ski vacations

[romualda]

So exciting to see more skiiers on LL. I have found some great packages to Jackson Hole on LL. I love skiing in Europe and Jackson Hole is by far my favorite mountain in America. It still has the Old West appeal - it has the full range of accomodations - froma Four Seasons on down the line. The skiing is more advanced than beginner - but there is plenty of terrain for the whole family. The nightlife ranges from good ole country bars to upscale restaurants featuring local delicacies and international flare.



I agree with the Austria post - I have seen some great offers on LL for Austria.



Pray for powder!!!

[funtimes]

Hello Love the "pray for powder" line! It's funny to be speaking of snow in summer - just like skiers or golfers to go on and on about one sport when it is unavailable due to season. US ski destinations certainly would be a good deal with the exchange rate for Europeans - we may not have the vertical feet, but when you love to ski it does not matter ...just go down many more times ... hopefully with no lift lines in between. Colorado is wonderful -Aspen used to be affordable - Not for a long time now try off places like Ski sunlight - they have packages for skiing and the mineral springs baths - Great after ski therapy Canadais wonderful at Marmot Basin - stay at the Fairmont ( previously Canadian Pacific Railway ) hotel Jasper Park Lodge. or dare I say try upper Michigan - great FUN and LOADS of snow ...Whitecap is our favorite - unlike most US midwest destinations with one ski lodge at the top Whitecap has different faces and more than one rest stop. Good skiing for all levels in the UP Michigan or Wisconsin ...Whitecap Mnt, Big Powderhorn, Indianhead, Brule, Granite Peak, Cascade, Devils Head etc Try it you'll like it!!! Enjoy warm weather while you can ...Funtimes

[lhbrown]

Hi funtimes,
We did ski in the upper Michigan peninsula when we lived in Milwaukee, I believe the mountain was called the Buggaboos (don't quite remember). It was great to see the ice bergs being pushed up at the Lake Michigan[img]file:///C:/DOCUME%7E1/Allan/LOCALS%7E1/Temp/moz-screenshot-2.jpg[/img] shore. We had a bright sunny day, but the temperature was 40 below zero....
I noticed you put a bid in for the Gruener Baum, Red Hot Auction. The regular auction last time went for $905. We just spent 5 days there and had fun. Excellent junior appartment with balcony and lovely viewl. Good food, great spa. It sits almost at the end of the valley and is ringed by a great cirque. It is a little hard to get there. There is train service to Bad Gastein and the Hotel can pick you up. If you are thinking of skiing there, the hotel offers a shuttle bus to the various ski areas, but it is definitely not a ski in ski out place. The
Gruener Baum is located in the valley to the left of Bad Gastein and the Graukogel.

















Message Edited by lhbrown on 06-25-2007 11:43 PM

Message Edited by lhbrown on 06-25-2007 11:44 PM

[lhbrown]

Hi babrakoni,
Sounds like you are a skier too.... Yes, there is such a thing as Austrian "Gemuetlichkeit" that can't be found anywhere else, and yes, the service in the mountain chalets is more civilized, but I have almost concluded, that the French ski areas are offering better skiable domaines. Tell us more about some of your favorite Austrian Ski areas....

[bakrakoni]

Hi lhbrown,



most will agree that the french areas are better, longer, more challenging. However, after 25 years of skiing, we now value the atmosphere more than competing on black slopes. We leavebreaking world recordsto the kids on their snowboardsnow and concentrate instead on lazy skiing, many "service stops", enjoying the views and each other as well as the apres ski festivities.



So it all depends on what you are there for. We have been all over the Alps; France, Italy, Swiss are all fun, but Austria is where you want to go if a ski vacation needs to be more than sports.



I can reccommand Soelden, Kitzbuhl, St. Johann, Saalbach/Hinterglemm. The last 8 years or so we frequent Soelden: it is higher than most areas(never snow problems), lots of miles of slopes and it has the best apres ski scene I know, as well as excellent restaurants and hotels.



All the best

[funtimes]

Hi LHBrown I think the place you are remembering in Michigan is the Porcupines - the porkies to locals good skiing there Yes I am trying to win the Austrian trip to BadGastien - so far keep getting outbid it is well over $900 now. Interesting that you just went there - Is transportation good enough to use public transport and not have a car? If you were going to extend your stay - where would you go??? Munich day trip or overnight - several days? Innsbruck, Vienna What are your suggestions? I would love to go to Lucern - I had my 9th birthday there as a little girl I do not know how far that would be Any comments will be appreciated - Lets just hope I am the successful bidder! ...Funtimes

[lhbrown]

Hi babrakoni,

Sounds like you have grown older and wiser, just like us. If you read my post on this thread, we too have skied for the past 7 or 8 years in Hochsoelden and loved it. Hotel Edelweiss at Hochsoelden is a great place for ski-in and ski-out. The only drawback is to get back through the ravine where everybody, or almost everybody, piles up at the end of the day.... sure, there is a way around this ravine, but it is almost as bad, and at the end it wind up just at the same place where the pile-up usually occurs. I agree with your assessment of Soelden/Hochsoelden: it is higher than most areas (never snow problems- except sometimes skiing all the way down to Soelden), lots of miles of slopes and it has the best apres ski scene I know, as well as excellent restaurants and hotels.

We have spent our honeymoon skiing in Hinterglemm, many, many years ago.... We have also skied for many years in St. Anton, Lech and Kitzbuehl. All of them are wonderful and offer the "Gemuetlichkeit" that elludes the French and Swiss ski areas. Nevertheless, I tend to favor the French areas at this point because they are better, longer and more challenging.... even when disregarding the black slopes. If only, we could find some decent hotels with luxury facilities to go with the great ski areas.....

[lhbrown]

Hi funtimes,
Thanks for refreshing my memory, yes, it was the Porcupines ski area. Sorry you got outbid for the Gruener Baum, but $1550 was more than I would have paid for this Red Hot Auction, since at regular auction the place goes for $905 + increments.... It is silly how these places get bid up on Red Hot Auctions some times...
Bad Gastein is on the train line of Salzburg, but there are also Tourist Buses that take you on day trips to Salzburg, the Wolfgangsee, Berchtesgaden, Innsbruck, etc. A car would probably be easier to get around to see the Salzburg area. I would think Munich is too far for a day trip, and would warrant an overnight trip. Bad Gastein is at the end of the Hohen Tauern National Park and you pass through the Tauern Tunnel via car-train and you come out on the other side not far from Lienz and the Italian Border giving you access to the Dolomites. Also, if you do have a car, you should definitely go over the Grossglockner Pass, a fantastic mountain pass with 43 Serpentine turns crossing over the highest European Pass. We just did it going to Bad Gastein. The toll was 43 Euros, but it was well worth it.

[bakrakoni]

Hi lhbrown,



I know exactly which "ravine' you are referring to. Especially after a sunny day, when that part of the piste looks like a test sitefor thermo nuclear grenades, it is a spectacular mess. The place to go then is a restaurant called Eugene's if I'm not mistaken, where you have a priceless front row view of the countless people trying to negotiate the almost impossible descend. With a strohrum capucino of course!



bakrakoni

[lhbrown]

Hi babrakoni and funtimes,
Here is an internet photo of the Edelweiss hotel in Hochsoelden, Austria which has long time been a favorite of ours, but it does have this tricky ravine to get back to the hotel. Your idea of just sit it out at Eugene's with a strohrum cappucino is a good one. I will try it next time... The Edelweiss serves a pretty nice schmankerl buffet with its own cappuccino around 4:30 pm when everybody gets back, but Eugene's might be worth a try... hadn't thought about it - thanks for the tip....