 Poster: A snowHead
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Hi,
My wife and I are off with a group of friends on our annual skiing trip in March next year and for the first time are going to Kaprun. We are staying in the Margarethenstein apartments and are a group of mainly skiers of an intermediate/ good standard, a couple of intermediate snowboarders and for the first time two beginner snowboarders.
Any advice on a decent snowboard school for the beginners and any help / tips about the skiing, bars
restaurants etc in the town and anything from anyone who has stayed in the Margarethenstein or in Kaprun would be gratefully received.
Kind regards,
Andy.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I've done many trips to Kaprun, always late January though. Actually a pretty big place when it sprawls out a fair bit along the main road. Not as such quaint, more residential and small hotels, though a nice place still. Very nice old church, lit up at night. Worth a walk up to it if you have time to kill.
Fair amount of shops and eateries spread along the main road. We stayed fairly near the Maiskogel end, ate most nights in the little square just up and back from there where there's a few clothes shops and several restaurants. Mainly used the Bitter & Kirsch (or something like that): very reasonable prices, very good pizza and pasta, good atmosphere, popular with locals and visitors, speak good English (one waitress is 1/2 Aussie 1/2 Austrian!) Other restaurants are also opening up in that area and at reasonable prices, though some more expensive too.
We don't do Apres so can't comment.
The main big supermarket is at the bottom of the Maiskogel slope, also pharmacy, ski/clothing shops and big downstairs shop that sells lots of useful general things.
The usual fair amount of ski hire and service shops, several Intersports.
Ski schools - there are several also. (OK, you said boarding too; can't comment on instruction for that.) I used the one at the Maiskogel base, just to the right by the bus stop, shop with a red dinasour outside. Had 1 good private session with an Irish instructor, 1 not so great with a Polish lady. They were the school recommended by Crystal TO.
As to the slopes, Kaprun has just one hill, the Maiskogel, and it has 1 chairlift to 1/2 way up, and a wide blue-ish run (well, whole side of hill) all the way down (with several bars/lunch places on the way). Not super long, but a nice run that you can pick a few minor variations on, and great for learners. With medium strong legs I can nearly make it in 1, usually 2 (or 3) as it has an often busy narrow very last bit which can get a bit crazy. Mr G on his board does it in 1, just. There is then another chair to the top where there's another bar (somewhere, I think a bit hidden) and a wide black to red wide run or a side red to blue alternative, all of which link in to give you a reasonably-long continuous run straight down the hill. Again a 1-3 stop length for those with reasonable legs.
I've enjoyed playing on the Maiskogel for many days in a row as an intermediate, and it's good for lessons and practice both on skis and boards.
But you'll probably want to hop on the free ski bus (about 15-20 mins?) and go to Zell am See, which might be busier but is higher altitude, more 'alpine' and has many many more runs, from easy blues upwards (the hidden furthest away back section is less busy and has some lovely wide reds leading down to the Zell main centre area and uplifts; also a lovely very wide blue down the back from the main summit). The runs nearest the main gondolas (main for the bus) can get pretty busy, so head to others for less people. Another great place for intermediates and confident beginners. There are many ski schools in Zell too. (Also a nice place for a day off or an evening trip/meal out, but though you can get there by bus I recall a taxi being needed back.)
Also on the bus, the other way, is the Kitzsteinhorn (sp!) glacier, and you'll doubtless want a day or more there. Again a good mix of runs though a tad less good for the beginners I recall.
If you have a TV in your room there's the usual TV channels giving live feeds so you can look at weather before deciding where to go.
Enjoy: it's a great place and base and I'd certainly like to go back.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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You may well be able to ski to the Saalbach Hinterglemm valley from the back of Zell am See next year if they have linked it. Believe it is planned for next season. Tatman will know.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Thank you for taking the time to reply.
Kind regards,
Andy.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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The chairlift in the Maiskogel area that Grizzler mentions is being replaced by a gondola for next season. This will go right up the mountain but has a middle station, around where the current lower chairlift top station is, I assume. Details are here. The lower area will still be great for intermediate skiers. The upper section is more challenging, I feel.
Despite some claims on the Internet, I don't believe that the linking lift from Zell am See to the Saalbach region will be complete for the coming season. You can ski from Zell to Viehhofen, partly on piste, partly on a ski route, but the bottom section of the ZellamSeeExpress gondola to get you back up from Viehhofen isn't there yet. Even the year after it may still be necessary to take a bus from Viehhofen to Saalbach (or the Schönleiten gondola) if you want to reach the Saalbach slopes. I am not sure when the lift linking Viehhofen to the Saalbach area is going to be built.
The Kitzsteinhorn glacier area is fine for intermediate skiers. People can learn there too, though in more restricted areas. I assume your beginner snowboarders will go wherever the ski school takes them, Maiskogel or Kitzsteinhorn.
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Double post deleted.
However, I can also mention that I have learned that the new gondola doesn't go as far up the mountain as I had thought. The top station is just above the Saulochalm hut and the descent from there is not as challenging as the upper slopes (which can still be reached on the Almbahn chairlift).
Last edited by Then you can post your own questions or snow reports... on Tue 4-09-18 12:54; edited 1 time in total
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You may well be able to ski to the Saalbach Hinterglemm valley from the back of Zell am See next year if they have linked it. Believe it is planned for next season. Tatman will know.
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I'm in Saalbach at the moment, and, although it's a hive of construction activity - particularly in relation to the new Kohlmaisgipfelbahn, there's not much happening down in Viehhofen. They diverted the main road last summer, so as to create a large car park, and there's a big notice advertising the new link between Saalbach and Zell am See. They have also cleared trees, ready for the new gondola down to Viehhofen. I heard from a local that a new hotel is planned, to be built on the area that currently looks like a big car park between the main road and the village centre. The same local (a waiter at the Hecherhuette, who is Welsh and married to a local Austrian girl, and living with his family in Viehhofen) said that he'd given up asking when the new link is going in - "next year" might mean the year after, or the year after that. However, it's my guess that the lift company is currently concentrating its efforts and expenditure on the major, multi-million euro construction works (opposite my front door) - a new underground car park for 100 cars and the new Kohlmaisgipfelbahn 10-seater gondola. Once this has been completed (by December), it will be time to get organised for the next project, which might well be the new gondola from Viehhofen up the Zell am See side of the valley to link with the existing mid-station.
I don't know what other necessary infrastructure works might be in progress, such as a new reservoir and snow-making for piste 61 from Saalbach to Viehhofen. However I will keep my ears open.
A gondola from Viehhofen up to Schoenleiten on the Saalbach side is apparently planned for the future, although it's a matter of speculation when that is likely to happen.
It is already perfectly possible to ski from the Zell am See side of the Glemm valley down to Viehhofen (haven't done it myself, but I know people who have), and then hop on the ski bus which in five minutes wil take you to the Schoenleitenbahn, which takes you up to Wildenkarkogel between Saalbach and Leogang. However the return trip to Zell am See would necessitate a taxi or the local post bus.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Last night I heard from a Brit who works in Saalbach throughout the year that there is a bit of a Brexit-style impasse, with a local landowner making demands that the lift company won’t accept, for fear of setting a precedent that others might follow. Boils down to money. However many preparations have been made, and a friend who walked up to the bottom station of the Zell am See Express on the Schmittenhoehe a couple of days ago says that it looks more like a mid-station that needs the finishing touches.
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In Viehhofen yesterday, the Zell am See link hasn't been built as originally intended for 2019. However, the trees are cut along the line the cableway will run, the car park and land available for the valley lift station now the road is diverted. And a big sign saying new lift coming soon but no date!
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