Skiing Alongside A City (such as Innsbruck)
- Thread starter ChrisC
- Start date
I haven't skied any of those; however, an Innsbruck visit has been under consideration numerous times since the 2010 version of "Where to Ski and Snowboard" included a couple short chapters (which weren't repeated in future editions as the series became more influenced by relationships with ski-vacation operators). I'll get around to it, hopefully sooner rather than later. Too many ski areas/regions, not enough discretionary time and resources.
skiandgolfnut
Member
I did this trip many years ago. Without a car, I relied on the town bus to get to the different resorts. Ski'd mainly Axamer Lizum and Stubai Glacier. The Nordkette in town was a bust, it was not skiiable when we were there. It was a wonderful city to spend time in but the ski logistics were difficult.
Thanks for the feedback. Here are some pix of Nordkette from a few years ago.
One of the comments mentions "I like ski resorts with large towns or lakes right next to the slopes. It has a certain urban feel, but when you're skiing, you're surrounded by nature, far from the hustle and bustle." I'm trying to think of other ski areas that are right alongside places that are bigger than "mountain towns" and have direct lift access from town. Off the top of my head: Briançon (Serre Chevalier), Davos (Parsenn and Madrisa), Chur (the small ski area Brambrüesch), any others?
jnelly
Member
Weird you would post this. Its been the very thing I've been pondering and studying this summer/fall. I was actually going to post a general question yesterday on here but got sidetracked. Being that my only sample is staying in Chur last year, which I went into with a lot of uncertainty due to the ample ambivalence about it on forums, publications etc...Even when driving into town I remember thinking, "I'm not liking this already". However, after getting settled I really ended up liking the aspect of being in a small city... specifically the old town sector *this is the key part*. So my new research project has been: Juxtaposing Chur to the likes of: Sion, Sierre (valais); as well as Aosta...Those that seem to be the closest in size that possess an "altstadt" / old town. If anyone who's been to these wants to chime in or add to...I'm all ears!
I renamed this thread so you can add what you've learned about the topic.
jimk
Well-known member
My one and only ski trip to the Alps (been there several times for non-ski trips) was in 2003. I stayed in Salzburg all week and rode a shuttle bus to to five different resorts during the week, Flachau, Zauchensee, Bad Gastein, Saalbach, Zell am See.
I enjoyed many non-ski activities that week in Salzburg including two music concerts, touring the castle/museum and Mozart's birthplace on a non-ski day, eating at nice restaurants, etc. Didn't rent a car because the city was walkable and the shuttle took us to all the ski areas 60-90 minutes away.
I enjoyed many non-ski activities that week in Salzburg including two music concerts, touring the castle/museum and Mozart's birthplace on a non-ski day, eating at nice restaurants, etc. Didn't rent a car because the city was walkable and the shuttle took us to all the ski areas 60-90 minutes away.
When I'm curious about skiing in Europe, I look around the Aussie ski forum. As @Sbooker knows, plenty of folks from Australia ski the Alps on a regular basis.
Here's a video of a 10-min lift ride taken on an afternoon from a trip report written back in 2015. The skier/narrator is Anthony Sharwood, an Australian journalist and author. He decided to do a bottom-to-top video because the lift was long and high, even though it was a day with low visibility. He said it's one in a series of "world's most boring chairlift videos." His family spent three months in Europe that year. It was the first time he skied in the Alps. He notes at the end that he's going to take the bus back to Briançon because that takes about 30 minutes. It took him 90 minutes to get over to the lift he was riding.
March 26, 2015
