J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by Dave Mac

Admin wrote: Tripadvisor seems to attract whiners who really shouldn't be allowed on the Internet (or anywhere, really) unaccompanied.

I don't like accompanying whiners.

Although I have been in the company of NellyPS, and I found the lady to be an excellent winer....

Lidls are offering, from Thursday 31st Oct, pairs of Shoe spikes, £5.99. In the photo, they are shown attached to a walking boot. They look to be a similar attachment to those of SwingBeeps.

Worth buying on spec at that price, or take your ski boot along and try!

Done, still a bit Americanised - )

I guess not too many will include alpine buildings and views to paint water colours!

paulschlote wrote:Correction 44 sleeps, just remembered 6th dec Courmayeur & Cervinia. That's cheered me up (65 days Wildschonau Valley - NOT JUST NIEDRAU -dm ;-) )

I heard you, Paul!
That's a good trip on the 6 December!

On your point about the Niederau black run snow coverage. This is the Hochberg. It gained piste machines a couple of years back, so has a good base. It is a great run, It won the ADAC ski group Alpine Downhill award. (I don't agree, the Hahnemkamm is better.) But it does make a great downhill. I had a message from Martin Bell a few weeks ago, and recalled the FIS downhill in Niederau. I was also chatting to Franz Klammer, and he used to train on Tennladen for the Hahnemkamm. There is a section in the race area that replicates a section of great Kitz run.
Did you do the run from Niederau to Oberau? A drink in the AntonGrafhutte, then another in the Kellerwirt!

I agree with Daved. The survey is certainly unsuitable for the UK. It may be OK for a few places, eg, people living in Bavaria.

Also, Europeans could not answer the question regarding black diamond runs, We do not make that distinction.

There are a number of other factors where US and European resort decision factors would differ. Hence, I also agree with Daved that you would need to redesign for European use. I guess that makes it difficult to form a common algorithm.

Thanks for your kindness, Paul.

No, I rate the skiing in Niederau quite highly. I have skied all over Europe, USA, Canada, Australia. I go back to Niederau primarily for the skiing. No, I decided a long time ago not to buy any place abroad. I always pay my rent, (of course I get a good deal!), but I have always chosen to stay where the owners speak little English, so I am forced to learn more Deutsch each year, and that is normal life enhancement. It is true that I have a lot of long term friends there, and every year adds to the number. Most days, if I am feeling strong, I will not stop for lunch until I have skied a minimum of 10 runs, on/off piste,it makes little difference. It is a bad day if I do not ski a minimum of 20 runs. This isn't run counting, for it's own sake, just a median measure. I just love skiing. For me, it is pure poetry, and every turn is a little adventure.
I held the day run record for 10 years, so I guess that is special, for me, anyway. The local history is interesting. This thought would apply to any place, but how many take an interest?

I suppose it depends on the kind of person you are. At the end of one visit to St Anton, one local told me that I knew more people in St Anton than his brother did!

Few people know that a section of Tennladen has been shaped to model a part of the Hahnemkamm, fewer still know that the whole Tennladen is steeper than the Hannenkamm. A few weeks ago, I received a message from one of the UK's best downhill skiers, recalling his FIS Downhill run in Niederau, and wishing me to pass on his greetings to certain locals

It is fair to say that I do not see ski resorts in the conventional 120km of skiing way. When I first skied in the village, there were no piste machines, no on/off piste. There were 17 named mountain runs, all just natural skiing.

So although my plans for the winter are not complete, I will ski Niederau in Jan, Feb, and March. I will also be in the Dolomites, Glenshee and Cairngorm, plus another, not yet decided. When in Niederau, I may take a day or two in Alpbachtal, and another couple of day in Auffach. I will certainly drive to other valleys, Kitz, Skiwelt, plus others.

But mostly I will choose to ski in Niederau.

Hi SF,
I have stayed all over the Ski Welt. and just about every area has it's tricky bits for beginner-developers. I ski there every year. A couple of years ago, we based in Scheffau, but I wanted to bring one nervous lady down, so I spent a fair bit of time reseaching the north facing runs, from Söll to Going.

I chose a route down from the HartKaiser, above Ellmau. My OH led her down for some of the way, then I took over. The lady had her fair share of falls, but she was gutsy, and she made it down.

The Skiwelt is a well loved area, but it is relatively recent. One old farmer told me he was a liftie in Söll, when each village had it's own chairlift, plus drag lifts, but there was no inter-village connection. Now it is one of the really good ski areas, with the world's worts piste map!

Hi Paul, New Year in Austria is terrific. In Niederau you will get the horizon-round fireworks display, but be sure to go up to Oberau on New Years night, where there is a great ski show and fireworks.

Don't listen to Munich Johnny, everybody knows he has never had lunch on the mountain, because he doesn't wake up until mid-afternoon! :D

I have also had great Austrian New Years in the Ski Welt, and elsewhere, but sadly, also a Niederau one where my mate was killed going over the edge of the gorge on Run 19. That was 28th December, so not a good New Year.

Limitations are not contained to the mountains, they are constrained only by your vision. After 44 years of skiing in Niederau, I am still discovering new runs, trying to re-discover lost runs, and inventing some, where I think there should be a run!