 Poster: A snowHead
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I've been offered accomodation for half term in Hutten near Leogang (a leg off the main Saalabach/Hinterglemm circuit).
Are there slow lifts or bad queues or any other issues getting from Hutten/Leogang to the main area at the beginning of the day, and back again at the end?
Is the snow usually ok mid february in this low & sun-prone ski area?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Hutten is near the main Gondola into the Ski Circus slopes. Leogang has some great skiing and most slopes are North facing (unlike Saalbach). If you want to get over to Saalbach its a couple of lifts and you are there. All slopes have snow making so you should have no problems.
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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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petem77, unless it is massively cheaper I would suggest that staying in Saalbach or Hinterglemm would be more convenient because Leogang is a bit out of the way. Also Saalbach/Hinterglemm have slopes facing each other either side of the valley/road so it is good for playing the 'where is the sun and 'hard/soft piste' game.
Either way you should be fine in Feb 
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Hutten is dear to my heart. It's where it all really started for me back in the mid-80s. A small UK chalet operator (Ski-Tal) had an old farmhouse there, called the "Thurnhaus". It held up to 24 people, which started me off organising annual ski chalet parties. We liked it, because it provided a convenient, relatively low-cost back door into the Ski Circus. From the farmhouse in Hutten you'd walk maybe 50 yards, ski down a snow-covered meadow and hop onto a queue-free, slow two-stage chair (now a fast gondola), which took you up the Asitz mountain. From there a couple of drag lifts (now fast chairs) would take you over into the Saalbach sector (which was a bit like arriving in intermediate skiing heaven!).
On the way back we'd often end up rushing for the Poltenlift, the last chairlift to get you back to the Leogang side (to avoid a long taxi ride round the mountains). That closes at 4.14pm and the situation is still the same. We then used to have a few leisurely drinks at the top of the Asitz, wait for the lifts to stop and the slopes to clear, and then ski down the glorious Asitz run (one of the best easy/intermediate pistes in Europe, according to an article in the Sunday Times) back to Hutten. You can ski back to the little hamlet of Hutten by taking a tangent off the main piste.
Being north-facing, the Leogang sector tends to have the best snow. The views and scenery over there are amazing. It also has arguably the best mountain restaurant in the entire Ski Circus - the "Alte Schmiede". Apres-ski always used to kick off at the Kralleralm.
Downsides: If you stay there, you may feel that you a little isolated from the fun and games and general party atmosphere in Saalbach and Hinterglemm - it's obviously much quieter. You also feel as if you are always heading over to the main part of the 200km ski area and then rushing to get back to avoid being stranded there. Being north-facing, the valley and the nursery slopes are often in the shade, although not such a problem in February.
However, as an introduction to the Ski Circus, it's a good place to be. We still regard a trip over to Leogang, lunch at the Alte Schmiede and calling to pay our respects to Hutten as an excellent way to spend a day (or even half a day for a fast skier).
The last drag lift over there was replaced with a fast chair this summer, which helped the Ski Circus to achieve the 2009 "Where to Ski and Snowboard" award for "Best European Resort Development".
Let me know if you want to know any more. Good old Hutten!
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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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Thanks Tatman's Tours.
We have booked Hutten, for 13th Feb.
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What times of day is the lift up from Vorderglemm to Asitz (the key link back from the Saalback valley to Leogang/Hutten) busy in peak weeks? - presumably from mid-afternoon onwards? Any other times too? (ski school start in morning/afternoon?
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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You don't need to go down to Vorderglemm. The key lift up from the Saalbach side is the Poltenlift. As in any resort, you can encounter queues and bottle-necks during peak season. I can't tell you what it's like getting back to Leogang at the end of the day, because I'm always travelling in the opposite direction, but I haven't encountered any queues, even during New Year week, at those particular lifts.
As you will see from www.saalbach.com and www.leoganger-bergbahnen.at the standard operating times of the chair lifts is 9.00am - 4.00pm. The cable cars operate from 8.30am to 4.30pm. Some of the chairs differ slightly, but the times are all given on saalbach.com (click on 'lift company'.
Again, you should find links to the ski-schools on saalbach.com. I never stay in Leogang these days so have no info about ski-schools over that side of the circuit.
Have a great holiday - the snow looks great!
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