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TSC 2011 Silver Jubilee Texas Expedition, Bad Gastein, Austria |
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Bad Gastein: A Historical Journey and a World Class
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| Town elevation: | 1,038m (3,374feet) | (Bad Gastein) |
| Peak elevation: | 2,686m (8,730feet) | (SportGastein) |
| Skiable vertical: | 1,208m (3,926feet) | (Stubnerkogel) |
| Number of lifts: | 44 |
| Uplift: | 70,118 persons per hour |
| Number of designated runs: | 202km (126miles) |
| Longest run: | 8km (5miles) |
| Green Runs: | 24% |
| Red Runs: | 62% |
| Black Runs: | 14% |
| Extensive offpiste | |
| Annual snowfall: | 600cm (234in) |
| Snowmaking: | 30% |
| Snow history (15 year average) for last week in January: | |
| Upper slopes: | 120cm (47inches) |
| Lower slopes: | 60cm (20 inches) |
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A single lift pass is valid in all ski areas in the Gastein Valley, comprising 44 lifts and 126 miles of runs. A ski bus service (free with ski lift pass) provides access to all.
In addition to the ski areas in the Gastein Valley, this expanded lift pass gives access to a total of 23 ski regions with 2,200km (1,375miles) of ski runs. The Ski Amadé Salzburg Super Ski Card costs about €10 to €15 more that the Gastein Valley Ski Pass.
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The following events are included in the bid price. The detailed program is subject to change and will be agreed with the Texas Expedition Coordinator.
SkiEurope has arranged with the Tourist Authorities of Bad Gastein to organize a memorable Opening Ceremony and Welcome Party. Following the Opening Ceremony, the Texas Ski Council guests are invited to a party with hot drinks.
A memorable farewell party will be organized in one of the participating hotels, or in the community center, depending on the group size.
The following activities are free or at nominal cost.
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Felsenbad (Daily) Fed by Bad Gastein’s natural thermal springs, the Felsenbad has warm outdoor pools, and a comprehensive spa complex.
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Excursions, for both skiers and sightseers, offer an opportunity to explore intriguing new destinations. Excursions may be pre-ordered and pre-purchased in the USA at a fixed Dollar rate by check or credit card. Excursions may also be purchased locally if space on the buses is still available.
The cost of full day excursions will be approximately $70 - $95 per person including guide, but excluding entry fees and meals.
All Day; 2 hours drive
n Slovenia, Kranjska Gora is a FIS World Cup ski area and Bled, a favorite of the former Yugoslav rulers, is a very pretty community on a glacial lake in the Julian Alps. An iconic castle is perched on the edge, and on an island in the middle of the lake, there is a renown pilgrimage church.
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All Day; 1½ hours drive
Just a few miles away, and above Salzburg, Berchtesgaden is one of Germany’s largest ski areas, and home to international bobsled, luge, and skeleton competition. During the Nazi era, Berchtesgaden was the location of the Kehlesteinhaus (“Eagles Nest”) and other installations. Now, the “Hoher Gröll” guest house is a documentation centre, the first to chronicle the entire span of World War II in one spot.
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All Day
With a guide and bus, this day is for skiers who want to experience the European way. This day tracks across more than a half-dozen ski areas which comprise part of the vast Ski Amadé complex: Dorfgastein, Grossarl, Alpendorf, Wagrain, Flachau, Flachauwinkel, and Zauchensee. We end up 50 miles (by road) from home. (Salzburg SuperSki Card required.)
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All Day; 3½ hours drive
For 600 years until the First World War, under the Austrian Hapsburg empire, this was the port city and base of the Austrian navy. Now in Italy, the city on the Adriatic Sea retains its Belle Epoque character of classic buildings.
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Half or All Day; 1½ hours drive
This is the classic Baroque city with churches, palaces, old houses, narrow streets, busy squares, all surmounted by an imposing fortress. Birthplace and early home of Mozart, and made famous by “The Sound of Music” film. Called “Rome of the North” Salzburg cannot be visited too often.
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Half or All Day; 1+hour drive
This is a visit to the original salt mine that gave Salzburg its name (Salzburg = Salt Mountain) and provided the “white gold” that funded all the city’s grand architecture. You will have fun with railways, slides, and boats on underground lakes.
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All Day Tour
This day tour crosses the Alps into Carinthia, Austria’s southern province. Long influenced by the Balkans and the Turks, this trip visits Millstatt (former Benedictine Abbey), Spittal (Porcia Palace, important renaissance building) , and Villach (remains of Landskron Castle), as well as a taste of the renown lake area.
