 Poster: A snowHead
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My New Year resolution is to ski in new places this year, so I need a bit of help finding a substitute for St Anton for a trip in mid Feb...
Ideally I'd like to go to Austria (can't do Ischgl or Lech/Zürs due to the above mentioned resolution). I'd also consider Switzerland (but not Davos/Klosters, Zermatt, Verbier or Engelberg for the same reason). Not France though (nothing against France, but I've skied there so much I want to steer clear for now, and I've already booked a long weekend in La Clusaz)
So, given my self imposed restrictions, is there anywhere that can approach St Anton for quality of skiing?
The skiing is my main concern - I want a decent altitude, good steep terrain and large area.
Idealy I'd also like nice mountain restaurants, nice village and not too expensive.
Nightlife is not an issue, I don't have the energy for anything more than a pint in the evening after dinner...
I was thinking of Kitzbühel, but am put off by the lack of altitude - how is the snow so far this year, is it a good bet for mid Feb?
Stubai looks interesting, it seems to have the height, does anyone have any tips on where to stay in this area?
Anywhere else?
Any tips gratefully received!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Nowhere close to St Anton / Lech for skiing quality in Austria.
Kitz and Stubai are for beginners.
Go to St Moritz or Saas Fee in Switzerland, Jackson Hole or Aspen in the US, or Whistler in Canada.
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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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| Whitegold wrote: |
Nowhere close to St Anton / Lech in Austria for skiing quality.
Kitz and Stubai are for beginners.
Go to St Moritz or Saas Fee in Switzerland, Jackson Hole or Aspen in the US, or Whistler in Canada. |
I should have said, Jackson and Whistler are off limits too:-) I had thought of Aspen but I'll probably stick to Europe, maybe go to Aspen next year though.
Will take a look at St Moritz and Saas Fee, thanks!
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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| Quote: |
Nowhere close to St Anton / Lech for skiing quality in Austria
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+1 
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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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Samnaun ?
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| Quote: |
That may be true (I am actually 100% sure it is true), but it's not helpful
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OK, 4 Vallees (Verbier area but stay in nendaz and ski round) fantastic and also challenging, and also Ischgl is great. Kitzbuhel is great also, but not a patch on Arlberg. Espace Killy also excellent but none as good as Arlberg IMO.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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| Whitegold wrote: |
| Kitz and Stubai are for beginners. |
That's just wildly inaccurate and ignorant, well done again.
Would generally agree with others though that best in Austria for steep etc is St Anton.
No mention of Italy. What about Alagna?
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How about Saalbach? I am considering this as an alternative to St. Anton (although the terrain seems not super steep), apres-ski should be great though. I also heard great things about Wengen, but must investigate this further.
Do you want off piste? Have you considered Italy (good food!)?
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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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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| Bode Swiller wrote: |
| Whitegold wrote: |
| Kitz and Stubai are for beginners. |
That's just wildly inaccurate and ignorant, well done again.
Would generally agree with others though that best in Austria for steep etc is St Anton.
No mention of Italy. What about Alagna? |
Well, I've skied Gressoney before, but I may allow myself to go to Alagna, especially as the new lift has been installed since I was last there. Technicaly this may be violating my resolution, but I'll ponder it some more. To be honest I have had pretty iffy snow in this area before now, but it should go on the list I think 
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| Eyeopener wrote: |
How about Saalbach? I am considering this as an alternative to St. Anton (although the terrain seems not super steep), apres-ski should be great though. I also heard great things about Wengen, but must investigate this further.
Do you want off piste? Have you considered Italy (good food!)? |
Cool, I'll put Saalbach and Wengen on my list. Thanks!
Yes, I do want off piste... And I want Piste to Powder to expand in to more resorts so that I can carry on skiing with them when I'm not in St Anton
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You know it makes sense.
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You are closing down your choices here! I would add Arabba and Cortina in Italy and Flims/Laax in Switzerland to your list. People tell me that Andermatt (also in Switzerland) is also worth a go for its wonderful off-piste.
