FIRST TIMERS

I would thoroughly recommend to any first timer to have a few lessons before your holiday.

Before skiing for the first time we had six lessons and that was a lifesaver, because our skiing holiday was so late in the year that ski school had finished, so it was just us and the snow

It may be miserable and hard work, but at least it will be miserable in this country and not on your holiday.
And then being on snow is so much easier.

But whatever you choose, you will have a fantastic time

Hi ,
Heading to Alpbach at the end of Jan. First time for both my wife and I. Staying in the Romantik Hotel Bogleroff.
Basis questions;
1. Do we need snow shoes / boots to commute between hotel and ski area.
2. How many layers do we wear. e.g ski bottoms + long underwear , Ski Jacket + Fleece layer + underwear ...will this suffice ??
3. Apres ski ...Does everyone descend on a pub with their gear ?

Comments / suggestions welcome .
Thanks

Eamonneor,

Quick question answers 1. I would recommend snow boots for sure for all times you are not skiing but still out and about in the village. They are very warm and also provide you with the grip you will need walking around in the snow and ice (on pavement and roads). 2. Thermal underwear such as long johns will do fine and then the ski pants on top. For the upper half I tend to wear a base layer (wicking), a micro fleece type thing and then my jacket. Sometimes if its colder you may need another layer but that usually is fine for. 3. In some Austrian resorts the apres ski starts right after the lifts close, when people will still be in their ski stuff. But i have never been to Alpbach so i am not sure what its like. There is a lot of apres ski to be had in the hotels, so that might be enough for you, if not the town will have bars/clubs/discos, so whatever you like really!

Have fun with your trip and i hope you the skiing bug bites you!!! (i am sure you will love it.

Hope that helps,
Ben

I have to totally agree with Justacey. I remember when I first started skiing a few years ago and before we went (Myself, wife and daughter) we all had about 6 or 7 lessons on the dry slope - it made a huge difference when we got to the snow. When we joined the novice class on the first morning, we were catapulted about two groups ahead once they knew we could snow plough, plough turn and stop. We were skiing from the top on the first afternoon when the novice group didn't get there until day 3. To this day I still use the dry slope at Gloucester regularly in the build up to each season. I think there is a real snobbery about dry slopes. Yes they do hurt a bit when you fall and yes they just aren't the same but they still make a difference. Last year I had a private lesson on the dry and then just skied the whole week in Flaine red and blue without any tuition and the dry lesson really helped. I got more out of a single one to one dry lesson than I did a whole week in a group in Obergurgl. Also if you can learn to turn parallel and carve on dry, you will find it so much easier on snow because you struggle to get your edges to grip on dry as there is nothing to work against the underside of the ski. As for the snow domes, I have a real issue with them. They are great if you have never skied before and want to now how snow feels but I have stopped using Tamworth now as I think it is literally unsafe becasue of the amount of people they literally cram onto the slopes. I have seen so many near nasty collisions there, I'm amazed they haven't had any serious incidents. It really annoys me because it costs a fortune (About £90 for two hours for the 3 of us to ski) and you can hardly ski 10 yards before you bump into someone going much slower. Basically if you are a beginner, the snow domes are great - if you're not they are just as bad as a badly crowded blue at the end of the day in any French major bang in the middle of the French Holidays in Feb - i.e a nightmare.

Hi, we've been to Alpbach twice now, and hoping to go again in March. The Bogleroff is a great hotel, in my opinion the best in the village, and it's right next to the slope. The very nursery slope is just down the hill from it and after the first couple of days, you'll be on the Bogleroff slope. The ski schools are really good and won't push you too fast. Last year was only my second time and I felt confident enough to enter myself for the end of week race - came last but didn't fall and stayed in one piece! It's a lovely village, very friendly people and good apres ski. We just went into the bars when the lifts closed, still in ski wear. It's a very relaxed and informal place. Hope you enjoy it as much as we did - and hopefully will in March! Good luck!