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SkiEurope will offer a choice of pre- and post-trips, with the final selection by the TSC Expedition Coordinator. The following destinations are planned:
Vienna
Bratislava
Budapest
Paris, Amsterdam, Munich are options depending on which airline the club is traveling.
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This elegant and tastefully decorated hotel is located right in the heart of Bad Gastein. Shops, bars, and restaurants are nearby; the Casino is just across the street; and the ski area about five minutes away.
The inviting lobby focuses on a fireplace with chimney. The hotel has a billiard and cigar lounge as well as a large spa and wellness centre.
The Elisabethpark is the perfect holiday accommodation for active travelers looking to combine sport with comfort and relaxation. With beautiful renovated rooms and the excellent facilities there are all the comforts required to make a memorable one stay.
The Stubnerkogel ski area is about a 5 minute drive from the hotel. For guests’ convenience, the hotel has its own shuttle bus to the lift base station. Ski rental and ski storage are located onsite.
All 119 rooms are newly renovated with bath telephone, hairdryer, minibar, cable-TV, safety deposit box, and telephone.
There is a completely-new two-storey wellness area with indoor pool, whirlpool, danarium, tepidarium, finnish sauna, steambath, showers, and spacious relaxation area.
Additionally the exclusive Babor Beaty Spa offers many possibilities and treatments, including thalasso, softpacks, thermal baths, energetic treatments, cosmetic treatments, fango, lypomassage, and others treatments.
This property is offered on an optional Half Board basis. Buffet breakfast is included.
The optional dinners are five-course with twice weekly special themed and gala evenings.
Meals are served in the Panorama Restaurant with a fantastic view over the Gastein mountain village.
There is also an à la carte restaurant, Prälatur, a traditional Austrian caféhouse, Sisi, and a classic bar, Felsenbar.
In 1218 a house called “Wildbachhäusl” was located at the spot where Hotel Elisabethpark stands today. Later it became known as “Prälatur” because a Prälat (senior chaplain) visited the house regularly to benefit from the Gastein healing waters.
Later, an Italian Earl bought the building and reconstructed it as a grand summer residence. Ownership passed to another aristocratic family.
Finally in 1882, Aloys Windischbauer bought the residence, and built the Spa hotel Elisabethpark. His granddaughter married the master-builder Franzmaier, whose artistry helped to make the present-day Elisabethpark into one of the most luxurious tourist establishments in Bad Gastein, named one of the 50 “Leading Hotels of the World”.
To reclaim this standard and to meet the expectations of international clients the hotel was closed for renovation during the spring of 2008. The entry area, front, windows, and lobby were renewed, and a new fireplace installed in the lobby. The rooms were also renovated and received new bathrooms.
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The family-run Hotel Mozart is a historic Art Deco style building and most rooms have a balcony with beautiful views.
The hotel is located at the entrance to the center of Bad Gastein, about a 5-minute walk from all town destinations.
In one direction, is the town center with the famous waterfall, the congress centre, and the Gastein casino.
In the other direction is the Felsentherme thermal spa and the base station of the Stubnerkogel ski area.
Directly in front of the hotel are stops for all the ski buses in the Gastein valley.
The hotel features a sauna and a steam bath both free of charge and a Jacuzzi (at an extra charge).
The hotel has 70 rooms, all with modern facilities.
The hotel à la carte restaurant, Mozartstuben, serves local dishes, as well as meat and cheese fondues. There is a quaint wine lounge and an inviting hotel bar.
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Bad Gastein is a relatively small town; our hotels are centrally located, and walking is generally the fastest and easiest means to get around.
The Hotel Elisabethpark has a free ski shuttle for its guests.
There is a ski bus system connecting Bad Gastein to all the ski area base stations. The ski bus is free of charge with a lift pass. Otherwise, the cost is €1 per trip with a guest card.
There is also a train station in Bad Gastein. It is a stop on one of the mainline services connecting northern and south-eastern Europe. Travel time to Salzburg is about 1 ½ hours, and to Munich about 3 hours.
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SkiEurope is a travel company that specializes in marketing and operating European winter vacations for North American guests.
The company was founded in 1985 by the current principals and originally operated under the name AustriaSki. The company has recently merged operations with Alpine Adventures located in Fort Lauderdale.
The company’s group sales and operations office is located in Houston, Texas, with European operations handled from Innsbruck, Austria.
