DESTINATIONS AUSTRIA | SKI & SNOW


Happyvalley m


Stuart Parish sets off for the slopes of Austrian ski resort Ischgl


y first and only experience of skiing in Austria came as a 13-year-old on a school trip to Saalbach-Hinterglemm


– and in 1992, that involved a 26-hour coach trip from the depths of Cornwall. Needless to say, I was delighted on joining an Inghams ski trip to Ischgl, in western Austria’s Paznaun Valley, to be told the trip would be considerably shorter on this occasion. In fact, it was just one hour, 55 minutes from Gatwick to Innsbruck, followed by a resort transfer time of one hour, 20 minutes – one of the quickest journeys I’ve experienced over numerous ski trips since that day-long expedition 27 years ago.


CHALET CHIC


Much of my subsequent ski experience was in France and Andorra, and this transfer in Austria was a reminder of how very different each area of the Alps really is. The surroundings on the climb to Ischgl had a traditional Bavarian feel, with beautiful wooden chalets set against the Alpine landscape, and that style continued all the way to the resort town.


Ischgl is well-equipped for skiers with kids, but it positions itself primarily for groups and couples. One memorable marketing slogan claimed: “Ischgl isn’t for families – it’s where people come to make families.”


while the Fimbabahn lift is a little further at 400m, but the latter benefits from a long moving walkway that saves your legs and cuts through the mountain. The Fimbabahn lift was the start of each day’s skiing,


with relatively short queues before a bubble lift that ascends to the main gathering point of Idalp, at 2,320m, where you’ll find a ski school, restaurants and a variety of easy-to-navigate blue runs. There are also numerous lifts that enable skiers to go farther up the mountain. However, beyond Idalp, it ²


I can’t vouch for how true that line is, but it certainly set an expectation for our stay. We based ourselves at the Chalet Hotel Abendrot


(Tried & Tested, page 68), and while you need to be prepared for a short walk, it wasn’t too far from the hotel’s boot room to two easily accessible slopes. The main Silvrettabahn lift is 300m to the left of the property,


One memorable marketing


slogan claimed: ‘Ischgl isn’t for families – it’s where people come to make families’


travelweekly.co.uk 19 SEPTEMBER 2019 67


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