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ski travel packing list for Europe

robynb

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I'm going to Austria for 12 days in Jan.
Does anyone have any tips for packing?
Thanks!
 

LilaBear

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I'm going to Austria for 12 days in Jan.
Does anyone have any tips for packing?
Thanks!

I've only skied Europe later in the year (March), when it's warmer, so it's been important to have sunglasses for skiing, wear suncream and be able to unzip at lunchtime. In January I imagine that the temps are colder and ski clothing is pretty much the same as North America.

However, off the slopes is different. Kitzbuhel is quite a classy town and the locals will be dressed more smartly than in a typical US ski resort (think more Vail), it is a while since I was there but fur coats were common. The tourists of course (plenty of Brits around) will not be quite so smartly dressed. I always had another jacket to go out in the evening - it's not so usual to wear your ski jacket,, but of course you can if you want to.

Enjoy the cake! Have a coffee and pastry in the afternoon, sachertorte is the best.
 

pinto

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
... the locals will be dressed more smartly than in a typical US ski resort (think more Vail), it is a while since I was there but fur coats were common. The tourists of course (plenty of Brits around) will not be quite so smartly dressed. I always had another jacket to go out in the evening - it's not so usual to wear your ski jacket,, but of course you can if you want to.

That was my first thought, too ... people in Austria period just dress up a little more than we do here, not just the ritzy resorts. IConservatively, the kind of things that last 20 years and don't really go in or out of style. They are more formal, reserved. I always take a big black wool wrap that doubles as a blanket on the airplane and a "coat" when I go out somewhere that a ski jacket wouldn't work.

Come to think of it, are you asking about packing for the actual skiing or for other times?

Don't miss Austrian apres ski! You must dance in your boots at least once. (Where are you going?)
 

bitoffluff

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
where you going in Austria? Resort height might affect packing choice eg in January Ive had -18 degreesC (brrr) at high altitude but been practically skiing in a t-shirt too and as Lilabear says us Brits are scruffy, but there are posh resorts where if you plan to strut your stuff with the rich and famous you might want some smart apres gear, but on the slopes there is ofetn an inverse relationship between gear smartness and skiing ability :becky:
 

LKeyes

Diva in Training
Yes, interested to hear where you are headed! I'm going to austria at the end of January/early feb and normally go with my husband and both of our families every year. I tend to bring lotttts of layers. Last year when we were in Austria in was in the single/negative digits for a few days (that was at the end of December) but a few days later it was in the high 30s. I normally pack a soft and hard shell, quite a few layering options, and wear a nice wool pea coat on the airplane to wear around town. And you're always safe bringing comfortable, more-dressy basics in black. it seems everyone wears black in Europe :smile: Oh and try to pack any little things like handwarmers/ chapstik/dried fruit or snacks for on the mountain as it is quite expensive there.
 

robynb

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Great idea on the wool scarf. We'll be staying in Innsbruck and I want to pack as lightly as possible. would you take your skis or rent when you got there?
 

pinto

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Great idea on the wool scarf. We'll be staying in Innsbruck and I want to pack as lightly as possible. would you take your skis or rent when you got there?

We rented in Switzerland (06), and took our skis to Austria (08). I preferred not renting, but we were able to keep the skis in the car as we traveled (we rented a car and drove ourselves around).

How many days are you planning to ski? Are you traveling at all? Or staying in Innsbruck the entire time? If you are not traveling through the country by train or something else requiring the constant hauling around of your skis, I would take them. Renting will get pricey for that long, much more than any airline charge. It just depends on whether you minimize the hassle, IMO.
 

robynb

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
we'll stay in Innsbruck for 10 days and then go up to Munich for 2. We'll ski most of the time so I think it sounds like taking skis is the route to go. We plan on taking day excursions to St. Moritz and St. Anton as well as Kitzbuhl for one of the races (hopefully)...so psyched!
 

SkiGAP

Angel Diva
Hello,

Well as I suppose as it is in US resort towns, Southern Germany/Austria in the winter is well prepared to help you with hauling skis. Airports and taxis should be prepared. Munich is quite beautiful in the winter - and there has been quite a bit of snow so it should be perfect if there is at least one more dump before you go.

As for clothes - I'd just advise you to wear a helmet (very high percentage in Austria, I find). Otherwise, ditto everyone else.
 

LilaBear

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
If you are moving around that much I'd recommend taking skis. Saves the language gap when trying to specify a ski preference, and saves a lot of time. Very easy to get ski carriers on top when you rent a car, however they are kitted for bare skis and can be a pain when you first arrive with the skis in a bag with other stuff, but be prepared to deal with it in the parking lot and it's not so terrible - e.g. have very warm gloves ready to hand.
 

pinto

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Yes, I agree about taking skis in your case. We usually do quite a bit of travel before and after we ski (say, if we're gone 11 days, we ski 3 or 4), so hauling skis onto trains and into a different hotel every other night isn't optimal. (But we always rent a car, so then it isn't a problem. Many don't rent cars, though.) But it sounds like you're set.

I'm jealous! what a great trip you will have.
 

abc

Banned
Steal or borrow a ski bag that has wheels, if you don't already own one.

