Time to start thinking again......

So, having recently come back from a week road cycling the mountains of Majorca, and ridden a decent length ride across Rutland this weekend, its time to put the bike away for a while (well, the good one anyway) and think seriously about the winter ahead.

I have made some plans for January already, the GF are I are off to a chalet in Zug - a place I've been looking at for many years, but finally found a deal good enough to hit BOOK on the skiworld website. I haven't been to the Arlberg in a few years - last time I was there was before the lift links from St Anton to Lech and before the new wider area became accessible, probably 6 years at least.

The GF liked the sound of St Anton, I tried to warn her off last year with tales of packed pistes and crazy bars on the slopes, and I think she's more aroused by the thought of Lech and a cozy chalet at the end of a ski route. Lets hope for a good early start to the cold and snow, and long may it continue.

I haven't bought much in the way of new gear for a couple of seasons, now I have skis that do what I want them to, and boots that are so ridiculously comfy there's no point in even thinking about it I guess. Flying with BA in January so no issues with ski carriage. Not been into Friedrichshafen before though. I don't see the collapse of Thomas Cook affecting the ski season, maybe some package holidays may have planned to use their old planes, but that'll all be sorted. I imagine Titan will be the main beneficiary there. The main thing will be which channel we MIGHT have to walk through at the airport, if Brexit ever happens eventually.
I see there's been other casualties in the world of holiday companies and websites, I know times are hard generally for punters and companies alike, especially with the euro exchange rates of a couple of years ago hitting hard when it comes to property rental prices. I haven't seen any trends of forecasts, so do we know if UK skiers are still taking the same amount of holidays as say 5 or 10 years ago?

Its been a long time since I was on here, no idea what's been happening in the skiing world to be honest, but now that the weather has turned chilly for the first time, Ive started pointing my thoughts towards the mountains with snow on, and coming down them on skis rather than on 2 wheels.

I have no plans for later in the season, I always like to make 2 trips a year, nothing particular is on the agenda apart from Ischgl as always, but Im not sure I can afford to go there, as always. I would actually like to see what Sauze has to offer these days, I hear good reports, but only after or during a big snow dump as otherwise it can be a dry or hot place. I am still, bizarrely, yet to make a trip to the Dolomites, its a matter of time, but its hard to identify the best base in that region in terms of good local skiing and links into the SR. Open to suggestions from experienced visitors there.

Anyway, heres to a great winter season for everyone. Lets hope its an epic one weather-wise.

Ha, welcome back Tony... I think you've been thinking about thinking too much there...

Much has changed in recent years but the fundamentals remain; it's autumn and we're waiting for the snow... 8)

Tony_H wrote:I am still, bizarrely, yet to make a trip to the Dolomites, its a matter of time, but its hard to identify the best base in that region in terms of good local skiing and links into the SR. Open to suggestions from experienced visitors there.

Likewise!

Tony_H wrote:Anyway, heres to a great winter season for everyone. Lets hope its an epic one weather-wise.

Amen to that. Bring it!

Good to see you back, Tone, always enjoy your tour reports. Zug sounds splendid (I haven't been to the Arlberg since 2000) so I'm sure loads have changed. Mind you, I haven't been to Sauze since 1978 and I have absolutely no desire to return any time soon; all the reports I read about the place are a bit worrying with regard to snow reliability plus last season's lift and piste closures due to a fatality. Hear, hear to a great winter season for everyone!

Hi Tony

Good to have you back :thumbup: . A quick couple of observations:

Arlberg: Yes, there can be issues around St Anton with crowded pistes and rowdy bars but both can be easily avoided with a tiny bit of planning, apart, perhaps, from the home run depending on where you are staying :D . I have been there several times in recent years and actually we mainly ski in the Zurs and Lech area though tend to stay in St Anton (its usually the "lads" trip so we enjoy a bit of apres ski 8) ). A good shout to stay if you want something quieter is Stuben - a very nice, quiet village which is now bang smack in the middle of the ski area. I still rate this area very highly - it is not perfect but it ticks an awful lot of boxes.

Dolomites: What can I say? This area is amazing for incredibly enjoyable cruising :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: . Each day is an excursion rather than the more traditional up, down, repeat cycle of smaller resorts. The views are spectacular, food is excellent and good value, accommodation is probably better quality than most other resorts. Personally, I absolutely love this area. The only downside is access - not great out of Dublin :( . In terms of base, I think Selva or Arabba would suit you best but to be honest, it doesn't matter too much as long as you have decent access to the mountain first thing. For that reason, I would not recommend Campitello where you have to get a cable car up (and down) . The queue can be horrendous :evil:. Access from Canazei can also be a bit slow.

Sauze: Haven't been in many years. I really enjoyed it when there but suspect that I would not do so now. As far as I know, many of the lifts are old and the snow can be ropey. They also had problems last year with the link to Sestriere and I am not sure that this has been resolved yet.

Ischgl: Its quite like St Anton. Lots of fantastic skiing and amazing Apres Ski. The home runs are pretty demanding and can be a bit of a mess in the mid-afternoon. The crowd is mainly European - lots of Scandavians and not too many Brits or Irish. Its another great area but again not too easy to get to. If accommodation in the town is difficult to find or too expensive, you could consider satellite towns like Kappl but this will mean driving up to the resort in the mornings or taking the ski bus.

loved Sauze when last there but the links to the milky ways are a bit rubbish tbh.
i tried to get across from MontG/Sestriere but high winds closed that...so you need very good snow if stuck in Sauze. I preferred MontG but again the link up hampers that.

St A is skied out unless you can get there first...and im done with sharing chopped with hundreds of others.
Zug appeals tho...
Ischgl ...never made it there.

For a second trip...follow the snow. Either book late if a storm brewing or see where the snow pockets are.

Good to see you back Tony, your holiday reports have always been a great read.
I'd a great four day holiday in Sauze but it was March and we were incredibly lucky with snow and I'm not sure I'd go back considering all the negative reports about snow cover. I kind of think that these days I will only book somewhere that's snowsure (whatever that means now) and it's not worth the hassle to consider less snowsure resorts unless you can book last minute.
Zug sounds great and I've unfinished business in St Anton too.
I'm off to Champoluc in December for the third year in a row as it's just awesome and also to Zell Am Zee in March just to try something different.
Here's to a snow filled season.