Trip 04 - Sölden

Gaislachkogl

The Gaislachkogl Tal station was only a few hundred metres from our hotel, the Grauer Bär, which transports to the Gaislachkogl Mittelstation at 2178m. The Neilson website states the nearest lift to the hotel in only 10m, but personally I think that’s to the one in the hotel reception, so two hundred metres in ski boots is still a long way to walk. This area is mainly steep red and black runs, with a single blue piste that leads to the chair lift connection for the Giggijoch pistes.

From the Mittelstation a second cable car ascends to the top of the mountain at 3058m and is the first of the peaks known as the Big 3. From the top the single red run starts off with a narrow twisting section before opening out into a wide piste and joining into the other red runs found on this side of the mountain. It can get quite cold on this side due to the low transverse of the sun in the sky during January.

On the other side of the peak the sun drenched wide open red run can be found offering a number of ways to ski to the bottom before attempting the long blue piste that leads all the way to the Gaislachkogl Tal Station in the village.

Giggijoch

The Giggijoch is probably the busiest area of all three because a lot of the beginners start their skiing lessons on the intertwining blue slopes found here. From the top of the Rotkogljoch at 2662m there are a number of blue runs including a fun park to entertain offering a good starting point to get our ski legs back before tackling the harder red runs.

Rettenbach/Tiefenbach Gletscher

Sölden hosted the opening round of the World Cup Ski season on the Rettenbach Gletscher in October 2008 with the start at 3014m and the finish line in the natural bowl of the mountain near the lift station at 2684m. From this station the cable car ascends to the top of the mountain at the Tiefenbachkogl at 3250m. Skiing through the ski tunnel leads to the Tiefenbach Gletscher and the wide open blue runs in the bright sunshine.

Taking the cable car back to the top gives an opportunity to visit the second of the Big 3 or Panorama viewing point at 3309m, a narrow canter levered platform that juts out over the edge of the mountain to give an impressive view of the valley below with the platform wobbling under foot giving an uneasy feeling to the whole experience.

The run back down the wide piste gives a good opportunity to perfect that skiing technique with controlled turns linked together across the undulating surface of the mountain down to the restaurant complex at the bottom. From here an alternative chair lift is used to access the challenging red run which had a fresh covering of snow on it.

Strangely enough there is no direct connection between the Gaislachkogl and the Rettenbach Gletscher so this area acts as a transfer hub between the two, increasing the number of skiers passing through. The area is also popular due to the new restaurant complex built near to the Giggijoch lift stations with open balconies to lounge in the sun whilst enjoying a bit of Après Ski.

The Pain of Pleasure

This year’s ski trip was a mixture of enjoyment and shear pain, so much that at one point I simply wanted to never go skiing again. All week I had problems with my ski boots that my feet ached so much that I was constantly adjusting the clamps to alleviate the discomfort. In the end I found a combination of secure around the shin and loose at the top of the foot was best for me.

This coupled with the burning sensation in my thigh muscles for the first part of the week accumulated in that I didn’t do any skiing on the Monday afternoon because it was no longer enjoyable. I couldn’t wait to get my boots off that day. Once I had sorted out the best setting for the clamps the pain became more bearable for the rest of the weeks skiing.

New Years Eve

Following our three hour Gala dinner in the hotel we headed for the ‘Black & Orange’ Rock bar in the centre of town with Simon and Julie for a few beers before midnight. The place is adorned with lots of motorbike memorabilia with an American slant and the Harley Davison colour scheme, hence the name of the bar. Offering a selection of Rock music to keep the bikers happy we managed to find the last available table to enjoy the party atmosphere and build up to the New Year.

My Top Five Runs

Red 10     Length 4km

This quiet narrow piste from the Gaislachkogl Mittelstation winds down the mountain through the tall pine trees offering a variety of twisting steep descents combined with longer gentle slopes.

Red  2      Length 8.3km

This wide open run offers a number of routes down with its undulating course to produce a good turn off speed whilst viewing the fantastic scenery of the surrounding mountain landscape.

Blue 38     Length 11.5km

From the top of the Tiefenbachkogl this run is great for improving that technique of fast long sweeping turns due to its relatively gentle slope down the glacier. Again this slope offers a fantastic view of the surrounding mountains and the temperatures stay high due to the exposure to the sun on this side of the mountain.

Red 11     Length 13.9km

From the top of the Rotkoglhutte chair lift this route twists and turns down the mountain with wide open sections at the top that eventually turn into a narrow piste leading to the chair lift at the bottom.

Blue 24     Length 4km

This short run is part of the interconnecting pistes between the Giggijoch and Rettenbach Gletscher giving a relaxing run to the chair lift at the bottom.

The celebrations burst into life at midnight in the street outside the bar with numerous fireworks lighting up the sky with our drinks in hand we toasted the New Year. The loud bangs from the spontaneous display where complimented by the crackles of the street fireworks that where going off all around us, with the mad Dutch lighting them with their cigarettes.