J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by andymol2

http://www.j2ski.com/ski_resorts/Airports/Graz.html has a list of the nearest ski resorts. Many of them are quite small.
If you extend to 2 hours from Graz you have Schladming.

And local laws requiring a chalet host to be a qualified instructor are not artificial barriers?

verbier_ski_bum wrote:Thank you, SwingBeep!

Ally, social dumping is a serious issue. Tourism is supposed to boost employment in the host country, but you arrive at the situation where a foreign TO rents a chalet from the owner residing elsewhere and brings along all the personnel required to run it and sells it as a full-catering.. It cuts the locals out from being able to afford these job.

Are the locals really cut out or is it, as in the UK that a great number of them are relatively unemployable and are given the option of benefits instead of employment. As an employer would you rather employ someone who's so motivated that they will up sticks and move 1000 miles from home or a local who thinks that you should pay the equivalent of David Beckham's salary for someone who can't make a cheese sandwich without supervision.

Local employment in the EU effectively means anyone in the EU. We are free (or should be) work as EU citizens in any EU state as if we were at home. Host countries are not permitted to put up artificial barriers to free employment.

Adam67 wrote:Andymol, you wouldnt mind sharing who your insured with would you?

Direct travel.

I think they are US owned (so won't cover me to travel to Cuba) but do cover off piste without a guide not that I do much off piste stuff but you do hear of insurance companies getting out of paying when you've cut across between pistes. (Presumably because in the USA they don't have such a clear definition of on & off piste within the ski area)
Not yet had to claim so the proof of the pudding is yet to come.
The other reason is that their annual policy allows those on a family policy to travel independently of the policyholder.

Shame about your hols Nelly, however the long term recovery should be fine.
If you've ripped it big time it might need repairing however most medical ligament tears are partial and just need time and a bit of physio to get back to normal. Either way next year should be fine.
Certainly not as bad an injury as a ruptured cruciate which tends to take you out of a season if all goes well.

Got to say I saw more people fall at chair lifts this year in one week than in the previous 8. Just amazed at the number of half wits who can't comprehend that you can't turn the moment you get off a 6 man chair lift. My wife was taken down by a gormless kid who turned right & went across the back of 3 sets of skis. It was the first time in 25 years of marriage I've seen her do the splits.
She was fine and it was nice to see the youth's mother administer a bollocking to her offspring after checking Claire was OK.

My insurance covers me on or off piste so can't see what extra the Carre Niege would offer.
Sure I may have to wave my credit card to get carted off the mountain but that's reclaimable.

The Carre Niege won't get me repatriated will it?
It is only for skiing in France?

I guess if you are local it works out cheaper than travel insurance but gets you off the mountain FOC.

In the end few benefit from pedantic application of laws. Will I pay a host to take me around a resort - no. I may well miss out on a few hidden gems of pistes and mountain restaurants but I'll be damned if I'll pay an instructor that.
I'll read the piste map and talk to my chalet host rather than ski with him/her.

The availability of last minute bargains varies year to year.
Ultimately the tour operators want to sell as many holidays at as high a price as possible.

If they don't take up enough capacity - they sell all their holidays and thus cap their ability to make a profit and may lose future custom. Too much capacity the don't sell them all so have to discount.
Thus the tour ops try and match capacity to demand and tend to fluctuate from year to year.

Skiing isn't as popular in the UK as it once was. It has to compete with long haul winter sun these days. There is recession which has exposed the differences in prices between different countries. The Brits do make up a big part of the European ski holiday market so the resorts want the Brits to come as for many of the Alpine countries their own countrymen don't spend as much as we do on holidays - the French tend to self cater and don't buy much in the resorts. We tend to fly so not the capacity to fill the boot with food so opt for catered accomodation.
The East Europeans come and go - again, like the rest of us hit by the recession and also their own ski resorts are developing so less incentive to get ripped off in the 3V.

If there are no bargains you can find a hotel on the net or take a punt and drive down and do a deal in resort. It depends when you go - outside of half term, Fashing week and the French school hols you will probably be fine - the accomodation not taken up b the tour ops will likely still be open.