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  1. #276
    Join Date
    Feb 2010
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    Eastern Idaho
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    798
    Quote Originally Posted by Buster Highmen View Post
    Any skiareana lift ticket includes the train for that day.
    I think the Ticketcorner ski card is a little more convenient since they'll send it to you at mt-lodge and it's good for the whole time.

    It's unclear if the halfprice system gives you a single pass valid for the whole interval.
    Thanks! That's the conclusion I was coming to - it may cost a little more for the ticketcorner ski card in the end, but the convenience will probably make up for that.

  2. #277
    Join Date
    Sep 2001
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    Schneehuenerstock looking good:



    credits: @rheinquelleregion, @skiarena Instagram feed
    Merde De Glace On the Freak When Ski
    >>>200 cm Black Bamboo Sidewalled DPS Lotus 120 : Best Skis Ever <<<

  3. #278
    Join Date
    Nov 2015
    Posts
    479
    Vendul: any availability left? We are 3 (a couple and a single). Arrive Sunday 15th, check out Thursday 19th. Thanks!!

  4. #279
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    Quote Originally Posted by FatKidFromFL View Post
    Vendul: any availability left? We are 3 (a couple and a single). Arrive Sunday 15th, check out Thursday 19th. Thanks!!
    Try a PM and email: info@mt-lodge.com or more efficiently, just try to make a reservation: https://www.mt-lodge.com/book-a-room

    Looks like there is availability.
    Merde De Glace On the Freak When Ski
    >>>200 cm Black Bamboo Sidewalled DPS Lotus 120 : Best Skis Ever <<<

  5. #280
    Join Date
    Nov 2015
    Posts
    479
    Booked at Vendul’s spot. Now I need to figure out how to get from Stuttgart to Vendul’s, then from Vendul’s to Milan. And a few other details 🤣
    See you guys there!

  6. #281
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
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    Bellevue
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    7,431
    To Milan is pretty easy by train from Andermatt. I got a ride to Milan in exchange for gas instead of the train

  7. #282
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    Quote Originally Posted by FatKidFromFL View Post
    Booked at Vendul’s spot. Now I need to figure out how to get from Stuttgart to Vendul’s, then from Vendul’s to Milan. And a few other details ��
    See you guys there!
    Swiss train information, schedules, prices: https://www.sbb.ch/en/home.html

    Has Stuttgart to Rueras info as well as Rueras to Milan.
    Merde De Glace On the Freak When Ski
    >>>200 cm Black Bamboo Sidewalled DPS Lotus 120 : Best Skis Ever <<<

  8. #283
    Join Date
    May 2017
    Location
    Zurich, Switzerland
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    420
    Quote Originally Posted by FatKidFromFL View Post
    Booked at Vendul’s spot. Now I need to figure out how to get from Stuttgart to Vendul’s, then from Vendul’s to Milan. And a few other details 藍
    See you guys there!
    Let me know if you need a stop in Zurich.
    Basically it goes like -> Easy train from Stuttgart to Sedrun (not Andermatt) (Try to book via https://ps.bahn.de/preissuche/preiss...tton_LZ03#stay very much as soon as you know the date and time)

    Andermatt -> Milano is easy, too. (Book here: sbb.ch also try to get some early bird discount) here you go via Andermatt anyways but I woudl book a ticket that goes from venduls directly.

    If you happen to need to stay a night in Zurich on your way let me know.

  9. #284
    Join Date
    Nov 2015
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    479
    Thanks so much for the help everybody!🙏

  10. #285
    Join Date
    Oct 2009
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    Maine Coast
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    Plane noon into Zurich and hotel booked from the 11th to 19th. I sure feel like a country boy from the lowlands looking at that terrain. Trails barely outnumber lifts, what? Looks huge. How does it roll out there with storms-avy closures, ping pong ball skiing? Do trains usually run during storms?

    British Air out of Boston to Zurich under $500 RT with 1 bag below was the rate I found.

    This may have been mentioned earlier, but this is a nice mapping tool similar to caltopo
    https://map.geo.admin.ch/?topic=schn...alogNodes=2352
    Last edited by cat in january; 12-08-2019 at 12:40 PM.

  11. #286
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Location
    Paris, France
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    100
    Quote Originally Posted by cat in january View Post
    Plane noon into Zurich and hotel booked from the 11th to 19th. I sure feel like a country boy from the lowlands looking at that terrain. Trails barely outnumber lifts, what? Looks huge. How does it roll out there with storms-avy closures, ping pong ball skiing? Do trains usually run during storms?
    European skiing requires a complete change of mindset, Cat. There is no concept of inbounds/out-of-bounds as you think of it back home... there is only on-piste/off-piste. The "trails" you see marked on the map are just the one or two pistes down each section. A piste is a cat tracked line, and in most ski resorts that is where everyone stays who isn't a "freerider." This is an admittedly funny sounding word that you will hear used all the time with great seriousness to distinguish those who ski off piste from those who stay on the piste. "Skiing off piste" basically just means "skiing" as North Americans think of it... skiing through glades or down couloirs or in big open bowls. That is why the maps you see don't appear to have a lot of trails, because "trails" aren't marked. Instead, there are just large areas served by lifts and many possible descents to choose from in each area. And it is pretty mind blowing that, apart from the ski resorts that are well known for freeriders, most people stay on these flat, overskied cat tracks all day long even when there is fresh, untouched snow all around the rest of the mountain for days, even weeks, after a storm.