I travel light. (I managed a week of skiing Utah with only my carry-on plus whatever I managed to stuff into the ski bag with the skis) But going to Europe is one of those exceptions. People, even skiers & tourists, tend to dress up a lot more than in the US. You can go around in your ski jacket and mud boots, but you might get looks or feel quite out of place. So, once add in the extra street/dinner jacket, extra shoes etc, it's considerably more stuff than what I can comfortably "carry". Wheels are essential to managing the stuff with all that check-in and check out of different hotels.

Innsbruck is a lovely city, with dramatic mountains ringing the city. You definitely want to walk around the city a bit.
 

Slidergirl

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Innsbruck. I've been there twice in the winter. Actually, I was in Igls, up the hill from Innsbruck. Very cool area! The Patscherkofel ski area is right there. In fact, one of the ski runs actually goes OVER the finish area of the bobsled track. On your daytrip to St. Moritz, definitely check out the bobsled track. It is the only one that is manmade from scratch using blocks of ice each year. When I was there, they had little Viewmaster-like things at different places along the track. You looked into the lenses and saw that that area looked like in the summer. Really cool. It's also uber-expensive in that town!!! And, it's hard to find a relatively cheap place to eat. There is one pizza place over by the track that all the athletes would hit up.
Another daytrip you could do from Innsbruck is to Garmish-Patenkirchen. Another town with an Olympic history.
For packing, I made do twice for 2 week trips and one 3 week trip using one rolling duffel bag. Now, I wasn't skiing, so I didn't have to worry about that stuff. But, everything else would be what you would take on a ski trip (I was at the tracks all day, so I had to dress just like I was going skiing, just with big outdoor boots instead of ski boots and skis). Work it out so that you can wash out a turtleneck every night and have two of them already dry. Keep it to neutrals (white, black, grey) so they will go with everything. Bring your favorite gloves/mittens. I would actually wait until I was over there and go shopping for some of the little things, your hats, scarves, things like that. They are commodity items and can end up as good souvenirs of your trip. There are a couple of decent sporting good shops in downtown Innsbruck. And, definitely pick up some things in St. Moritz. The little things will cost the same as anyplace else.
 

lynseyf

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I'm another scruffy Brit :eyebrows:
I really don't take that much stuff with me but then I never go anywhere fancy at night. I travel in one pair of hiking boots and my ski jacket then I take a couple of pairs of jeans and a couple of jumpers and t-shirts and that's it, I'll maybe take one nicer jumper and a necklace but often I don't wear it. I've never felt out of place or had anyone look at me but again I guess it depends on the kind of places you go. I've been to Ishgl and Zermatt which are two of the poshest resorts you can find but have always worn the same kind of clothes. You do see a lot of Russians dressed to the hilt with fur etc but they don't look like they do much skiing :wink: I do wear woollen jumpers rather than fleece or cotton style hooded tops but that's about as dressy as I get when I'm skiing. I love to dress up at home and usually wear skirts and dresses when I'm going out but I can't be bothered taking that on a ski trip when I already have so much stuff to take.

Like Pinto says, most apres involves dancing in your ski boots anyway. I usually end up looking terrible when I go out straight from skiing, wind burned face, greasy looking hair and thermals, nice look :fear: so I guess the only useful thing I could suggest would be to maybe have a nice t-shirt in your bag or under your thermals so you can take your top layer off when you get to a bar and look a bit better. There is no way you could wear a hat in any of these places, far too warm so I'm not sure what you can do about your hair :noidea: To be honest any proper apres places I have been in Austria everyone is far too drunk to care what you look like.

Maybe that's the best suggestion, start training for drinking huge amounts of schnapps now :cool:
 

astridhj

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Use the same clothes in Austria as you do in Summit County. That was what I was doing skiing in the US.

People drink more while skiing in Austria. Gluhwein and Jagertee are very popular hot drinks, also hot chocolate with Rum.

Really pity that I will miss you as I am going to the same area in February. Have fun skiing in Austria!
 

abc

Banned
I'm another scruffy Brit :eyebrows:

I travel in one pair of hiking boots and my ski jacket then I take a couple of pairs of jeans and a couple of jumpers and t-shirts and that's it, I'll maybe take one nicer jumper and a necklace but often I don't wear it. I've never felt out of place or had anyone look at me but again I guess it depends on the kind of places you go. I've been to Ishgl and Zermatt which are two of the poshest resorts you can find but have always worn the same kind of clothes. You do see a lot of Russians dressed to the hilt with fur etc but they don't look like they do much skiing :wink:
There's a lot in between jumpers and furs.

Innsbruck is a proper city, not a ski resort. Though I don't think it's a very formal one (Vienna and Saltzburg was quite formal -- 10 years ago, that is).

I really don't take that much stuff with me but then I never go anywhere fancy at night.
That's the point. If you're going JUST for skiing, you probably don't care to go out at night anyway. But if you're crossinng the pond for 2 weeks, having the option to go to a slightly fancier place for a change would be nice.

I do have winter wear that are dressy, since I live in New York, which is cold. But if you don't alreayd have it, it may not pay to buy all that stuff and cart it all the way over to Europe.
 

Spark

Certified Ski Diva
I'll be in St. Anton the week of February 20th and this thread has been helpful.

Any suggestions for good apres bars in St. Anton?
 

pinto

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I'll be in St. Anton the week of February 20th and this thread has been helpful.

Any suggestions for good apres bars in St. Anton?

The two most famous apres bars in the world, afaik, are in St Anton: Krazy Kanguruh and Mooserwirt. Have fun! :eyebrows:
 

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