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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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| Skihopper wrote: |
| You are closing down your choices here! I would add Arabba and Cortina in Italy and Flims/Laax in Switzerland to your list. People tell me that Andermatt (also in Switzerland) is also worth a go for its wonderful off-piste. |
Arabba and the Dolomites look great, but I worry about the lack of snow there... WIll add Flims/Laax to my list for further investigation.
Andermatt is already on a different list of mine - "places to go with a guide and my touring gear"
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Poster: A snowHead
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Flims/Laax is decent.
Val d'Anniviers is lovely though you would be better off with transport if you want to include the big area part of it as it is made up of relatively small non linked areas.
Never been to the Gasteinertal but it sounds promising.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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La Grave, Chamonix, Krippenstein, Mayrhofen/Hochfugen?
Saalbach is fun, but not really the best place for offpiste.
Whoever said the Stubai is for beginners is an idiot 
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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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Hmmm... Krippenstein... thats a new one on me. Tell me more...
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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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Four of us skied Flachau and Wagrain (part of Ski Amade area) in mid-December.
Admittedly we had 3 days of powder/fantastic snow but it's definitely an area that we all want to go back to. To put that into perspective, we've skied 130-odd ski areas worldwide and were seriously impressed. The lift system is excellent (modern and fast, including some heated chairs with covers) and the skiing is very extensive and varied. We stayed in Flachau, which is a lovely little town with some decent bars and restaurants - not on the St Anton scale of liveliness though. Wagrain is very nice too - quite rustic.
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Thanks all, some very useful info here. Glad I asked!
I'm now thinking Ski Amade (maybe Flachau) with at least a day trip to Krippenstein - from the map that looks do-able at least.
The trip I'm planning right now is for me and my OH, so although I want a bit of off piste she is not into anything too serious... but Krippenstein is going on my "other" list (along with Alagna, La Grave, Andermatt and Engelberg) for "further investigation".
Getting excited now... better see about flights to Salzburg. Anyone flown Air Berlin by the way? Any horror stories?
nozawaonsen, thanks for those links... interesting reading. clarky999, is Krippenstein a bit of an Austrian version of La Grave? I notice you mentioned them in the same sentence
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sah, Gaschurn, in Montafon Valley, not so far from St Anton, good skiing for all level, If U like powder its a nice place
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| Whitegold wrote: |
| Kitz and Stubai are for beginners. |
What a ridiculous comment.
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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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| Quote: |
Whitegold wrote:
Kitz and Stubai are for beginners.
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I can go there with U, and U will blame your mother that you are born
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| Quote: |
nozawaonsen, thanks for those links... interesting reading. clarky999, is Krippenstein a bit of an Austrian version of La Grave? I notice you mentioned them in the same sentence
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I haven't skied either of them (YET!!), but from what I've been told it seems to be. I was in the Krippenstein area yesterday with fresh snow, but my bloody gf had to get back to Foehn-ruined Innsbruck - NOT happy!!! I'll be making the trip over at some point this season though for sure, as she has family who live nearby.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| Quote: |
Kitz and Stubai are for beginners.
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Try skiing the Steilhang on Hahnenkamm and then if you feel the same I owe you a beer - one of the most exhilerating runs I have EVER done, Kitzbuhel is a classic place and should NEVER be dissed as easy, I agree withLeeds_Skier andfreeheelskier, ! 
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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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Markymark29, Tbh nothing on the Hahnenkamm route is particularly hard (definitely doesn't deserve it's 'extreme ski route' status), and from the limited time I've spent in Kitz most of the skiing was fairly mellow. Stubaital is a totally different kettle of fish though, if someone can only see begginner skiing there then it's just 'cos they aren't good enough to spot the better lines.
