Snowboarding in Western Europe

A snowHead

Hey guys - firstly thanks for this forum, i'm new here but i've already had a look around and found some incredibly useful info!

Okay so a little about me - I am an Aussie student living in London for the year, and I am keen to head snowboarding for 5 days this January (roughly 6-11th Jan). I have a few criteria which I am trying to meet or find a fitting compromise... my criteria are mainly as follows:
- I have been snowboarding for about 8 years and would place myself at a solidly intermediate level, would obviously want the resort to reflect my abilities
- My experience is mainly from piste riding, but would love to have the opportunity to ease into some freestyle/off-piste (particularly the latter)
- I am leaning more towards Austria/Switzerland/Italy because I'm happy to pay the premium for the quality which seems to given in these countries (although I am avoiding France, sorry to be picky!)
- Although I am happy to spend a bit on lift tickets etc., I would ideally be somewhere fairly economical in terms of accom/food (preferably hostel accommodation, as I will be alone and love to meet new people Smile

+ economic)
- Nightlife/apres-ski not extremely important to me, but is always a plus!
- Don't mind busy slopes, but preferably not somewhere with consistently long queues
- Preferably somewhere easy to get to (I am too young to hire a car in most countries!!)

After doing a considerable amount of research I have shortlisted Davos and Zermatt in Switzerland, as well as St. Anton and Mayrhofen in Austria. If I were to book right now I think I would go with Davos, but as I said I am still undecided and would love to hear from some people who have experienced these areas for themselves!

Thankyou in advance for your opinions - I truly appreciate your help!
Sean Very Happy

A snowHead

seanbp, welcome to Snowheads.

A shame you've written off France as one of the "off piste" weeks in a UCPA Centre, with full board, instruction, guiding, equipment etc included would have been a heap cheaper than anything you are likely to find in Davos or Zermatt. wink

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

seanbp, I love Davos - good choice. Perfectly possible to do a tight budget, i've stayed in lovely 60€ a night self catering but perhaps there is a hostel there for even less.

Lots of young people there and a great boarding scene (do I sound old?) on the Jakobshorn area

The trip is very easy from Zurich on the train and the different ski areas are fun to explore.

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If you can be a little flexible with your length of stay, you might be able to pick up a cheaper week with a UK TO such as Inghams, especially as you are based in London. May not get the choice of resorts tho.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

I would recommend Austria as price seems to be a concern and in general Switzerland is very expensive.

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Thanks guys for your feedback!

Thanks pam w I did think about UCPA but am really not keen on France, plus I have found that I can do somwhere like Davos on a similar budget (just without the lessons!)

Red 27 thanks for your thoughts also - I have found a hostel for €30 euros a night so seriously considering that! And good to hear that there are young people around, that was something I was uncertain about as it seems to be perceived as very expensive!

Sitter I have looked at a few fully organised trips but have been able to find cheaper things indepently and what seem to be better resorts! And madlondoner is there somewhere in Austria in particular that you would recommend?

Thanks again everyone! Still feeling Davos at this stage, looking to book tomorrow! Smile

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seanbp, all the old folks eat in their hotels so the bars, pizzerias and kebab shops (yes there are...) get the younger crowd. It's not anything like St Anton etc though. It's quite a unique atmosphere in Davos - you'll either love it or hate it. I love it but when I went there with a gang of mates one guy just hated the place.

There's also a big (and cheap) spar where you can stock up on S/C stuff.

After all it is free

Hi, seanbp, why 5 days? Most places in Europe are based around a 7 night stay - normally Saturday to Saturday. That could be anything from 6-8 days of skiing depending where (and how) you go.

I'm genuinely curious because I've heard it a few times from Aussies/Yanks. Why not France?

Arguably the best terrain in the world and the biggest resorts.

You've picked probably the most expensive resorts in the world, by the way.

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red 27, fair enough, but Zermatt and Davos are undeniably 2 of the most expensive resorts you'll ever find. I'm pretty sure some recent survey listed Zermatt as #1 priciest resort on earth.

Cheap hostel, fine, is it actually in resort or 10 miles away? Lift pass? Kit hire? Food?

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hi Mate

Sounds like you will have great time.

Have you thought about the guys that run coach holidays that include accommodation? You hop on the bus in England and they transport you right there to the resort, I have never done it before myself but there are threads on here you could track down or hopefully someone will be along to give you the names of the people that run them, I suspect it may be these guys - http://www.snowcoach.co.uk/ but I could be wrong and there may be better options available, worth a look anyhow.

Good luck and I hope you enjoy yourself

You know it makes sense.

red 27, OK, I will summarise for you - they're all very expensive. Pass is quite a bit more than even Espace Killy or 3 Valleys (and for a smaller area).

Awesome places to ski, don't get me wrong, but hardly cheap.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

Generally I find travel and accommodation costs to be very similar in Austria, France and Italy (can't comment on Switzerland). Lift pass costs are easy to research. From a food/drink point of view Austria and Italy tend to be more economical for food and drink on the mountain and in resort - yes you can find cheap places in French resorts, but it takes some doing - you don't have to do as much shopping about for reasonable value food and drink in Italy or Austria.

