 Poster: A snowHead
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Hi
After skiing in France the last few years I am thinking about trying out Saalbach next year. I am looking for some guidance around the dates to choose. I was keen on the 1st week in February but I notice that this coincides with some of the Austrian school holidays. 2 (Wien + Niederösterreich) of the 9 regions are on holiday that week http://www.schulferien.org/Ferien_Oesterreich/2016/ferien_oesterreich_2016.html
Does anyone have experience of skiing in Austria during Austrian school holidays? I want to gauge how much busier I would expect it to be compared to the week before when none of the schools are off. The hotels don't change much in price from this week to the week before - so tentatively thinking they don't expect a huge influx of new guests.
I made the mistake before of skiing in St Gervais during French school holidays - those queues are not something I want to repeat if possible!
Thanks in advance
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@pint_of_best, I think that's Fasching week, and a lot of Germany will also be off, so could be pretty busy...
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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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Fasching is the second week of February in 2016, so the first week will miss the bulk of it, and the third week is the UK half term, so there is no overlap this year.
Saalbach will be busy throughout February, but "busy" is a variable term. We visit in UK half term due to having 2 kids in school, and last year it coincided with Fasching, the main Dutch holiday week, and the main Danish holiday week. The villages were full, but the maximum lift queue was 5 minutes apart from a 15 minute wait at the bottom of the lift out of Vorderglemm, and the slopes were still fairly quiet in places. The capacity of the slopes is much higher than the accommodation capacity, and although lots of Germans visit for the day or weekend, the car park capacity limits this as well.
The Austrian schools being on holiday makes no difference - Austrian people can ski every weekend if they want to and the kids have (semi?) mandatory skiing sessions in school, so they don't take a week off to move 50 miles closer to the slopes.
Go for it - you won't be disappointed...
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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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Saalbach is a relatively queue-free resort, even in high season. At least part of the credit for this should be given to the lift company, which has invested hundreds of millions of euros in the lift system and snow-making infra-structure in the last 15 - 20 years. In 2009 it was given an award for "Best European Development" (see http://www.technoalpin.com/en-us/information/news/skicircus-saalbach-hinterglemm-leogang-aut-nominated-europes-best-developed-ski-resort.html ), and it was noted at the time that the resort had the "highest proportion of fast lifts of any major ski resort in the world".
Since 2009 the programme of continuous improvement and development has continued unabated, and this year in particular sees the multi-million euro investment in a new link with the neighbouring resort of Fieberbrunn, as well as a new, fast 6-seater chair to replace the old, Bernkogel II T-bar. Next year will see a new link to Zell am See, with two new gondola lifts, new reservoirs and extensive snow-making. I really don't know where they find the money! (oh yes, I do - see http://www.isiaski.org/download/20140517_ISIA_Vuokatti_1b_presentation_vanat.pdf )
Another helpful factor is that the 12 gondola cable-cars from the valley bottom are dispersed around the system, so there are plenty of access points, thereby helping to prevent log-jams.
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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 for everyones replies - Snowheads quick and helpful as ever! 
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