Skiing in the Schwarzwald area (Black Forest)

Hi all,

There are a few of us based in the Rhein Main area who are novice skiiers having recently moved here and are keen to get some practice in before Christmas in the Schwarzwald, before tackling the Alps in the New Year :)

From my research (LP guidebook) the Feldberg seems like the most reliable area for snow and allegedly has the best ski infrastructure in the Schwarzwald.

I could really do with a bit of help to find out

a) is there usually decent snow there in December?
b) is there a ski / snowboard school there suitable for beginners?
c) any reasonably priced hotels in the area (if you're skiing all day and out having a few jars in the evening what's the point in paying loads for a hotel?!) or is it better staying in Freiburg and driving to the slopes?
d) names & phone numbers of shops there that rent equipment.

Cheers,

James

I'm not sure about this area, however anything before Christmas even in the Alps is taken as a bonus in my book. I would certainly not book a snow holiday before that, unless you are heading really high to the glaciers.

Ah, fair enough...cheers mate. Looks like i might have to head a bit further south on the A-5 to somewhere over the border where incomprehensible German is spoken

I too think you'd be better of going the extra couple of miles to Switzerland.
Feldberg is definitely the best area in the Black Forest. It's all a bit disconnected though, with some short, isolated runs further down the valley. The largest contiguous area at the top provides about enough variety of runs for half a day's skiing. It would be fine for beginners, but anyone else would quickly get bored in my opinion.
And yes, December is early. There'll probably be snow around but not enough to piste.

i'd never book anything in december unless it had access to slopes over at least 2000m and better still 2500m. better to keep an eye on www.snow-forecast.com for forecasts, resort reports, etc. and then go at the last minute.

Thanks everyone - that snow forecast website is the dog's danglies

Schwarzwald in January then methinks.

would be up for a couple of days in january, wouldn't mind checking the schwarzwald out

glad to be of help, i think it dangles pretty well myself and is usually very accurate. plus it has lots of funky map configurations to play with and waste time on.

The season at the Feldberg does not start until December 4th.

If there is a snow fall in Dec it might be worth going down for a day.

Yes I believe there is a ski school etc there - Billy learned to Snowboard there last year.

I would say it is a good last minute place to decide to go on a Sunday if there is snow booking a weekend there is too risky. Only a 2 hour drive from FFM

I was planning on maybe heading there for a day or two if there is snow to learn to snowboard. I am a skier but boyfriend is going to convert me and I do not want to waste ski time in 'proper' mountains on learning to snowboard

I would say that too.

Unless you want to do cross-country of course.

quite a few members have been down for the skiing in this area (see Freiburg - 21.Jan.2006 and this one - had a quick scan through and there is some info in the first one which you might find useful.


yep, as Muffin said Billy learnt to board there earlier this year


drea and some of the others have stopped in the youth hostel in Freiburg, which is ten minutes out of town and there are stacks of hotels in town. Don't know what accommodation is like up on the slopes


if I remember correctly you can hire equipment from the school.

Not really my cup of tea, hence the vague response, but I do après-ski very well

the Heidelberg Ski Club has some interesting trips arranged. maybe a good way to get some practice too:

Heidelberg Ski Club Post on Toytown