Itter 2004 Report By Crash Bandi Coll

Skiers Nat The Cat Solo Dancing Queen Judge Jules Crash Bandi Coll

New comers Judge Jules and Solo along with Nat the Cat and Dancing Queen were in holiday mood as they arrived at Manchester airport. Not so Crash Bandi Coll ........ with thoughts of Chamonix fresh in mind, my eyes remained fixed on the sky's in search of some reassurance that this time, bad weather ala Chamonix, would not bring the lifts to an abrupt halt. Destination Austria, courtesy of Lufthansa via Munich. A poignant time to include a link to easyjet.com or maybe bmibaby.com as an illustration of the short falls in service provided by Lufthansa. The flight was on time, the staff were polite, the aircraft was clean & tidy, but out of 7 bags checked in, only 6 enjoyed the trip. OK, these things happen, but the concern was the comment "oh yes, we often leave baggage behind on small aircraft ........ usually it's the ski's" Hmm ...... not good for skier's ay? Two days passed before Solo's thermals arrived ...... compensation negotiations are ongoing.
We arranged car hire through EuropeCar, but they were unable to guarantee that they could provide a ski or luggage rack. With this in mind we decided to leave the ski's behind (saving Lufthansa the opportunity) and arrange ski hire in resort. This proved quite expensive so here's a plug for Easycar.com who have always provided the necessary in the past. So, five passengers, six bags, and no skis, shoe horned into one Alpha Romeo and ninety minutes later we arrive at our destination under the cover of the midnight skies. The popular Haus Kogler was fully booked (book early!) so the Kogler's had kindly arranged for us to stay at the adjacent farmhouse. Super stars Jill Kogler and buddy Laine, provided the lighthouse facilities to guide us towards our farmhouse apartment in the sleepy town of Itter. A much needed welcome coffee in Haus Kogler and then a quick hop next door-but-one to stack some zzzz's.
The early morning sun provided the opportunity to fully appreciate our idyllic surroundings. The accommodation was spacious and comfortable, but more importantly, the couple of steps from the boot room to the side door were the only steps our boots were to encounter for the duration. Side door open, skis on and away!

"The immediate area seemed to be dominated by reds, but for the more timed, a variety of blues were available just a couple of short reds away."

Anyway, to the slopes. Itter is a small village just 5 minutes drive along the valley from Söll. It has the ubiquitous ski hire shop and the odd restaurant, but it also has a queue free ( our experience ) bubble which elevates you right to the middle of Austria's Ski Welt! Day one and Nat The Cat and Solo ditch the grown up's in favour of the local English speaking ski school. JJ, DQ and yours truly, set off to loosen their ski legs on a gentle blue. Ok, enough of that, red is this years blue, and the boys convince DQ that Austrian reds are easier than French ones (only an element of truth).The immediate area seemed to be dominated by reds, but for the more timed, a variety of blues were available just a couple of short reds away. The hours flew by and before you could say "yo Dangle, is that an Asda on the horizon", it was time to meet up with The Cat and Solo. Judge Jules blazed ahead, as only he can, leaving me and the Queen to meander down the mountain. Heading for the training school in Itter we promptly arrived in Söll ............ ok, you can't look good and navigate at the same time!?
Day two and the Cat is nursing a knee injury picked up the previous day. DQ volunteers to stay behind with the patient leaving The judge and I to blast around the steeper and deeper while Solo attends ski school. Thankfully, the Cat is piste fit for day three and there's no stopping her. Both her and Solo are thoroughly enjoying ski school.
As the days pass we manages to traverse the valley in a westerly direction, skiing as far as Ellmau. Day five and Solo has decided to represent the Brit's in a Eurodash down the slalom in Itter. Out of 300 entries (may have been 20, but it felt like 300 at the award ceremony) she achieved an excellent 2nd place behind a local favourite!? Well done Solo. We celebrate Solo's success with an evening at the highly recommended Italian restaurant Giovanni, with mixed emotions as we anticipate our final days skiing.
OK, here we go .......... it's our last day's skiing and we have decide to load up the Alfa and trek off to the village of Westendorf, about 20 minute East of Itter. This seems a nice place and well worth a visit. Once at altitude, there are some great views back down the valley so don't forget your camera.I can't guarantee however, the strange coloured sky's that accompanied us for the duration of the day? Something of a phenomenon, luringly attractive in a strange sort of way ........ yes, I felt I had allot in common with nature that day. The day's skiing, and in fact the week's skiing, was rounded off in great fashion courtesy of a tremendous Judge Jules wipe out, caught on video for posterity.
So, all in all a massive success, just what the Doc would have ordered to compensate for the disappointing Chamonix trip. Itter is great place to visit and ,I'm sure it would be just as appealing in the summer months. It's quiet, friendly, very picturesque, but most importantly, it's in an ideal location to base your visit to the Austrian Ski welt.

What's good:
Quite - Great if you just want to ski.
Location - Perfect access to the entire Austrian Ski welt
Picturesque - Christmas card scenery
Value - inexpensive, friendly accommodation at Haus Kogler

What's not so good:
Quite - Maybe too quite for the apres ski set, but the livelier town of Söll is just 5 minutes drive away.
Airports - You will need to fly into Innsbruck, Salzberg or maybe Munich which are all around an hours and a half drive from Itter. If, like me, your an easyJet fan, you will need to fly from Stanstead to Munich or maybe Luton to Zurich.