Austria or Switzerland?

[biggins]

So my plans for a Scottish Highlands trip fell through, and I am missing an epic snow season with a leg break, BUT- I have the all clear to plan a trip to Vienna and then points west for this coming July. Wife and I will be on a Eurorail pass into the Alps for 4-5 days and we plan to go to a region that offers plenty of trail riding opportunity. Right now, I am leaning towards the Lenzerheide and surrounding areas because from what I can tell from google maps and LeeLau's TRs from his trip there it looks like there are lots of routes, towns, lifts, etc one could piece together over the course of 4 days.

That said, it is so hard to do any specific online research as both the Swiss area's and Austrian area's websites are black holes of confusion. We have a lot of flexibility, so I want to consider a number of possibilities. If you can help, I am looking for specifics with regard to:

-Guide service (if necessary. Be happy to have good maps and well signed routes instead, but willing to pay for a good guide).
-Bike rentals (not so worried about me, but the wife it small, so the more availability of bikes, the better chance we can accommodate her)
-Ease of interconnectability (lift to trail to town to bus back to hotel)

Things we don't really care about:
-Bike parks
-Super tech-gnar
-Long distance bike packing type routes

Once I have a region picked out, I feel like lodging and food are pretty straightforward, but if any Euromags or well-traveled 'merican/Canukians have must-stays or must-eats, I'd love to get your suggestions.

So. Any thoughts? I am not married to Switzerland for the Alpen part of our trip as Austria will be a bit closer to our start point and we can fly out of either Zurich or Munich. Would one be better than the other for flowy trail riding (as opposed to required chunky hike-a-bike)? Would I find less and not-as-good cheese in one place over the other? Cheese is kind of a priority. What say ye?

Thanks mags. I am stoked. Never been to the Alps, so this is gonna be a rad trip regardless.

[nicojohnson1234@gmail.com]

Wow, has the world gotten weird. Just go on vacation, your a biped you'll figure it out.

[kalisto]

Wow, has the world gotten weird. Just go on vacation, your a biped you'll figure it out.

^ what?

I've been a bunch through both of those places, never with a bike though...

That said, just remember everything in Switzerland is way more expensive than Austria... beautiful place though.

[biggins]

Wow, has the world gotten weird. Just go on vacation, your a biped you'll figure it out.

YOU'RE very helpful. Thanks for chiming in. Buy a grammar book.

[jm2e]

None of my advice involves Austria or Switzerland. But, all these countries are about as close together as the states of New England, so I'll weigh in on my perspective a few degrees south of your plan.
I've been to Lake Garda Italy twice now and loved the fuck out of it. No doubt, going to Euro and figuring shit out is very stressful once you realize finding a place to stay, finding a bike to ride and figuring out how to get around can be, as you aptly said, a black hole of confusion.
From Munich, you can get to Lake Garda in like 4 hours and once there everything is centralized with shuttles to the trails. It is however, uber technical across the board. The easiest trails there are harder than the hardest trails here in NC.

If I weren't going to Garda, I'd seriously consider doing a guided trip with these guys:
http://trailaddiction.com/les-arcs-m...s-and-guiding/
They're the company that organizes the Trans Savoie. Seems like having someone set up your lodging and bike rental and then showing you the goods every day would be amazing. All the stress eliminated. I've communicated with them a fair bit and it sounds like they have enough going on at one time that they can cater pretty well to ability and fitness level. They also have access to tons of both lift served and non lift served.

Good luck. Should be brilliantly fun.

[Benny Profane]

Switzerland is too expensive to consider.

[biggins]

Is Austria that much less expensive?

[kalisto]

Is Austria that much less expensive?

Yes, mainly due to the fact Austria is on the Euro along with all the other countries in the area, where Switzerland is on their Franc...

[LeeLau]

Advice for lenzerheide and those other stories are still current. If set on Switzerland hire SAA. See stories on Pinkbike which have more info. Swiss Alpine Adventure.

If you want less expensive than Euro countries. Go to South Tyrol. Also see pinkbike

[justr]

Yes, mainly due to the fact Austria is on the Euro along with all the other countries in the area, where Switzerland is on their Franc...

