USA Road Trip 2016 - The Prologue

California here we come - plus a little bit of Nevada, Arizona and Utah

On a little cable car heading  the stars

Day one – on the Siven, Siven, Siven – NZ1 to LA.

We chose Air New Zealand flights for our trip.

Two good reasons - The price was keen and we like them

Bit odd getting on the plane knowing we were getting off half-way. NZ1 was on its way to Auckland. We were, of course, down in steerage but we were able to look at Premium Economy so that was a consolation. Not sure what we would do with all that space if we had it, would only lose stuff. Our little seats were still a giant step from Southall. The drive from Poole towards Heathrow was fine but we had a bit of a conflict with the Sat Nav lady. TW nearly threw her out of the window.

For some reason she did not want to take us to our destination, she refused to navigate us to a disused gas works in Southall, does she know something we don’t?

Will our little car be OK at Purple Parking? We managed to trick her into taking us there eventually and then took an immediate transfer to Terminal 2.

The first time at the new Terminal and it was very smart. Check-in was as complicated as ever, a lot of people standing around showing you how to self-check in. Never seems straight-forward despite the fact that we have already done it on-line and we still had to check in bags at the counter. Best thing is to play dumb and they do it all for you anyway.

We still had time to buy lunch before the flight, but not to eat it and my fruit salad went in the bin.

Anyway, Air New Zealand looked after us very well. I sat next to a chap from SF who was thoroughly engrossed in films on his lap top. He only moved to go to the loo but, rather oddly, stepped on my seat to get there.  I was not sitting in it fortunately. I think he said he was a dancer so at least he was light on his feet. TW sat next to an English adopted kiwi lady who lived near Nelson and had a vineyard. Did not invite us to come and stay unfortunately. I did not have a lot of luck with the Entertainment System, getting to an age when I can’t really see it or hear it very well and don’t really like what I could hardly view or listen to anyway. There was some violent rubbish on with a bearded Leonardo de Caprio shouting and everyone get stuck with arrows or garrotted. Pity he did not go down with the Titanic.

No problems with entering the USA at LAX. TW had thrown away or eaten all her food and the visa’s worked. There were actually quite welcoming in their nice new Terminal. Next stop the Hilton on a transfer bus.

Ski Season 2015/2016 is over.

That's it then for this Ski Season

Last day Blues on top of H5

It was a very good year. Lets face it, every year that we are able to strap on the ski's and tour around Gasteinertal is going to be good.

Only 49 Ski Days this year. We delayed our New Year trip until the 12th January and then the March trip was truncated due to a combination of illnesses and the early Easter.

As always we skied hard and ate well on the mountain. The Haitzingalm is my favourite coffee stop, Tom and Waltraud always give us a warm welcome.

Elevenses at the Haitzingalm

In Summer or in Winter the Baerstein is very hospitable. The season was no exception. Its new extension is all ready for the new lifts that we hope to see in 2017/2018. The snow person takes some beating. Johanna insisted she did not model for it!

Tough last Day?

A cold front at the Baerstein.

In the evenings, the Berglift was as good as ever. We used the Gastein Alm a few times as well as it is more lively and at Da Dinos the Pizza's and Padrone are great. We had two great nights out at the Hirschenhutte. Too much dancing for my tired knees but great company and superb chicken and Ribs.

Bring on December!

Austria - Skiing Day Trip to Zell am See

Zell am Ski - Life by the Lake

Heading for the See

Always time for elevenses

Zell is pretty close to Gastein, only about 45 minutes by car. It is a very different sort of place and is the local commercial centre with a big shopping area that sprawls along the valley. A good place to buy a TV but also, I now know, a great place to ski. We were lucky to have a bright sunny day with great snow. There were plenty of trees and nice wide slopes with plenty of space to accommodate the various standards of skier. We are fortunate that Gastein is quite a tricky resort so when go elsewhere its not too daunting a challenge. The blacks into the village were quite steep but had plenty of width. The scenery is beautiful and definitely my favourite 'out of valley' experience of the season.

Zell - good enough to be rated 94th for the season

Austria - A skiing day trip to Rauris

Visiting the Neighbours in Rauris

No crowds here

Nice Hut for Lunch

Elevenses - nice coffee and cake

Just over the mountain is the Rauris Valley. A ski link to Gasteinertal was proposed some time ago but they did not want it so its not happened. We have to go by car. Rauris is not on the Ski Amade pass so this is the first year we have visited. It only takes about half an hour, we just turned South at Taxenbach and wound our way up the valley for about 10km. It was a brilliant sunny day so visibility was perfect and the snow conditions could not have been better. The majority of the runs are blue and Franz was prompted to comment that it is a resort for women and pensioners - not us of course. The most difficult thing was the dreaded drag lifts. One taking us to the top almost pulled my arm off. I reckon we had done the resort after about 2 hours. Time for coffee and cake! We laughed about the supposed black run down to the resort but this was transformed into a killer at the end of the day, Serves us right. In the morning it had been easy, but not far below the middle station, we rounded a corner too fast to find frozen irregular bumps littered with prostrate teenagers. Then we had to negotiate a switch-back gun barrel with heavy snow on the corners. A great day but in a relaxed, quiet and easy resort.

