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NLFrequently asked questions to the Ski School Dorfgastein
You ask, we answer with pleasure!
Soon the time will come – your winter sports course in our ski school in Gastein can begin. You probably have a few questions about our group and individual courses. We will be happy to help you! Here we have collected answers to the most frequently asked questions to our ski school in Dorfgastein for you. Your question is not included? Write to us, we will get back to you as soon as possible!
General questions
Our ski school office is located at the valley station of the gondola lift in the red administration building of Dorfgasteiner Bergbahnen AG – right next to the lift ticket offices.
Meeting point for all group courses is from 9.30 am at our assembly points. Afterwards, starting at 9.40 am, the course will be divided according to skiing ability and age.
Ski passes are not included in the course price! Lift tickets are available in our online shop or can be purchased directly on site at our ski school office or at the lift ticket offices next door. The rates for day and multi-day tickets can be found here.
If you book a beginners’ course with us at the Dorfgastein Holleis ski school, you can use our free practice area at the valley station with 3 conveyor belts and ski carousel to learn the basic technique (plowing, braking, turns). For beginners, the following applies: On the first day, a ski pass is usually not yet necessary. After the first day of the course we recommend to discuss with the teacher the right type of card for the rest of the week. Special beginner tickets for the public practice lift in Dorfgastein can be purchased in our online shop, at our ski school office or at the lift ticket offices.
You can book the right winter sports equipment online with our rental partner Sport Knauserder or rent it directly on site. The Sport Shop Knauseder is located directly next to our ski school office at the valley station of the gondola lift.
Our ski instructors all speak German and English. We also have Dutch, Czech, Slovak, Hungarian, Polish, Danish, Swedish, French, Italian and Spanish speaking ski instructors. For further language requests we kindly ask you to contact us. When booking group courses, only limited consideration can be given to ski instructor requests with certain language skills. But of course we do our best to fulfill your language wishes. This is of course possible when booking private lessons.
Course fees will be refunded on a pro-rata basis only in the event of illness or injury upon presentation of a doctor’s certificate.
Since the groups are divided according to skiing ability and age, we cannot say in advance how many participants will be in the group. The minimum number of participants for a group course is 4 people – the max. group size varies between 7 people in adult and snowboard groups and 8 to 6 children per group in our children’s ski school.
Of course, we offer half-day courses for all ages and ability levels. For beginners and slightly advanced we recommend to book a full-day course for a faster learning success.
A group is formed when at least 4 people with the same skiing ability participate. If there are less than 4 people, a shortening of the course time or group consolidation is possible.
Our course program for ski and snowboard groups is designed for one week with ski races, ski safari and other great highlights like freestyle & freeride day especially at the end of the week. That is why it makes sense to stay in the course for the whole 6, 5 or at least 4 days. Of course, it is also possible to attend a course with fewer days.
Yes, the timetable at the Ski School Dorfgastein Holleis is organized so that the adults and snowboarders start 15 min later. Children can be dropped off at the meeting point as early as 9.30 am and the division of the adult and snowboard groups will begin at 9.45 am. After the end of the course, the children are supervised by our children’s ski instructors in the ski kindergarten or at the assembly point until they are picked up again by their parents.
Most guests of the Ski School in Dorfgastein Holleis are regular guests – i.e. guests who have been with us many times before. Thus, the group classification can be done directly and without a demo or trial run. If you are at the Ski School Dorfgastein Holleis for the first time, the grouping is also done without pre-riding on the basis of our classification videos according to skiing ability, age and language. If a grouping should not fit, it is of course possible to change the group at any time.
Our cooperation partner in terms of winter sports and rental equipment is Sport Shop Knauseder. The ski rental in Dorfgastein is located next to our ski school office. You can find more information here.
Please inform yourself at our rental partner Sport Knauseder on site or by e-mail about the right ski and snowboard equipment for your skiing vacation in Gastein.
Of course, this is possible. We only ask you to announce this in the office at least one day in advance so that we can rebook the course in time.
Basically, the group classification in the Ski School Dorfgastein always takes place on Sunday and Monday. However, it is also possible to start the course on another day of the week by arrangement. In the Mini Club and for advanced children it is possible to join an existing group every day from Sunday till Friday.
In principle, this is of course possible, but we ask you to make this request as early as possible by phone, e-mail or directly with the online booking. However, for group courses, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to fulfill your request.
