Europe group posting on GLOBOsapiens

Any suggestions on activities in the Alps?

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nate4341 Joined: Oct 04 Points: 246 Posts: 7 Posted: 2004-10-23 02:19:00    I'm planning on taking a month in Feb. to travel through the Alps but I'm unsure of the exact places to go. I've been thinking of flying into Vienna, circling south west to Geneva, heading further south into Italy and circling back up through Slovenia. I have really no schedule or any idea where to go other than the travel guide recommendations, so I'm looking for tips on the best spots to visit in these countries. I figured where better to find info than by asking locals and experienced travelers. This is mainly going to be a snowboarding vacation but I'm also interested in doing some climbing, backpacking, and of course, drinking. I realize backpacking is going to be nonexistant in the high alps but I wonder if I head north or south into Germany or Italy, if I may be able to find anything suitable for a 4 - 5 day trip. Also, snowboarding. I have found a ton of resort names but I am more interested in good areas to do some backcountry touring. Any information you could offer would be greatly appreciated. Thanks. [ This Message was edited by: nate4341 on 2004-10-23 02:22 ] --- -Nate Reply    Reply with quote    Contact nate4341   rangutan Premium account Joined: Aug 04 Points: 34752 Posts: 1044 Posted: 2004-10-23 12:43:00    Also hiking (not climbing) fanatics, I have taken guests around the Alps twice using the route: Munich > Lindau > Liechtenstein > Zurich > Bern > Geneva > Como > Verona/Garda > Innsbruck > Salzburg > Garmisch > Munich You can fly into most of these cities and be directly in the Alps or on the alpine foothills, they all offer great walks and hikes, also in winter, better than the deep and high alpine towns. February is the most wintery month in the Alps so expect some delays, or even being snowed in! All these cities are connected by rail, a better alternative than by road in winter. Hotels are pretty full, if a problem, consider use the cheaper and more available guesthouses or guest rooms. Snowboarding and skiing being number one activity in the Alps, most town have some kind of event happening specially on weekends. These local events are badly advertised internationally, ive offen stumbled on great events! Check information when you arrive at your targets. See the homepages of your individual targets, or generally: http://www.thealps.com (fantastic!) http://www.discoveryalps.com http://www.snowforce.com/events/list.html (lists 4 events for Feb 2005) http://www.powderpark.de (german) <p>[ This Message was edited by: rangutan on 2004-10-23 13:00 ] [ This Message was edited by: rangutan on 2004-10-23 13:10 ] --- Rudolf "Rangutan" Graspointner Reply    Reply with quote    Contact rangutan   mortimer Premium account Joined: Jun 04 Points: 15075 Posts: 528 Posted: 2004-10-24 19:14:00    Hi Nate Some information about Switzerland: There are some sites that have information about outdoor activities in the Bernese Oberland: http://www.swiss-trail.com http://www.interlakenadventure.com http://www.grindelwaldsports.ch/ Only in German but they would do multiple day glacier trips with snowshoes! Too bad the multiple day glacier trips are only done in march... Perhaps you could arrange something individually. As it's Winter the towns don't get much sunny days, your best chance to have fun is in the mountain resorts: Engiadina, Arosa, Davos, Grindelwald, Gstaad, Zermatt, Saas Fee, ...... It's really depending on how the winter will be to say where it will be best. Some times there's more snow in certain areas than in others... Getting around in Switzerland is pretty easy we do have a very good public transport system, there are trains, busses, cable cars... all over the place. You can get a Swiss Pass which is a general travel admission for a certain amount of time, probably the best deal to strike. (Unless you plan to do it in a rented car) These just as first informations, im happy to help you so much more but it would have to be more precise. When you tell me I go there and there I can help you find places to see and things to do there. As for the hiking ... no way to do it at that time of the year, do some snowshoe trip instead! There's just one thing to consider when planing this kind of trip, your Rucksack/Suitcase will be pretty big and heavy in order to have all your warm outdoor cloting with you! Martin [ This Message