SkiEurope is dedicated to providing its guests with uncompromising standards of service, care, and attention. We recognize that a person’s vacation gives rise to high anticipations; we strive to ensure that these expectations are achieved or exceeded.
The group division of the company caters to ski clubs and councils, church, university, corporate, and business groups ranging in size from a dozen to over 1,000 guests. This division has experienced steady growth, and derives over 80% of its business from repeat customers and their referrals.
Alpine Adventures, the individual division of the company, provides travel arrangements for independent travelers, and is dominant in the upscale travel agent market.
Prior to acquisition by Alpine Adventures, SkiEurope operated a substantial online service which experienced substantial growth. In November 2000, SkiEurope was selected by Interactive Week as a member of the Interactive 500, one of the leaders in e-commerce.
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Over the twenty-five years since its establishment in 1986 to operate the Texas Ski Council largest-ever European trip to Bad Gastein Austria, SkiEurope has made the arrangements for more than a dozen Texas Ski Council trips, including recently:
Other major trips for ski councils and related organizations include:
References are available from these and other ski club and group clients.
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SkiEurope is a member of these ski and travel trade associations:
SkiEurope actively collaborates with the major national and regional tourist offices.
Throughout its existence SkiEurope has never been subject to any complaint to a consumer protection, regulatory, or trade organization.
The company has $2 million general liability and $2 million professional liability (errors and omissions) insurance. Our major clients share this protection as named additional insured.
Most of the staff members of SkiEurope are Europeans with an in-depth knowledge and personal experience in our destinations. Many are designated Destination Specialists for their relevant countries.
Richard Davidson, managing director of SkiEurope, is a frequent writer and speaker on tourism-related issues. He is on the Board of Switzerland Tourism and is a director of the International Federation for Information Technology in Travel and Tourism. Richard was awarded the Tirol Adler Orden, the highest recognition for exceptional contributions to tourism in Austria.
Dorothea Rasser has, for four consecutive years, been named by Condé Nast Traveler magazine as the Top Travel Specialist for skiing in Europe.
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SkiEurope - 2636 Yorktown #321 - Houston, Texas - 77056, USA |
The Gastein valley is located 60 miles directly south of Salzburg, on the north side of Austria’s highest mountains, adjoining the Hohe Tauern National Park.
The town of Bad Gastein is at the end of the narrow valley occupying a superb site.
In the 19th century, came Bad Gastein’s zenith as one of Europe’s most extensive, sophisticated, fashionable, and exclusive thermal spas, the Monte Carlo of the Alps.
Nowadays, Bad Gastein is the regular annual host of the Snowboard and Snowboardcross FIS European Cup and World Cup races. 
The narrow Gastein valley is about 33km (20miles) long with three significant towns and six top class ski areas.
Largest connected skiing area. Downhill runs with over 1,208m (3,926feet) vertical difference provide varied trails which are perfectly connected with modern lifts and cable cars. Not to be missed is the intermediate Hohe Scharte Nord run with a length of 8 km (5 miles) and a difference in altitude of 1,440m (4,680feet), it is one of the longest downhill runs in the Eastern Alps.
This area has lots of space with trees and powder, and is the location of the World Championship runs. Top skiers can find challenge with long difficult downhill runs. Most of the runs lead through forests and are sheltered from wind and allows good orientation on days when visibility is poor. There is no lift connection to the other skiing areas. 
This is the highest skiing area located at the end of the valley accessed by toll road (covered by lift pass). deep powder, off-piste trails,. Sporty types’ dreams come true, as soon as they leave the carpet of prepared pistes and heading for the variety of powder or crispy spring snow. The ski routes offer a thousand meters of skiing variety in deep powder and mogul pistes.
The “Ski Swing“ over the Fulseck peak links the villages in two different valleys. The ski experience is diverse with a variety of trails from beginner to expert, modern lifts, and unique mountain huts with an authentic local flavor. From the "Fulseck" there is the best panorama view, which stretches from the "Großglockner" to the "Dachstein". Don’t miss the last lift back to the Gastein valley; there is no convenient ski bus service returning. 
In the past three years the Gastein lift company has invested €45 million ($65million) on lift and trail improvements including a new Stubnerkogelbahn (8 passenger gondola with escalator access), a new Senderbahn (8 passenger gondola), and a new GipfelXpress (6-seat chair), plus extensive trail, grooming, and snowmaking improvements.
