Niederau trip report - Jan 2012

A snowHead

Niederau:
Oesterreich:
Wildschoenau:
14th to 21st Jan 2012:
Our family holiday: 6th family ski trip - 4th in a row to my beloved Austria. Wife and 3 kids - aged 8, 11 and 14
Basics : Flew with TUI from Glasgow to Salzburg, then about 90 mins by coach. All run like clockwork with a slight faffing about on coach (as I would expect) waiting for other flights.
Lift system : In Niederau itself, it really only has one gondola and one 4 man chair, plus a handful of drags and tbars. It could benefit from a couple of more rope tows/similar at top of hill to stop an uphill walk in a couple of sections. Auffach, 7km up the road with a free and regular bus has one gondola with mid station stop and a couple of compy 6 seater chairs, plus a few drags and tbars.
The terrain :

Lovely tree lined skiing in Niederau with all the nursery slopes scattred along the valley floor at village level. If you were a timid 1st/2nd weeker, you might find some of the pitches on the runs a bit daunting, especially if snow condistions now great. We preferred the skiing in Auffach as it was wide open but with the option of tree lined skiing a wee but further down. This gives you an indication
http://youtube.com/v/kH7vuYAFVmk&context=C39e16f0ADOEgsToPDskKf3ljhAwGY7bLuNFK16-dm The skiing was very good, if a little limited.
The snow : The snow on first 3/4 days was hard packed and abundant - which I really like. Thursday got way to warm and the snow started getting heavy but safe to say that a LOT more snow was on its way per this clip
http://youtube.com/v/Ygw87_aGjCw&feature=g-hist&context=G21ee88dAHTx3QMAABAA
Off-piste : I did not do but may mate and his son did loads (visit Whistler each year for 2 weeks plus other trips to Alps) and his son said that the Friday and Saturday were two of the best days skiing he has ever had - he purley stayed off piste and was waste deep.
The resort : Niederau is nice enough but quite bitty - no real centre and very few shops/restaurants/pubs to disctract you.
Food : Anywhere we ate was tasty and great value. No bad meals at all
Accommodation : Stayed at the Hotel Hannes and our friends stayed at the Harfernwirt. Our hotel was good - bedrooms very dated, or traditional putting a postive slant on it. The restaurant was bright and tasteful, as was the bar. The wellness facilities were excellent as was the host - Reggie - probably the best hostess we've had in a hotel. The food was pretty basic (ie tinned veg, powdered soups) but tasty and filling. Our friends enjoyed the Harfenwirt and it had fantastic wellness facilities and pool. They paid a wee bit extra to stay in the new wing, and had very nice rooms.
Costs: Best value ski holiday ever. Think we paid something ridiculous like £280 a head half board, flights and transfers. Beers were typically €3 - €3.50, Gulaschsuppe €3.50-5.00, (fantastic) burgers (ie 2) plus chips €7.50. I felt that the lift pass was quite expensive for what you got - for example I could pay an extra €60 or so to get the full area Arlberg pass, and there's just no comparison really.
Conclusion: We had a really good holiday and was timed perfectly with the snow conditions. The fact that we could not really afford a family trip this year was changed due to the excellent deals that TUI were offering. Having not done a package deal for around 5 years, I thought the service all in from Thomson was excellent. Geniunely can't fault them in this experience. The apres was a bit lacking sadly but I believe that the clubs to get busy after 10 or so, but no use for me if I want to party from say 3.30 to 7. In kappl for example the apres was much better and is a similar sized resort and have been at the same week of the year.
Would I go back again? Yes, but only if I was on a restricted budget and bought the extended lift pass to Ski Welt.

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Niederau trip report - Jan 2012

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