 Poster: A snowHead
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So the Jones boys are growing up, but, despite the imminent arrival of student status for Jones Jnr #1, the allure of a free holiday with Mum and Dad has lost none of its appeal. But where and when?
Oodles of off-piste is a given (we'll probably hire a private guide for the week), but combining Uni hols with school hols for Jnr #2 and Jnr #3 is a bit of a pig. We could go at Christmas, but the interesting stuff might be looking like a pile of bare rocks. We could go at Easter (April 11th is the earliest date) but we might find that we're skiing in slop and sweating buckets... and I really, really, really, really hate heat and strong sunshine.
So what's the advice? Christmas or Easter? Which resort for a week (maybe 8 days or more) of reliable off piste? If it's Easter, it had better be high and North facing so I can dodge the sun and heat. If it's Christmas, it had better not need multiple metres of snow to cover the rocks.
And which continent? My heart is in a North America trip, but many resorts across the pond will be unreliable on those dates. If it's Europe, where can I rely on? I wouldn't say that money's no object, but I'm painfully aware that we probably don't have too many remaining trips ahead of us as a family unit, so it's more important that it's good than cheap.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Jonny Jones, don't count on skiing without your kids for a while yet. Had a 24 and 25 year old with us twice last season.
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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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If off-piste is important, I'd always choose beginning / mid April over Christmas (well unless I could do a last-minute Christmas trip to a place where it's dumping). The EOSB is end of April and for the last three years running we had anything between good and superb offpiste in Val Thorens. And we didn't roast in the sun.
I'm sure some of the well-known US resorts are still in full swing on those dates... Jackson Hole? Snowbird / Alta? Our TGR brethren certainly seem to ski later in the year than us Euros...
Or...Christmas week tends to be empty-ish. Book flights to Zurich or maybe Geneva, maybe rent a car and leave the resort decision for the last moment. It would be unusual for nowhere in the Alps to have decent snow by then.
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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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horizon, a last minute trip at Christmas sounds like an interesting idea. Accommodation for 5 is always tricky, though, so I'll have to investigate availability.
Jackson Hole is south facing, so its season ends early. I'm sure some other North America resorts have longer seasons, but I don't know which ones.
With your late season trips to VT, did you find that many of the longer off-piste runs were unavailable as the lower reaches had melted?
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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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Jonny Jones, Revelstoke opens pretty early and by mid-December typically has plenty of snow if the info I researched some months ago can be trusted. Kicking Horse likely similar. Or do both. Or more in that neck of the woods. (BC)
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Often plenty of snow around Whistler at Christmas but it does get quite busy and you are lucky to get much in the way of clear skies at that time of year
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Jonny Jones, take advantage of the unis breaking up in early Dec. Aim for second or third week, dirt cheap to the point that if you get some offpiste then great, if you don't then you are still on a ski trip for £400 per person plus lift pass, which is cheaper so early.
We've poked around the various options, and Tignes and Val Thorens seem to be the pre-Xmas sensible options. Loads of spare accommodation for 5 in chalets - if you book last minute you will probably get either a triple room for the kids or not have to pay for the spare bed. Frequently on our trips (usually early-mid Dec) we are either offered or hear about empty beds for the following week at seriously knock-down prices.
For end of season conditions in VT just look at the EoSB reports. This year was seriously hot and not much snow before we arrived, and still many hit fresh powder and good conditions off piste, just need a good guide to know where to go.
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| Hells Bells wrote: |
| Jonny Jones, don't count on skiing without your kids for a while yet. Had a 24 and 25 year old with us twice last season. |
And ours were with us last season aged 26 (and married), 24 and 22 (still at uni)
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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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If you want to ski long days then December is better (the old adage never ski off piste after lunch in April). That said early last season was not great in terms of snow depth - can you wait and see and delay to April if Dec is bad? You can always book last minute up to Xmas week in the big resorts. I would recommend Tignes (because I live there!).
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Jonny Jones, Christmas - Japan - easy.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Jonny Jones, I was skiing off piste in VT at last year's EOSB. Out of eight days, there were three good days OP, two were fine, two were a bit iffy, and one was godawful. Guess which day I was booked for a full day's guiding... Still, it was memorable. On two days we skied over from Caron into the next valley down to the lake, and yes, we ran out of snow and had maybe 45 mins walking to get back to the lift. Personally I thought that was worth it for the scenery. There was plenty of snow higher up and lots of other options without that problem. Some groups were much more adventurous than us and went on some quite extreme trips.
The snow was sometimes a bit challenging - some ice, lots of slush, some really sticky snow late in the day. Not really any 'true' powder. But it was still damned good fun!
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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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chocksaway, it does get dark very early in December though.
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Mistress Panda, two of our lads are still in school, so we get the worst of both worlds with the holiday dates.
I'm tempted by the flexible approach that some have suggested: aim to book last minute for Christmas, but go at Easter instead of nothing suitable turns up or if there's a snow drought. If late flights are a problem, I guess there's always the train or the car.
As a rule of thumb I prefer cold and dark to warm and sunny, so the Christmas gloom is no deterrent to me.
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You know it makes sense.
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Jonny Jones,
If heading late and you have a reasonable budget Zermatt may be a good option, Mountain tracks are offering a week of day touring the following week and the resort has plenty of high North facing slopes as well as Heliskiing.
If you have never visited it is definitely a place to go, though a tad pricey these days.
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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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Why not wait 'til Jnr#1 finds out where & when his uni ski club are going? And then he goes with them & you book the rest of the family there? Caveat - you may regret following this suggestion! 
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Poster: A snowHead
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T Bar, That does look good! Not cheap, though, at £1,395 for uncatered accommodation and guide.
Zermatt is an interesting choice that I'd overlooked even though I've skied there before. As a family, we were a little disappointed with the on-piste options, but the off-piste area is truly vast.
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