J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by sued

katieg wrote:Hi,
We are heading to Zell very soon. We will be using the lift from the centre of the town. Our friends have to drop off their son at the kindergarten next to the nursery slopes so thy will be heading to the top from these lifts(Sonnenalmbahn). How feasable will it be to meet them at the top or would it be easier for us to get the ski bus with them and use the other lifts? Iv'e looked at the piste map and it looks easy but....?
Thanks

The easy ways to get to the top are:
1. Cable cars Areitalm 1,2 & 3 which you have to get from Schuttdorf
2. City Xpress which only takes you one third up the mountain. You then have to link up with Areitalm2 & 3 or chairlifts to get you to top.
3. Trass Xpress from nursery slopes (where kindergarten is) is one gondola which takes you all the way up. Also from the same place you can get cable car Schmittenhoebahn which takes you directly up too- on the downside this cablecar only runs every 20 mins and you have to wait for a lift at the top. The Sonnenalmbahn does not take you to the top and it is a bit complicated to get to the top using that!

Summing up, personally I would always use Trass Xpress to get to the top whether you go with your friends or go earlier.The free ski bus takes you directly to the bottom of these lifts. The only reason I would use anything else is maybe the queues which may be a small problem at Half Term! In three years I still have never queued for a lift at Zell!

Just got back from a week at Zell am See on Saturday and it was great! The snow was super and I know that they have had more snow this week. I have been there three times now and done ski school each time- I can't fault any of the instructors. They were all very good. The lake was almost frozen but not frozen enough to walk on! I can recommend Crazy Daisy's for pizza but the rest of our time we ate at our hotel (St Georg- highly recommend that too) If you want to do apres ski we went to the Diele Bar a couple of times which was good fun. Crazy Daisys, Flannigans and Greens are also pretty lively. But a bit difficult to dance when it is difficult to walk! You will love it! And I am not at all envious! Well maybe a little!

But what if the foot doesn't have a best fuctioning position! I do know that insoles will change my posture and put pressure on new muscles/joints- I have been told that it will take a while to adjust to. I think it is worth the discomfort and then I am definitely hot-footing it to the ski boot shop to treat myself! It is not as if the rest of me is fuctioning perfectly either!

My answer has been included in Cem's quote! I would hate people to think these are his wise words!

cem wrote:stabilise the foot in its best functioning position and then stretch the shell to accomodate the ankles shouldn't be too hard to achieve

But what if the foot doesn't have a best fuctioning position! I do know that insoles will change my posture and put pressure on new muscles/joints- I have been told that it will take a while to adjust to. I think it is worth the discomfort and then I am definitely hot-footing it to the ski boot shop to treat myself! It is not as if the rest of me is fuctioning perfectly either!

daved wrote:Sued..why should a foot-bed give you more strain on the hips ...your flat arches put a strain on the body already

I am under the care of an orthotist who is having special insoles made for me. The thinking behind this is that I have put pressure on my hips and as age catches up with me I will have problems. I do get a lot of joint pain anyway. It will take me a long time to be able to wear the insoles as it will totally change the way I walk. But in the long run I will benefit. That is why I haven't bought my own boots as I thought it would just confuse the issue. I am hoping that once I have got used to the new insoles I can then look into getting insoles and ski boots. I am really hoping that comfortable boots will also help my skiing ability! Not so great when you are in pain! :cry:

Huard wrote:My wife has just had similar problem with her new boots! 'Sued' answered for me but I'd add - leave the bindings undone till your ready to ski and then only tighten the foot part of your boot to the minimum, your boot/feet will warm up slowly and you shouldn't get cramp. Allow at least 3 hours to buy your boots! If your putting your boots in a boot warmer take your bespoke insoles out otherwise you may find them a little flat!

Good luck :D

Huard- do you mean leaving the leg bindings as loose as you can too? I really tried experimenting with the bindings this year as it is such a pain. Literally! Too tight and it makes skiing very uncomfortable. Too loose left me with massive blisters on my shins. Now why can't they make ski boots more comfortable like boarding boots? There is a market there I am sure!

I have hideously flat feet and my hired ski boots always hurt a lot on the inside ankle! The more I ski, the more it hurts! If I bought my own boots hopefully I could address this problem somewhat. It has been suggested on here that I get some insoles, but that puts extra pressure on my hips! Lose lose situation. All I will say is that the pain has never stopped me from skiing and in fact most of the time I don't even notice it. Don't worry- you'll be fine!

katieg wrote:Thankyou for your responses.
Our apartment is very close to the main lift. However, one complication is that our friend's 3 year old is booked into the kindergarten which is based at the bottom of the Sonnenalmbahn lift ( a bus ride away).We need to work out where we will be starting from. If we ski from there we might be better getting lockers at that location so we don't have to cart them on the bus etc. I have been told that this is the best way to get up the montain anyway- don't know if that is correct.

We always start at the bottom of the Sonnenalmbahn lift as this is where the ski school meet. You can hire lockers here too. There are three gondolas at this point, the TrassXpress, the Schmittenhohebahn and Sonnenalmbahn. The ski bus stop drops you off in the car park, so it is straight up the stairs to the kindergarten and all three lifts. Dead easy. We are actually off to Zell tomorrow. Yippee! Have to get up at 3am but not complaining!

Messages posted by : sued