 Poster: A snowHead
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There is a blue run in Corvara which has the largest number of troughs and peaks, like a continuous wave. A skier can come to a near stop at the every peak and then charge down every trough. It is definitely a fun run as I heard a skier considering it as the best experience she had at all time.
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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 just got a last minute deal to Alpe D'Huez, half the brochure price, and half board. If it's not right, at least it's not cost us a fortune, and the snow for next week still looks ok. So wish us luck!!
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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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AlanUK, you've chosen well with Alpe D'Huez - the lower half of the resort has plenty of rolling greens.
Appreciate your selection criteria. My wife is an excellent technical skiier but suffers from bad vertigo and on-slope freezing. She loves cruising greens and blues but as soon as it gets steep, it becomes the sort of stressful experience she doesn't want on holiday, so we choose our resorts accordingly.
From our experience, I'd recommend:
- the SkiWelt area in Austria.
- Many resorts in the US and Canada. It appears to be a major goal to have a green, blue, single diamond (red), double diamond (black) route down from each peak, there are usually sanitised routes cut into even the steeper mountains. My wife loved Tremblant - 2 main faces, both with a choice of green routes running top to bottom, and neighbouring blues to progress onto.
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don't think ADH would be too hard. the bowl above town is perfect for beginners and low intermediates. would not reccomend Val d'sere for timid skiers. Although there is a good area for beginners its v. difficult to ski back down and there are other better places. Another option, although, I haven't personally been is megeve. we looked at it for our group this time because one of our party has only skied twos and they were taking their boys for only their second time. How about Villars in Switzerland. A friend who has been suggests skiing is fairly easy. I'm sure there are others on here who can comment from personal experience
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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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JimiHendrix, your wife sounds exactly like mine, no problem with technique at all, but when she gets to the top of a mountain, she needs to able to see the runs laid out in front, rather than twisting, narrow ones that run through the trees, often with a drop on one side, no fencing or netting and the feeling of being able to drop off the side, and career all the way to the bottom, and looking at some of the tracks left by other skiers on our last holiday, I’d say some did experience some off piste that they hadn’t bargained for! It’s rather like being very high up in those theatre seats in the heavens, there is reluctance to want to stand up!! But those of us that don’t experience these feelings find it hard to grasp, but she loves the whole skiing experience so much, that she is the driving force to continue booking holidays, so once we find the right resort, we might buy property there!!!!!!!
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| AlanUK wrote: |
| preferably greens and blues, bump free, wide, long, well pisted and have little gradient |
just back from Copper Mountain, Colorado - the runs on the mountain are arranged green ( read very nearly flat ), blue ( read a bit more interesting but still easy) and black ( read steeper and mogulled ) from right to left as you look at the mountain, have a look at the piste map here
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Alan UK - take her to Peisey/Vallandry & treat her to a lesson with Fred Pouye at ESF - your wife sounds like I was, & that combo have sorted me out!
And dont stand at the top of the slope with her & tell her that its easy & the snow is great & you can do it & come on....it really doesnt help!
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geri, yes... he does that, and you're right, it doesn't help!! Especially when everyone else is commenting on bad light, moguls, crud, slush, ice, etc. etc. and he's still telling me it's perfect!!
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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AlpineWalker, thanks, Alan and I have Copper mountain high on our list
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pam w, les saisies looks lovely - we will definitely look at this next year - but how on earth do you pronounce it?? big french joke?!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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AlanUK, get your wife to read the thread on here entitled 'bottle loss' - my friend also has this problem and the comments here helped. seems it is a very common problem. rebecca
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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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Does anyone think Obergurgl would be good?
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rpft@rpft.co.uk, sorry to be so long.... English people tend to say Saisies to rhyme with daisy. However a slightly more French way is to make it rhyme with prezzy. It's in between, I suppose. But nobody will mind!
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You know it makes sense.
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pam w, I sent for some information from their tourist office, and loads of stuff arrived about hotels etc, but all in French, just need a translator now!
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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 no one mentioned Lech in all this. Those staying there would need deep wallets, though.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Nick Zotov,
I must say I think not mentioning Lech is quite sensible in this respect. It has great skiing but it certainly is not all gentle, the runs are IMO no easier than most French resorts. I really don't know where it gets its easy reputation from though it usually has good snow which may make runs seem a little easier  . I also disagree with its expensive image probably a little more so than the Austrian average it is true but certainly a lot better than many French resorts.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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T Bar, A while since I skied there - and then only on days out from St Anton. My memories are of runs that were straightforward. Not so much to do with inclines, more related to immaculate grooming (very, even, no bumps) and lack of crowds. As for cost, as I said, I never stayed there - but I guessed at high cost from the ambiance. But quite a time since I was that way - I could well be out of date.
