I'm looking at booking our summer skiing holiday. We've been for the past two years to Les Deux Alps, we enjoyed it, however we would like to go somewhere different this summer. I've been looking at Zermatt and Saas Fee in Switzerland and Kaprun in Austria. We are at the beginner/intermediate stage and don't very steep slopes. Have any of you been summer skiing on the glaciers near the above resorts ? Which one would you recommend? Which one is more snow sure? Which represents more value for money?
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
I would say that Zermatt's are slightly steeper (they are easy reds, Kapruns are more blue)), but longer and nothing tricky. The scenery is really really stunning (not to say Kaprun isnt, but the journey up to the K. Matterhorn is special as is lunch at the Testa Grigia Resto).
Both have good facilities up on the glacier (both have restaurants at the very top and elsewhere) with other things to do, explore - I would say there is more at Zermatt though.
Zermatt is high - 3899m in summer - doesn't mean more snowsure though as it gets less snow, but I guess a slightly higher chance of snow falling rather than rain in summer! It does mean you may feel breathless (some might feel very breathless /uncomfortable). I think Zermatt is open for longer in the Summer.
Dont really know Kaprun village (didnt stay there) but it is pretty quick (by bus) to the lifts, and villages in the area are not as expensive as Zermatt, which is very costly I would say. Zermatt is a town, really an amazing one with quaint buildings, shops, resto's (very high quality) and people galore all year - it is big and spread out. If you are there to ski mainly, I would stay near the K. Matterhorn cable car, its not near the town centre though.
Kaprun is much quicker to get to (- from Salzburg ~1 1/2 tops), though the trip to Zermatt (again) is special in it own right) - you can only get there by a scenic train ride (form Brig/Visp or Tasch).
In my view though both were great and value for money - just depends how much money you got!
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dorirux, You said you've also been looking at Saas Fee - I would seriously consider it. The snow is generally way better than Kaprun which has closed for fairly long periods the last couple of summers because of lack of snow. Loads to do off the snow, stunning scenery, (Zermatt probably has the edge), probably in between Kaprun and Zermatt for price.
I went to Saas Fee in August and couldnt believe how busy the village was! Lots of hikers, as well as the skiers.Its very, very pretty but expensive.Kaprun on the other hand is relatively quiet, and the prices are reasonable. In terms of the skiing, I couln´t say which I enjoyed more, but Kaprun has the easier runs.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
dorirux, out of interest, why did you not include Hintertux in Austria in your considerations? I have seen it described on here as the best glacier skiing and open 365 days a year and (IMV) better variety of terrain than Les 2 Alpes, (but I can't compare it to Kaprun).
Ray Zorro, I took my daughter there 2 years ago, admittedly it was in late September, and we hated it, it was SO icy, blue glacial ice everywhere, we did 2 runs and gave up,also its at the end of the valley, there is nothing else really to do there, it is very quiet.
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
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Ray Zorro, Thanks for the feedback. I looked at Hintertux, but I understand that is challenging and steep. I don't feel very comfortable on steep slopes. Can anyone comment on conditions on Hintertux?
After all it is free
After all it is free
If you don't plan to ski all the time (and you won't, since skiing better in morning) I would reccomend kaprun/Zell am See. I spent a fortnight there this summer (a week with Esprit, who aren'tdoing Austria this summer, and a week at the Grand Hotel in Zell, absolutely fabulous and cheaper than Esprit). Fantastic amount of things to do, we cycled, walked, swam, water ski-ed, pedaloed, horse rode, canoed, sailed and, oh yes, skied. Went to castles, 16 C copper mines, and never got round to rafting and canyoning. Drank a few beers too. If it's of any interest, a suite for 4 (2 adults, 2 kids) half board with a sailing lesson, use of the spa and free bike hire every day was £1400 for the week. And the food was fab.
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dorirux, conditions will vary considerably depending on when you go. I have been to Hintertux at the end of May (29th-31st), when the snow was lovely and it was almost all open, mid-August, when it was a bit soft and slushy and only the top runs (2 red, 2 blue) were open and early November when about 2/3 of it was open.
In general, the earlier in the summer that you go the better - June would very likely be much better than August in terms of both quality of snow and quantity of runs available.
I agree with DAB, that it is quiet in the summer.
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Ray Zorro, We are planning to go end of July - beginning of August, we are restricted by school holidays.
Comparing to the French resort of Les Deux Alps, what is your impression of Kaprun/ Zermatt/ Saas Fee? Better skiing conditions in summer? Is eating out cheaper? Will it be better to stay in Kaprun or Zell am See?
