Nelly in Niederau

So, after years of reading numerous reports and opinions on 'N' I have finally sampled it for myself and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised.

As a seasoned skier/boarder with several seasons as a chalet girl under my belt I was a bit sceptical about being bored but we arrived with an open mind, and although we had skied the whole mountain by Sunday lunchtime this didn't deter us. As they say there's more than one way to skin a cat.

We got into a routine and set ourselves challenges, we had a change of scenery each day by alternating between Niederau and Auffach (15 mins by bus - which I personally prefered for skiing) and we had a great week. The sun shone and the snow was great up until mid PM when it got a bit slushly lower down.

What surprised me most about Niederau was the friendliness of the everyone there and the fact that you could easily bump into people without making any arrangements (cue Dave Mac). Larger resorts are prone to losing this kind of vibe, the seasonaires stick together, the punters stick together and no-one mixes but it felt completely different in N.

Of course this is all my personal opinion, as I said I arrived with an open mind and after the shock of looking out of the bedroom window on Sunday morning and a) seeing no mountains and b) seeing no snow I took it all in my stride and experienced a very friendly, welcoming smaller resort.

The people we met in our hotel were of mixed abilities, one couple had visited N several times since learning to ski and were now travelling to Ski Welt just 10 minutes up the road as an alternative on a couple of days, and another couple were beginners who couldn't praise the ski school enough.

It was certainly lighter on the purse strings than many of the larger resorts previously visited, we budgeted for France and came home with change.

Its not everyones cup of tea, but I've gone past skiing resorts to death and nearly killing myself with a 9-4.30 constant ski, so I would recommend it to anyone who perhaps wants a slower pace of skiing and nightlife, or just a cheap break in the snow.

I loved it and I will be back.

NellyPS wrote:

It was certainly lighter on the purse strings than many of the larger resorts previously visited, we budgeted for France and came home with change.

Its not everyones cup of tea, but I've gone past skiing resorts to death and nearly killing myself with a 9-4.30 constant ski, so I would recommend it to anyone who perhaps wants a slower pace of skiing and nightlife, or just a cheap break in the snow.

I loved it and I will be back.

Nice one Nelly, making the case for the advantages of smaller resorts from a seasoned skiers perspective 8) :thumbup:

Hi Nelly,
I'm glad you had a good time, and thanks for the report :D

Ally

Having been 3 times, I totally concur with everything Nelly has said. And I will return. I don't suggest it is to be my only resort, but certainly it feels now a bit like an "old friend".

Nelly, I am pleased you found it to your taste. It is certainly a small resort, and I agree with you as I also preferred the skiing over at Auffach.
Austria generally is a lot cheaper than France, and I know N is one the cheaper side of cheap from experience.
For someone who likes to bumble around and is not concerned with skiing the arse out of the mountains, I can see how N would fit the bill for a slower pace and would be suitable perhaps for complete beginners finding their ski legs, retired couples looking to get a couple of hours a day on the snow, or people using the place as a base to explore more extensive areas nearby.
This is exactly how I found it, which means it is not for me, as personally I am still keen on first lift up, full days with as much slope time as possible, varied runs, difficult reds and blacks as well as easy blues, a feeling of travel, and skiing off as late as possible into a bar for a couple of hours. This is probably why I prefer the likes of the so called mega ski areas, and didn't find N to my own personal taste.
N certainly has its regulars, and I guess those people have differing requirements from my own.
I won't ski there again, at least not until I am at least 60 perhaps, but thats personal choice.
In the meantime, I am glad you have been honest in your assessment of the place, and pleased you enjoyed your week.
Its all about opinions, innit )

I'm 59.

I learnt to ski there at the ripe old age of 45! As was mentioned the ski school is brilliant and the people extremely friendly. Would recommend it if you are a beginner or improver.

billip wrote:I'm 59.

Beginner? Not quite bus pass age yet )