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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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pam w, thanks! we like peak retreats & they do saises - so we will look for next year - though we are very tied to school holidays this year which is a pain - slushy easter & crowdy half term.
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Nick Zotov,
If you like St Anton you should give Lech a try, I Have stayed in both and prefer Lech. It is much easier to ski St A from Lech than the other way round. Pricewise they are about the same ie a bit more than the average Austrian though you definately can do expensive in Lech if you want to.
Back to your point though, I would agree that there is more easy skiing in Lech than St A but several runs have unexpected steeper bits which I thought was what was to be avoided by the first poster, I have seen quite a few people struggle on the red from the top of Zurs back to Lech and the main blue back to Lech can be tricky for a blue.
The grooming is I agree pretty good but my impression is that this is becoming true in most resorts though I agree that the lack of crowds mean that the piste remains good for longer.
I wouldnt send a nervous skier self exploring in Lech though with an instructor there is plenty of terrain to explore and it is certainly better than St A I would agree.
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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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T Bar, thanks for that. Much as I enjoyed it in the past, I may be getting a bit old for the hurly burly of St Anton Apres Ski - so I'll think about staying in Lech. 
Last time I was in the Arlburg region, I am pretty sure the currency was still schillings......
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sharon1953, one thing about Les Saisies is that the clientele is almost all French. Little English is spoken, though the girls in the tourist office speak some English and are super helpful. There are very few hotels - mostly self catering. Good shops for self caterers, including a super traiteur/boucherie. It's small and low key; don't go there if night life is your top priority! Erna Low do apartments in Les Saisies. If you see anything you fancy, or want any more info about location of apartments etc, PM me. I wouldn't claim to be a translator but can generally manage brochures. rpft@rpft.co.uk, Easter was not really too slushy this year, even though late. Next year, being earlier, Easter should be ideal and to be preferred to half term. But even at half term the lift queues should not be bad compared to some.
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Davos!
- The Pistes are IMMACULATE! I swear they don't use piste bashers on those things, they must have an army of umpa lumpa's that go and polish the mountain overnight. I find the Swiss put much more care into their pistes (and lifts for that matter - challenge you to find a T bar) you can really see the grooming lines late into the day and not a bit of icyness - simply well-packed.
- Those things are wide! Really is motorway skiing with no trees or other nonsense to contend with.
I'm not just saying this as its the last / only place I've been - skied the best of Austria and Switzerland this season Kitzbuehel, Zermatt, Davos, St Anton, Laax, Lenzerheide etc but for what you're looking for it's the best place I've been so far - esp the Jackobshorn ski area. Was on some new Rossi 9X GS skis and was having so much fun putting huge turns in on the blues was an effort to move to harder pistes!! Also the locals know what they are doing, they won't hold you up nor will they crash into you!
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At risk of a lynching here, I'm going to make a suggestion. Try Snowblades. 
If the technique is ok after a few gentle runs to get used to these little planks, their sheer easyness to carve means they can't "runaway" from you in the way skis can, and they could well be a fun way to boost confidence and gradually push the boundries. Despite the slagging blades get from certain quarters they definately do have a useful role to play. I know a couple of people who have advanced significantly on skis, by taking to snowblades, getting omfortable on more of the mountain on the blades than they ever were on skis, and then being able to transistion back to skis and ski more of the mountain better.
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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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Winterhighland, you won't get a lynching from this quarter, I dumped skis about 3 years ago in favour of blades, best thing I ever did, instant parallels, can stop and turn on a sixpence (well 5p now) the dilemma is that there are about 15 different skiboards to try, that all feel and ski differently, and that’s not including the basic Salomon Snowblades. They are all different widths, side cut ratios and lengths, and then there are the different constructions and materials they are made of, which dramatically affects the way they respond in different conditions. Too short and you get face-planted in deeper snow, too rigid and they won’t grip on ice, too narrow and you sink in soft snow, etc and so on. Only about 5 models are sold in the UK, most are from the USA, so this adds to the difficulty of trying before you buy! I noticed this year in a French resort that these little gems are now fast becoming the new rival to the snowboard!! I can't see any reason to return to skis, as I have no desire to increase my speed beyond that of a moderate skier - and off piste doesn't exist for me!!!
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