Not only the currency thing. Austria is just cheaper in general. That's even the perspective from up here in Krautland.

[biggins]

Wife is officially set on Ze Zwitzerland. So that is done. From here, I think I'm good... because Lee has meticulously mapped out the logistics for a bumbler like me . I am stoked. I will take nice pictures. I will post a TR. Thanks all for the advice.

And while I'm here, what say ye about Ischgl? Leogangang? Just curious. The main source of my confusion is that anywhere I look in the Alps, anywhere, looks so enormous and awesome its hard to choose one place over the other. We got old, little alps around here. Those youngin' mountains you got over there are pretty overwhelming

[Incompetent Boob]

Wife is officially set on Ze Zwitzerland. So that is done. From here, I think I'm good... because Lee has meticulously mapped out the logistics for a bumbler like me . I am stoked. I will take nice pictures. I will post a TR. Thanks all for the advice.

And while I'm here, what say ye about Ischgl? Leogangang? Just curious. The main source of my confusion is that anywhere I look in the Alps, anywhere, looks so enormous and awesome its hard to choose one place over the other. We got old, little alps around here. Those youngin' mountains you got over there are pretty overwhelming

CH is amazing, can't go too wrong with it. Have only riden a day in the park at Lenzeheide which was fun enough, they have built it out a fair bit since then though. I also recommend getting local guides. Although the mapping and signage for trails in general is very good, determining which trails are really fun to ride is not easy. The mountains are big, steep and rough, it sucks wasting that on a crappy decent (too tech or too boring). Another option would be down in Wallis/Valais - lots of riding in the valley & very good cheese.

Haven't been to Ischgl, but have done a lot of days at Leogang. The Big 5 is a fun day trip between Saalbach and Leogang, ca. 5km vert, 1000 of which you have to get up yourself, the rest with gondolas. Trails are fun, nothing too difficult but rough as at least partly shared with the bikepark and get beaten up a bit. Otherwise Serfaus is nice, they've been spending some serious money on there bike set-up. Naunders just put some new tracks in which I hear good things about. Depends a bit on what you are looking for.

[LeeLau]

The problem with Ischgl and Leogang is that biking on hiking trails is verboten. Now we're on official trips with tourism stuff to do so have to play by the rules. On private trips you can do different things and maybe play in the gray areas.

www.swissalpineadventure.com - ask for Dave.

http://www.pinkbike.com/news/Switzer...rt-2-of-6.html

[biggins]

So after lining up some prices side by side, I was able to talk my wife out of Swizzerland. Another time.

Instead, we're gonna stick to Austria and do Saalback-Hinterglemm for 4 days. What say ye? Any personal favs? Danke.

[Incompetent Boob]

I haven't done too much all-mtn riding around Saalbach. I enjoy the park there though, some very fun trails. The Big 5 should be one day if you are there. The Hacklberg Trail is fun.
My only concern would be you mentioned cheese being a big priority. Obviously you'll get some cheese there, but not the variety that you would in west-CH or the French alps.

[biggins]

Cool, thanks Boob. Not gonna let cheese keep me from enjoying anything- I'm sure we'll find good vittles wherever we go. The Big 5 does sound like a great day and I'll check out the other suggestions you made. Any other tips would be appreciated. Bike and Soul seems like the place to rent- any other options anyone would recommend?

Danke.

[Incompetent Boob]

Make sure you stay at somewhere in Saalbach/Hinterglemm which includes a "Joker Card" - gives you free access to the lifts and some other things in town IIRC.

[biggins]

What about Leinz? Should I consider that as well? Seems like a nice town and right by the Italian border with some decent MTB infrastructure. Any take on that hamlet? Boob- where do you prefer to go for all-mtn, regular old trail riding? Not displeased with the Saalbach option, just considering all choices in the general vicinity.

