On January 26, 2018, thirty-four Bytown Ski Club member adults and four youth met at the Ottawa Airport for their overseas overnight flight to Munich Germany and coach transfer to the wonderful ski resort of Saalbach Austria.
After arrival at the mountain Hotel Altachhof, Tour Leader Don Singer escorted several members to the premiere ski shop for equipment rentals and ski school registration. A pre-arranged orientation was provided to the Bytown group by local ski instructor Johnny Walker ((not the Scotch!) who then escorted eleven members the next morning on a day-guided tour of the vast mountain ski area. Interconnected ski offered our group 270 kilometers. of pistes, 70 lifts and sixty mountain restaurants where skiers could visit several ski towns in the region before returning home at end of each day.
During the week we were blessed with the best of ski conditions. Coldest temperatures at night were minus three and each day the maximums ranged from plus 1 to plus 10. Definitely not Mont Tremblant in January! However, despite the warm days, the high altitude provided excellent ski conditions. To our skiers delight it happened our that last two days we got to ski in fresh powder until our final hour on our last day when the sun emerged for our farewell runs.
At the end of our first day most of the group met at the beautiful mountain restaurant Western Stadl to exchange experiences over apple strudel and Austrian bier. This mountain restaurant, owned and operated by our Hotel Altachhof was the gateway to a private groomed ski run to the doors of our hotel 1000 metres below.
The Hotel Altachhof treated us like royalty with buffet breakfasts and four course dinners daily. A wonderful feature of this experience was private taxi service daily from the hotel front door to one of three local gondola lifts, so no walking in ski-boots on this trip!
A highlight for many on this trip was the tobogganing evening following dinner at another Saalbach area mountain restaurant. We met at the mountain bottom and loaded onto trailers behind two piste-bullies (snow groomers) for a fun-ride up the mountain. Lacking experience at how to guide our sleds down the 2-kilometer mountain trail the rides were filled with laughter, falling off sleds, collisions and running into snow walls during the descent to the town far below.
During the week there was great camaraderie among group members, most of whom had never met each other previously. Whether at the après-ski pubs, side trips into Salzburg or Zell-am-See or over meals there was great enjoyment for all. While there is always a sense of sadness at the end when we departed early for Munich Airport, our bodies needed a well-deserved rest after a spectacular week in the Austrian Alps together. Hopefully this is the first of an annual opportunity for many of us to reunite again in Europe with additional Bytown members for another ski week together. Once you have tasted the European ski experience, the seed of desire has been planted!
In partnership with Touringhouse Travel, the Bytown Ski Club is pleased to offer a week-long European ski and snowboard week trip to Saalbach/Saalbach, Austria from January 26 to February 3, 2018.
All-inclusive cost per person:
| Cheque | Visa or Mastercard (+3%) | |
|---|---|---|
| Double or triple room | $2695 | $2775 |
| Single room(two available) | $2795 | $2875 |
| Excluding air fare | $1895 |
Included
- Round trip air fare from Ottawa to Munich with Air Canada
- Group return coach transportation between Munich airport and Saalbach hotel
- 7 nights accomodation at 3.5-star Saalbach Hotel Altachhof
- Daily buffet breakfast and four-course dinner with salad bar
- 6-day all-area ski pass (270 km of pistes and 70 lifts)
- All taxes and service charges
- Trip leader accompaniment
- Altachhof Gold Card providing 10% discount on a mountain lodge food and drinks
- Second bag for skis and boots included (no extra charge)
Not included
- Lunch
- travel insurance
- any associated travel document fees such as passport (must be valid for six months after date of depature)
Registration and trip information
- Reservations for limited number of group package spots will be accepted on first-come basis starting 8:30 a.m. Tuesday September 5 by phoning Touringhouse Travel at 613-741-2942 or submitting an application to Touringhouse Travel by mail, delivery or email attachment.
- An initial deposit of $350, plus optional insurance must be made by September 14, 2017 to guarantee your reservation, together with your application.
- Balance of payment is due with a post-dated cheque dated November 25, 2017.
- An information meeting will be held on Thursday, September 14, 2017 at 6:30pm, prior to the Bytown Ski Club Annual General Meeting. The meeting will be located at the Coldwell Banker Realty Office Meeting Room at 1749 Woodward Drive, between Maitland and Clyde.
- For additional details, see Saalbach, Austria trip page on the Touringhouse Travel web site.
- For the registration forms, scroll down to the “Registration Information” section in the sidebar.