Niederau - New Piste map!

Hi All,

Can anyone tell me anything about the new piste map and the linking and new runs in Auffach/Albach/Niederau?

Also can anyone tell me anything about Niederau itself?

Thanks!

Hi there,
Welcome to J2ski. The piste map was made knownon this site at:
http://www.j2ski.com/ski_resorts/Austria/Ski_Jewel_Alpbachtal_Wildschonau_Piste_Map.html

This winter represents 43 years since I first skied in Niederau, and that includes four seasons working for the ski school. Over recent years, I ski there 3~6 weeks a year, so I guess I know a fair bit about the place.

I am happy to answer any specific questions you have, as much as you wish. I now prefer to do this by PM. The reason is, there is on J2ski one person who persistantly denigrates Niederau at every opportunity, hence I try to limit these opportunities by staying private.

Having said that, fire away! (by PM) I love Niederau, and will spend as much time as you like to help with information.

That's incorrect Dave.
I offer my opinion from experience. Just because it doesn't match yours.
I prefer not to pass comment these days as seemingly having a differing opinion is no longer allowed.
I hope everyone enjoys wherever they ski.

Niederau will always be special to me because it's where I learned to ski nearly 24 years ago.
Would it interest me now? Probably not. I wouldn't want to spoil the memories by skiing it out in half a day.

I live in Niederau and own and run a small Pension there.

There is nowhere quite like it. It is cheap, crime is non exsistent and being small very local and friendly with everyone welcoming all with the true sense of Austrian Gemütlich.

In regards to skiing one needs to look beyond the few runs up the hill in Niederau and the idea that you have to ski right to your bed.
More correctly Niederau is part of the Wildschönau and now includes (10 mins on the free ski bus) Auffach which is linked into Alpach to make up the Ski Jewel(open 14th Dec) giving you 147km of connected piste. Alpach is great. I once skied so hard there that I had to go to bed straight afterwards and didn't get up till the morning.

However my hot tip if I was to holiday in Niederau would be to hire a car (usually the same price as the transfer from the airport) and then the available skiing is limitless. I regularly ski the Ski welt which is 5km away and Austria largest ski area (279km piste) Kitzbühl, Alpbach which as mentioned is now link into Niederau, Mayrhofen 40 minutes away and in Summer go up to the Glacier in Hintertux to ski (1hr 15 mins away.) For real lovers of the snow this extra bit of effort to get up will pay off with some great skiing less distance than people's daily commute to work!

Niederau is small, great for beginners and families, although if you know where to look there are runs that will test even the best (put it this way if there is snow on it you can ski it.) However for those looking for more there is literally world class skiing to had everywhere you look in the Tirol so don't be scared to explore and expel this notion that you can only ski in the resort that you booked your hotel in!


Hope this helps

Looking at that piste map i can see that the resort could be massively boosted by a link to Auffach.
I am assuming that that side of the mountain must be unable to support new piste routes or lifts?

Jamesfewtrell wrote:
However my hot tip if I was to holiday in Niederau would be to hire a car (usually the same price as the transfer from the airport) and then the available skiing is limitless. I regularly ski the Ski welt which is 5km away and Austria largest ski area (279km piste) Kitzbühl, Alpbach which as mentioned is now link into Niederau, Mayrhofen 40 minutes away and in Summer go up to the Glacier in Hintertux to ski (1hr 15 mins away.)

Welcome to J2ski :D Niederau has it's fans on here, and it's possible to stir up some serious emotion. Your post tells J2skiers about the value of not skiing Niederau, but skiing in other resorts. So my question is, why should skiers not just go and stay in those places anyway?

Because none of the other resorts have a Cave Bar!

In all seriousness price would be the biggest factor. Accommodation, ski hire and food and drink prices all super cheap in The Wildschönau. You can pay up to double what you will pay here in the other resorts mentioned.
You can't stay in all of them at the same time either so my advice would be find a resort to base yourself in it but don't be afraid to venture down the Inns Valley to see what can be accessed. So if price is a factor you won't find cheaper than Niederau. Why Niederau specifically? Besides price I would be surprised if you could find a resort as welcoming and friendly as Niederau. There is a certain local buzz to the place that ensures people return year after year, while others decide to up sticks and move there permanently . In fact one could argue that becoming too discovered would be a shame and take away from Niederau's charm.
What I was trying to convey in my post was that you don't have to limited yourself to the one resort in Austria as it is all so accessible. Much of this will have to do with ability as well so for most people The Wildschönau will more than suffice for 7 days skiing. However the fact that we have now finally been linked into Alpbach, increasing the ski area massively makes alot of what I have said irrelvant. Ski it all I say.