J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by fantasticlee

I went there around 4 or so years ago.

We stayed in a catered chalet in the Hameau de Flaine which was really beautiful.
Food was great and you also had a cake and hot drinks in the afternoon.
It meant that it was only around lunchtime that we got food out and I don't remember the prices being too bad but I wouldn't have noticed it due to being in the chalet.

I thought the skiing was very good and it did seem more geared towards families.
The night life isn't too great but that would work in favour of a family holiday.

Fun park is great even though I fell 4 out of 7 times when I went over the jumps :lol:

Watch out for 'Jade' a red run but steer clear if you're not confident as it may ruin any confidence you've built up!
I agree about off piste and when you go on certain chair lifts (like the one to Jade; I think that's the one) you'll travel over holes in which you can sometimes see waaay down.
Apparently people had died the previous season skiing over one of these.
I'd say stay away from off piste unless with a guide.

It is definately a resort I'd go back to especially if they moved it to Austria and the apres ski :mrgreen:

On my last ski holiday the couple we went with had a double sporttube which was very heavy and awkward to pull regardless of wheels due to the inadequate strap they supply.

Halfway to the resort we had to swap from a coach to a minibus/space cruiser and he was not impressed with the tube and had some issues getting onboard and strapped to the ski box.

It does protect the boards/skis but I get the feeling they may not take it next time.

I've got a padded ski bag for my skis and I tend to wrap a couple of fleeces & towells around the bindings and the top and bottom of the skis.
So far they've been ok and fingers crossed they'll stay like that!

My wife will probably get skis this time and we'll need to decide whether to also buy her a ski bag or buy a double sport tube/hardcase.

Tony_H wrote:

fantasticlee wrote:As long as there's snow I'd like to go up the Penken too.
Not sure about coming back down though, waaaaay too busy at the end of the day!!

I have been at Xmas and again 1st week in Jan, and coming off the mountain does involve some queuing at the Penkenbahn at the top. However, we never queued for more than 10 mins. UNTIL we went on a day trip on 30th December last year, when we queued for 40 mins to go up, and another 40 mins to get down again. It was not an enjoyable start and finish to the day, and proved to me thatr going out of peak season is definitely the way forward.

You can take the Horberg Gondola back down without anywhere near as much queuing, this delivers you into Hippach from where there are regular buses back into town which takes 10 minutes. Its a short cut to get on and off Penken that not that many people seem to use )

As for snow up there, I have never ever ever found there not to be any. In 2007 everywhere struggled and Mayrhofen was no different, but nearly all the runs were open and had good coverage. My friend Skidaddle has been many more times than me, and will also confirm this fact regarding snow conditions. In fact, on his last trip he complained of TOO MUCH snow!!!

God, I really want to go back now, thinking about it.

I meant the snow comment as in if its the ski season then I wanna go. )

On the first full day of skiing we got to the Penken at around 3.45 pm and we had to queue for around 45 minutes!!!
I remember because I think they said the last lift down was 4.30?! (or was it 5?!) which is why I remember the time as we were beginning to panic at missing the lift.
The rest of the time we either hit the slopes early and then came down at around 3.15 or so, or we made sure we ended the day at one of the other areas to avoid the queue.
I have to say that it did seem to be busy most days which is one of the things that put me off the resort a bit.
I'll still go back one day though :-)

Maybe I can "Borrow" one from a Police car and then set up my own speed gun area!!
:wink:

As long as there's snow I'd like to go up the Penken too.
Not sure about coming back down though, waaaaay too busy at the end of the day!!

I went to Mayrhofen last year and I have to say I couldn't belive how high the lift went off the ground.

We the day we arrived we there on earlier enough that we could go up for a couple of hours skiing before our normal 6 days started.
My friend and I went up the lift and I started to do up my boots at the same time that it hit the first pylon where it changes direction.
As I wasn't looking it gave me a shock for a split second as I contemplating falling to my death! lol
Once we went past that point it doesn't go as high.

The weather was cloudy and we broke through to a spectacular view. Shame I had no camera that day!
The following days my wife had a mini scream everytime we hit the same point which gave a few people a laungh.

I'd agree with Tony in that none of the chair lifts were particularly scarey as they stay fairly close to the ground.
The Penken is the biggest hurdle but as its an enclosed bubble car they may be ok.
He should not look out of the window at all though if he is scared of heights as its very high.

Thanks for the info guys.

Hopefully I'll find something at Saalbach.
I was hoping to go a lot faster next time I do it as I won't turn at all.
Now I know Dave's sons have almost hit 100 it shows me that it is possible although I'm sure I won't be as fearless as them!

Was it marked with a color Dave for the difficulty?
They had 3 at Obertauern, 2 blue and 1 red.

I'll have to look to see where Niederau is in relation to Saalbach to see if I can get there in a day :)

Obviously way after the fact but I thought I'd chuck a resort into the ring.
I know you've already booked but maybe one to consider for the future.

Flaine - Not one of the better known resorts and the nightlife isn't that great but in terms of runs it was pretty good.
It was only my wifes second trip and she found the blue runs nice enough to build confidence up on.
I seem to remember it having a fairly wide selection of runs and in terms of skiing it was one of the best I've been to.
There is one red run there called 'Jade' which has one steep part which is quite scarey.
My wife took a spectacular and long fall there which did shatter her confidence a bit so if you ever go there stay clear of that one.
It is one of the funnier stories we do bring up once in a while though :)

I have been bitten by the Austria bug though and I'd probably only go back to France for a weekend trip as its closer.
Resorts in France tend to have 2 to 3 hours transfer time which tends to bemuch longer thatn Austria.

I did go to St Johann and I though the runs were generally ok.
We went to Fieberbrunn for the day and we found the blues to be fine there too.
One of our party was a novice and got on ok.

Anyway good luck and have fun.