 Poster: A snowHead
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Hi all
Throughout they years, it would seem I have tended to visit French-speaking freeride resorts like Chamonix and Verbier.
Ironically, my German is far better than my French and, as I plan to spend 3 weeks this January somewhere in the Alps getting as much on and offpiste in as possible, and I'd prefer to be able to converse in German, I was just wondering what German-speaking equivalents of such places would be in Switzerland/Austria in terms of snow, terrain, and mountain exploration?
Thanks for any pointers!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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St Anton
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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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Engelberg, Andermatt though arguably these are more Swedish speaking.
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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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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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skibomb, you could do worse than basing yourself in Sedrun or Disentis...gives Andermatt access but much cheaper...
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Swiss German is very different than German spoken in Germany or Austria to the extent that Austrian friends who have worked in Switzerland had problems understanding the Swiss.
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DB, very true, but even worse is the fact that even within Switzerland it is possible for one Swiss German speaker to not understand another. However if you speak hi German most Swiss German speakers will understand you, that said an awful lot of the younger Swiss will also understand you if you speak in English, it never ceases to amaze me when the checkout girl at a coop in a tiny Swiss village realises her customer is English and immediately tells them how much they owe in the correct language, would never see that in the UK
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St Anton
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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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St Anton, obviously.
Although you could look into Krippenstein too...
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Engelberg and Andermatt are best with a ski guide. Lots of classic, off piste itineraries. They are great in combination for a week. In Andermatt you definitely want to take the beautiful train ride over the Oberalp Pass to ski Sedrun and Disentis as well. You can ski some of the area in Oberalp itself back to Andermatt. The town of Engelberg and village of Andermatt both have a nice old feel, Andermatt more old and unspoiled, Engelberg more left over Victorian piles. Any vacation is hit or miss for snow but both of these are in a snow belt and I've had excellent snow on two trips.
St. Anton has Lech and Zurs right next door, on the same pass, so all together, these resorts have more of the feel of Chamonix and Verbier. Guided skiing is great here too but you can have a great time on your own. Being such a famous place the area is much busier and commercial on average but that's the way it is in Chamonix and Verbier too. If you're over 40 take a close look at Lech over St. Anton. The crowd will suit you more and you can still ski everywhere in the area with a little effort. We stayed right in the middle this past season in Stuben but not surprisingly found the village a bit quiet, even with modest expectations for nightlife.
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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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St Anton yes but IMHO Krippenstein is too small for 3 weeks and the conditions have to be right at Krippenstein too.
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DB, still haven't got round to skiing Krippenstein yet  Was supposed to last season, and the season before - one day (soon) though!!
What do you think of it?
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You know it makes sense.
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You could do a lot worse than a loop taking in Engelberg, Andermatt, Disentis and hitting Davos or Lenzerheide from there. I'd recommend a stop in Vals and probably skipping Laax in between. This would be easily doable in three weeks by train from Zurich. From Munich, probably not the best option ...
From Munich, St. Anton is probably the obvious choice (I haven't been). But if you have three weeks to play with, I'd recommend hitting the Laber in Oberammergau and the Dammkar in Mittenwald (both in Germany) for a day each. Both are a single cable car accessing a freeride only area. If they have snow, they're great.
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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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| clarky999 wrote: |
DB, still haven't got round to skiing Krippenstein yet Was supposed to last season, and the season before - one day (soon) though!!
What do you think of it? |
Me neither, I've always tried to hook up with people that know the area to maximise the fun but keep down the risk. The plan hasn't come together, mainly because conditions were much better in other parts of Austria. Just by looking at the map you can see it's no place for 3 weeks skiing.
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Poster: A snowHead
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DB, clarky999, I know Flangesax skis Krippenstein a bit,maybe send him a pm?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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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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Fieberbrunn in Tyrol would be another possibility for you. Though not a massive area, there are off-piste possibilities and it hosts the Freeride World Cup in March. You can see clips of this year's event here (under 'RESULTS & RECAP').
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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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Thanks for the ton of useful information. Am seriously considering basing myself in the St Anton area for a number of weeks 
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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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skibomb, Good choice. Check out the report bobinch done on St Anton earlier this year to whet your appetite
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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If you go to St Anton and like off-piste a good way to explore with other people in a not-too-pricey way is with the Arlberg Ski School's daily Powder Club. There's usually a good mix of nationalities and ages and some days there are several groups according to ability. 9am at the ski school meeting place at the bottom of the Galzig!
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^^ IIRC Powder Club is actually pretty pricey...
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