Ellmau

A snowHead

Good morning all. I am thinking of going to Ellmau this winter with my wife, baby and a group. The standards are from skiing 2x year for 15 years to a beginner. I am looking for information on the resort and if you can ski back down to it. This would be useful for looking after the baby for my wife and I to take skiing in turns. We are not on the look out for anything too heavy in terms of apre!!

A snowHead

I was booked to go to Ellmau next February with Crystal until we discovered that my OH is pregnant. We were staying at the Alpenhof.
From speaking to friends who have been before, it's really good if there is decent snow in Austria. The whole of the Ski Welt is easily accessible from the resort, and with about 250kms available, this is an early to advanced intermediates paradise. I know the hotel we booked has a children's club etc.. It's just that our little'un would be too young to attend in Feb, and my OH has some concerns re young baby and altitude/cold temperatures. although this is one of the larger villages in the area, it's still pictiresque with apres ski not being in your face. Lots of good, reasonably priced ski huttes dotted all over the mountain also. From my research, it is possible to ski back to the resort, and I picked the particular hotel as being onlty 2 mins from the nearest lift, so that should not be a problem.

Enjoy yourselves - I'm feeling glum again having had to cancel. Sad

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edoakes, I had 7 days of great snow in January last year. The main lifts into the skiwelt from Ellmau require a short bus journey to the funicular this lift gets busy between 9.15 and 10.00 as the ski schools all meet there before going up. The nursery slopes are accessible with a short walk depending on where you are in the resort. The Alpenhof is in a good location and the hotel is a good hotel for kids. I was with a group who took 22 people inc 8 kids and stayed at the Alpenhof. The Bar at the hotel was reasonable cheap compared to others in resort as well.

The nearest lift to the Alpenhof does not give you access to the main areas of the SkiWelt it gives you access to the Astberg and runs down to Going. To link to the rest of the SkiWelt you need to get to the top of the Hartkaiser by using the funicular.

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Russell,

Thanks for this. It will be the first time we have been away with the baby. The Alpenhof is good for Kids you say. In your opinion you can stay in hotel for drinks and leave the littleuns in the room and feel safe?

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

This is all good to read. I organise two ski holidays each year for deaf children with cochlear implants, like my daughter, and their parents and siblings. Next year we are going to Alpe d'Huez at Easter time and to Ellmau in the third week of January. The majority of our large group are staying at the Alpenhof with some overspill in the Hotel Schonblick. Russell, can you remember anything about the location of the Schonblick. I have warned the families who are staying there that it is a little less conveniently located. Last year we were in Kitzbuhel and La Tania. Ellmau would not be my first choice for skiing since it is clearly an area better suited to improvers and intermediates but the majority of the party, apart from myself and one other parent, are relative beginners. The children come first and it looks a good choice for them - I've just got to cross my fingers for plenty of low temperatures and snow in January. I guess, however, that there are also plenty of off-piste options. What sort of skier are you Russell, can you offer any perspective from the more advanced point of view? Did you bother with the link to Westendorf? I see from another thread that this is being linked to Kitzbuhel. Finally, any views on the ski schools? The Hartkaiser ski school have been really supportive and I am teaming up with them for instruction for the children and adults.

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I leant to ski in Ellmau a fair few years ago but here's what I remember
* Excellent main nursery slope - its massive and with a consistent but gentle gradient
* Snow was OK but to be honest its on pastureland so even 10-20cm would be enough to give good coverage except in high traffic areas
* The Village sprawls but is pretty, I stayed in the Hotel Christophe which is a little out of town (closer to the harkaiserbahn funcular) but there is a regular bus or you can walk it but the roads can be quite busy.
* Views are amazing of the Wilder Kaiser mountain range
* There is plenty of apres ski
* I fell 10ft out of a single chairlift in Going, the resort next door to Ellmau!
* Mainly beginner and all scale of intermediate skiing, dont think there is much in the way of stiff black except for a ocuple of runs above Soll.

Can't comment on the kid side of things but I am looking at my first holiday as a family this winter with an 18month old...can't wait! Laughing

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edoakes, If you take a baby monitor (get a digital one) and there sleeping you should be fine, Its certainly what I would do. We had groups of kids from 2 up to 13 years. All the kids were put together apart from the really young ones and the hotelwas great about it.

StanBowles, Don't know much about theSchonblick. The skiing is mostly red runs a few Blacks in Sol we had good snow and powder every day. We managed to ski most of the links in the SkiWelt but had to turn back before we got to Westendorf because the weather closed in to white out conditions and didnt have time to try again.

After all it is free

edoakes, We have had two fabulous holidays in Ellmau and would thoroughly recommend the Hotel Christoph seewww.hotel-christoph.com which is where we have stayed. The hotel is located about 10 minutes walk from the HartKaiserbahn lift. The hotel rooms are quite large and the restaurant food is excellent buffet style with different themes every evening. We are back there in 2007 but don't tell too many folks about it!!
If you can get in this late, you won't be dissappointed!!

StanBowles,

I would bother with Westendorf, and we stayed in Soll. It is a bit out on a limb and we took the coach rather than ski it. As I remember at the time the south facing links of the Welt weren't in the best of condition - the north side was fine -but it snowed the day we went so we got to play in Westerndof in new snow. Plenty of adventurous cut throughs - for us, at that time - so it is worth a visit IMO. But it was almost 10 yrs ago and I didn't do the things I do now so don't know quite know how it will stack up for you.

Help!!

Ellmau

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