edelweissmaedl
Angel Diva
I was fortunate to be able to spend two weeks in Austria vs. one this season. The first week was with the DC Ski Club which meant flying from DC to Munich and then a charter bus took us to Soelden. We stayed at Hotel Tyrolerhof which offered breakfast and dinner (half board) and was walkable to the Gondola station. Soelden is located in the Oetz Valley in Tyrol, Austria and borders Italy (although the Timmelsjoch Pass is closed in winter). Soelden offers 144 slope km of skiing (90 miles) and has 3 mountains around 10,000 ft in height.
Weather conditions were variable the first week with temps starting out a bit warm, but cooled off and we had several nights with snowfall. Being peak season the slopes were a little more crowded than preferred, but still better than my general findings at my east coast resorts this season. I opted to buy an 11 out of 14 day ski pass ahead of time which translated to a 41 Euro per day ticket cost, which I found very reasonable.
My roommate and I decided to take a semi-private lesson the first two afternoons which I found very beneficial as the instructor was very carving focused and we had the space that is often lacking (due to crowds and/or slope width) at home to practice. I felt like some great tips that resonated/finally clicked pre-trip on the forum here (carving turns should look like ribbon candy and keeping hips up and over) plus the instruction really helped me jump ahead in skill.
Ski Lessons
There are 33 ski huts on the resort translating into many meal/drink options across the resort. I find regardless if you stop for a cafeteria style or sit-down meal the food quality, selection and price are all better than what I find at home. Lucky find this year was a special hut called Gampe Thaya, that is very farm-to-table in focus. They have their own chickens for eggs, make their own cheese, don't serve soda and only accept cash for payment. We made it there for lunch on Friday of week 1 and it didn't disappoint!
Tyrolergroestl with Gampe Chese and two fried eggs
Topfenstrudel (similar to Applestrudel, but with farmer's cheese)
Weather conditions were variable the first week with temps starting out a bit warm, but cooled off and we had several nights with snowfall. Being peak season the slopes were a little more crowded than preferred, but still better than my general findings at my east coast resorts this season. I opted to buy an 11 out of 14 day ski pass ahead of time which translated to a 41 Euro per day ticket cost, which I found very reasonable.
My roommate and I decided to take a semi-private lesson the first two afternoons which I found very beneficial as the instructor was very carving focused and we had the space that is often lacking (due to crowds and/or slope width) at home to practice. I felt like some great tips that resonated/finally clicked pre-trip on the forum here (carving turns should look like ribbon candy and keeping hips up and over) plus the instruction really helped me jump ahead in skill.
Ski Lessons
There are 33 ski huts on the resort translating into many meal/drink options across the resort. I find regardless if you stop for a cafeteria style or sit-down meal the food quality, selection and price are all better than what I find at home. Lucky find this year was a special hut called Gampe Thaya, that is very farm-to-table in focus. They have their own chickens for eggs, make their own cheese, don't serve soda and only accept cash for payment. We made it there for lunch on Friday of week 1 and it didn't disappoint!
Tyrolergroestl with Gampe Chese and two fried eggs
Topfenstrudel (similar to Applestrudel, but with farmer's cheese)
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