Blues skies in Raurisertal

Not all lifts registered but good enough for 22nd on Skiline

Austria - Spring in Gastein

Snow worth waiting for!

We came back to Gastein to find snow - and we founf lots of it.

Race Lady - Haitzingalm

No more slipping and sliding on icy slopes. It was more like skiing through lumpy custard for the first few days. Once it was all bashed down the conditions were perfect. One of my cycle routes is definitely closed until the thaw comes!

No cycling today

Whatever the weather there is always the option to pop into one of the many Huts and Restaurants for a tasty meal and a nice glass of something.

Salad Days - Bauern Salad in the Waldgasthof

Dog sledge racing is an entertaining spectacle. Trouble is they race on snow so the dogs are the only animals staying warm. They seem to really enjoy it and are desperate to get started.

Paws Power

Woof

Austria - doing the snow-shoe shuffle

Weekend wandering
Saturday is changeover day but that does not mean, necessarily, that the slopes will be quiet.
The Austrians and day tripping groups are often out in force. We opted for the quiet life and a little bit of snow shoeing and a nice lunch. Recent snow falls and low temperatures meant we had fluffy powder to waddle through. The only noise was a healthy crunch as the snow compressed with each footfall. We cheated a bit by walking down from the middle station, seemed a pity not to use our ski passes. Only one piste to cross but we were a moving target and it was very quiet. We had to make a stop on the way at the Brandnergut (Farm) for a coffee, it would be rude no to, before heading down to the valley.

Plenty of snow in the valley so we managed to keep our snowshoes on all the way to the lift station. Time for another ride up to the Middle station. The Baerstein beckoned for lunch and a beer - excellent!

Farm for Coffee anyone

The ski room

Powder on the table

Austria - Salzburg Super Ski Card - Day Trips to Kaprun, Kitzbuhel and Saalbach

Even more resorts to choose from!

For about £60 extra it's possible to replace the Ski Amade Season Pass with the Salzburg Super Ski Card. It is very difficult to drag ourselves from the paradise that is Gastein but we managed it somehow.

With a car and a willing driver, Franz, it is possible to hit the slopes in a massive range of resorts. Some big world class names are only about an hour away. 

Kaprun with its glacier, Kitzbuhel and Saalbach were our first three targets.

High up on the Kitzsteinhorn

Zell am See down below in December

Up on the glacier

Lunchtime on the Kitzsteinhorn

Kaprun and the Kitzsteinhorn was our first venture. About an hour away on a good road it was an excellent option pre-xmas when the snowfall was very limited. They were even making snow on the glacier! Of course, it can get very busy when other resorts are struggling but it was very tolerable in December. The car parks are massive and in High Season you need a bus to get to the lift. Not us though, we parked a few metres from the lift that takes you up to the ski area. The initial ride up is not pretty, without snow cover it was like riding up a quarry. The views up the top are stunning, Zell am See seemed  a world away as we looked down.

Down to Kitzbuhel

Not all slopes register on Skiline - we worked harder than this!

Kitzbuhel, Kirchberg and Pass Thurn is a comprehensive ski area and it is only an hour and a quarter away. We have had a few holidays in Kitzbuhel and, even though we like it, the skiing is a tad overrated. It relies heavily on the appeal of the iconic Hannenkahm Downhill Race. The town is nice of course. However, with Kirchberg and Pass Thurn all connected it is well worth a look. Definitely worth a day trip.

We drove to Mittersill, parked by the lift station and took to a gondola to take us up to Pass Thurn from where we made our way over to Kirchberg. Then we took a look at the Downhill Course in Kitzbuhel itself. The actual downhill took place 2 days earlier so we were able to ski down some of the route with the blue dye still visible. We managed to avoid the town and its pricey shops and headed back to Pass Thurn and our lift to the valley. The final lift section is not skiable so we could not be late.

Saalbach

Saalbach etc on a day trip

Saalbach-Hinterglemm was next on our hit list. Just an hour away from Gastein it is a massive ski area and difficult to cover in a day. Again Parking was easy, right next to the lift at Vorderglenn. We skied over to Leogang in the mist then back to Saalbach from where we headed to Fieberbrunn. Never been there before and it looked to be a very nice ski area. The town was spread along a road but the runs were very good. It would be great to go back one day and fully explore. From Fieberbrunn we headed back to the Hinterglemm Area and then across the road and up to the Zwolferkogel to complete the ring via Schattberg. The area has grown massively since my last holiday there about 30 years ago. There are lifts and pistes everywhere. Huts are still nice though and we had a final coffee at the Simalalm before the last run back to Vorderglemm. The final run was marked Blue but was long and extremely lumpy. I reckon the snow boarders are the cause of the nasty late in the day lumps with ice on the other side. Very difficult to deal with on tired legs. A great day out but exhausting!