 Poster: A snowHead
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Hey everyone. I'm really just looking for a bit of resort advice.
To quickly explain; a group of us (moatly intermediate skiers and boarders with a couple of second weekers) are looking to book up a ski trip in early April. Typically we would go mid to late March, but one of our number has decided that "those who can, teach" so we're hamstrung by school holidays.
My thinking was to go somewhere like Tignes, where it'll be pretty snow sure so we won't end up with a slush fest. Unfortunately, most of our group have had enough of French resorts having done plenty of them in the past, and want to head somewhere in Austria.
So, my question is this; which resort(s) in Austria should we be looking at which, that late in the season, will be able to offer us the best chances of there still being a decent amount of snow on the ground? We'd obviously prefer somewhere with a large ski area, though we're not too bothered about off-piste potential as we're all pretty piste-happy.
Last year we went to Mayrhofen for the last week in March, and while the upper slopes were good we found it was very slushy lower down. For this year, we've been told that St. Anton would be a good bet, but don't really have much else to go on. We've tried having a look at snow reports etc, but mostly all we can find are averages by month, so not sure how accurate they'd be for what we're looking at.
Any advice would be much appreciated; many thanks.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I would look at Obergurgl, Obertauern and Ischgl. All are relatively high altitude and all stay open until usually the end of April. Of those, I would recommend Ischgl for size of domain and general village atmosphere, but have a look at them online or in brochures as they're all quite different, in terms of skiing and in terms of resort experience.
Also the glacier at Solden, although it's not as nice a place to stay IMHO. I would be more tempted to stay up in Obergurgl and go down to Solden for a day's skiing if you fancy it (I think there is a liftpass that includes this).
D
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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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Dav, St Anton is great for groups and we tend to go 1st or 2nd week of March there. There has never been a shortage of snow in my 7 (ish) visits there, in fact sometimes too much if you can get such a thing. You will probably find though that the lower slopes will be mushed up a bit but in fairness you'll only be hitting them if you're heading back into the village anyway. You'll find that most of the skiing is higher altitude and therefore in good nick.
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Obergurgl (though I have never been there) has to be a thought. I would take a punt for St Anton, though - or maybe Zurs, especially as you have second-week skiers.
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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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boabski, there is a big difference between 1st/2nd week in March, and 1st week in April, when Dav wants to go.
The first couple of weeks in March are still pretty well peak season for snow quality, while it is definitely getting to be late season once you get into April.
Personally, I wouldn't consider going 1st week of April next year, but mainly for the reason he has to go then - it will be Easter holidays.
Which means late season conditions, combined with hordes of people 
At that time, IMO, if booking this far ahead, you definitely want to be looking at somewhere with a glacier available, just in case.
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alex_heney,
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| Which means late season conditions, combined with hordes of people |
No there isn't, only loads of Brits, some Dutch and Scandinavians - the majority of Europeans along with the Austrians and Germans tend to head for the beaches if Easter is late! The key is not to go to a resort fed by British TOs charging over the odds prices!
I'm staying the Easter week in a 5 star hotel at the foot of the slopes with half board for a grand total of 642 Euros including my ski pass! That's an indication of how desperate some of the resorts are to attract trade at the end of the season (my last day is the last day of skiing). That's a single room rate by the way!
Sue 
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The key is not to go to a resort fed by British TOs charging over the odds prices!
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Absolutely. I've found Easter to be pretty quiet in non-TO infested parts of France, too. I've skied every one of the last 7 Easters on slopes only going up to 2000m and had good snow - aspect becomes more important than altitude quite often, late in the season. And sitting in the deck chair with a cold beer takes a lot of beating!
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Interesting point about glaciers. I have not skied in Austria at Easter having been mainly in Switzerland and France. My impression is that resorts with glaciers get disproportionately busy compared with non glaciated resorts for the skiing.
Usualy hordes of people trying to get to the glaciers. Nearby resorts often deserted with just as good snow. I like a bit of altitiude and particularly some North facing slopes though
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Dav, Stick with places like Tignes or 3V in France; most Austrian resorts are quite low and will get slushy and should be avoided but you should not get that problem in France 
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T Bar, agree re glaciers and the crowds. Due to that and the usually more limited extent, I would not really be interested in booking a week's holiday at a glacier resort, but some people are reassured to know there is an option in the area if conditions are really bad.
You're right though, I have had some fab late season days in fresh snow at low altitude Zell with hardly anybody around, as they were all away queuing at Kaprun!
D
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