J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by Wanderer

Hi Rustylou

Just back from Soll yesterday after 3 very pleasant days skiing (even though most of the mountain was closed on Sunday due to a storm - we ended up repeating 2 short runs all day and got soaking wet in the process from the rain that was falling!).

A couple of comments:

As Goff has pointed out the Gondola up the mountain is a probably about 1km out of town. There is however a ski-depot at the gondola station where you can leave your skis/boots overnight (for a modest charge) - this saves on lugging skis on the bus or walking in ski boots. There are also ski hire places close to the gondola.

The piste map is a little bit confusing (e.g does not include piste numbers) but most junctions have directions even if these take a little getting used to.

Unless you are a very good skier, think twice about taking the second gondola to the top on your first morning. While one of the routes off the top is classed as red (the others are black), it is very steep at the top and can be tricky depending on conditions. Not ideal for your first run in a year!

Goff has mentioned the apres ski. Its easy to find - the village is very compact. One place we really enjoyed coming straight off the mountain was the Moonlight Bar - bottom of main run down to the resort (close to Gondola). Lots of bierkellar music and signing while still in skiboots - good fun!

Enjoy

Hi Gareth

I know how you feel. My annual ski trip is coming up at the end of February but I wanted another fix. So.... four of us are off to Soll tomorrow for the weekend - yippee ':lol:'.

We are flying to Munich with Aer Lingus, mid afternoon and coming back Monday evening. The flight is late enough to allow practically a full day skiing on Monday if you hire a car. So for 1.5 days off work, you can get 3 days skiing.

Downside is that the resorts closest to airport are fairly low and April could be dodgy.

Ryanair to Friedrichshaven is another possibility, only an hour or two from St Anton which is high and fantastic. However, the outward flight is at dawn and so is the return so you would miss a lot of sleep!

Best of Luck with your plans.

I am flying in to Munich on Friday evening and then driving down to Soll. I have printed down directions from Google Earth but I am a little concerned about the last leg.

The directions suggest that I turn off at Kufstein to head across the mountain direct to Soll. My question is - would I be better to head on down to Worgl and then cut back through the valley up to Soll, particularly if weather conditions are dodgy?

Can anyone provide advice?

Also, any good advice for Soll generally?

Thanks

Wanderer

Hi Tony

Went to Courmayer a number of years ago on only my second ski trip. It is a beautiful village - very chic in a classic Italian way, with great Italian food, etc available (and more fur than I have ever seen in my life - lots of wealthy Italians from Milan)!!! However, in my view, there are two major downsides:

1. the skiing is not extensive - my memory was that there were only about 21 runs in total (the Crystal rep used to run a "Ski the entire resort in one day" guiding tour). So, unless they have expanded in the meantime, be prepared to repeat the runs regularly.

2. the village is on the other side of the mountain from the skiing - you have a take a cable car across the valley in the morning to get across to the base of the mountain. The queues for this can be quite long, particularly at weekends.

Hope that is some use.

Hi Tspill

As the earlier posts have suggested, I would try not to get too hung up on piste colour. The difficulty of pistes can vary. Snow conditions vary constantly and a blue that is relatively easy can be turned into a nightmare with ice. Similarly, a black with good fresh snow can be relatively easy. Another factor is that many resorts try to create the perfect "profile" of different colour pistes to maximise business - this can have a dramatic effect on grading!

If you are anxious to get onto the more advanced slopes, my advice to you, as a relative newcomer, is to take some lessons, either group or private. Most instructors will take you to the limit of your abilities and push you to the next level.

Most of all, continue to Enjoy it!!!