I can't think of any areas that I've been to that a solid intermediate wouldn't enjoy (I've been skiing for a similar length of time as you for a couple of weeks per season).

A snowHead

Thanks again guys and sorry for my delayed responses, have just been away for a couple of days!

After some more research (and thanks to your feedback) I have renewed faith in maybe doing something in France with the UCPA - can anyone pam w?) comment on their experiences with the company? I would ideally go for a half-board or independent package (don't like the idea of being confined to a group 100% of the time!!). But admittedly the prices are great! Also, can anyone vouch for any particular resorts in France? I have heard that Chamonix and Serre Chevalier are both good?

steveomcd Not sure what the reason is with France but admittedly there is some reluctancy from Aussies! But after having a better look online I may still be convinced to go there (especially if I can get a good deal with this UCPA thing!). Although, at Davos i was looking at around 600 euros for everything for 5 days (flights/transfers from London, accom, hire, lift passes, and food (although the latter more difficult for me to judge)) so overall not too bad? And the hostel I was looking at is only a 10min walk to the nearest lift!! Can you recommend somewhere in particular in France?

hammerite are there any particular resorts you would recommend in Italy or Austria (or France?) - I am literally too overwhelmed by the options to know where to start in some of these countries haha!

A snowHead

seanbp, France has literally hundreds of resorts, covering everything from tiny locally-owned places to probably all of the contenders for "world's biggest ski area".

If you're looking for backcountry riding, check out Chamonix, Sainte Foy, La Grave or lots of little places in the Beaufortain or Aravis.

For massive resorts, check out Val d'Isere/Tignes, Les Arcs/La Plagne, Portes du Soliel, Courchevel/Meribel/Val Thorens.

For uncrowded areas with cool terrain and chilled-out locals, check out Sainte Foy (again wink

), Areches-Beaufort, Grand Bornand, Valloire, Val Cenis.

I've been all over Europe (and to North America & New Zealand too). I don't think there's anything to choose in terms of overall "quality" between the Alpine Nations. France probably has the best lift systems, facilities and biggest areas. Austria has the best party/apres scene. Switzerland has a nice "exclusive" sort of feel. Italy has the cheapest food & drink. They're all awesome.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

I can only really recommend places that I've been to! But I think they were all suitable for my level at the time and still would be now.

France - Les Arcs, Alpe d'Huez good with both challenging and easier areas. Been to Les 2 Alpes, whilst we enjoyed and would return, we enjoyed the other areas more.

Italy - Cervinia which has the advantage of being connected to Zermatt. Cervinia is full of long relatively easy runs, great for building confidence. You can ski/board a huge distance in one day. For more challenging stuff (and a more expensive lunch!) head over to Zermatt.
Dolomite Sella Ronda resorts - fantastic huge area plenty for everyone.

Austria - Ski Amadé - huge area, good to have a car or get used to getting a bus if you want to try the various smaller areas. If you want to stick to a bigger single area Flachau or Schladming are probably good shouts.
Kitzbuhel - good area, but relatively small. Can buy the Salzburg pass though and go over to Skiwelt too. Really nice town to stay in for having a wander round when not on the snow.
Also been to Skiwelt, like Les 2 Alpes we would go back, but we found a lot of the runs to be relatively short.

We go as a family, but if I was in your position I'd probably give the UCPA thing in France a try. You can get lessons and could try some off piste with a guide too, which you'd have to pay extra for elsewhere. Probably offsets the saving you'd make on beer/food if you went to Austria/Italy where those tend to be cheaper.

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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

seanbp, ever been to the alps? As a fellow Aussie, I can say that even after skiing 15 years in Norway, the alps are a very different beast Happy

Almost all places are good, but we have been in Austria the last few years - it just rocks.

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Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

stevomcd/hammerite have either of you been to Serre Chavelier? There is a UCPA trip which would work out well for me, but I haven't heard much about it?? It seems like its a bit of a pain to get to and can get crowded, but I think in early Jan it might work well! Seems to also have off-piste options Smile

. Thanks guys!

After all it is free

Actually, have realised that the Chamonix trip will work out better for me - I think that I will go with that and hope for the best! Thank-you to everyone for your help, I will let you know how it goes Smile

seanbp, Serre Che is great, was my first-ever Alps trip.

Chamonix is awesome though, everyone should go to Cham at least once!

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what happened to the 600 bucks bargain basement Davos trip?

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Thanks stevomcd, i'm sure Chamonix will be amazing!

pam w i figured that I could pay 600 euro for 5 days or 500 euro in Chamonix for 7 days (with UCPA) - going for the value and hoping for the best Smile

Thanks again for all of your help!!

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seanbp, but the Davos deal included flights - it'll cost you a bit to get to Chamonix, presumbly. Though Chamonix is a great experience - such a historical centre of climbing for so many years. .

Help!!

Snowboarding in Western Europe

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