J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by SkiGirl

Hi there

I'm from N Ireland also. We go to Niederau in Austria direct from Belfast Int. with Crystal Ski. The hotel we stay in, Hotel Austria is right in the village centre, 1 minute to beginner slopes, gondola and ski school. Crystal use the Wildschonau Ski School (red uniforms) who are fantastic and they assess everyone on the first day to decide who goes in which class. They move people up and down classes if necessary so that you don't feel out of your depth or that your class is holding you back. The village is fairly quiet though, a couple of good little bars. We go half board at the hotel. I imagine that day trips can be organised to Innsbruck etc. and there is also bowling and horse drawn sleigh rides for the evenings. It's just over an hour transfer from Innsbruck. It's not a high resort though but we still got to ski every day this year even though there was very little snow. If you want to go somewhere busier, I would suggest in Austria maybe Kitzbuel, Soll or Ellmau which are all part of the large Ski Welt area and are bigger towns/villages. Friends of mine absolutely love Kitzbuel. Enjoy wherever you go! :D

Hi there

I can recommend Niederau in Austria. My husband and I went there as complete beginners and we're going back for the third time in January. We go then because it's quiet but you have to be careful with snowfall. It's a great little resort and the quality of instruction is excellent (Wildschonau Ski School, the reds). It's 4 hr lessons, 2 hr in the morning, 2 hr in the afternoon. We stayed in the Hotel Austria, right across the road from the ski school, nursery slopes and gondola and the ski hire is underneath the hotel. If you progress well, they will move you up into another class. Niederau is about a hour transfer from Innsbruck.

Try and get as fit as you can, it will make skiing more enjoyable. I power walk, jog, do a high impact aerobic class twice a week and have two horse riding lessons twice a week which are pretty good for balance and leg strength.

The basics you will need are salopettes, waterproof jacket, waterproof gloves, hat, scarf/neck warmer, two or three pairs of decent ski socks, a couple of thin base layers, thin polo jumpers/fleeces, goggles and sunglasses. You'll find if you read through other ski forums you'll pick up quite a few hints and tips.

Happy skiing! :)

I've found horse riding really helps, but obviously not ambling about on the back of some old carthorse. I took it up again after a couple of years' break before I went skiing in Jan. It was very amusing to have all the guys in my class complain about their thighs hurting when mine didn't!! It's great for balance as well plus it works loads of areas all at the one time. I go to aerobics as well where we do a lot of lunges and squats plus one legged squats. Road running helped me as well. :-)

Hi Chris

My hubby and I went skiing for the first time a couple of seasons ago. We got our stuff mainly at Mountain Warehouse and TK Maxx the first time around. This year my hubby got decent salopettes in TK Maxx for about 50 quid and a really nice Animal jacket for about 100 quid in one of our local shops and he wears it everywhere. I'm quite small so I was able to get kids gear which saved me a fortune. You'll also need sunglasses and a neck warmer/scarf if it does snow. Most ski gear should have them but try a get salopettes and a jacket with air vents under the arms and down the legs. It was a blessing this year because it was so warm on the slopes. Get yourself a woolly hat as well, preferably one that covers your ears if it does get really cold. Someone recommended to me to wear thin silk socks under my ski socks because it would keep my feet warmer, but I didn't really notice much difference to be honest. Oh, and cut your toenails before you go!! :D

Hi Mag

Sorry, me again. Forgot to say Niederau is a very pretty, unspoilt resort with very little through traffic and only about a hour's transfer from Innsbruck. Apres ski is very good in the Sports Bar beside the Hotel Austria. :)

Hi Mag

Have stayed in Niederau twice now and have booked again for next year. We first went there in Jan '06 as complete beginners - we never had skiis on our feet. The ski instructors in Niederau are excellent - we've been with the Wildschonau Ski School both times (the red uniforms). The nursery runs in the village are really nice - there's about 5 or 6, all a little bit different (longer, steeper, more bumps etc). We normally go the 1st/2nd week in Jan - the first year the snow was fab, not so good this time. Niederau is a low altitude resort so you might depend on a bit of luck for good snow but according to the locals when we were there this year, the snow is only a bit iffy about once every 7 to 10 years. The Hotel Austria where we stay is right in the middle of the village, across the road from the ski school meeting place and gondola (you don't want to be struggling too far with your skiis and poles whilst trying to walk in ski boots for your first year). Hope this helps!! :P

Hi

I was in the same position as you a couple of years ago. I always wanted to have a go at skiing to see what it was like but my hubby didn't really care either way. We were very much "two weeks in the sun" kind of holiday people. Anyway, went to Niederau in Austria for the first time in Jan 06. Fantastic! Got completely hooked, went again to the same resort Jan '07 and have booked again for Jan '08. Some people say it is a good idea to have lessons before you go but we didn't and it didn't affect us in any way - we were skiing easier parts of red runs on the 5th and 6th days. The lessons are brillant fun, everyone has a real laugh and we've kept in contact with some of the people we've met in ski school. Our ski school ran from 1000 - 1200 hrs and from 1330 - 1530 hrs each day but this year we were out skiing from about 0900 hrs and after ski school finished. Even though hubby initially was not really intersted in a ski holiday, he was having serious withdrawl symptoms the first time we came home - he just wanted to be skiing!! If your boyfriend is still not that interested, depending on the resort there will be other stuff for him to do. Friends of ours (who we met on our first ski hol) go, she skiis all day and he walks in the mountains and then they meet up for lunch in a mountain restaurant and then again in the afternoon. There's also other stuff like toboganning, sleigh rides, ice skating and of course the apres ski! Austria is supposed to have the best ski instructors and their English is brilliant. Some of the ones we know in Niederau are from the UK but others are local. We have spoken to others who have been skiing in Bulgaria and France and apparently they don't compare. Stuff it, book your ski hol and have a brill time!! :lol:

Hi Sam Irvs - just to give you my take on it, my OH and I had one week's skiing last year as complete beginners. In between we went to Xscape in Glasgow. We went skiing again this year and as we'd only had one ski holiday there was no question that we'd have lessons again. We were both amazed how much we had forgotten and how many bad habits can creep in. It wasn't just us either - there were 10 in our class and our instructor was able to pick up faults in technique with everyone. Not only that, she pointed out some weren't even holding their ski poles correctly! We've had three ski instructors over the two holidays each of which had a different teaching method but we really learnt from each one. Personally we both really enjoy having lessons - we've met some great people in our classes that we've kept in touch with.