There is usually always enough space in our group courses. Especially during the vacation periods, however, we recommend that you book your desired group or private course early via our website. This allows a faster registration and enormous time savings when registering at our ski school office. In addition, your course place in the desired group is bindingly reserved for you if you book in time via our online shop.
The days should follow one after the other, because the groups continue with the course program as well as learning content and learn something new every day. A break from the course could involve a group change. It is best to discuss this personally with your ski instructor.
We recommend a group course of at least 3 days, as the technique program in the group course is designed for the whole week and, from experience, our course participants need 1-2 days to build on what they learned the previous year. Especially for beginners we recommend to book at least 4 days, so you can learn and consolidate the basic technique.
Children’s ski school
Our ski school’s own children’s area in Dorfgastein is located at the valley station of the gondola lift directly next to our indoor ski kindergarten, meeting point, ski school office and public practice lift.
All children who have never skied before or who are not confident in making turns in the snowplough are classified as beginners.
Children need a lift pass as soon as they can turn and brake and use a ski lift. Children up to their 6th birthday can use all lift facilities with the free Mini Card. Children from the age of 6 need a regular lift ticket for the Dorfgastein-Großarltal ski area. A ski pass is also required for the public practice lift at the valley station. Lift tickets and special beginner tickets for the practice lift are available in our online shop or can be purchased directly on site at our ski school office or at the lift ticket offices next door. For more information on the age regulations and ski pass prices, click here.
For all our children’s courses, a trial day can be booked first. In the case of a course extension, only the difference to the multi-day course is charched.
It is possible for children to participate in the course only half-day. However, for beginners we recommend to book a full-day course. If there is a big difference in the skiing ability in the group, the child will need to be downgraded to the slower group.
In our ski school, the children are divided primarily according to the skiing ability of the course participants and their age and language. If your children or your friends’ children ski at about the same level, we ask you to let one of our head ski instructors know your wish during the group classification on the first day and we will try our best. If the children do not ski equally, the child who skis better would have to give consideration to the weaker one.
In principle, you will only be reimbursed upon presentation of a medical certificate (certificate in case of illness or injury). However, there are several offers (trial day, extension, trial lesson, ect.) to keep the “risk” for you as low as possible. Should something go wrong after all, the used services are billed and for the remaining amount we provide a credit voucher for the next year.
From 3 years. For three-year-old children, we offer all-day or half-day classes in our Mini Club, with the option of an all-day program or lunchtime supervision. For kids and teens from the age of 4, our children’s ski school also offers all-day and half-day courses with or without lunchtime supervision. For snowboard courses we recommend a minimum age of 8 years. On special request it is also possible for younger children to attend a trial course with a private instructor in our snowboard school.
Children up to the age of 15 are required to wear a helmet when skiing in Austria. In our ski school office in Dorfgastein you can rent the latest children’s models free of charge for the duration of the course.
Every Thursday. During the main vacations, depending on the arrival and departure day of our guests, the children’s ski race can also take place on Wednesday or Friday.
At about 3.15 pm on the day of the race on our show stage at the meeting point next to the ski kindergarten.
No, lunch is not included in the ski course price. The extra charge for our all-day program incl. supervision, lunch and beverages from 10.00 am till 3.30 pm costs € 16,- per day. Half-day courses also include an additional charge for lunchtime supervision. Food and beverages are available from 12.00 am till 1.00 pm for € 16,- per day.
Yes, but for organizational reasons we ask you to buy lunch one day before at the ski school office, at the latest on the same day in the morning before the course starts.
Depending on the skiing ability and age of the children, lunch is consumed in our ski kindergarten at the valley station, our dining rooms at the middle station or our numerous partner ski huts in the ski area.
Parents can watch ski lessons. However, the lessons should not be disturbed and in most cases it is better for the children if the parents are not immediately at the practice area.
The only difference is that the trial day is a price concession if the child does not want to stay in the course. The price of the trial day will be deducted from the multi-day course in case of extension.
Adults & private courses
Any course participant who has never stood on skis before or who is not confident in making turns in the snowplough is to be classified as a beginner.
The group courses for adults start on Sunday and Monday. By arrangement, the course can also start on another day of the week.
Basically, the sooner the better! However, we would ask you to make the reservation or booking of a private instructor at least 2 days in advance, because then we have all the possibilities to assign the appropriate instructor. If, for whatever reason, you can’t make it 2 days before, we can only randomly assign free teachers! You can make a reservation not only in our office, but also by phone, e-mail or online booking through our website.
