J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by LOTA

No.

Not been to Bad Gastein or Zell but I did go to Saalbach-Hinterglemm from Salzburg - and that was very pleasant.

As a very rough guide, black diamonds usually equate to the upper end of difficulty European red run, US blues can be anything from Euro-blue to easier Euro-red. It really does vary from resort to resort.

bandit wrote:The Swiss tourism industry has been acutely aware of the problems caused by the strength of the Franc this year. CHF is now pegged to the Euro at AFAIR 1.20. GBP has gained ground against CHF in the last few weeks....some way to go though!

I recently read a newsletter from Crans Montana on FB that spoke of reinventing itself and was asking for ideas to be put forward.

I know of 2 resorts that are not putting up their lift ticket prices this coming winter. My season ticket cost has not risen in CHF :D

...which is all good to hear for us, Swissophiles, but have just read the cost of the Swiss Transfer rail ticket and other passes is is going up because of the exchange rate. I fear Swisserland is just going to be out of financial reach for many, many skiers this season.

However, we hear these dire forecasts of limited availability every season. Sometimes, I think it's a tour op/tourist office/industry effort to get us to book early - and help with their cashflows.

As in previous years, if you want a ski holiday, you'll get a ski holiday sometime, somewhere!

As el bandida says, welcome. But can I correct an inference that only Colorado gets powder and Europe doesn't. The worst snow I've had in 40 years of ski holidays was in North America; there was the fluffiest powder imaginable on my drive last December!

Vienna is not the normal gateway to Austria as far as skiing is concerned. Salzburg, Innsbruck and Munich service the major resorts, which are much further west.

The only one I can think of - and included on Admin's list - is Semmering. However, it's at fairly low altitude and mainly intermediate - pleasant enough for a day or two. It does have good rail links and a railway station on the famous Semmering Bahn mountain railway line.

You will increase your resort options a thousand-fold by flying home from one of the other airports and getting access to the country's great ski areas (the size of the Ski Welt, Ski Amade, the Arlberg or Zugsptiz arena usually makes an impression on US-based skiers!).

Good luck!

Or two more: Valmorel (the most family-orientated resort I've been to) or La Thuile in Italy.

There are those who might say that anyone who enjoys skiing is a 'pretentious knob'!

Belle Plagne or Alpe D'Huez, perhaps.

Volf wrote:

OldAndy wrote:

Volf wrote:What about a private plane straight into Courchevel Altiport?

Know some people who did this ...
Best bit, weather closed in and diverted to Geneva.
I laughed.
:lol:

Sweet!

Charming! Laughing at other people's misfortune (even if they're showing off) is not a gracious thing to do....

Anyway, back to the topic. I discovered this during a google search:

http://www.austriasuperski.com/packages/daytrip

Looks very interesting and tempting - the only trouble for me is the Stansted departure.