Zwieselstein, Soelden and Obergurgl...stay tuned!

Arrived home late afternoon after a smashing week in Austria.

Will do a full report on the Otztal experience when I get organised, snaps downloaded etc.

However, very happy to report the old achilles tendon injury stood up remarkably well to a full week's skiing!

More to follow later (as we used to say in newspaper offices in the old days!)

Looking forward to this. Solden arouses my interest.

So here we go...

Started out early last Monday and all was going swimmingly - the EasyJet to Innsbruck was off on time but the weather became progressively murkier as we approached Innsbruck. After two aborted attempts to land, the captain called it a day and headed for Munich. Bang went skiing on Monday afternoon but better to arrive late, but alive, I suppose!

Decided not to wait for EasyJet's promised busses - they couldn't say when they'd arrive or how long the whole business would take, so hopped on the Deutsche Bahn and headed for Otztal by train. German and Austrian trains are ok - but they ain't Swiss in terms of connections etc and after several lengthy waits, was finally on the bus up the Otztal to Soelden. Unfortunately, it coincided with school kicking-out time, so it was packed with teenagers -not very comfortable really with big bag and skis!

Still, the bus eventually meandered its way to Zwieselstein - a dot on the map 3km along the Obergurgl road from Soelden (not walkable safely, take a bus or taxi). Found the Gasthof Judith - clean, modern, functional (and Sky Sports 1 on the telly!) and then found a smashing restaurant - the Bruckenwirt - for dinner. Cheap beer, extensive menu, good service - a home from home.

It was snowing when I arrived and again on Tuesday morning. Went to Giggijoch lift using the very efficient ski buses - every 20 minutes all day long. And joined the massive queue. This is quite usual, apparently, although once up the hill, I hardly queued all week such is the efficiency of the lift system. The Giggijoch gives access to a massive bowl of generally easy cruising, with steeper, more testing terrain above and in Hochsolden. Anyway, I spent an enjoyable day cruising the reds, blues and blacks above the temperature inversion that was still giving snow in town (definitely not a village!)

Next day I used the mightily impressive Gaislachkogl lift - a serious investment that, in two stages, takes you very quickly above 3,000 metres. My only complaint is that Run 1 is marked as a red and at the top is steep, narrow, tricky and very much a black. It's reminiscent of the Schilthorn at Murren in pitch, width and size of moguls. I suppose you can't put in a multi-million Euro lift to service a black as few people would use it!

Anyway, the designated black from the top of the Wasserkar is a bit easier and along with the giant slalom run on the glacier, turned out to be my favourite run.

The glacier areas were excellent and really enjoyable on a sunny Wednesday afternoon - long and wide runs with the aforementioned GS face that finishes in the Gletscher Stadion a real highlight!

The skiing is much more extensive than the piste map suggests - you get a real sense of travel - and the 15km run down the Rettenbach Tal is great fun. The Big 3 Rallye would take some doing in a day - I visited them all, but over the course of the week! The lift system is efficient, bottlenecks are moved quickly, piste maintenance lower down was good, loads of varied and entertaining skiing. Mountain restaurants are plentiful and good value. But don't bother with the Heide Alm. Heard good things about this joint that can only be reached down a short, sharp itinerary and exited on a drag of a t-bar. However, the food was disappointing and the service off-hand and very slow. In contrast, Bibi's ski hit had tons of atmosphere and friendly staff and the Giggijoch self-service is massive but with good value bait.

So a big plus for Soelden's skiing. Sadly, the town doesn't match the skiing. A busy, busy road dominates the strip - there's talk of a EC-funded tunnel bypass - and it's noisy and a bit grubby as a result. It's not easy to walk, taxis are expensive, and the many, many bars are dominated by the thump, thump, thump of crave, garage, house and infernal euro-pop music. If you want somewhere quieter, opt for the suburbs but make sure it's near a bus stop or walking distance.

(Tony H: I know you were interested in the Total Ski Chalet Hermann. I skied with some of its guests on one day. The hot water was a touch unreliable and it's not as ski-in, ski-out as may have been claimed. Apparently, the way back in is something of an itinerary, through people's gardens and involves climbing over fences!)

Although a big, bustling place, it was definitely not overpriced. Beer at €3.90 for half a litre, soft drinks reasonable, food very good value - in the valley and up the hill.

So the verdict on Soelden? High altitude skiing on a grand scale that matches the best of France, I think, and better by far than the likes of la Plagne, les 2 Alpes or Alpe D'Huez. The only drawback was the busy, unattractive town.

Obergurgl is better known among the British market, of course, and is only 20 minutes away by a regular bus. Spent two enjoyable days there, but it's small, apparently very quiet at night, and a little more expensive. However, the biggest drawback to its limited ski area is the terrible piste marking. On a really bad vis day, like Monday of this week, it's downright dangerous, with poles down the middle of runs, but nothing to mark drops on either side. There are no trees to take refuge in when the cloud is low over the slopes.

Pictures: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150693659504873.418840.610069872&type=1&l=102934cced

Oh, and more people wearing crash hats than not! :mrgreen:

Some really interesting and useful info, thanks mate. Very interesting about the ski total chalet. But I do like the look of the area for some reason. Another one to consider for next season. Not bothered much about the town, find somewhere and use it is my motto.
Cheers

Very good information, LOTA, thank you. It is very helpful. Headed there tomorrow.

No problem, gentlemen. David, I hope you have as good a time as I did.

Great report and photographs Lota, many thanks. :D

I must also add a line about the excellence of the Otztaler Bus Company's airport shuttle service. Obviously, the diverted flight messed up the outward trip. But inbound was excellent. At 7.15am, a minibus was waiting at the appointed pick-up spot in Zwieselstein. Being a Monday, there were no other passengers, so it was effectively a private transfer to the airport in just over an hour. Excellent and very much recommended!