New Year Skiing in Niederau

ise wrote:
There's nothing wrong with being an intermediate and wanting to cover a bit of distance, taking in the odd black etc, but it really is a phase that people pass through. We've all done it, there's nothing wrong with it at all and there's some good and big ski stations to go and do it at.

Is that whats known as ski snobbery?

Tony_H wrote:

ise wrote:
There's nothing wrong with being an intermediate and wanting to cover a bit of distance, taking in the odd black etc, but it really is a phase that people pass through. We've all done it, there's nothing wrong with it at all and there's some good and big ski stations to go and do it at.

Is that whats known as ski snobbery?

I said, and you even copied it, there's nothing wrong with and we've all done it, how is that snobbery?

The point Bandit was making, albeit a little mischievously (there was a smiley), is that it is a part of that intermediate phase in our skiing to tend to judge a resort by the mileage available.

Personally I wouldn't agree that being a "good" skier and being an intermediate are at all incompatible - but that all goes back to the other thread about what makes a "good" skier...

This thread is about skiing in Niederau and the questions regarding the perceived "lack" of mileage there. In that context, it's fair to say that mileage would be a concern mostly to intermediate skiers. If you're at that point where you can ski confidently and moderately fast on-piste, but are unhappy off the piste, then you might expect to find the skiing limited.

But mileage misses the point on so many levels - it tells you nothing about the terrain, the steeps or the secret stashes... :wink:

Dave Mac's quite clearly got many miles on most of us - and loves Niederau. Jan too. Once you've got the miles under your skis, your focus moves on to quality, instead of quantity.

I remember seeing a dozen-strong group of instructors / guides in Champoluc, on a big powder day, struggling for a couple of hours up a ridge above one particular big, steep pitch. You could hear them whooping and yelling from miles off when they finally dropped in, one by one. A few precious minutes later they were all giving each other "high fives" back on the piste. Then they clawed their way back up, did it once more and went off for a long, late lunch.

My mate and I probably skiied twenty times the distance that day - but they'd had ten times the buzz.

That's not all to say you need to be hardcore to enjoy Niederau - you clearly don't (from the comments I've read on here), but it's obviously got something to offer.

You just need to open your mind and think beyond mileage. The smallest of resorts can give the most memorable of days - seek them out. 8)

Well put Admin. I think I may have overcooked the milage thing, but I was responding to JulietPs points. Although, having just re-read J doesn't actually mention milage, so I'm not entirely sure why I opened that gate.

In the end, most folk find a place that they deem to be good for them, and make frequent return visits. A few, like Jan, take the extra step and make the place their home.

A fascinating thread and one which really goes to the heart of the question of “Why go skiing at all?”

Although, to be more accurate, I think it’s really about the difference between “How” we go skiing than “Why”.

It seems to me that if you are only able to get to the snow for one or two weeks in the year, you are far more likely to want to cram it absolutely choc-a-bloc with skiing than those of us like ise, myself and others who can ski every day of the season.

Talking purely for myself, I used to be prepared to ski in ANY conditions when on holiday – Now I look out the window and think, shall I, shalln’t I? That, coupled with the chance to do that for everyday of the season naturally means that my motivation is different from the “Holiday” skier and please, that’s NOT a criticism, just an observation ;)

Personally, I seek perfection in every run. I analyse my performance both during and after each run and for me that constitutes “happiness” but who am I to say that that’s what anyone else should do? For me the number of piste miles in Niederau is way in excess of what I need because even one piste is never really the same from hour to hour or day to day or for that matter from week to week and month to month. In the darkest days of December the conditions at midday on one piste are completely different to the same piste at the same time in March. So, from my perspective, I believe Niederau offers me an infinite number of miles on which to attempt to achieve my own, personal, Nirvana.

Ultimately, I believe skiing is an expression of personal freedom. It offers the chance to experience some of the most breathtaking excesses of Mother Nature in her rawest and most beautiful forms. What I don’t think it should be about is striving to comply with someone else’s view of what constitutes happiness, contentment or fulfilment – If, at the end of a day’s skiing, you can sit in front of a crackling log fire with a glass of sustaining fluid, amongst good friends and reflect on the enjoyment you have experienced deep inside, then you can be sure that you will have found the answer to the question and who can ask for more than that!

Jan

Very, very nicely put Jan.

We seem to be in agreement. For me its about improving technique whilst skiing with good, controlled speed. About getting the best from every run and pushing myself hard.

I may get 3 weeks on snow each year at best and whilst that is more than many, its still nowhere near enough!!

Its about enjoying the scenery, the company, the cusine...

Bring it on.

THE ''N'' WORD: I LIKE IT! MY 1ST POST OF THE SEASON.
Oh, Juliet, you may have opened a can of worms indeed! This new year coming, it'll be my 20th year in niederau. i even qualifed as a ski instructor there a few years ago. the village has a very loyal following, with many people, and especially families, returning year after year, some having bought property there over the years. Summer and winter, it's quite a spcial place. It's a safe pair of hands, as it were, for beginners, and the apres ski is a great crack! I must admit, I miss the Dave Lambert nights at the Vicky, and people as old as me might even remember the little bar at the back of the hotel Austria (the Avalanche bar) in the late 80's. there IS enough for the more able skiier, especially if you get in a group led by the likes of Christina Jochum. Why don't you give it a go? Myself, Blodyn1 and another friend will be there for new year. Now, where are those size 10 ski trousers which the hotel Austria flogged me for the princely sum of £100 ...???!!!
BLODYN: See you Thursday evening to discuss the allocation of those Tesco vouchers! L.

Tony_H wrote:My God Juliet, do you realise what you have let yourself in for?

On the face of it, Niederau was a place I always dismissed as not suitable for a weeks skiing for me, but MANY people on here swear by the place. I am yet to be convinced, but prepare for an onslaught.....

ldavies wrote:THE ''N'' WORD: I LIKE IT! MY 1ST POST OF THE SEASON.
Oh, Juliet, you may have opened a can of worms indeed! This new year coming, it'll be my 20th year in niederau. i even qualifed as a ski instructor there a few years ago. the village has a very loyal following, with many people, and especially families, returning year after year, some having bought property there over the years. Summer and winter, it's quite a spcial place. It's a safe pair of hands, as it were, for beginners, and the apres ski is a great crack! I must admit, I miss the Dave Lambert nights at the Vicky, and people as old as me might even remember the little bar at the back of the hotel Austria (the Avalanche bar) in the late 80's. there IS enough for the more able skiier, especially if you get in a group led by the likes of Christina Jochum. Why don't you give it a go? Myself, Blodyn1 and another friend will be there for new year. Now, where are those size 10 ski trousers which the hotel Austria flogged me for the princely sum of £100 ...???!!!
BLODYN: See you Thursday evening to discuss the allocation of those Tesco vouchers! L.

Tony_H wrote:My God Juliet, do you realise what you have let yourself in for?

On the face of it, Niederau was a place I always dismissed as not suitable for a weeks skiing for me, but MANY people on here swear by the place. I am yet to be convinced, but prepare for an onslaught.....

Show me somewhere cheap to stay between 26th December and January 1st and I will see what I can do. Flights are sorted btw.