J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by Wanderer

Wongo wrote:Rebooked my end of Feb trip to first week of April with Crystal no problem, fingers crossed.

I hope its refundable! I cannot see any organised foreign ski trips happening this season :roll:

I am very definitely in the "wait and see" category. I dearly want to go skiing again in the new year but I currently have very little confidence that this will be possible. The virus is showing no signs of slowing and every time the restrictions are relaxed even a little, it takes off again. Given that hospitals are already under pressure through the winter, the authorities cannot afford to let the infection rate climb. Unfortunately, I cannot see matters improving until well into next year at the earliest :-( .

Hopefully, an effective vaccine will be found soon and we can then get on with our lives and be able to travel and ski safely again :thumbup: .

I would disagree with most of the comments above. Yes, it has only two relatively short pitches near the top that are "black" level and most of it is a fairly gentle pathway down through the valley. However, any run should be graded by reference to its most difficult bits - inexperienced skiers, in particular, rely on the colour codes to keep them safe. If a run is rated "red", they do not expect to have to complete "black" level difficulty stretches and the top pitches on the Sarenne undoubtedly are "black" (not the most difficult blacks but still black level). Imho, it would be irresponsible to grade it any other way.

Yes, the run out is long and gentle and is definitely not a challenge for even intermediate skiers (once they have managed to get safely down the top bits). However, this misses the point of this run. For me, what makes the Sarenne special is not its "longest black in wherever" status (though do not underestimate the value of the confidence boost this gives to less experienced skiers), it is the beauty of a run that travels through its own private valley with absolutely no houses, lifts or other signs of human occupation, apart from the piste markers. It is extraordinarily quiet and peaceful place and a wonderful way to spend a couple of hours.

Hard to see this being anything like enough precautions! What are they going to do about accommodation, especially in France where they love to pack people in? Not unusual to see 16 people packed into a 3-bedroom chalet - spending a huge amount of time together. What about the bars/restaurants? Are they really going to allow large groups sit at the same table? What about bar/restaurant/chalet staff? Typically packed in like sardines into cramped accommodation - their health not helped by lots of partying making them vulnerable to picking up all sorts of infections. Look up what happened in the Kitzloch bar in Ischgl!

Unfortunately, the pressure to try to salvage tourism revenue is driving decision making. That's all right several months out but is unlikely to wash when we get closer to the main ski-season.

Sorry if I sound like a Cassandra but I am not optimistic for the 2021 ski season!

given developments in the Tyrol today, I have obviously now cancelled my trip. It remains to be seen if I can recover any of the costs incurred from insurance or otherwise. However, even I do not recover anything, it is a relatively minor loss for me.

On the other hand, it is clear that the negative impact on businesses, especially small businesses in resort could be catastrophic. I think our thoughts should go out to these small businesses. Hopefully, not too many of them will fail over this premature closure of the season.

DiscoveryJ wrote:We are in the same situation. Due to fly into Innsbruck and then to St Anton on Sunday. Certainly, until the foreign office declares Austria a no-go area, we can't get our money back if we cancel so our intention was to go...but now I've heard a rumour that the whole St Anton region may close down very soon altogether. My two nephews are ski instructors in St Anton and said their manager told them he expected full closure to be announced in the next 48 hrs and has in fact already told them to get packing to come home. The last thing we want is to make it all the way there only for it then to be closed. But who knows? It's changing rapidly and the latest statement from the region says they are open as usual so we will have to decide on a day by day, hour by hour basis. Selfishly I really want to go. Sensibly I'm not sure we should. We'll see. Best wishes whatever you decide.

The Mooserwirt has already closed - would St Anton really be St Anton without the Mooserwirt??? I am beginning to think that a total closure of Austrian ski resorts is looking increasingly likely :cry:

Hi guys

I am due to travel to St Anton with a few friends on Saturday - flying into Zurich and then driving down. It is only a short trip and we are due to return on Wednesday.

The numbers of cases in Zurich area and in the Vorarlberg are probably broadly similar to Ireland at the moment (though the situation is evolving incredibly fast). I am not in an "at risk" group and my assessment is that I am as much at risk of contracting the virus at home as I am in St Anton.

The Ischgl case where a barman in one of the popular apres ski bars infected a load of people (around 24 according to some reports) obviously is of significant concern. ISCHGL has now closed most of the apres ski bars and is limiting cable cars/buses to 50% capacity.

Depending on how things evolve over the next week, there is obviously some risk that we could get quarantined in St Anton - a pretty nauseous prospect. Or we could have to self-isolate when we get home which would be a serious nuisance. Very difficult to assess the likelihood of either of these outcomes.

At the moment there is no advice against travel to either Switzerland or Austria so insurance will not kick in if I do not travel.

Do people have any views on whether I should travel or not? I am seriously torn at the moment.

SwingBeep wrote:There are reports of substantial numbers of skiers returning from South Tyrol testing positive for Covid-19 in the German press https://www.suedkurier.de/baden-wuerttemberg/Viele-baden-wuerttembergische-Suedtirol-Rueckkehrer-erkranken-an-Corona;art417930,10461857

Gulp! We were in Val Gardena for mid-term and were quite relaxed about the issue as it was not been treated as an affected area - we travelled via Munich do did not have to go through Verona or any of the Milan airports.

Thankfully, we are now back for 12 days and none of the group (of 21) have shown any symptoms.

However, there is an Irish case involving a family of 4 and it is being reported that 3 of them did not show any symptoms. The father is a doctor and was treating patients for several days before they realised they had a problem!