J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by stevesmoothie

biki17 wrote:Have you skied in Soll in early January.
Snow is my biggest worry, otherwise SkiWelt area looks tempting.

Mrs Smoothie and I are big fans of the Skiwelt. We've been mid Jan for the last 3 years and the snow has always been great. One year it was a bit slushy at the bottom of runs down to the villages and off piste was often snow free but they have a fantastic infrasructure for making snow. I've heard that in March it can be a bit rubbish but mid Jan should be perfect.

Hope that helps.

Steve

Soll has a lovely long blue run through the trees back to the village. It's a track so it gets a bit narrow and if the snow is not great then sometimes it is closed but that's only been once in the 3 times I've been.

Steve Smoothie

Ginnie, Mrs Smoothie and I have been to the Skiwelt 3 years running, 1st or 2nd week in Jan and the snow has always been great. The first year there were a few bare patches between the pistes but it was a bad year everywhere. They have great snow making facilities so don't worry.

The area has a unique micro climate. The main ski zone is flanked by a huge mountain chain called Wilder Kaiser (Wild Emporer) which is basically a massive wall of rock. The north winds hit it, get pushed high taking moist air with it then dumped back down on the otherside as snow.

Hope that helps.

Steve

Scheffau as a village is great. It's a little sleepy, if you want a rave up then not the best. The village is about half a mile from the gondola station but there's a nice green run down and in the afternoon there's either the ski bus or a piste bully dragging kids back up the green run.

It's linked to the Ski Welt so there's 300km of interconnected piste. There's 100's of cosy bars and restaurants all over the area and the infrastructure is very efficient and friendly.

Mrs Smoothie and I love the Ski Welt. Most years we think about going elsewhere and just end up back there. Plus it's 3 euros a beer instead of nearly 10.

Hope that helps.

Steve

Ginnie wrote:The Skiwelt lift system looks very good to me; are there long queues?

No buses required and I doubt you'll face big queues in January.

buntycake wrote:Austria wins every time for me!

Agreed, Austria is the winner. Much friendlier and only £3 for a beer instead of £8.

Scheffau is a pretty little Tyrolean village. It's very quiet so if you want a rave up then not the best. The skiing is great with 300km of interconnected piste.

I've been to the Skiwelt for 4 years in a row now and never had a problem with the snow. It has a unique micro climate due to some geological science I can't remember.

Steve Smoothie

Someone's already said this but a private lesson is the best way. Mrs Smoothie and I went to Skiwelt last year, had a private lesson and our instructor took us down our first black run. You'll soon learn how to stop quick enough!

None at all. Soll is about 10 mins from the motorway to Innsbruck.