    But that is because venturing off the side of the piste, even just a few meters (AKA yards ), you are taking your life into your own hands: There is no hazard marking. There is no avalanche control. There is no off-piste ski patrol assistance included in your ticket price. You need to have buddies, a beacon, shovel, probe, and knowledge how to use them and read the terrain for avalanche risk. The risks of not doing so range from falling into a crevasse, triggering a slide, or wrecking yourself on a thinly concealed rock patch. These are all things I've seen done (or done myself) just a short distance off the side of a piste.

    The edges of the pistes are marked with poles so you can stay within their limits. And those are generally all the markings you will find on the mountain except for an occasional directional marker where pistes cross. Going along with this style of mountain management, you will sometimes encounter red/orange rope barriers that you will think you recognize as closed area markings from North America. But in Europe these do not mean closed area (except for the few places marked with special signs indicating it is a protected wildlife area). Apart from those wildlife areas, the rope barriers are to warn you that it is an especially risk-prone area that may trigger slides on skiers below, lead to impassible cliffs, or otherwise direct you out of the area to another location altogether instead of the base area. But you are completely free to duck the rope and go skiing there, assuming all the risks that come with it. It's a pretty wild concept for those of us who grew up skiing in a North American mountain management style. And it is truly an experience of freedom in skiing! Very different than the curated and maintained American/Canadian system of marking hazards and cliffs and of ski patrollers doing sweeps for injured skiers or busting rope duckers.

    As far as your question about storms, the trains in Switzerland at least are pretty bomb proof and generally keep rolling no matter the weather. But the lifts are another story, and I've definitely had days grounded at the base because of storms. Avy closures, as mentioned above, aren't really a thing, but reading the avalanche report in the morning and assessing what is safely reasonable/possible each day is.

    And storms often also bring serious visibility challenges because European mountains tends to be taller and have a lower tree line than North America, so you are very frequently skiing above tree line. That means no escaping when dense clouds create a clam chowder whiteout and there's nothing on the mountain with contrast except the thin piste marking poles mentioned earlier. (Not my favorite conditions!)

    When all these factors line up though... bluebird conditions, good terrain knowledge, and good buddies... it makes for epic descents all day on lines of grandiose dimension and breathtaking untouched expansiveness like nothing you've seen in North America!
    Last edited by carvehard; 12-09-2019 at 05:23 PM.

  12. #287
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    Nov 2006
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    idaho panhandle!
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    Trooof!

  13. #288
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    Oct 2009
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    Maine Coast
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    Sure appreciate your words carvehard. I will be bringing the tools and I have a long time knowledge of their use, but obviously none of the snowpack.

    Another question-definite euro jong here-do I need supplemental insurance? I have some kind of rescue insurance from American Alpine Club, but have never read the policy too close. I do have personal insurance stateside.

  14. #289
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    Nov 2006
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    Quote Originally Posted by cat in january View Post
    Sure appreciate your words carvehard. I will be bringing the tools and I have a long time knowledge of their use, but obviously none of the snowpack.

    Another question-definite euro jong here-do I need supplemental insurance? I have some kind of rescue insurance from American Alpine Club, but have never read the policy too close. I do have personal insurance stateside.
    Highly recommended.

    https://www.rega.ch/en/

  15. #290
    Join Date
    Jun 2007
    Location
    Calgary
    Posts
    312
    I'm in the midst of planning a similar trip to Switzerland in March. We have been recommended purchasing a membership in the Austrian Mountain club (UK) as it includes a good rescue insurance policy for members and also includes hut priviledges: https://aacuk.org.uk/p-mountain-rescue-search-insurance I have no experience with using that insurance but the locally based Swiss guide we contacted recommended it.

    I'd be interested in hearing about the benefits of Rega. It sounds soley applicable to mountain rescue within Switzerland and does not include any benefits for transport home if you really damage yourself.

  16. #291
    Join Date
    Oct 2003
    Location
    Switzerland
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    Quote Originally Posted by sillybunt2 View Post
    I'd be interested in hearing about the benefits of Rega. It sounds soley applicable to mountain rescue within Switzerland and does not include any benefits for transport home if you really damage yourself.
    I guess that's about it. The swiss rega is just for mountain rescue afaik. I also have some rega sos worldwide thru my work which has the flight home transports covered.

    In switz there is rega and air glaciers. Doesn't matter which one you buy the coverage is complementary. But I took AG this year because I'm 95% in their service area.

    Air rescue is pretty expensive so go with the 30chfs insurance. I've heard of some hefty bills.

