 Poster: A snowHead
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Hi,
I'm trying to find the best option for a group of five to ski in Austria for a week from roughly the 27th of Dec. The group is mixed ability with some advanced and some intermediates.
We would be looking for good skiing alongside some decent Apres. At the moment my searches are coming up empty as a lot of places are either booked out or ridiculously expensive over that time period. Due to how our time off coincides we have to keep pretty strictly to these dates. I had thought about Soll, where i have been before, but I would be pretty worried about the amount/quality of snow there at that time of year. I would love to hear any suggestions that you have for me!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I think you might struggle. The problem is that places that have reliable early season snow such as Ischgl, Obergürgl etc get booked up early and are expensive. The lower resorts such as Söll should be easier but there is then the issue of how much snow (if any) there will be. What resorts have you tried so far? Even the lower resorts will get booked up early and I would guess many places will want to only accept bookings from Sat 29th until the following Saturday - in many countries the New Year break goes on until after the 6th of Jan which is a public holiday.
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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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@kmulle, Places will get booked out and be expensive New Year is one of the most popular weeks of the year.
Have you tried some of the resorts around Ischgl but not Ischgl itself , they tend to be a bit cheaper and you can get the bus in to Ischgl.
Zillertal is meant to pretty good with guaranteed snow up at Hintertux though I've never been.
Can you fly and rent a car so that if the local snow is not good you've got the option of driving to somewhere higher?
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@kmulle, As has been said it is peak season, have a look at Saalbach there will be snow extremely good snow making, the Apre is very good and varied, for accommodation you could look at accommodation slightly out of town, we have stayed a couple of times at Pension Alpensport, www.pensionalpensport.com, simple good quality accommodation about a 10 minute walk from the centre, there is a bus stop 30 meters from the front door.
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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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Another option Ski Miguel have a chalet in Saalbach, it’s slightly out of town, near Captain Hook swimming pool
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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@kmulle, Christmas week is 22nd to 29th December, New Year week is 29th December to 5th January.
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@quinton, has an apartment in Saalbach that he let to me for a week a few years ago, maybe it's available?
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@tatmanstours also has an apartment in Saalbach
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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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| munich_irish wrote: |
| The lower resorts such as Söll should be easier but there is then the issue of how much snow (if any) there will be. |
That is actually misleading, especially the "if any". Söll and other resorts in that area are 'ski resorts' in the winter and they have massive investment in infrastructure and especially snow making and snow management. Altitude is a factor but, in the alps, you can't use that blunt instrument alone, you have to consider proximity to the Atlantic, longitude and latitude and how far into the interior of the continent somewhere is and maybe look at the snow history. Also, what surface are we on? Pasture or rock? I must have been going to that area every Christmas or New Year since Franz Klammer was in nappies and I have had very few poor experiences. A few years back there was a general alps-wide snow drought as we all know, yet the Ski Welt managed to maintain top to bottom skiing, reason being they get the low temperatures at that time of year to make lots of snow. Not everywhere was able to offer the same.
27th to the 3rd is quite a popular choice this season and my friends just got a fair few offers from Söll, Scheffau, Ellmau for that time. Many properties just waking up after summer so they'll be lookin' for bookin'.
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@Pruman, Söll and Scheffau are just about the nearest major resorts to me, less than an hour's drive if the roads are clear. I have had great skiing there in December, even late November. Equally there have been years when it has not been worth going until mid January. I agree Ski Welt and most of the other resorts have invested huge sums in snow making equipment which should ensure at least some skiing but artificial snow is never ideal. The season before last the German media was full of images of rather sorry looking white strips in otherwise green meadows. If you have a limited choice of dates then it is reassuring that you are unlikely to be faced with completely green hillsides but maybe it is better to go somewhere a bit higher?
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@munich_irish, Personally, i would ski on the white bits.
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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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| marodo2712 wrote: |
| @munich_irish, Personally, i would ski on the white bits. |
I try to avoid the grass but am not always successful 
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I love it when we have to do all this again.... Been here 12 years and never had ski related new year snow issues. Fair enough, the valley hasn't always been a chocolate box but I'd certainly not worry about a gamble for conditions around our area.
You might get lucky with short stays in BnB's If you look on booking.com etc... We get loads of requests for the 26th to the 2nd no matter where the Saturday lies.
