to St. Anton, the buses run with Austrian efficiency and for a more civilised journey (ie less of a squash) take the post bus for just a few euros. We flew into Zurich once and booked on the Arlberg Express coach which leaves from right outside the airport direct to Lech and takes about 2 hours I think. Have also flown into Innsbruck which is about 90 mins transfer.
Have not used ski schools, but I am sure they reflect the Lech/Oberlech area and are therefore good. Have passed children in ski school on the slopes and the care and attention given by the instructors seems good. The tourist office has a good website and there are lots of webcams for the area.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Would agree with recommendations for both Ober Lech and Obergurgl. Have been to both a couple of times. My sense is that Obergurgl may have the better snow record - it's quite high. Hotel Montana in Ober Lech is great and run by the family of a former downhill world champion (Ortlieb). He used to oversee the piste-side retaurant. In Obergurgl you could try the Eidleweiss & Gurgl hotel - right next to the main lifts and you can just about ski into the boot room. Ski schools are both excellent - but watch out for timings. They tend to operate for shorter hours than France.
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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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kitenski,
Obergurgl. Skiing is across 2 main hills with a connecting lift. Lots of easy to spot stuff that you can cut across without being too far off track.
Good apre straight off the slopes in umbrella type bars and after a few beers you ski down, eat dinner, relax and early night.
Village is about 1850m so should be good in April..or very good.
Nice 4*'s and above in a small village. can't talk about ski schools. The only hotel that I can recall to avoid because you'd need a bus, is the Muhle..which is very nice but a walk which you'd want to avoid. We had no probs with the bus though but you might with kids and skis and etc etc . Most of the others in the village will not be far from the lifts and skischool meeeting place, IIRC. You might be able to ski back to a hotel or two but I can't recall any ski-in ski-out as such. I wouldn't be surprised that one or two were near enough tho'
Local to Innsbruck, Zurich at a push and Munich
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| cathy wrote: |
| kitenski, how about Obertauern? Most hotels are ski in/out and there's very family-friendly skiing. I think CANV CANVINGTON is a regular there for the off-pisting so that must be OK. Easy 1 hour transfer from the airport - bookable transfer minibus laid on by the resort. Good late snow record. Hotel Schenider I would highly recommend & is quite kiddy-friendly http://www.schneider.at/englisch/index.html |
yup will be good for what you want.. off piste is easy to spot.. overall drop isnt that much but if your not super fit you'll be glad to get your backside on those nice padded heated seats.. i would hazard a guess all the best slopeside hotels are fairly recession proof regarding getting a deal.. but if you can handle a short walk they may be some value to be had..
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 Mon 6-10-08 9:37; edited 1 time in total
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You know it makes sense.
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DCG, Ski school times are actually longer - 2 hours in morning and 2 hours in afternoon, all cheaper than ESF, believe it or not
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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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Lech / Oberlech.
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Poster: A snowHead
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| boabski wrote: |
| DCG, Ski school times are actually longer - 2 hours in morning and 2 hours in afternoon, all cheaper than ESF, believe it or not |
Not quite sure I follow your arithmetic. My experience was 10-12 and 2-4, which as you say is 2 hours am and 2 pm. In France, I'm more used to 9am or 9.30am until 12 or 12.30 with afternoon sessions as well. i.e. probably 5 hours total. This is not a criticism of the ski schools in Austria which, as I said initially, I think are excellent. However, if your experience is primarily from France, this would be something to think about when planning a trip. For example, going to Oberlech and planning to do a tour to take in St Anton is not easy if you need to get back to pick up the kids from Ski school. Similarly, going from Obergurgl to Hochgurgl is tight if you have only 2 hours before you need to get back to the ski school.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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DCG, My experience of ESF was 2.5 hours either morning or afternoon, not both and for c.€180. Whereas in Oberlech the ski school was 4 hours in total for same price, or from memory €165 for the week. I'm not convinced about ski schools in general and we're actually taking the kids to Stuben this year - Montana proving to be a wee bit too expensive for us this year  , so hopefully with that being a really quiet spot the kids (or possibly just our youngest will go) will get a good teacher to pupil ratio.
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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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| boabski wrote: |
| DCG, My experience of ESF was 2.5 hours either morning or afternoon, not both and for c.€180. Whereas in Oberlech the ski school was 4 hours in total for same price, or from memory €165 for the week. I'm not convinced about ski schools in general and we're actually taking the kids to Stuben this year - Montana proving to be a wee bit too expensive for us this year , so hopefully with that being a really quiet spot the kids (or possibly just our youngest will go) will get a good teacher to pupil ratio. |
if you like off-piste then go to sonnekopf for a day - it's a bit of an undiscovered gem.
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Lots of off piste available around Lech and Zurs (and off-piste heaven if you go to St Anton via the Stuben bus - or off piste).
See the "Off Piste - All around the Arlberg" book.
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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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bertie bassett, we've never gone to sonnenkopf in my 6 visits. Would it be suitable to take my kids there one day?
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Khutai near Innsbruck, small but perfectly formed !! village at 2000 m so snow sure. Never been there but will be going there for a day this season !
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| boabski wrote: |
| bertie bassett, we've never gone to sonnenkopf in my 6 visits. Would it be suitable to take my kids there one day? |
Most of Sonnenkopf is very suitable for kids. It is pretty much an intermediate mountain. We have been a couple of times, for day trips from St Anton - just for (as they say in the classics) "the journey, not the skiing".
The journey does take a while... if you are coming from StA, and ski down to Stuben via Alpe Rauz, you pretty much cannot make the first bus to Sonnenkopf. From memory, the second bus runs around 10am, or a bit after. Perhaps if you got the first Post Bus from St Anton West Terminal, you could get to Stuben early enough to make that first Sonnenkopf bus. On the way back, you have to remember to leave enough time to get back to Stuben, get Albona 1 up, and then ski back to Alpe Rauz, to either connect with Valfagehr or the Post Bus.
That said, I would say do it once...
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ulmerhutte, Cheers. We'll be staying in Stuben anyway, so shouldn't take that long for us ti get there.
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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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Lech and Oberlech. Try the Hotel Salome in Lech - family friendly, excellent food and service.
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I mean Hotel Salome in Oberlech.
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