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Greetings Fellow HISC Members,
Oburgurgl was great fun…turkeys-a-flame, three days of sun, good snow, reduced lift ticket costs, Nederhutte in full swing, Jostl’s after hours and Josephs simple “one-drink nightcap”. There was something for all…skiing, spa, après-ski, and window shopping. Special thanks to Linnea for being such a great host.
Thanks to all who participated in the flee market at the 2 Dec Social. Think there were happy participants on both sides of the equation – selling and buying. And the hats…what fun. Well done.
Come join us at the 16 December Social where we’ll celebrate the holiday season…wear your favorite Christmas item…twinkling antlers will even work. Leave your bah humbugs at home. Enjoy a ho, ho, ho evening.
The following individuals can retrieve trip payment refunds at the social by seeing Vera at Trips Accounts:
Hintertux: Amy Gould.
Obergurgl: Diane Johnston, Greg Nilges, Patricia Searcy and Rebecca Boucher.
Stuben: Tony Gordon, John Petersen, Patricia Searcy, Linnea Norby and Danny Brannon.
Refunds will be paid by way of check. One person asked to apply the refund to a subsequent trip. The book keeping gets a little complicated for audit purposes when we do that so we’ll issue the check.
All systems are a go for Stuben, Arabba, and St. Veit. Snow has been falling at each of the locations. The Arlberg Region opened this past weekend as planned. While it was a limited opening, forecasts over the next week are favorable for further expanded opening this weekend. Good news for the Stuben bound skiers.
Doug Sims can probably take several last minute St. Veit sign-ups until14 December if you want to try to jump on the trip. Payment in full is required by 16 December. Twenty hours of ski instruction is included in the cost of the trip. If you are a beginner skier, this is your best opportunity to prepare yourself to actively participate in the rest of the ski season. You’ll leave St. Veit a much more proficient skier.
First night sales for Andermatt (29-31 Jan) were favorable. This lower cost trip has something to offer a wide variety of people. The hotel is about equal distance between the two lifts that run out of town to two different mountains and it is a short walk to the town center which is said to be very picturesque. The travel distance from Heidelberg is a little shorter than most of our trips this season. The destination offers the following items of interest:
- Skier – A good mix of slopes for a variety of ski abilities. The adventuresome can enjoy good steeps and great off-piste skiing.
- Cross-Country Skier – This is probably the best X-country destination we will offer this year. Enjoy at least 20 km of trails principally along the valley floor.
- Non-Skiing Winter Sports Enthusiast – Ice skating and a 7 km rodelbahn (sled) course can be enjoyed.
- Non-Skier – An architecturally attractive town, good window shopping, an attractive town church, and an interesting regional museum.
I encourage you to favorably consider this destination. We may be able to arrange for a fondue dinner Saturday evening if all are interested.
The big event for the 16 December Social will be the opening for our Presidents’ Day Weekend (12-15 Feb) trips – Zell am See and Ski Safari (Ischgl, Serfaus, St. Anton). These ski spaces will go as quickly as the MLK Weekend spaces…the early bird gets the worm. As we did for the MLK trips, we will issue customer service sequence numbers at the reception table beginning at 1815. Val Laragy (Zell) and Aleck Hernandez (SS) will begin servicing interested trip participants in customer service numerical sequence beginning at 1900. This procedure allows interested trip participants an opportunity to mingle while those ahead of you are serviced. This helps eliminate standing in a time consuming line and facilitates crowd control. A word of understanding, some show before the official opening of the trips and begin forming their own unofficial line. If this occurs, we try to issue the HISC numbers in accordance with the sequencing of this unofficial line. So early birds, try to keep track of your unofficial place in line.
Recognizing that these destinations are new to some of you, the following insights are provided to help you make an informed decision in selecting your preferred trip.
Zell am See (TC: Val Laragy):
The rustic hotel sits on top of the mountain. We’ll take a cable car to reach the hotel. Departure from PHV will be at 1500 on Friday so that we reach the cable car by 2230. This ski-in/ski-out destination affords the first run enthusiast the opportunity to make a ski run or two before enjoying a buffet breakfast. At the end of the day you can enjoy the après-ski on the sun deck that is situated at the rear of the hotel. Depending on weather conditions, this can be quite fun. The hotel has a bar/disco that caters solely to hotel guests in the evening…guests are the only ones on top of the mountain. Access to downtown at night is not possible since the cable car ceases operations at 1700. Skiing is pleasant with some nice long cruising runs. It’s not a particularly challenging mountain and, depending on the skier, can be skied in a day to a day-and-a-half. On a sunny weekend, the mountain is like a sun terrace…you won’t ski much in the shade. To enjoy ski variety, some choose to take the local commuter bus to Kaprun on Sunday. Again, a nice sun terrace (when the sun is shining). The Zell pass is valid at both locations. Zell is a long time Club favorite. This is the trip for those that like to sleep in and want everything at their door step.
Ski Safari (Ischgl, Serfaus, St. Anton) (TC: Aleck Hernandez):
This is probably the better trip for the ski enthusiast or the non-skier…three days of skiing (sightseeing) at three premier destinations all of which can’t be completely explored in one day. This is a new ski safari destination. Departure from PHV is at 1700. The Club will stage out of Landeck and will make the daily 30-40 minute commute to each of the destinations via the HISC bus. These are not interconnected destinations so new lift passes will have to be purchased each day. Ischgl, quite a party town, is the Saturday destination. The bus will delay return departure in the evening until around 1800-1830 so that all can enjoy Ischgl’s après-ski social scene. With prior coordination, the Landeck hotel can hold Saturday’s dinner meal until the group returns from Ischgl. St. Anton, the resort closest to Heidelberg, will be the Monday destination thereby providing a shorter ride home and possibly a longer day on the slopes. Landeck is a medium size city so there are plenty of after hours opportunities for those who enjoy the nightlife. Be forewarned, no sleeping in, the HISC bus is the only convenient means of transportation to the slopes. I suspect daily bus departures will be around 0815. Historically, the Club has not gone to Serfaus and St. Anton and we’ve only gone to Ischgl at season end. Room availability and cost has made these destinations unachievable at this time of year. Each of these locations offer fantastic and varied skiing for all ability groups. If you plan to rent skis, recommend you do so in the Heidelberg area…renting at each of the ski resorts will cut into your ski time each day.
A tough decision…Zell am See or Ski Safari. You won’t regret either.
This concludes the final SnoSheet for 2009. In the event you are unable to attend our final Social of the year, the Council wishes you a happy and healthy holiday season. Thanks for being active members of the Club and we look forward to seeing you on the slopes at either Stuben, Arabba, or St. Veit. We’ll have Council members on each of the trips helping to confirm the Club is receiving the services we believe are appropriate for our membership.
Enjoy your skiing. Ski Safe. Ski with friends…use the buddy system.
Let it snow.
Al Rasper
09-10 HISC President
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