J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by freezywater

Hi Andy, welcome!

As far as clothing goes I'll assume that you're buying / hiring ski jackets/salopettes trousers. Obviously gloves are of vital importance and not worth skimping on when it comes to cost although they don't have to cost the earth, I bought my pair from an ebayer who sells winter gear and they have been excellent but only cost £25. Any decent pair of walking / hiking boots should be fine, as long as they have decent soles as you'll be surprised by the amount of injuries caused 'off-piste' as it were. Finally, if you don't want to go to all the expense of base layers and wicking materials etc etc that's fine. Our friends came with us skiing 2 years ago not sure if they would like it and wore multiple long sleeve t-shirt combinations and had no issues. I have to advise getting some thermals though, first thing in the morning out of the sun at -20 can be VERY cold and whilst you'll survive!! You would be more comfortable with than without. It can be expensive, something like Helly hansen base layers clock in at £20 a top and similar for bottoms, quite pricey with a family. If you don't want to spend a fortune head along to your local Matalan (which I'm guessing would be Southampton/Portsmouth) where tops / bottoms cost approx £5-6 each.

Oh, don't forget the hats either, very important to have a beanie to keep the ears toasty :P Hope that helps somewhat.

Global Warming anyone :?:

Never skied Niederau but have been to Kitzbuhel and it can be quite pricey, think Oxford Street with snow! Try St Johann, it's got a varied night life, reasonably priced and sits in the middle(ish) of the Kitzbuhel Alpen ski area which means you can ski St Johann/Kitzbuhel/Fieberbrunn/Waidring on the same lift pass and all easily reached by local free bus. Ryanair fly to Salzburg from Stansted and you're about an hour on to St Johann, a cheaper option may be to fly with Easyjet to Munich and then hire a car and drive, it's about 1.5 hours drive from Munich. If you wanted to go the package route try Thomson(www.thomsonski.co.uk) I don't work for them but we've been the last 2 years with them and couldn't fault them in any way, if you look on the website you'll see that they have a couple of options from Stansted to St Johann/Niederau/St Wolfgang/Soll/Scheffau all for £450 ish half board leaving a bit over for ski hire and passes etc.etc

Your 2 friends will quickly pick up the skiing again so as a beginner you may want to take a few lessons on a dry slope here before going to get at least get the feel for it, I'd strongly recommend lessons from a ski school, I know it may sound a bit of a bore but trust me it is anything but, in my experience I have always enjoyed ski school and found it a right hoot, not only that but it's a great way to meet people and after the skiing the social side is what I enjoy most. You may want to look at one of Thomsons (other travel companies are available :!: ) 'All-inclusive resorts' you get the ski/boot hire + lessons + lift pass included in the price of the holiday which you may find easier for the 1st time until you find you're feet. Whatever you decide I'm sure you'll enjoy it 8)

Lap it up :twisted:

Anyone else think it's about time the quiz maestro came up with a Late Summer / Autumntime quiz to make sure we haven;t all fallen asleep during the summer months?

Who knows, it may last as long as the magic numbers quiz that we all endured for almost a month earlier this year!!

Not sure about December, I think Pavel's about right, now is when it starts getting busier, I'm one of those unfortunates that live in the UK so only get to ski a couple of weeks a year, condensed into a 2-3 month window, so this website tops up my need for a daily fix of all things ski related!! I've certainly noticed the amount of traffic has increased steadily over the past 2 weeks and now we are into September I'm sure it's going to get way busier, so stick around, especially with the incredible knowledge base that exists with the collective contributors. I've found it most useful and at times quite funny!! :-o

Hintertux glacier is about an hour plus form Innsbruck, if you are heading towards Italy that is :!: , so probably a bit too much course deviation if you're headed to Salzburg. We went to Kitzbuhel last December and I seem to remember they had some early snow, it's on the way but you'll probably have to check out the local webcams before setting off. Good luck! :lol:

I totally agree!

Besides, nothing quite beats that feeling of trepidation you get when arriving at your destination just before you are re-united with your skis. The nervousness you feel when examining your skis to check they are okay.

Nothing quite beats the endless questions that go through your head whilst sat in the airplane seat looking at the bag chuckers complete loading, those questions "Please be careful with my skis?" "Please god I hope they make it onto the plane with me" and "I hope they don't get left behind" and my personal favourite, "Don't you realise how expensive those skis you've just dropped on the tarmac are?"

As Trencher says, a great learning experience!! :?