 Poster: A snowHead
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Hi all thinking of going to Mayrhofen in Austria in early January and taking my partner who is a complete beginner at ski ing. I picked Mayrhofen as I think it would be a good place to learn, especially on the Ahorn side with it's slowboarding chair lift and blue runs...
Just wondered what other people thought and also recommend
Looking for gentle long blues served by chairs rather than drags and a bit of lively night life would be a bonus!!
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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without any doubt Zauchensee
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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 reckon Saalbach is a great place for beginners - the Kohlmais area has a lot of suitable slopes, and there's a lot of good ski schools (not working there this season, but I'll still reccommend Fuerstauer Ski Schule).
Very up-to-date lift system, most of the drags have already been removed (plans for the rest to be removed too). Ticks your nightlife box too 
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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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kabby, lots of good places. Seefeld seems to be a favourite. The Ski Welt has a lot for beginners. Saalbach, Kitzbühel, Zugspitz Arena, all good.
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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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Seefeld does have a very good ski school for kids and enough skiing very close to the town for the first week. Second week adults might want to go elsewhere (Gschwandtkopf is a bit steep for learners & Rosshütte is a bit of a trek), but it is a very nice resort.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Simples - any resort with snow 
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Agree with Mushers advice about Seefeld. I took the wife there on her first ever ski holiday earlier this year. As a slow learner she spent the whole week on the learner slopes on the Geigenbuehl lift. Whilst she was ok on the slopes there I do think she would have struggled to progress to most of the slopes on the Gschwandtkopf and Roshutte hills. I've skied several red slopes in the Dolomites which were less steep than several blue slopes in Seefeld.
And I personally thought that the ski school was poor for both me and the wife. I wasn't impressed with either of the Austrian instructors I had and the wife wasn't impressed with her Welsh speaking instructor. Two other groups who both had English instructors did seem to learn and progress very well though. Just goes to show that getting a good instructor is a real lottery even in a well renowned school such as Seefeld.
Hope I have better luck this winter in Wagrain
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Thank you all so much for all your advise and replies. Mulling over a few of the recommendations, but think it's gonna be Mayrhofen after all.... Thanks everybody
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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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Rohrmoos - Fantastic learner slopes, served by a gondola and or slow loading chair. When she improves she can uplift on a chondola! and quite cheap!
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Frosty the Snowman, what's a chondola?
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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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darn those queues and crowds! Ange 
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"Looking for gentle long blues served by chairs rather than drags "
Doesn't Mayrhofen still have quite a few T Bars on both the Penken and Ahorn slopes or have these been replaced by chairs now?
And if you do choose Mayrhofen and the queues are too long for the Penken gondola, you can catch a bus to the next village of Finkenberg and get the gondola from there which should be much quieter.
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You know it makes sense.
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jimmybog, IIRC there are a few on the Penken side, though avoidable, often. I don't remember any at Ahorn, though to be fair didn't spend more than a few hours there.
It wasn't quite so much the uplift in the mornings, but the download in the afternoons that slightly irked. As mentioned, though, other options available.
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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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Erm. Was the opposite for me (but I've not been for a long time). Couple of T-Bars on the Ahorn (maybe they've been replaced?), don't remember seeing any on the Penken at all (but it was many years ago, and memory a bit hazy now).
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Poster: A snowHead
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| Frosty the Snowman wrote: |
| http://youtube.com/v/K-TAAhFgfLM |
That's WEIRD!! What's the point? Same speed as a chair (slower than normal gondola), but still have to take the skis off..?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| clarky999 wrote: |
| Frosty the Snowman wrote: |
| http://youtube.com/v/K-TAAhFgfLM |
That's WEIRD!! What's the point? Same speed as a chair (slower than normal gondola), but still have to take the skis off..? |
Quite a few of them popping up, there's one in Lech (Wiebermahd) and Mayrhofen (Penken combibahn). Two seperate queues so you can either take the chair (keep skis on) or the gondola which IMHO is better for beginners.
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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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Saalbach would be superb for both of you, There is a small nursery slope where she can learn the basics in safety. At the top of the nursery cross the road and you can get various lifts to miles of great skiing, some vry easy blues for your girl to join you on later in the week. There are also some of the best Après bars I've ever been to at the top of the nursery where you can meet.
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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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| Quote: |
I reckon Saalbach is a great place for beginners
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I do agree (well, I would, wouldn't I?), but seriously folks, there are a couple of good village-level beginners' areas (so, unlike Mayrhofen, no need to queue for cable cars to go up and down the mountain, or to invest in a lift pass until it's time to progress).
The Turmwiese nursery slopes are served by a quite new, slow-loading chairlift that is only 400 meters long (70m vertical therefore non-daunting), for which a relatively cheap 'pay as you go' points card can be purchased.
The smaller Kreuzkappelle nursery area is ideal for complete novices, and (as far as I know) there isn't any charge for using the little drag lift that serves it.
When it's time to progress, the points card can also be used for the Kohlmaisgipfel gondola or chair, both of which take you up to the mid-point on the Kohlmais mountain, from where blue piste 52 provides an ideal, quite gentle and meandering 4.5 km descent to the village, ending at the Turmwiese nursery area. An added bonus is that there are some really nice restaurants and apres-ski venues on the way down, which provide some welcome relief for tired legs, empty stomachs and parched throats (especially if the weather's bad) as well as being ideal rendezvous points for beginners to meet up with the others, either for lunch or around 4pm when 'the party starts'.
Once piste 52 has been mastered, the novice skier can choose from the whole array of blue runs on the Kohlmais and Bernkogel mountains (all of which end up down in the village, so again no scrumming for lifts). (The piste map is downloadable from www.saalbach.com)
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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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| Sitter wrote: |
| clarky999 wrote: |
| Frosty the Snowman wrote: |
| http://youtube.com/v/K-TAAhFgfLM |
That's WEIRD!! What's the point? Same speed as a chair (slower than normal gondola), but still have to take the skis off..? |
Quite a few of them popping up, there's one in Lech (Wiebermahd) and Mayrhofen (Penken combibahn). Two seperate queues so you can either take the chair (keep skis on) or the gondola which IMHO is better for beginners. |
Gondolas and detachable chairs run at the same speed ~ 5mps
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