 Poster: A snowHead
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Gosh now there’s a thought. I don’t think I’d get the other families on board with Georgia to be honest. But will have a look.
Is Austria as busy as France in half term? Switzerland?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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We skied in a small resort in Austria the week before February half term one year. We definitely noticed an increased number of British people from the Friday, but left early on Saturday so didn't see the full effect. Our feeling was that it was about to get busy.
We've skied at Christmas, half term, and Easter. Easter remains our favourite as although it can be slushy lower down (we stay in Arc 1800), the snow conditions higher up are fantastic, the days are longer and you get less brutal weather (still chilly enough to need a buff when moving up high). Christmas in Austria was very icy, Christmas in Cervinia was great once they opened the lifts on our second day as winds were too high on on first day. We did February half term in Les Arcs this year and whilst the snow was fabulous, the sheer amount of crowds around 1800/2000/1950 made it something we wouldn't rush to repeat. We paid for passes that included the express lanes and they proved to be the best thing we could have purchased.
There's generally going to be good snow cover wherever in February, even if the current trend shows fantastic new coverage at Easter, so you could probably avoid the crowds by finding a smaller, less known resort. Although that does mean that there are limited lifts, which might cause a bottleneck.
Cervinia is massive, but when they only had a couple of lifts open on that first day, the queues were 45 minutes long. Once they opened the top up, we never queued for more than 2 minutes as everyone then spread out across the resort.
Les Arcs at half term was less crowded if you stayed the Peisey-Vallandry side, so that would potentially be a decent option. We found that was the best way to get away from the sheer number of people. On some lifts, we walked straight on with no-one else in sight. If you got a Paradiski pass, you could utilise the Vanoise Express and use the quieter slopes on the La Plagne side. Thus avoiding the big centres of both resorts. That's how I'd do any future February trips.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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wow - I’ve never heard of paying extra to use the express lanes!! I thought they were just for ski schools.
Cervinia was on my radar as a possibility for half term - why did they only have a couple of lifts open? Is that common?
Will look at Peisey too. Yes I’ve heard similar about Les Menuires side of the 3V - surprisingly unbusy as everyone heads to the middle of the 3V.
Although think we will probably avoid France altogether for half term, not least as we are in Tignes at April.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Because of high winds. There had been a three day snowstorm. We arrived on the last day of it snowing, however, on our first day of skiing, they couldn't open lifts any higher than the village because despite blue skies, it was still extremely windy further up, so everyone was stuck using the two chairs in the village for even a hint of skiing.
Once everything opened up, including the link with Zermatt, everyone spread out and we never queued more than a couple of minutes after that.
Les Arcs offer different levels of pass, priced accordingly. The Classic pass gets you on all lifts the Les Arcs side, but no entry via the express lanes. The Essentials Pass gets you the full Paradiski area (so includes La Plagne), plus the Express Lane. And then there's a Premium too that gets you all that and some other bits, though I've never purchased it, so couldn't tell you what they are.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Cervinia is known for closing lifts in windy weather. It's so exposed, you definitely wouldn't want to be up there. When it's calm, it's spectacular.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Ahha I hadn’t realised. That would be very tedious indeed. Hmm will look at other Italian options
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Cervinia is very high, so it's a great option for early and late skiing, they have summer skiing on the glacier. But with the height comes the wind risk. For February, you'll be pretty safe anywhere.
Dolomites? I've not been but they look spectacular.
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| pie81 wrote: |
Gosh now there’s a thought. I don’t think I’d get the other families on board with Georgia to be honest. But will have a look.
Is Austria as busy as France in half term? Switzerland? |
if the half term is the same week as the Carnival Week in Germany, then yes (whats will be in 2026)
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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A friend of mine went to Poland for skiing over half term. Said it was small but great for a couple of nights.
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In all honesty, it doesn't really matter. Both Feb and April should mean you are skiing in plentiful snow unless it's been a disastrously dry season. The thing people forget is by April, there's been all of March for even more snow accumulation. Again, unless it's a barren Winter, you should be fine.
Equally, even if you go in Feb with the large queues, you should still enjoy it.
Having worked seasons and holidayed at both times, I would personally lean towards April. I am very impatient so find queueing very annoying (although not enough for it to impact my overall holiday verdict) but also, Spring skiing has its own charm, slightly warmer weather means you might get to sit out in the sun a bit more and it's just a generally more casual vibe.
One thing to check if going early April is when the resorts start to close some of their lifts. e.g. a resort can remain open after closing lower down lifts.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| pie81 wrote: |
Thanks. I think Easter is a no brainer personally but some in the group are saying Feb (I think mostly just because it’s what we did this year and we lucked out). So wanted to check views!
Thanks for the resort pointers. Alpe d’Huez too sunny I think. I’m not familiar with les deux Alpes so will tread carefully as you say. Will reconsider Les Menuires. |
Feb HT this year might have been a bit of an outlier in terms of "not too bad" busyness - a dutch ski forum does a fantastic analysis of the upcoming seasons based on EU school holidays and typical skier patterns...
This year - the worst of the Feb HT was spread across a few weeks - mainly I think due to pancake day being late ... chart here - https://cdn.wintersporters.com/media/content/2024/02/08/Vakantiedrukte_wintersport_2024-2025.jpg
Next season however - everything aligns so the UK Feb HT week looks an absolute shocker... chart here - https://cdn.wintersporters.com/site/2025/02/24/51a550d8_2000x1161.jpg
In these busy weeks - the actual slopes might feel the same one year to the next (as the lifts can only cope with a certain amount of uplift at capacity) - where you will notice the difference though is in lift queues and restaurants...
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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You know it makes sense.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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interesting- maybe Christmas skiers don’t ski as much as it’s more of a snowy holiday than a ski trip (for some anyway!)
Or maybe Flaine has specific bottlenecks and Alpe d’Huez/Vaujany is more spread out
I will look up the areas you mention, I’m not very good at knowing which resorts are where! Thanks
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Poster: A snowHead
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We absolutely ski at Christmas. Cervinia had plenty of Christmas skiers last Christmas. We skied in Austria prior to that and it was pretty quiet over Christmas and then picked up from the 27th onwards. This year we're booked for Bulgaria for New Year instead of Christmas.
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FAQ
with a different group.
