J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by Dave Mac

Unless the currency rate changes dramatically,it isn't likely that there will be much difference between buying direct, and buying from the Crystal rep. (Who may be a J2skier!) I gave you the lift tariff link, and if you look at that you will see that it is "front loaded". So your face couple of days may cost over 31/33 Eu a day,whereas the last day is only 11 Eu per day. It only makes sense to get a 6 day pass.
Similarly with ski school, where you will find the cost of 3 separate days ski school is more than the 5 days standard. It's a tad sexist to suggest that it is the girls that may be reluctant to ski every day, is it not? There is a lot of fun to be had, and friendships to be made by joining in a class. My suggestion is always ~ invest 3 years of classes in learning to ski. Then, you can build on that ~ I look forward to watching your YouTube ski videos!
When I said I had been to Niederau a couple of times, errm, I have had four winters working as an instructor in the ski school, and have skied in Niederau for over 40 years. I normally ski there for 3 to 4 weeks each season, plus trips elsewhere. I am there every March, and have been there many times for the last day of the season.
Ski well.

You are welcome, Swell, glad to help. The lift pass is the Wildschoenau pass, covers Niederau, Oberau, Auffach.
Have you booked with a tour operator? You can usually buy your passes from the rep, on the bus journey. The price will be as in the brochure. You can compare this with the price when buying at the lift office on:
http://www.schatzbergbahn.at/tarife/winter/en/detail.aspx
The advantage of getting the passes through the rep, is that you will have them delivered to your hotel.
The beginners should not buy a lift pass. The instructor will advise.

The Sonnschein is a great hotel, a bit of a walk up to the centre. Gill Thaler is very attentive to any issues, but the rooms are good. Her husband, Herbert, runs the Harfenwirt, which might have been a better bet location-wise, but that is not a big issue. Herbert plays the harp, and you should figure out which nights he will be playing. The Bichlwirt is 150m up the road from the Harfenwirt, and is a 500 year old pub, run by Herbert's sister, Maria.
Be sure to book any ski school with the Red ski school. This has a terrific reputation. Sepp Schellhorn is the head instructor.
For the experienced skiers, you can get an idea of what the runs are like by clicking on to the www. at the top of my post. It may not be quick enough for you, but it will give you an idea of the standard of the runs. The ski bus runs to Auffach, which offers easier, wide open skiing. One of the reasons I like Niederau, is that I can get much more skiing in a day, than with many other resorts.
You will also find that the local reps are offering a day trip to Hopfgarten, 15 min up the road. This will let you access 250km of skiing.
As for the snow in March, check Iglu snow history.
Anything else, just ask. Keep doing the exercises! Oh, I will probably be there the same week as your group.

Weekend skiers have been out, but the M90 is currently getting blocked everyday, also all the cross country highland roads are blocked. One upside is the low ground temp. A downside is the high winds that we are due can have mixed effects on the snow retention. Generally, the snow retainer fences do their job well, though. It is looking good for another good season here.

Hi Swell, welcome to J2ski. I have been to Niederau, once or twice. Fire away with your questions.

Starting to look good, and I don't have to cut the grass!

Tony_H wrote:I struggle to understand how someone who lives in Niederau thinks St Anton is restrictive

I know you do Tony.