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Skiing Europe.. Advice please!!! Thank you! - Page 2

post #31 of 39
11/7/07 at 6:07am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Martin Bell View Post
Available online in an abbreviated form at:
http://www.wtss.co.uk
Thank you for that link. My previous online source for much of their content went away a while back.
For original poster: Not sure about California, but from Eastern US the Zurich airport is one of the most pleasant/convenient gateways to Alpine skiing, with great rail connections to a place like Davos/Klosters for the Parsenn's looong cruising runs.
Sorry for a minor thread hijack with slightly odd question: of the Italian ski resorts where German is the predominant language which has a good late season (early April) snow record and enough on-piste intermediate to expert terrain for 3-4 day visit? Is Marmolada/Val Gardena a good choice at that time? Also interested in Swiss/Austrian resorts of this type that are convenient by rail from Rome.
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post #32 of 39
11/7/07 at 7:21am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jamesj View Post
of the Italian ski resorts where German is the predominant language which has a good late season (early April) snow record and enough on-piste intermediate to expert terrain for 3-4 day visit? Is Marmolada/Val Gardena a good choice at that time?
None, no.
Quote:
Also interested in Swiss/Austrian resorts of this type that are convenient by rail from Rome.
From Rome there might be a direct train to Innsbruck via the Brenner Pass. You could ski around there, and the town/city of Innsbruck is impressive. From Innsbruck there are trains to the Arlberg, for example. Otherwise, you might be able to go direct to Zurich, but I'd bet you'd have to change here in Milan. Try www.trenitalia.it (click on the British flag for English) or the Deutsche Bahn train site (don't remember the url, just Google it) for schedules.
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post #33 of 39
11/7/07 at 8:05am
Val d'Isere/Tignes is probably the safest bet with over 300 km of runs since given the altitude of the resorts and the ski area it has the most consistent snow record. You get a real sense of travelling between valleys and it will take you an entire day to ski from one end of the area to the other and back. Also given the spread of the ski area there are few bottlenecks and lift queues are slim even at peak times. Val d'Isere is less concrete with more nightlife than Tignes though Tignes is catching up in the charm stakes.

Great runs for cruising include the Genepy from the top of the Grande Motte funicular to Val Claret and if you include the run above it you can ski from 3400m altitude to 2100m without stopping. Also there is the Face Olympic downhill and the OK worldcup downhill, both challenging long runs in excess of 1000m vertical drop. A lot of runs are under-graded compared to other resorts so you will certainly not be bored.

Disadvantage is that a lot of the runs are above the tree-line so can have difficult visibility in bad weather.
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post #34 of 39
11/7/07 at 9:18am
Les Arcs is a great resort & now linked with La Plagne has miles of skiing. There is also the straight line 1 kilometre speed run if you really want to scare yourself. Wherever you choose I'm sure you will have a fantastic time.

Stu
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post #35 of 39
11/11/07 at 6:49pm
I'm not sure I'd trust those snowfall numbers from the snowboarding site, but the principles that ChrisC lays out are exactly right.

1) Radical differences in snowfall over short distances, Cottonwood Canyons vs. Park City being the classic example.
2) Altitude/exposure at Zermatt are likely as good as it gets in the Alps. That can outweigh snowfall, but only mid and late season. Take the advice of the Zermatt website and don't set foot in the place until February. March is probably optimal and April pretty good. In terms of steep off-piste, think Taos or Crested Butte; same principles apply.
3) During my only Euro ski trip I did get 30 years of annual snowfall stats from Verbier, though I was only there one day. It averages 223 inches of snow at 7,200 feet. The big Tortin bowls up high are also well exposed and should preserve well. But the lower slopes coming back to town are west facing and probably get sloppy in spring.
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post #36 of 39
12/12/07 at 5:20am

advice

Guys,
You have all got into a pissing contest about snow fall, when all the guy who started the thread wanted was advise about where to ski:

Easy

Austria: St Anton (you can get over to Lech/Zurs)

Switzerland: Zermatt

France: Espace Killy, Trois Vallee, La Plagne/Les Arc

Dark horse is La Plagne, written off as an intermediates play ground by those people who have never skied Col du Nant or the North Face of the Bellcotte.

Enjoy your trip
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post #37 of 39
12/12/07 at 6:48am
Hey Dan,

I would recommend Austria for atmosphere and best bang for the buck.
If you go to Ischgl you can ski (!) to Samnaun in Switserland and back and pick-up some taxfree booze and smokes while you're at it.
There even used to be a customs checkpoint when you cross the ridge between the two countries.
You'd also be very close to Italy but the nearby Italian resorts are really small.
I'll be in that area the first week of April.

For real hard skiing choose France! My favourite there is the Espace Killy from Tignes (cheaper lodging than Val d'Isère) with Trois Vallées (Val Thorens) as a second and Les Arcs at a good third. The "Kilomètre lancé" is truly impressive!

For a good mix of both I'd suggest Sankt-Moritz in Switserland.
For it's my absolute favourite resort.
The slopes are great and abundant, there's ample and impressive off-piste possibilities, the lift system is fast and comfortable and the scenery up high and in the valley is just mindblowing! Too bad it's a tad on the expensive side.
On the other hand it's easily reached by train from Zürich over Chur.

If you have any concrete plans be sure to let me know!
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post #38 of 39
12/12/07 at 1:46pm
Here is a link for Stu's post about the speed skiing in Les Arcs...
http://www.lesarcs.com/Kilometre-Lance-Speed-skiing

I have been living in Bourg Saint Maurice, about half-way between Les Trois Vallee and Espace Killy (Tignes/Val d'Isere) since September. BSM is also 800 meters and a 7 minute funicular ride below Les Arcs 1600. Saturday, 12/15/07, is opening day for Paradiski and I am looking forward to my first experience on the mountain as the whole area got a lot of snow over the weekend and earlier this week. If you decide to ski Les Arcs/La Plagne, feel free to look me up.

Today I was at Tignes/Val d'Isere (45 minute drive/bus ride from Bourg Saint Maurice) for the first time and it was great with sun, powder (off piste) and no wind. Massive resort with lots of options and the best early snow cover since the 90s (from what they were saying).

Matt
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post #39 of 39
12/17/07 at 12:47am
I would suggest given you are an ex racer and instructor

FRANCE 3 valleys, Val d'Isere Tignes, for mainly on piste cruising and Chamonix and La grave for off piste. Dont miss out cham as it is a real town with a mountaineering heritage and the scenery is tremendous.

However what a few have missed is that the 3 valleys area is huge and offers lots of long "backcountry" routes in addition to the lift serviced runs. if you are interested in that you can get into a group and tackle these with a mountain guide fairly economically.

I have a lot of links about the 3 valleys on my site skimottaret dot com to point you in the right direction.
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