[Incompetent Boob]

I have no one fixed destination - typically moving around depending on weather, other plans etc.
In terms of locations for multiple days, I like Garda, also because it is one of the most beautiful places in Europe. There are some really fun trails and a very established mtb scene meaning guides, hire bikes etc should be easy to find. Finale Ligure, a bit further from Austria (about 5hrs drive from Zurich) is also great. Similar in many ways to Garda but on the med instead of a lake. I haven't done any riding in Sudtirol but LeeLau has a few reports from there (Bolzen, Brixen, Medran) on PinkBike and it is also a popular destination. The new trails around Nauders look great but haven't made it there yet. If CH is still in consideration take a look at Verbier, they've been putting a lot of effort into their bike offer over the last couple of years. In the Wallis/Valais valley there are thousands of km of singletrails.
Where else will you been on your trip, perhaps that will help narrow it down a little.

[biggins]

We're trying to stick just to Austria, but we are renting a car- so anywhere in AUT is in play. Switzerland is just too expensive, so I'm eliminating it. S. Tirol (Italy) is an option, but if we can just stay in AUT it makes things a little (though not a ton) easier. Right now we are flying into and out of Vienna, driving west to Salzburg and then into the mountains from there. We'll stop in Bad Hofgestein to see my in-laws old family home (pre- '37) on the way back to Vienna, but that's about all that's set in stone as far as the Alps. Thanks again for the help.

[stuckathuntermtn]

I here there are a lot of wieners in Vienna.

Get it? Get it?!

[Incompetent Boob]

Considering your agenda I think Saalbach is not a bad choice, not far out of the way. You could also do a day-trip to Kitzsteinhorn, have heard they have some nice trails. Seeing as you will have a car you could always book last minute and decide based on the weather. Sudtirol is on the drier side of the alps and often has better weather.

This might help you when looking for trails/speaking with guides etc: http://www.google.com/translate?lang...rail-skala.de/
It is not used everywhere but it is a start and helps make things easier to compare.

[biggins]

That's great, thanks boob. Getting stoked.

[jono]

I just thought I'd leave this for the JONG who resurrects this thread in 2023 without realizing he needed to know what Maggotdom thought of this question before his balls dropped:

Switzerland, a place I always go with some ambivalence. France is the sexy and elegant wife of an industrialist who lets you backdoor her with your ring-finger in the pantry at the dinner party while her husband holds court in the dining room discussing cigars. And she assures you he doesn't really care because his cock doesn't even work anymore but that doesn't mean you want everyone knowing you're in her up to your third knuckle.

Austria is the reliable old high school girlfriend with Daddy Issues that you used to play to your advantage. Not a stunning beauty but sturdy and attractive enough, and willing to blow you in her Toyota Celica even though she's living with a dude who is deployed in the Korengal Valley and still won't admit she took your fucking Smithereens records. But Switzerland?

Switzerland is a cool and imperturbable beauty that you spend your whole paycheck trying to impress and are repaid with a dry chaste kiss on the cheek and an invitation to coffee with a bunch of her asshole, ipad clutching friends. Despite being given few encouraging signs, you somehow manage to convince yourself she is in love with you and will leave that Swiss Uncle Rico-like terminal grad student she is apparently on/off dating. She won't unbolt her knees for you, yet she's willing to give you life advice, like telling you that all the pornography you watch is turning you into a different person, someone she barely knows. And you tell her to shut her dirty whore mouth before you choke her with a pair of jumper cables! Finally it dawns on you that this frosty princess could see you at the bottom of a well filled with pit vipers infected with ebola and not drop you a fucking rope because that would make her late for her train to work. Yet you still hope she calls you.

Wait, where was I?

[biggins]

"Austria is the reliable old high school girlfriend with Daddy Issues that you used to play to your advantage. Not a stunning beauty but sturdy and attractive enough, and willing to blow you in her Toyota Celica even though she's living with a dude who is deployed in the Korengal Valley and still won't admit she took your fucking Smithereens records."

My kind of gal.

Impending departure bump. Pretty stoked on Saalbach. Bikey, bikey, bikey. Any Euro's have any closing thoughts? We're goin' Vienna->Salzburg->Saalbach->Vienna. Thanks to all for the suggestions and feedback.

Rocken!