J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by Far Queue

I suspect that will keep the local wax servicemen busy :)

Wow, no idea who the guy in the dodgy jacket on the left is, but has anyone told you that you like just like Graham Bell? -)

They should make it really interesting and add a drop down floor which opens if you fail to complete the tasks within the alloted time! :twisted:

Hi Wanderer,

I have been driving down to Austria and Italy for the past several years and can give some comments on your routes.

I have been over the Fernpass about four times in either direction, and tbh it can be an absolute nightmare if the traffic is heavy. Never had any issues with snow, but on 3 out of 4 of the journeys the traffic simply had a habit of grinding to a complete stop for up to an hour at a time. Never really found out why, but we strongly suspect it is due to a number of tunnels on the road that need to be vented if the traffic is heavy.

You are correct about the motorway route down from Munich, I don't think I have ever had a clear run through when using this option. However, one year we did do a detour from this and went over the hills via Bad Tolz and Achensee. Fantastic route and perhaps one of the most scenic drives you can do, but again it did get very slow once past Achensee and down to rejoin the motorway. Having driven that route I have promised myself a return to Achensee one summer though, beautiful place.

Finally the Memmingen and Bregenz route. Never done this myself, but my brother and a friend tried it out this year after stopping overnight in Memmingen en route to Italy, and they said it was one of the best crossings they have done and would definately use that route again.

Hope this helps, and let me know which one you take and how you get on please.

Have a great trip. FQ :)

Hi Cazhxxx,

I have done this trip a few times and would recommend the Swiss route. You can always skip the French Tolls if you pop up north from Calais and take the A25/E42 across to Luxembourg then either down to Metz for a short toll on the motorway or carry on to Saarbrucken and Karlsruhe before heading down to Basel.

The drive via Germany/Austria etc will add about 4 hours to your trip, and is about 150 miles further to drive. The Swiss Vignette is €35.75 and is valid for a year (only required for the motorways) and the Veriena tunnel is CHF39 (about €34). Just check the times you would expect to arrive at the tunnel as the trains (it is a transport not a drive through tunnel) don't start running till 5.20am.

I have to agree with Admin, I really would advise that you get winter tyres fitted. You do run the risk of issues with plod if you don't. Although not compulsory at a national level in Italy, some areas do decree that winter tyres are mandatory. Not sure if Sondrio is one of those areas, but why take the risk, you only have to look at the chaos here in the UK over the past few days that a couple of inches of snow has caused to people without being prepared for winter driving.

Hi DougR, I was in Mayrhoffen last season and can confirm the Penkenbahn has been upgraded. It is a state of the art gondola, each holding 24 seated passengers plus standing room. Still busy in the mornings and late in the day, but I don't think we took longer than 10 minutes to get on a gondola in the morning.

Hi Catford, you could try contacting Marker direct, they may be able to point you somewhere.

https://www.marker.net/en/contact/

Just to add to this, I purchased my Vignette and Brenner Pass Toll online this year. When coming back over the pass yesterday I was the only car which used the automated lane for pre payments and did not even have to slow below 10mph, the queues for the other lanes were approx 30 cars long per lane. It was a similar story on my way into Italy two weeks ago, so considering it is exactly the same cost, it is a no briner to pre-purchase the tolls imo.