J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by Dave Mac

Kiwi, I'm not a fan of long term plans.....

You can learn a lot of German in a short time. In my first season,our house owners spoke no English, and breakfast was accompanied by a liberal addition of dictionary and "learn Deutsch" books. Since then, I have made a point of staying in places where English is not spoken

You might investigate with the course directors what their expectations would be, and the reasonableness of starting off bare feet.

You can get a long way with a handful of verbs, many of the words are similar, and most of the technical words are the same.

Get on with it!

There is a heap of ski touring going on, heaps of my Austrian friends posting their touring pics.
To make it worse, I was checking out a web cam today, and there were two of the guys skiing down.

In the Tirol area,the main body is Snowsport Tirol. They have recognised the issue, and have included in some courses, Engish/German. You do have to learn the Deutsch, and I'm sure it will be tough, when added on top of the ski instruction activity.

This is taken from the Snowsport Tirol site, along withthe translation.
http://www.snowsporttirol.at/uploads/tx_wcsnowcourse/DEUTSCHKURS.pdf

Brucie wrote:A hidden gem Wickers.
But not according to some people for whom high alpine resorts are the only places worth skiing.

Absolutely agreed, Brucie. One particular poster repeatedly says "go high". And yet, if I look at my ski statistics, I get much more skiing at a low/modest height resorts. In Zermatt, Cervinia, Saasfee, Whistler, plus so many other high resorts, I have lost days and days of skiing, due to severe mountain conditions.

There are exceptions, where the high areas are really interior, I recall getting off a lift at 13050ft in A-basin, Colorado. That area loses little to climatic conditions.

However, in Europe, I have lost far, far fewer ski days in medium level alpine resorts compared with "go high" areas.

dobby wrote:If you find boots, he won't need skis with boots that big. I've heard that Colin at Solutions for Feet in Bicester is v good too.

Colin Martin is tops for understanding boot technology, and fitment. I have steered folk that way,and none of them have been disappointed.

Wise man, FQ, keeps the options open.
Since you have a car, perhaps consider buying a KitzbuhelAllstar pass. This is the minimum season pass I now buy.

Niederau is just 12 minutes away from Hopfgarten. The "fuss" you mention, is mostly created by others, some who do not understand much about skiing or snow conditions. Two of the three main runs have been FIS downhills, Martin and Graham Bell raced here, and just about every Austrian team member has trained in the race arena.

I only go there because no one objects to my banjo playing!


And in January, there will a number of people skiing in kilts... just sayin!

From Soell, with the KAS pass you can ski a huge area, including some really beautiful mountain areas, and interesting Tirol villages.

Young Andy, a simple Google "Ski boots size 13" produces results.

I came within an inch of buying a pair of ski boots yesterday, same as my old Raichles, but hadn't had the 100weeks + as mine had. Price £0.99. Unfortunately, one size too small.
We have a similar problem...