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dorirux, I haven't summer skied in any of the resorts you are considering but did holiday in Saas Fee last summer, it is stunning however from asking around whilst we were there I understand that the summer skiing is not recommended to beginners, the glacier runs are reds. We were there in August, it was very busy indeed with race teams training there. This thread I remembered from last year http://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?p=1309429&highlight=saas+fee+summer#1309429 and there are a few others if you try the search function too.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
dorirux, sorry can't help with the comparison that you need as I have only summer skied at Les 2 Alpes and Hintertux.
I realise that this is straying from your original thread title, but might you be able to consider going during the May half term week? Conditions should still be good at the end of May and would be so much better then than in July/Aug.
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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
We went to to Kaprun in early August last year and went up to the glacier for a morning - you can only ski until 1-2pm and it looked pretty limited, only 1-2 short runs. And its a schlep to get up there - drive, park, line up for lift tickets, 2 gondola's, in and out of the ski rental place, another gondola and a weird travelator later you're finally on the snow. I would say its only suitable for dabbling on for a few hours. I certainly wouldn't be expecting to be able to have a satisfactory ski holiday experience there, but it definitely delivers if you're looking for a great summer holiday in the mountains as there are heaps of other things to do in the area as Ghost Dog mentions. Kaprun is a nice, quiet village, we stayed there rather than in Zell (which is further away too).
You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
Went to Kaprun for 2 weeks 2 summers ago, not for skiing though. Went up glacier one day and was a bit of a treck to get there (2 hours up and same again down but that was due to fact it was special family fun day). Skiing did look pretty limited and village was nothing to write home about. The golf course on the other hand was fantastic.
Neighbour has a flat in Saas Fee and is out at least once during summer and usually has a great time skiing and certainly sounds a lot better than Kaprun's. Haven't been to Zermatt so can't comment.
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We went to Saas Fee in the summer of 2008 and skied one morning. Hadn't planned to go skiing so had none of the gear, just hired out what we needed. All in all a lot of effort for one morning of skiing but we had fun. There were about 25 international teams up there traing so the lifts down around midday were busy but not unbearable. Here is a video of it http://youtube.com/v/FbnGdLSlr3s
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Poster: A snowHead
dorirux, Have been to both LDA and Kaprun in the summer. LDA as I recall has all the activities centred round the bottom of the slopes. Kaprun is a bus ride from the gondola to the glacier. We went without a car and used the buses which were fine. Outdoor pool has views of the glacier which I really enjoyed. Range of biking - two of us went along the valley 2 of us had an epic adventure... Boat ride on Zell was great, but the town was too touristy for us. And most of Egypt seemed to be either in Zell or in Kaprun which was very odd. The gondolas were full of families in full middle eastern clothing with buggies going up to see the glacier! We skied on 3 mornings - snow was more consistent through the morning then LDA and it did snow one day!
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
I was in Zermatt mid August last year. Only the very top bit was open - you couldn't eg get down to Trocknersteg. It was good fun for a morning for the novelty but the runs were limited and space was restricted by the huge number of ski teams that practice there - not just the national teams but ski clubs -mostly from the Italian side. Lots of queueing for the Tbars. We are keen skiers but a morning was enough really and after that we went hiking, mountain biking etc.
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?
Thanks for all your messages. We enjoyed Les Deux Alps for the past 2 years, the ride up to the glacier wasn't too bad, only about half an hour I recall. My boys (age 14) loved it, although I was a bit put off by the icy conditions on the glacier. I was considering going away skiing at Easter, but we still want 2 weeks away in summer, just not sure where to go. The boys want to do skiing, I would like somewhere with gentle slopes. Following your feedback, I think I might give Kaprun and Saas Fee a miss. Zermatt looks a better place, am I wrong? Maybe we'll end up in Les Deux Alps again. Any other sugestions?
I have been to Zermatt, Saas Fee, Hintertux and Kaprun for summer skiing. In my opinion Zermatt has the best skiing, with slope conditions the best out of the 4 resorts. Although at all 4 resorts the skiing is very limited and really only worth skiing in the morning. the earlier you can get up there the better. It becomes pretty slushy after about 1pm.
I love Zermatt and actually learnt to ski on the glacier in summer. There is plenty to do but it is VERY expensive.
As you are going with kids I would suggest Kaprun. Stay in Zell, there are no problems getting the bus to Kaprun. Ski the mornings, then the afternoons can be spent around the lake. There are some nice swimming spots the other side of the lake.
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Poster: A snowHead
Boat ride on Zell was great, but the town was too touristy for us. And most of Egypt seemed to be either in Zell or in Kaprun which was very odd. The gondolas were full of families in full middle eastern clothing with buggies going up to see the glacier! We skied on 3 mornings - snow was more consistent through the morning then LDA and it did snow one day!