What to know before going to Austria

Icant_kfed

Icant_kfed

Active member
I came up with this idea as a long shot, then realized how feasible it would actually be. I’ve never flown with skis before, nevermind left the country before, any help with what to do or expect would be greatly appreciated
 
Always bring your boots as a carry-on. Renting skis is one thing, but renting boots is the best way to ruin your trip
 
Bring/be willing to spend more money than you think you're going to have to. Travel is mad expensive
 
14488595:Icant_kfed said:
Drinking age is 18 right?
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Beer and wine from 16, everything else is from 18.

take your ski boots in your carry on. If your bags are lost you can rent skis, renting boots sucks.

A few simple phrases of German go a long way and even a jumbled phrase can help you get what you’re looking for. Most Austrians speak (some) English, and want to, more so young people than old, but don’t assume everyone does.

if you’re buying travel tickets to get around, don’t struggle using a machine, travel staff will know English and are usually very helpful.

Depending how touristy the area is, Sunday as a day of rest is taken pretty seriously with supermarkets etc closing. Gas stations are usually the exemption.

From my experience, the bench seat at the end of the bars is unofficially for the old locals.
 
I've been on 2 Austria ski trips in the past few years, DM me if you have any specific questions
 
14488584:powpatrol said:
eat as much kaiserscharrn as possible
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don't forget about germknödel, leberkässemmel and käsespätzle

if you want information about ski resorts and snowparks (+most accurate snow/weather report) check out bergfex

if you are under 28 there are multiple regional season passes available which are a lot cheaper than the regular season passes (+you will get up to 15% off if you buy them before mid december)

try to avoid the regional holidays in february ("semesterferien") as resorts are gonna be really crowded during this time
 
The amount of people that asked me to bring them back a kangaroo or boomerang when I said I was going to Austria was insane.

On the flip side, I do enjoy telling non-skiers I was a ski instructor in Australia and watching their brain fry while they try to figure that one out.

14488675:Icant_kfed said:
Right idea, wrong country
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Be ready for the absolute mayhem that are lift lines (unorganized, fight your way to the gate, expect 20 people to be trampling over your skis). If you plan to ski off piste (why else would you be going?) try to find a group to ski with and atleast have a beacon. The place we ski has had a few inbound fatalities over the last handful of seasons. The beer is fantastic, they eat their French fries with ketchup and Mayo, don’t knock it til you try it.
 
14488903:Nuno812 said:
Be ready for the absolute mayhem that are lift lines (unorganized, fight your way to the gate, expect 20 people to be trampling over your skis). If you plan to ski off piste (why else would you be going?) try to find a group to ski with and atleast have a beacon. The place we ski has had a few inbound fatalities over the last handful of seasons. The beer is fantastic, they eat their French fries with ketchup and Mayo, don’t knock it til you try it.
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At least have a beacon?? Seriously?? What are you going to do with your beacon when you locate a victim?? Dig with your hands or skis??

In Europe everything 2m outside the pistes is offpiste. Yes also between the pistes. Legally that matters in case of a rescue. Yes sure a ski area will make sure the areas above a piste are safe so they can open the pistes but it is all off piste. There is no boundary system like in the US. With the exception of I think Vars in France that has some small boundaries set up within the resort area. So if you go offpiste, be sure you know your stuff and have all the gear, not only a beacon so they can find your body.
 
make sure your insurance covers international helicopter evacs from resorts.

if you get hurt in pow or the backcountry or even within the resort, chances are high you need to get airlifted due complexity. it is not free, not even for locals. make sure your insurance covers things like that to get to the nearest hospital because a chopper evac usually costs between 7-10K Euros.

- have equipment for BC if you plan to go, never go alone.

- Innsbruck has a great freeski scene and lifestyle

- car is a must unless you know people with a car, there is a lot commuting going on but the train connection are fairly decent.

- as far as i know, you need to have a base insurance anyway to enter the country

- depending on your duration you might look into the possibility to rent a room from a student or something that is on vacay.

a lot of sub-renting is going on.

- pharmaceuticals, we don't have this get anything you want in a walmart philosophy with drugs, most of the stuff is prescription based from doctors. you might need some things we dont have or dont provide.

- don't pack too heavy you might just end up shopping here in the eu anyway, after all we have different stuff than the us market.

- don't bother with cash, if you have a credit card your good, there is plenty of atms that give you cash if needed via your us credit card with barely any fees. we progressively got more card paying only anywyay, except of bars and clubbing.

- boots in the carry with you luggage,

- skis in the bag obviously , since you pay for oversized freight anyway, you might as stuff that bag full too with other things like ski clothes etc.

- so your remaining classic 20-25kg luggage (sorry dont know lbs) is with substantial stuff.

- don't leave your bag alone at the airport (lol)
 
Flying with skis is easy as long as you invest in a good bag. I have an Armada rolling bag I got years ago and it barely looks like it's been used after countless trips. I can fit 2 skis easily as well as several sets of outerwear and all my gear that's usually in my boot bag. I use a boot bag with back pack straps for my carry on and carry my boots, passport, book, headphones, etc. in there. Austria is a lot of fun, the skiing can be great and the apre is very fun there. Most people speak English these days if they are under the age of 45 or so, but basic German is helpful and a good idea just to be polite. They understand that Americans typically don't study German, but they learn study and use English frequently. It's just less upfront than starting off with English, and they'll likely respond in English the second they hear your accent anyway.

Skiing in Europe is easy enough to understand, but Americans get in trouble when they see sick untouched lines that are lift accessible. Those areas are often untouched for good reason. If you don't know what you are doing, steer clear. You are in the backcountry very close to the lift, it's not like being at Keystone or something like that where it's patrolled and blasted all the time. Typically it's easy to see what is ridden frequently and is consistently skier compacted, but more than a few people have set off slides at places like St Anton after strolling over from a lift. Stay on the runs if you aren't familiar with the area and the vis is poor. It is amazing how big some of the cliffs in Europe are that are right next to ordinary red pistes.

Slippery Slope does a pretty good channel, and he actually has a good example of making mistakes there last season.

 
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