Talk to me about Austria

GMarc wrote:

My only problem with St Anton, is the slopes I found them busy and some days down right dangerous ..... and I actually saw a bad accident
and I was thinking all week that it was going to come, I actually had a very good time the village is pleasent and the scenery is Mountains which was great and the company was great ....... but would I take my daughter to ski there and the answer is NO .... Too dangerous.

Blimey, didn't realise there was such a risk! Was it the snow? or something else?

GMarc wrote:Blimey, didn't realise there was such a risk! Was it the snow? or something else?

Poor piste maintenance, poor signage and on some parts it was easier to ski the blacks than the blues due to the piste layouts, it seemed like that they do not have to try too hard to fill the resort so they don't .... but again I will say I liked St Anton as a village a nice place to walk around and the prices were not too bad a touch higher than I am used to paying in France ...
the main danger area was the blue run down to St Christoph where the run narrowed down into a funnel, snow was heavily chopped up which made it incredibly difficult for the less experienced, they could solve that problem with a touch of summer piste maintenance if they so wished.

Wasley, Solden looks great and was a serious contender for my group of 8 this season, but we couldnt get flights to work out for our northern monkey of the group and instead opted for Bad Gastein.

As for St Anton, its been discussed before, but personally I dont think you'll find many better places with such a huge variety and feel to them.

Yes as Ian says it does get busy, certain slopes in particular, but show me a resort that doesnt have a mental run off (unless you use your brains, have a late beer up top and then ski off when everyone else is busy eating cake, taking a shower, or having a snooze....).

Dangerous? The run into St Christoph wasn't dangerous at all, except in blinding fog, and yes there was a bad accident there one day but that can and does happen anywhere in the mountains: its the people involved not the slope that makes these things happen.

Ian paints to dark a picture of St Anton. With respect, I think this may be because he was injured at the time, and was not able to appreciate much of the area as he was restricted to how much he could ski. With slightly less respect, it is also because he has a tainted view of Austria as a nation because he is of the opinion that everything in France is better in every respect. Each to their own, we have agreed to disagree on that one ;-)

However, please read other peoples reviews on St Anton and do not be put off by the odd person who found it intimidating compared to what they're used to possibly.

Stuben, Zurs and Lech on the area lift pass offer fantastic slopes, many of them deserted much of the time we were there, with a fantastic snow record to boot.

I used to go to St. Johann for skiing in the winter but i dont find the time anymore. St Johann is a nice little town with very afordable hotels.

No I dont paint a dark picture of St Anton, I just expected better from a so called top ski resort, It is just an opinion and not anti Austria ..... perhaps my expectations are too high, but the food is still Cr*p. -)