Slalom through reviews

27/03/2015

Mai este zăpadă pentru maxim 3 luni în Dolomiti

23/03/2015

Spring is the best season

22/02/2015

Instructorii din Serfaus își fac vacanțele la Cluj

06/02/2015

Don’t miss the alpine skiing world championships from Vail/Beaver Creek. You can watch the men’s downhill race tomorrow evening, Saturday, the 7th of February. Among the favourites are Kjetil Jansrud, Hannes Reichelt and Matthias Mayer, but expect big performances from the experienced Aksel Lund Svindal or Didier Defago.

29/01/2015

Serfaus-Fiss-Ladis

Every two or three years, Serfaus-Fiss-Ladis receives a prize from some winter resort rating agency. And, I can tell you, it’s well deserved. More than 200 kilometers of tracks, around 3000 snow cannons, very kids friendly, night runs and many more attractions and facilities. One of the greatest advantages is that you can take the lifts to the mountains from more than 4 locations, at least one in each of the villages. In this way, there’s no bottleneck, neither in the resorts or at the summits. You have all sort of tracks, like everywhere in Austria, long runs, wide or steep ones, speed track and so on. I recommend the Frommesabfahrt, with a length of around 6 kilometers, and very wide, which can bring you to both Fiss or Ladis. There is a cable car between them, so it’s easy to go from one to the other. Also, if you have time and are a bit more experienced, go skiing on the Masner summit. It’s a bit more far away, but you will like it for sure. Accommodation is quite expensive, so you may take a look in the neighbouring towns.

https://www.serfaus-fiss-ladis.at/en

29/12/2014

Dolomiti time

18/12/2014

Ischgl

As it is described on its own web page, Ischgl is a winter sports paradise. I have to admit, so far, it’s my favorite Austrian ski region. It contains more than 240 km of ski trails and they say snow is guaranteed. Very popular are the open air parties with concerts like Aerosmith or Robbie Williams and the many apres ski`s. That’s why, the slopes near the main arrival point on the mountain are very crowded. It’s like a metro station in an European capital :). But there are plenty of mountains where you can ski and not get disturbed. Ski from the top of the mountain to the outlet stores in Switzerland on a 10 km long trail. If you don’t shop there, and you might avoid that, prices being high even though there are outlets, take one of the free buses to the cable car station. First I didn't know about this, and I found myself walking with my skis quite a distance. Because of its popularity, prices in Ischgl are pretty high. So, if you’re trying to keep your expenses low, the nearby towns are more adequate for accommodation, ski rentals or other services. I traveled twice to this valley, and each time I lived in Kappl, few kilometers away from Ischgl. In Kappl, you can also spend at least one day on the mountain. Recommended is the slope Lattenabfahrt, with a length of more than 9 km.

http://www.ischgl.com/en

15/12/2014

Pitztaler Glacier

Pitztal has the highest glacier in Tirol, at 3400m above sea level. From September to May, snow is guaranteed. We skied there for 3 days, which is enough, taking into account the approximately 40 km of trails. It might be crowded until there is enough snow in the other regions. Because of the high altitude it gets very cold. I remember, at some point I had to take a break and go inside for a short while to warm up. Otherwise, trails for all levels, with good snow conditions. If you are not skiing anywhere else, you can leave your gear in the lockers. Drink a coffee at the highest cafe and do not let the apres ski make you forget to leave the glacier in the afternoon. Prices in the region are not very high and accommodation is easy to find.

