Emir thanks for the heads up. As I flew from LHTL the other day to eastern Germany the further west I went the less natural snow was on the ground. Although the mountains looked totally covered. I guess it will be a crap shoot. Not unlike skiing in the New England area in the states.
Wow only a 15 Euro increase? Whats wrong with them? But even that is too much for my transplanted American friends who would rather sit in a car for 8 hrs than to spend an additional 20 Euros. What I need are rich Arabs or Russians as friends.
Ok back on topic. I guess Salzburg is the best possibility and if Zell am See is expected to be clear during the intended time period then land there.
Now its time to look at accommodations.
I wonder if Peter had the heater repaired?
Yes; the boiler has been fixed 
I would do Zell am See if somebody wants to organise a fly-in there. I can probably ski some of the slopes there now. And maybe others; I would need to check out the piste maps.
Peter Im getting crosseyed doing my due diligence on checking out a totally alien ski environment for me Europe.
I had looked at Zell Am See as an airport of arrival but if for whatever reason the weather does not cooperate you would have to fly to Salzburg as an Alternate. Now thats on arrival. But what about departure? Anyone know of the snow removal efficiency at LOWZ? Do they have plug in for engine and cabin heaters? Assuming 0 wind I would have to climb out at 730’/min Since you can only take off to the West any tailwind will increase required climb by a significant margin. Maybe Im being over cautious.
So I thought that Salzburg is 50 mins by car to Flachau which has lots of wide intermediate slopes. 1 Hour to Obertauern 1:10 hour to to Kitzbuhel all according to Google/Waze Maps. The best time Ive found to go is the week of Sept 18th. There appears to be a lull in the school holidays and the prices for the rooms are 30% less than on the following week or weekends. At least in the Kitzbuhel area. I would not go on a weekend cause of the crowds not just because: 1 I hate standing on line, 2 it costs more, 3 but because the only time I got hurt was on a weekend skiing trip at which time I got run over, on an expert slope.. literally. So I will not be skiing on weekends or where it is known that the slopes are very busy due to a holiday.
What your opinion?
Whats your opinion about my thought processes for using Salzburg as a destination airport from which we can rent cars?
September 18th? I’d go in winter. Three „holiday free“ weeks in December, January and February.
Ok Snoopy you got me! Feb 18th
I think you need to do this at a short notice, and avoid a period when snow is forecast.
Peter you asked that someone organize a trip. Well I started it. Lets see what the response will be.
Ok so I just booked accommodations for the mountain ski area of Obertauren for 3 nights Feb 18th through the 21st. During this period even though the school holidays are staggerd in every country this appeared like the best time. However even though, the biggest obstacle was still the accommodations, almost all the nice convenient ones are taken. I dont want to spend 1500 Euros for 3 nights but even most of those were taken. I booked at a really nice hotel for 1/2 that price but still think its not cheap. But then again skiing like flying is not cheap. So I made sure the reviews were very good before I booked. However as always there were some with negative comments. As long as those comments were not unreasonable I made note and booked.
Got a rental car from Salzburg again, not cheap because Im being charged for 4 days since I would like to ski 1/2 day before I leave.
So if anyone would like to go skiing midweek in Austria on what has been billed as a good mountain you can share a ride with me from Salzburg to Obertauren. Actually I booked a hotel room for 2 so that would be covered as well.
Now I have my fingers crossed that I can land and park the plane there as has been reported by some of the guys here.
Peter frankly, I cant see how you are going to have a ski flyin at the last minute just because of the accommodation limitations. It took me forever to find accommodations and that is almost 4 weeks in advance. Then factor in the weather and from what Ive seen the weather is changeable for the worse, with more IFR days and for longer periods than any other season.
If you have a car you can book cheaper accommodation in one of the neighbouring towns for less.
For a ski fly in at Zell am See LOWZ one could use Salzburg LOWS as alternate – there is a pretty direct train going from Salzburg to Zell am See (takes 1h30m).
Here is the email for GAC LOWS [email protected] to arrange parking. I never had a problem there with anything <2000 kg mtow.
I have inquired with LOWS GAC and post info when I get a reply.
I have marked off the 3 nights Feb 18-21 but I don’t think I will do anything until I can see the wx will be ok – both for flying and for skiing.
I’ve just got back from a week at Madonna and it was brilliant. Blue skies every day. Not flyable there in the TB20 though; back would have been ok. And I have lost some days on every one of my ~11 ski trips. With just 2 whole skiing days, one could easily spend both sitting in the hotel because of thick snow.