was edited by: mortimer on 2004-10-24 19:18 ] --- Today is the first day of the rest of your life, enjoy it! Reply    Reply with quote    Contact mortimer   nate4341 Joined: Oct 04 Points: 246 Posts: 7 Posted: 2004-10-25 06:19:00    Thanks for the help. I actually had been planning on renting a car to access the places that public transportation doesn't make it to, AND to have a convenient way of toting my gear around; but after considering road closures and snow ins, I'm not sure if that would be the way to go. I do intend on bringing alot of gear as I am planning on snowboarding, backpacking, and ice climbing, so I wonder if it's worth dropping some gear and going with local transportation rather than chance being limited to where I can go by road closures. --- -Nate Reply    Reply with quote    Contact nate4341   picasso Premium account Joined: Aug 04 Points: 10057 Posts: 79 Posted: 2004-10-25 06:51:00    Hi Nate Slovenia is also very scenic Alpine country with history dating back more then one thousand years,with magnificent lakes, valleys, Alpine quaint villages, exelent infrastructure and very inexpensive. From Saltsburg is only 210 km to Bled, where you would be able to visit picturesque lake Bled, with near by tallest mount in Slovenia- mount Triglav-2864 m. Also near by lake Bohinj is Slovenia’s largest. I haven’t been to Slovenia in the winter, but I know Slovenia has numerous ski resorts such as Kranjska Gora,Vogel ski center near by Lake Bohinj and Planica-this three resorts are very famous.Slovenia has numerous thermal springs around this particular area. The Alpine town and resort Rogla has great ski runs and exelent cross country trails;-i have heard,that they are also very groomed. I would recommend to visit: http://www.slovenia-tourism.si http://www.bled.si http://www.bohinj.si http://www.kranjska-gora.si http://www.bovec.si http://www.unior.si Heppy traveling Boris. [ This Message was edited by: picasso on 2004-10-25 06:55 ] --- BORIS Reply    Reply with quote    Contact picasso   mortimer Premium account Joined: Jun 04 Points: 15075 Posts: 528 Posted: 2004-10-25 08:07:00    Hi Nate There really is no problem with renting a car... all the roads to the resorts are well ploughed throughout the winter, there just always is the possibility that there are avalanches or very heavy snowfall that you can be snowed in somewhere... But normally just for some days. Are you a skilled driver? Beacuse driving on snow covered roads in the high mountains needs a bit of a being used to it. When I was in the States I always thought americans are not much of drivers, they prefer it going straight. Up on our mountains we got narrow roads, sometimes crossing is not possible and you need to drive in reverse for several hunderd meters... But this is really only for the very small mountain villages. Perhaps if you rent a 4X4 car you will feel more safe. Oh and concerning Boris's post... Slowenia will be cheaper than the rest of the places you'd like to go if you are on a thight budget plan to spend more time there. Martin [ This Message was edited by: mortimer on 2004-10-25 08:10 ] --- Today is the first day of the rest of your life, enjoy it! Reply    Reply with quote    Contact mortimer   mortimer Premium account Joined: Jun 04 Points: 15075 Posts: 528 Posted: 2004-10-26 13:22:00    Hi Nate When looking for accomodation try the Hostel finder on the GLOBOsapiens main page... I just checked for the places in my region and they are all covered.... Martin --- Today is the first day of the rest of your life, enjoy it! Reply    Reply with quote    Contact mortimer   nate4341 Joined: Oct 04 Points: 246 Posts: 7 Posted: 2004-10-31 00:27:00    Thanks, Due to some changes with my work, it looks like this trip is probably not going to go. I just wanted to say I appreciate the help. Probably within the next couple years I'll be hitting you guys up for information again, maybe with some differant goals in mind. Thanks again. --- -Nate Reply    Reply with quote    Contact nate4341   rangutan Premium account Joined: Aug 04 Points: 34752 Posts: 1044 Posted: 2004-10-31 13:29:00    No problem Nate, ive had to delay my next trip too. This Forum I hope remains open for tips on the Alps generally. The Alps are very much easier to visit in summer but spectacular for wintersport fans, hiking too! See http://www.globosapiens.net/rangutan/picture-alpine-winter-hike-13962.html for an example. --- Rudolf "Rangutan" Graspointner Reply    Reply with quote    Contact rangutan