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clarky999, the Hahnenkamm just after the race is particularly hard. I spent some time sliding down the Steilhang and can assure you it's one of the least fun things I've ever done
I don't know why people have this view of Kitz as being for beginners. There are plenty of steeps and tons of really nice off piste runs. Great place, my second fav in Austria after the Arlberg. The other big advantage is that it rarely gets really full, unlike St.Anton.
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You know it makes sense.
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Well, I've booked flights to Salzburg with Air Berlin (skis go free on that route too, which is nice). Thinking of staying in the Altenmarkt area but hiring a car for exploration around the area... still not ruled out Kitzbuehel yet though... So much skiing, so little time off work (and cash)...
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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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Steilhang, +1 Exactly!
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Poster: A snowHead
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| Quote: |
I don't know why people have this view of Kitz as being for beginners
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Steilhang, I think I have the answer! its beacause there is alot of people went there only for the great aprés ski, and not realy know how to ski, Kitz is a realy a nice place, to make party in, and also to ski 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Steilhang, I'm sure when it's race-prepped it's horrible to ski, but it isn't like that most of the time. Don't get me wrong though I had a lot of fun offpiste in Kitz, just most of what I saw/skied was fairly low stress - I've only spent a week there though so I'm far from an expert on the place!
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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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I'd also say Kitzbuhel was very short on challenging skiing - though fine for intermediates (I used to ski there but stopped long ago). The race course is certainly challenging and took me a couple of minutes longer than the OK at Val d'Isere - but one race course doesn't make a resort. (By the way some of the most difficult bits are off-piste outside the race period)
Verbier seems to me your best bet - big area and lots of challenges available (though it is a bit expensive - partly because the Swiss exchange rate is bad at present). Why do you say it is against your NY resolution? I thought you said Switzerland was OK.
Last edited by Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see? on Wed 5-01-11 12:56; edited 1 time in total
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| snowball wrote: |
I'd also say Kitzbuhel was very short on challenging skiing (I used to ski there but stopped long ago).
Verbier seems to me your best bet - big area and lots of challenges available (though it is a bit expensive - partly because the Swiss exchange rate is bad at present). Why do you say it is against your NY resolution? I thought you said Switzerland was OK. |
My resolution is to go to new places... I've skied Verbier before, and a lot of the big French resorts. I'd prefer Austria too because of the exchange rate (the EUR is bad but the CHF is crippling). And anyway, I've booked flights to Salzburg now:-)
I guess my question should have been phrased as "is there anywhere in Austria that is nearly as good as St Anton?".
Anyway, there's been some very useful suggestions and discussion, so I'm very gratefull, and I'm not ruling out Verbier for the future. I've never managed to hit Verbier when there was powder, but I did have a fantastic day of spring skiing there many years ago and I loved it. Purely by chance I met an old ski bum friend on the lift one morning and he took me all over the place, I have no idea where I went (I remember at one point skiing between avalanche barriers) but it was incredible.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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One for left field - Montafon. Cheap - plenty for a week's skiing and good off piste. Not many Brits either.
Obergurgl - high, good off piste but a smaller area. Loads for a week though. Bloody expensive though...
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| Quote: |
I guess my question should have been phrased as "is there anywhere in Austria that is nearly as good as St Anton?".
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Lech/ Zurs!!
If you have seriously ruled out Ischgl, St Anton, Lech/ Zurs I'd be heading to Kitzbuhel or driving round to Garmisch/ Warth area - always thought about doing this area (backs onto Lech and only accessible from German side)..............its on the Lech piste map shown dotted.
Good time to go to Garmisch P, just after the Worlds, good buzz about.
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| fatirishman wrote: |
One for left field - Montafon. Cheap - plenty for a week's skiing and good off piste. Not many Brits either.
Obergurgl - high, good off piste but a smaller area. Loads for a week though. Bloody expensive though... |
Will certainly look at Montafon at some point; probably not on this trip though as I am now flying in to Salzburg.
The "bloody expensive" bit puts me off Obergurgl...
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