J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by Innsbrucker

Obergurgl -- agreed, a fantastic high resort. 2 hours from Innsbruck, realistically. Options closer to Innsbruck airport are Stubai glacier (not hard, and a free bus to Schlick2000 which is great easy skiing but may be getting soft, take the lift down from the middle station). Kuhtai is very high so should be OK, lots of red, a bit harder to ski with a few fairly challenging runs. Axamer Lizum is good for spring snow as it gets less sun.

A friend who uses those cable locks a lot says he has one fail every few months. Probably the key type are better than the combination locks.

I think assessing difficulty does only come with a bit of experience. It is even harder off piste because it can be difficult to impossible to assess snow quality just by appearance. I ski with an Austrian friend who has always assessed what I can handle, which is nice, albeit without regard to colour coding, and off piste she sometimes says 'we cannot safely go there without checking with a guide first.'

She said that local girls are told 'if you cannot ski well you will never get a man.' Another motivation for skiing! (reminds me of the funny ski scene in Bridget Jones Part II). Ironic that this Austrian girl found a middle-aged guy who started skiing by repeatedly falling off a kiddies' lift :-/

I am representing the French cultural attaché to try and teach the Austrians some manners ….

The ones who jump in front at lift queues in Austria normally seem to be German... (the accent is different) and most Austrians find it rude. The numberplates in the car park tell that often Germans outnumber Austrians on the piste.

Last time it happened to me I had a shouting match with the guys who grabbed the Gondola in front and accused them of being "typically German". Then felt bad because there was a lovely, friendly German couple in my gondola.

Speaking of racial stereotypes the Austrian bar owners etc usually rather like the British, on the basis we are more easy-going than a lot of their German guests, who are careful to maximise what they get for their money.

Nice video.

Nice quiet pistes too. My favoured smallish Austrian resorts were quiet in January, but not that quiet!

What great answers, especially the emphasis on fun :-)

By the way, speaking as someone who spends a lot of time in Innsbruck, I can highly recommend revisiting the Alps in summer. On a sunny summer day the ski huts can be buzzing with walkers and mountain bikers (who may use the ski lift one way).

What is the aim when trying to improve? I would be interested to hear what others think. I start by setting out my own thoughts and aims.

Some people seem to be looking for more speed. But abfahrt / downhill speed is not it IMO. Anybody with the balls to point the skis down the mountain can ski fast? Going down from Rendl (St Anton) some people passed us close at racing speeds. Good style too. What is great driving on an F1 track is atrocious driving down the High Street. Maybe it is reluctance to take the Helicopter Ambulance "shuttle" which operates all day between St Anton or Ischgl and Innsbruck Hospital, but I feel the same principle applies to public pistes...

Races held socially for example in ski schools will be something like GS, which are more a test of control but not as hard as normal slalom. Maybe going fast in that context is the aim.

For me safety is number 1 and injury would not be fun. Second, efficiency. It is not fun ending the day exhausted. Third, good style.

But what is good style? Who knows, when ski teachers have so many competing theories (especially in America). Maybe they over-complicate things. There are various videos on the net illustrating these ideas. In the end style is in the eye of the beholder. I have no idea how to pick between these teachers and schools. For inline skating I have a lot of contact with a very technical instructor whose own style becomes a model for me, but I have never had a ski lesson. I like Austrian style because I ski in Austria and have received some informal tips on how it is done. Sofa Ski School would be the best example on video. This teaching appears to have a fairly loose connection with race training.

On the other hand for some advanced skiiers the aim is all about using and developing "real" off-piste skills, where a whole new range of skills and moutaincraft come into play.

Touring is also great for fitness. I am not qualified to do a real tour without a guide but I do enjoy walking up reasonably close the piste on touring skis (I did get lost in the woods once...skiing several km back down the footpath was even more strenuous than walking up it), and I do not really believe anyone who says they ski for fitness unless they have tried this type of skiing (which is surprisingly addictive).

What are your aims? And do you have views about what is "good" skiing, beyond the few basics which every skier could jot down on the back of an envelope (like not sitting back, and not starting a turn with the shoulders)? And why should we care anyway? If you can get into and out of the ski hut bar safely, and bullshit about your skiing exploits back in Blighty with your mates, maybe that is what a skiing holiday is all about?

Best way to burn calories is to go to a long steep slope and ski very badly.