http://www.pitztaler-gletscher.at/en

12/12/2014

Molltaler Glacier

The only region I have visited which does not lie in a valley north of the Alps. You have to drive towards Graz to get to Carinthia and Molltal. There is a highway for which you have to pay toll, do not rely only on the vignette, or you’ll end up on some roads in the mountains. On the first day, the glacier was closed because of inadequate weather conditions, so, at the suggestion of our host, we drove approximately 40 km to Lienz. Big surprise, around 30 km of slopes in good conditions and uncrowded. Next day we finally managed to get on the glacier. It was a Saturday, so it was quite crowded. Good snow, nice slopes, but not too many. So, on the following day, adding the experience from Lienz, we decided to go to Malnitz, only some kilometers away. Again, a very nice ski resort, not too crowded, actually with only few skiers. Imagine that in the afternoon, you could still see the tracks of the snow groomers. There aren’t many blue labeled slopes there, one of them getting red halfway to the nearest ski-lift. One of my friends, who skied for the first time in Austria, was forced to take it to the next level. Following this trip, I always check the towns nearby, they might come up with some very interesting skiing conditions.

http://www.gletscher.co.at/

10/12/2014

Zillertal
http://www.zillertal.at/en/

One of the most famous Austrian ski regions. A valley containing more than 600 km of ski slopes with a glacier that meets all imagined demands, Hintertux. I skied in 3 different regions of the valley, 2 days in each. Finkenberg is part of Zillertal 3000 and contains the slope Harakiri. I guess the name is self-explanatory. It is quite crowded but as everywhere in Austria, you don’t have to wait that much to get to the top of the mountain. Other 2 days we skied in Zillertal Arena, which is friendly for all levesl of skiing, in my opinion, specially suited for beginners and families. Here I have to mention the slopes starting from the Konigsleitenspitze, which, combined, can provide you more than 7 km of continuous downhill. They aren’t very crowded, because you get there from the arena by skiing downhill on a black labeled slope, which most of the people avoid. Last, but not least, another 2 days on the Hintertux glacier. Here you can find everything, from -5 to -20 degrees, and from blue to black slopes with powder or not. What I recommend, are the red labeled slopes towards the summit of the mountain. Not many skiers wander here because of the freezing temperatures that can reach lower than -20. At some point, one of my friends took a wrong turn, and we decided to wait for him somewhere lower because it was too cold at the summit. Most of the skiers are to be found at lower altitude. That’s why, the slopes there get quite bad in the afternoon, with lots of bumps. If you are a daredevil, try to go straight ahead on the “Gefrorene Wand” ;). With so many visitors, ways in and out of the valley might be very jammed, specially on saturdays, so plan ahead.

Deine Urlaubsregion im Herz der Alpen.

10/12/2014

Val Di Fassa (part of Dolomiti Superski - http://www.dolomitisuperski.com/en) One week is not enough for this huge ski area. 1200 km of slopes, a big part of it being connected. So you can go from Canazei to Marmolada, Alta Badia or Selva Gardena on your skis. Or take a bus to Lusia or Carezza. But really, the one thing that everybody should do is the ski tour Sellaronda. Skiing about 50 km from one resort to another is already cool, but there's more, you can go both ways, either on the relaxing Green route, either in the opposite direction on the more challenging Orange route. And as much as I like having a beer and sausages in an Austrian ski bar, I have to say that I enjoy more an Aperol Spritz with some prosciutto and tiramisu in a chic Italian restaurant on the slope. Good connections from the nearby airports, Treviso or Bergamo. I would recommend staying in Canazei or nearby for those into skiing and definitely Cortina d'Ampezzo for those into skiing/fashion/apres ski. Not sure if I'll ever find better views... BTW, it's still Tyrol :)
http://www.fassanews.com/foto/1024/belvedere.jpg

09/12/2014

Kaprun (Kitzsteinhorn)
http://www.kitzsteinhorn.at/en

I have been to Kaprun twice, each time for celebrating the Romanian National Day abroad. Having a longer weekend it is a good opportunity to go skiing. There aren't too many slopes, so 3 days are just perfect. Unfortunately, at the beginning of December, only the glacier is available, Zell am See not. Other resorts being closed as well, it can get quite crowded.

Glacier ski resort Zell am See Kitzsteinhorn - Ski Salzburg