    Sent from my SM-A505FN using Tapatalk

  17. #292
    Join Date
    Apr 2007
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    Wa wa..tatic
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    Quote Originally Posted by cat in january View Post
    British Air out of Boston to Zurich under $500 RT with 1 bag below was the rate I found.
    I keep hearing that $5-600 is the magic number when it comes to airfare to Zurich from the EC US. Are you guys all buying flights at that price with a layover? Cause I've been watching the flights for two months now and the direct flights have not budged from the mid $900 range. (I've seen flights with a layover range from like $350 up to $600 in that time)

  18. #293
    Join Date
    Oct 2009
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    Maine Coast
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    It is an insurance I plan to purchase, but one I do not need to rush. A reading of the two websites shows the Österreichischer Alpenverein one more expensive at 57 pounds with some more benefits which sounded nice-flight home, legal. One difference was that it did cap the mountain rescue at 25,000 euros and the rega did not indicate a cap. Have no idea what the charge out rate is for a scrambled heli, and a mountain rescue team is in Switzerland. Second difference was the Rega website made it sound cleaner as it was Swiss specific in terms of partnerships. Anyone have thoughts if Österreichischer Alpenverein functions as cleanly if needed?


    I do have a layover both ways in Heathrow, but it is not bad at less than a couple hours if I remember. Leave in the late afternoon both directions so that makes up for the lack of a direct for me and I was pleased it was British Air as I am sure they are used to skis. I had been loosely looking at kayak and then when wife gave me the green light I started looking at carrier's sites. Fare with 1 bag underneath came up in two days and I took the $10 72hr window on it as it beat what I had been seeing by $150. Good luck, still a ways out so guessing something will happen in a month or so for your price search.

  19. #294
    Join Date
    Dec 2008
    Location
    Nashville TN
    Posts
    1,054
    great description of the distinction between Euro vs. North Am from Carvehard. Worth a read for a reminder even if you have skied Europe a time or two.

  20. #295
    Join Date
    Jan 2017
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    on the banks of Fish Creek
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    Quote Originally Posted by Diamond Joe View Post
    I keep hearing that $5-600 is the magic number when it comes to airfare to Zurich from the EC US. Are you guys all buying flights at that price with a layover? Cause I've been watching the flights for two months now and the direct flights have not budged from the mid $900 range. (I've seen flights with a layover range from like $350 up to $600 in that time)
    Try playing with this...

    https://matrix.itasoftware.com/


    It’s got a ton of input variables that you can mess with. Use the calendar version and you’ll get all of the prices for your variables for the next two months. This thing is really handy for flying low fares.

  21. #296
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    Apr 2007
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    Wa wa..tatic
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    ^ thanks for that site, its still coming up with relatively the same thing I had been finding on Google flights for the dates I'm looking for (3/13-3/20 or 21). Around $450-500 for layover flights, and $948 for direct.

    I would rather fly direct, as the time savings is considerable and less time flying = more time skiing pow, which is important when you're only gonna be there for 8 days. Total travel time for layover flights are in the 15 hour range. Flying direct gets you there in 7 hours, 15 minutes. With 0 chance of layover delays/difficulties. Thats worth the extra money to me, but I'm just wondering if I'm being overly optimistic in hoping that the prices on direct flights come down at all.

  22. #297
    Join Date
    Aug 2011
    Location
    panhandle locdog
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    7,836
    My flight last year had a 2 hour layover in Iceland.

    Sent from my moto e6 using TGR Forums mobile app

  23. #298
    Join Date
    Jan 2017
    Location
    on the banks of Fish Creek
    Posts
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    What city on the East Coast are you trying from? Are you flexible on your dates at all?

    If you fly out of Philadelphia on the 12th, you can get one of them $580 flights.

    Click image for larger version. 

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  24. #299
    Join Date
    Feb 2010
    Location
    Eastern Idaho
    Posts
    798
    Some friends of mine from Chicago may be coming along for a few days. When they heard I was doing this and decided not to visit JH this year, she decided to try to surprise her husband. This has the makings of an international incident. We may be crappy skiers, but she excels excels at Apres.

  25. #300
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    Dec 2008
    Location
    Nashville TN
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    Quote Originally Posted by Diamond Joe View Post
    ^ thanks for that site, its still coming up with relatively the same thing I had been finding on Google flights for the dates I'm looking for (3/13-3/20 or 21). Around $450-500 for layover flights, and $948 for direct.

    I would rather fly direct, as the time savings is considerable and less time flying = more time skiing pow, which is important when you're only gonna be there for 8 days. Total travel time for layover flights are in the 15 hour range. Flying direct gets you there in 7 hours, 15 minutes. With 0 chance of layover delays/difficulties. Thats worth the extra money to me, but I'm just wondering if I'm being overly optimistic in hoping that the prices on direct flights come down at all.
    You probably won't pick up any extra ski time because you'll need to factor in a 3-4 hours of train travel to and from also, but you will feel better the first day because you will be better rested with just that one shortish flight, and, as you note, the direct flight significantly lessens the likelihood of travel hassles, including delayed luggage. I'd lean towards ponying up for the direct flights at that $delta if I had the option. Unfortunately, I have no direct options. I was pretty happy to find something resembling reasonable with just 1 stop each way.

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