J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by LOTA

Some mates of mine did it; they reckoned the savings were worth it - and a 25 minute gondola ride at the beginning and end of the day was no hassle. A bit like staying in Aosta for Pila or even Engelberg, which needs a long gondola to get anywhere near the skiing.

Late to this thread, but...Hello Jon, my name is Andrew and I'm an addict.

Currently sat with my boots on (I say it's because I'm recovering from injury and need to make sure they're comfortable; others beg to differ).

Have spent most of the day gazing at snow falling in Austria, Switzerland and elsewhere...

And, best of all, I have a new girlfriend who's into skiing!

The regular bus between Solden and Obergurgl is free to lift pass holders as well!

Kirkwood is a fantastic ski area. Tough runs and very quiet.

How funny - Cairngorm's marketing man is named after the best ski area in the world - and I don't mean the well-known resort of Colin!!!!

AlistairS wrote:Remember you can pay, i think, 20 Euro extra and ski Solden for a day. Well worth thinking about as skiing in Solden is very good. :wink:

It's 10 Euros to add the Solden or Obergurgl option to a week's lift pass. You can also pre-buy lift passes for both areas at the respective resort websites. I'll be doing so soon for March 5!

Admin wrote:

bedrock barney wrote:No ski worries or hates here...it's all good.

:thumbup:

Some of you really need to have words with yourselves, seriously... the only remotely negative thing connected with skiing is... whatever stops you from doing it!

Exactly my gripe about the inefficiencies of organised airport transfers - they're a hindrance to my skiing!
:mrgreen:

This is a piece I did for a ski magazine a little while ago that sums up what I loathe about tour ops, their reps and the airport transfer:

"We're waiting for the Manchester flight…." My heart sank as the full impact of those six words hit home.

We'd already been sitting on the transfer coach for an hour-and-a-half after clearing Turin airport with surprising ease.

This was only the second time we'd seen the tour operator's rep after arrival. You've met him, I'm sure…bright jacket, bright smile (but not bright in any other sense of the word). "When they get through, we'll get moving straight away," he added, cheerfully.

Two hours later - we still hadn't moved.

By taking a pre-dawn flight, I'd anticipated some snow action in the afternoon; after all the resort was only two hours from the airport. But that hope was melting away in the strong Italian sunshine.

It was the first time for some years that I'd taken a package ski trip. I prefer independent travel, generally avoiding the weekend to weekend crush.

As the minutes ticked by, I dreamt of an early flight to Zurich, hopping straight on a train, and disembarking at Grindelwald, Engelberg or Arosa just a few hours later.

I yearned for the personal service of a small operator, who bundle you onto their minibus and are on the road before the other reps have finished their second cappuccino.

I dreamt of the Teutonic efficiency of the Otztal Shuttle, and their website warning: "If you're not at the bus on time, it will leave without you."

Not all transfer delays, of course, are the operator's fault. We've all met the dozy holidaymaker, who lingers in the duty free. Or others, who spread themselves over the backseat of the Val D'Isere bus, but are actually going to Val Thorens; 'it said Val, didn't it?'

The tour operators would presumably argue they can keep holiday costs down by using the minimum number of transfers.

But I would say that these days, when there's no such thing as a cheap ski holiday, it's completely unreasonable to keep customers waiting in this fashion.

And the sting in my sorry tale? Yes, you've guessed it…there was no-one from the Manchester flight on our coach, anyway!