Skiing in Niederau

We are going to Niederau March 1st next year and were wondering what the skiing is like for children as we have one 8 year old and one 5 year old. Any advise would be greatly appreciated. ) )

From friends which have visited, it is excellent for beginners. Enjoy your holiday!

niederau is ideal for beginners ,nursery slopes 2 mins from most hotels ,like most places can get busy school hols,would reccomend taking ski bus up to auffach about 20 mins well worth at least a day.

Cheers thanks very much for your advice. :-)

Hmmmm,

Let me first declare an interest, as a resident of Niederau I hope you don’t come here and discover our secret!

I spend a lot of time propagating the myth that the Wildschönau valley is really not that good. It’s a low level resort and certainly doesn’t have terrain to test advanced skiers! That way I can make fresh tracks in the powder late into the afternoon without the slightest chance that anyone else will be doing likewise )

On a different point, I would like to challenge the immediate assumption that some other contributors have made, i.e. because your children are 8 & 5 they must be beginners. My 11yr old was skiing the Stock at 3yrs of age and my 16yr old was perfectly able to show me a clean pair of tails on the Lanerköpfl at the ripe old age of 8!

I’m sorry “Blackbrook” but as you don’t give much detail on the level of experience of your children it is hard to give serious advice … Some broad comments might include the following:

1. Niederau is probably better for skiers than snowboarders due to the number of drag lifts.
2. Whilst the facilities for beginners are undoubtedly superb there are some runs that will test the very best (if you know where to look!)
3. Auffach is certainly a good destination but if you want to avoid the queues then I would stick with Niederau – just avoid the Gondola between 08:30 & 09:30 Monday to Wednesday. By the end of the week the queues will disperse much more quickly …
4. Niederau is popular with the Germans, Dutch and Local Austrians all of whom have different half-term dates. By the 1st of March you will probably have some of the best skiing and shortest queues imaginable as Easter is not until later in year …

If you would really like some inside info PM me!

Take care,

Jan

Thanks for all the information Jan 1 Stenmarm. Yes my children are very much beginners, having only been to ski kindergarden the year before. I would also class myself and my husband beginners as we have only been skiing once before. I assume as we are going outside of the school holidays it will be a bit quieter!! Fingers crossed. Also this is going to be a tricky question but bit concerned about going 1 March and the snow situation, I realise that low resorts will probably be in the same situation but any advice about snow conditions would be greatly received. Thanks in advance

Cheers, thanks for that Jan 1 Stenmark. Yes, my children are very much beginners having only been to ski kindergarden the year before. Fingers crossed that the queues will be quieter as we are going in March but was wondering what the ski conditions are likely to be considering it is a low resort. Any advise greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Ah, well as beginners you will find Niederau perfect! There are lots of beginner slopes right in the centre of the village and a new lift has been installed to open up another large beginners area! Both ski schools offer very good childcare and almost everyone speaks good English. Additionally there are normally some British instructors here as well.

Now to the snow conditions! You need to understand that pondering the upcoming seasons snow is a tradition amongst all skiers and much of October - December is spent bent over Runes, reading Tarrow cards, gazing into Schnapps glasses etc hoping to foretell the likelihood of a great season. Checkout some of the other conversations on this site (http://www.j2ski.com/ski-chat-forum/posts/list/2370.page) to see what I mean …

Now whilst I can’t tell you exactly what this season holds I can give you some things to think about:

1. Niederau has nearly all its slopes on the North facing slopes of the mountain which means that any snow that does fall tends to last longer – Don’t panic that it will be too cold as the sun does get onto most of the slopes at some point each day.
2. I expect that others reading this posting will feel compelled to add their thoughts here but I will say it anyway: High resorts tend to have a better snow record than lower ones. However, one thing to remember is that as you go higher it gets colder (hence the snow record) it is also more likely that a high resort will be in the cloud base whilst a lower resort will be clear. A further consideration is that once you go above the tree line (the point at which the trees stop growing) there is little or nothing to protect you (and the snow) from the wind, which can lead to some very bleak skiing and some poor snow conditions. Finally, skiing in the trees when the weather is poor gives your eyes something to fix on to give you a sense of distance and your speed – both important for long life!
3. As for Niederau in March, we have historically had some of our best skiing at this time. Looking back over the last 3 yrs, 2005 and 2006 were great years and in 2006 I skied the last lift of the year in April and was still able to find fresh powder while skiing right to the very bottom of the lowest run – Awesome! However last season (which was miserable just about everywhere) was a washout. The pistes were green in February and it didn’t improve from there.
4. Looking out the window this morning the sun is shining brightly and it’s clear and crisp the temp is (I’ve just been out and checked) 11 degrees. However we are being forecast snow down to 500m (well below the village) for Thursday and Friday. Now this snow will not last long but there is a feeling in the village that we are going to be in for a bumper season!
5. Niederau is never a really busy resort (not like say Verbier, Tignes, St Anton etc) because its reputation tends to attract families that are beginner / intermediates – This tends to mean that the majority of the skiers are in ski school and one of the jobs of the ski instructors is to take their classes to places which are not too busy. It is true to say that gondola does get a bit busy first thing when lots of the classes are making for the top of the hill but to put things into context a “long” wait in Niederau is about 5 – 10 mins.
6. If you are not in ski school (probably not very likely) then some simple planning can mean you avoid the busy periods – I often find myself being the only person on a piste! The trick is to understand when and where the ski school goes then just plan to do the opposite (hardly rocket science). For example I can either grab an early lift and beat the rush or have a lazy breakfast and get a 10:00 lift then after a quick run, stop in a bar for a drink and leave as the ski school arrives. I then ski until the ski school comes back on the hill, and then I can grab some lunch until … well you get the idea!
7. One last thought, Niederau is well situated as a base for exploring other resorts like (very locally) Auffach or around the corner Alpbach or up the valley Kitzbuhel …

Well that turned into a slightly longer answer than I expected!

Anything else, just shout.

Jan