Skiing in Austria

[Niko72M]

Hello everyone,

I have some questions regarding skiing in Austria. I am organizing a ski trip with some friends(well I'm organizing) to Austria. We are a group of 4 for now, as 2 still have to confirm. We want to go by the end of January, beginning of February, for 4 days. Is there someone who could recommend some nice skiing places? Also recommendations of places to stay and ski rental shops would be highly appreciated. Would love to report on the ski afterwards.

Cheers,
Nikole

[backofbeyond]

I've done Soll and Niederau. Both of them are nice traditional style villages but they are quite low so if it's a low snowfall year they can be a bit light on snow. You have to take lifts up the mountains to get to the main ski areas and there can be queues for those first thing in the morning / last thing in evening.

February is normally the favourite ski month (Jan's too cold, March can be warm) so if you need ski lessons book up early.

These days I tend to prefer the higher altitude French resorts and we're at La Clusaz over Christmas

[TobiSte]

Originally Posted by backofbeyond

I've done Soll and Niederau. Both of them are nice traditional style villages but they are quite low so if it's a low snowfall year they can be a bit light on snow. You have to take lifts up the mountains to get to the main ski areas and there can be queues for those first thing in the morning / last thing in evening.

February is normally the favourite ski month (Jan's too cold, March can be warm) so if you need ski lessons book up early.

These days I tend to prefer the higher altitude French resorts and we're at La Clusaz over Christmas

I loved Soll great place to go Skiing. When I was living in Austria, I used to go to Flachau. Have to say it was my favourite place. As I could understand they aren't looking for classes, but it is always a good idea to get to know the mountain better. By the end of January in my opinion there aren't that many people skiing, maybe on the weekends but not a sure thing...Austria has a lot to offer, is there any area you would prefer to go?

[Niko72M]

Originally Posted by TobiSte

I loved Soll great place to go Skiing. When I was living in Austria, I used to go to Flachau. Have to say it was my favourite place. As I could understand they aren't looking for classes, but it is always a good idea to get to know the mountain better. By the end of January in my opinion there aren't that many people skiing, maybe on the weekends but not a sure thing...Austria has a lot to offer, is there any area you would prefer to go?

Definitely going to take a look of both places. I also have to make a decision pretty soon. Do you recommend any places to stay or rent equipment?

Thank you for the help

[TobiSte]

Originally Posted by Niko72M

Definitely going to take a look of both places. I also have to make a decision pretty soon. Do you recommend any places to stay or rent equipment?

Thank you for the help

Yes, at the beginning when I went to ski there I used to rent my equipment at some local places there. I tried some different places, but then kept going to one at Starjet, next to the place the bus would leave us. The rental shop we choose was Sport 2000 . Hope this helps and that you have fun skiing.

[backofbeyond]

You won't have any problems hiring ski equipment. Every second shop in ski resorts is a ski hire place. Pick one of the bigger chains - like Sport 2000 - and you won't go far wrong. Even after 30+yrs of skiing most of us still hire skis as the risk of wrecking them can be significant and it's cheaper to wreck their skis than your own. Ski boot fit can be an issue and it's normal to go back to the shop after a day or two to change them when what felt ok initially turns out to be too small or too big.

Likewise with places to stay, there will be a whole industry in each resort for flat rental. Look up the tourist information site for the resort and go from there. We have a flat in one of the French resorts, Alpe D'Huez, and over the ski seaon we let it out via a local agent. Their details are certainly on the Alps D'Huez tourist office website and it'll be the same in Austria.

[Niko72M]

Originally Posted by TobiSte

Yes, at the beginning when I went to ski there I used to rent my equipment at some local places there. I tried some different places, but then kept going to one at Starjet, next to the place the bus would leave us. The rental shop we choose was Sport 2000 . Hope this helps and that you have fun skiing.

Thank you so much for the suggestion. If I end up in Flachau I will definitely take a look at that rental shop

[Niko72M]

Originally Posted by backofbeyond

You won't have any problems hiring ski equipment. Every second shop in ski resorts is a ski hire place. Pick one of the bigger chains - like Sport 2000 - and you won't go far wrong. Even after 30+yrs of skiing most of us still hire skis as the risk of wrecking them can be significant and it's cheaper to wreck their skis than your own. Ski boot fit can be an issue and it's normal to go back to the shop after a day or two to change them when what felt ok initially turns out to be too small or too big.

Likewise with places to stay, there will be a whole industry in each resort for flat rental. Look up the tourist information site for the resort and go from there. We have a flat in one of the French resorts, Alpe D'Huez, and over the ski seaon we let it out via a local agent. Their details are certainly on the Alps D'Huez tourist office website and it'll be the same in Austria.

Thank you for the suggestions as well. Yeah already had to change my boots in previous trips... not the best as you lose time, but it is always better than have sore feet