J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by nadia race

Hi
I have been to both Obertauern and Obergürgl. I enjoyed both resorts and the skiing was excellent but they are not the same at all. Obergürgl is a small compact village,really cosy and very traditional. Obertauern is a purpose built resort , and more similar to some French resorts than anywhere else in Austria.There are quite a lot of higher rise large hotels and apartments with not much Austrian character. It is quite a large and sprawling resort and can be quite windy. I suppose the only thing they have in common is snow sure skiing. I went to Obertauern at the end of April / early May and was still grounded one day by extreeme bad snow and wind.Obviously it sounds as though you are wanting a high alt resort , if that is because you are skiing early or late season then Obertauern could be the right choice, but generally within the main part of the season there are lots of other more interesting resorts to choose. I live in Leogang which is linked with the skicircus ( Saalbach/Hinterglemm) and also close to the lesser known resorts of Maria Alm , linked with Hintermoos/Dienten/Mulbach . Bothe these areas are really big and varied.Hope this is of some help.

Hi
I think you should most certainly go into ski school, it is not only great fun but will build on what you have already learnt in UK. You feel safe with the instructor because although you may learn basic skiing in UK you do not learn how to get about a mountain, and if conditions are not good the instructor will always know which slopes to use. Last year some of our guests who were complete beginners did learn snow plow as it is most important to be able to stop, but they were quickly moved on from snow plough turns, and by the 3rd day it was parallel turning using a very short ski, maybe 140cm. Enjoy your holiday.

Hi
It all depends on the season in general. Last year I skied down to the village on the 15th April ( the last day of the season ) , but then last year was great for snow. However even in our village you can ski to the middle station as they will keep that open to the last day of the season.

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Hi
I live in Austria so can only really comment on what is available here for good value holidays. In my former life ! I was a travel agent for 20 plus years, but would now really advise you to go it alone. If you look around there are some cheap flights available, even though in general they are well up in price for next winter. Salzburg will offer access to many resorts which are easily reached by public transport. Ryanair, Thomsonfly, Jet2, Easyjet and British Airways are all flying in next winter. Most flights are on weekends and this means higher prices and very busy airports. If you need to go into a school then group lessons usually start on Sundays and possibly Mondays to fit in with all the package holiday weekend arrivals. If however you are not going into a school then arrival on another day of the week would be a great way to save money.The problem is that very few places will book in on days other than Saturday as it can mean loosing the days on either side of the arrival and departure. In effect costing a weeks sale.
Innsbruck is also available although not as many cheapies , but lots of really nice resorts very close with easy transfers.

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I have just sold our business in Kaprun , and we have been involved with all the ski schools for the last 6 years. You could of course wait but then you will have everything to sort out on arrival, and it can be very busy in the ski school offices on a weekend. We have worked with all the schools and my advise is the Ski and Snowboarding Kaprun. Last year we sent all our clients from our 7 apartments and everyone was very happy with them.They offer packages from 3 to 5 days including rental of equipment , You can do half or full days ( 2.5 or 4 hours ) and if you choose lessons for 3 days they even offer the 6 day ski rental . If you have kids or are a family they have differing packages to suit. Last year 5 day lessons for 4 hours a day plus 6 days ski rental was € 230 in high and € 210 in low. 5 days lessons only was € 55 one day to € 150 5 days. This is a group price , private lessons are more expensive.
If you want a private lesson then I would advise on Maresä Handel Ski school, behind the Orgler Hotel. She has an excellent ski school which specialises in private lessons for individuals or small groups. All my friends and family started out with this school and although a little more expensive private lessons are the quickest way to really learn.
They also offer the rental .

For rental only then Europsport ( www.skirentals.at ) are quite new in kaprun, and we got to work with them last year. They were brilliant. Mikey who works there is great at sorting out equipment , and if anyone has bad fitting boots or wants to try out different skis they are very obliging and much cheaper than the main Intersport. They also have a little bar and will offer you some drinks on the house ! even better. Ski and snow boarding work also work in conjunction with them I think from this forthcoming winter.
Depending on where you are staying it might be possible to purchase a snow package which includes the lift pass and the swimming pool, at cheaper rates than the normal lift pass. This is called SchneeOK.
All these schoold and shops know me and you are welcome to say I recommended you, as my guests received discounts.
Have a nice holiday.

I think for value for money Austria is a good deal cheaper. I live here in Austria now and my first holiday was in Mayrhofen ( 32 years ago ! ) . We had a great time , the village is loveley. But for even better value there are so many other villages which are not on the main "Package" radar and much cheaper. Depends how much apres ski you want, my village Leogang is fairly quiet but is linked to fantastic ski area ( wwwskicircus.at ) . If you want to be more specific about what you are looking for i will be happy to advise.