But... We don't accept them as we need the 7 nighters!!... So maybe that is the case for many other places too?
If you can squeeze a few days off before that then you could look at Xmas week.
There is a much smaller premium over this period.
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You know it makes sense.
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The 3 years before last were disasters in Austria over Christmas and New Year.
New Year is the busiest week as well.
Much better saving your money and going at Easter. Better snow and much cheaper no shivering in horrendous lift queues.
I see you're fairly new on here. Be careful, more than the fair share of people on here with vested interests willing to ramp things up and exaggerate.
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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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@snowheads68, no vested interest, yes I have a flat but I don't rent it commercially. I wouldn't say they were disasters in the Amade. plenty of snowmaking and skiing top to bottom
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Poster: A snowHead
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@snowheads68, where are you in the Amade? maybe you were in a little pocket that suffered?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@snowheads68, being able to ski to the valley is not exaggerating, hence the seasons you describe were not 'disasters'. They were certainly low early snow years, but that doesn't stop us from skiing.
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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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Yup, they weren't brilliant but I have done some great skiing at Obertauern for many recent Novembers and Decembers.
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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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@snowheads68, Yep I have a vested interest. It is a nice string one, in black; gorgeous!
I certainly can't remember any 'disasters'. I remember our first season in 2006 being the only one where skiing to valley was sketchy in most areas. Give me some more info if you can remember, it might jog my memory! I remember that you are based in Bad Gastein (all year or just winters.... need to squeeze another BBQ in before Autumn really hits!) and that conditions do vary greatly from just a few mountains over...
I've just been through my ski lines from 2009 and can't see any major deficits over the times in question.... but did ski on Nov 7th at Reiteralm in 2009!
Being an accommodation provider out here I'm highly unlikely to say don't come it's rubbish but I believe what I write is accurate and factual.
I honestly can't remember any season out of the last 12 where any guests, friends or family had any problems with hitting the pistes during the holiday weeks. Although busy pistes of course!
As for coming at Easter compared to New Year. In 2019 financially yes... but if you want decent snow then no. Easter is on the 21st April this year so very late. All small areas (Radstadt, Eben, Filzmoos etc..) will be closed and most of the larger areas normally close before this but will probably be clinging on for the holidays.
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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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@snowheads68,
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The 3 years before last were disasters in Austria over Christmas and New Year.
New Year is the busiest week as well.
Much better saving your money and going at Easter. Better snow and much cheaper no shivering in horrendous lift queues.
I see you're fairly new on here. Be careful, more than the fair share of people on here with vested interests willing to ramp things up and exaggerate.
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Although conditions no doubt vary between resorts, depending on orientation/altitude, investment in and extent of snow-making, and whether they've been lucky, the Christmas week before the last one was actually far from disastrous here in Saalbach (and, I'm not ramping anything up - anyone with a vested interest was almost certainly booked up for all the main holiday weeks yonks ago. Besides which I would credit my fellow-Snowheads with more integrity than you apparently do). In the 2016/17 season, from early December onwards we had at least 150km of fully-interlinked skiing, with all main connections and pistes open - top to bottom.
Mrs TT and I have made a tradition of skiing here on every Christmas Day since 2006 (so 12 consecutive years), and, to the best of my (honest) recollection, there have been only two seasons when I would say that we have felt somewhat restricted or limited during Xmas Week (2014 and 2015), and I believe that situation applied generally across the Alps, the belated big dump having arrived just after Christmas. Even in those two poor seasons we still skied at Christmas.
Having said that, I agree with you about NY week being the busiest, and also that Easter is worth considering as an alternative (when it falls in late March or early April).
@radar,
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@tatmanstours also has an apartment in Saalbach
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Thanks for the mention, although we can't help.
@marodo2712, As a matter of interest, where is quinton's apartment?
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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Peak season = peak prices.
1. St Anton.
2. Saalbach.
3. Ischgl.
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Skied every New Year for last 10 years, don't remember any disasters anywhere (Tigne/Val D/Mayrhofen/Selva. Maybe in the Southern hemisphere? January in Morzine was a disaster a few years ago, but I wasn't there
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@tatmanstours, Quinton I believe is Casa Alpina
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