Finding other people to ski with at the resort

A snowHead

This is my first post here, sorry for the vague title but I figured this would probably be the best place to ask this question.

I’m planning a trip for early spring 2015, where I’ll be backpacking throughout Europe for a month. I try to take a trip to the Rocky Mountains once a year but this trip to Europe would use up all of my vacation time, so I got the idea to hit two birds with one stone and take 4-5 days to go skiing somewhere in the Alps. I’ll be doing the trip alone and I’m not sure exactly when or where just yet, the trip is still in the very early planning phase. I am male and in at the time of the trip I’ll be 27.

While I might try to find other people to ski with on a site like this, I am wondering if there are other ways to meet up with people to ski with at the resorts in the Alps, in case finding a group here doesn’t work out for whatever reason. I’ve tried searching the internet and I found several companies that organize trips for solo skiers to have a group to ski with, but they seem to bundle airfare, lodging and everything together and that wouldn’t really apply for me due to the nature of my trip. For those who have skied at various resorts in the Alps, how easy is it to find other people to ski with at the hill itself? I’ll admit I’m more on the introverted side but not a complete hermit either. I was thinking of maybe staying in a hostel at a resort (which is what I’ll be doing once I move on from the skiing portion of my trip) so it will be much easier to meet other skiers at the resort (and cheaper, which is a plus), though only a few of the resorts seem to have hostels close to the lifts, from what a few searches on google has shown me anyway. Is there perhaps something like a group tour of the pistes that I could ski with for a day? If so, is there a cost to something like that? Not talking about ski mountaineering or anything, just a guided tour that can show you where the best pistes are and there would be other people in the group. As I’ve never skied in Europe I’m not really sure what to expect. As I’ve heard that the Apres-ski culture is much different in Europe than here in North America I’d also like to check that out but I figure that would be more fun if I’ve met a few people beforehand.

Any suggestions or tips on how to meet people at the mountain, or anything else that might be helpful is appreciated. As I mentioned I’m not entirely sure where or when I’ll be going, but I’m thinking late March 2015 and somewhere in Austria as that is closer to my next destination while backpacking (Vienna or maybe Salzburg), though nothing is set in stone.

A snowHead

Jokurr, welcome to snowheads.

Have a look at http://www.ucpa.co.uk/

UCPA centres, in France, are for young skiers/boarders (notional age limit of 40 I think) and do very good value accommodation (in small hostel size dorms, mostly) with all meals, ski pass, equipment and (if you want them) lessons as well. Some of the lessons are at a very high level and include off-piste with guides/equipment at a far lower price than you'd pay on your own. They have bars - and are a v good way of meeting people. My son in law who is not a super "outgoing matey" type, found them excellent for meeting people. Depending on how long you want to be skiing, you could do a couple of weeks in different centres. they are stupendous value for money. If you do a search for "UCPA snowheads" on Google you'll find lots of relevant hits (that works more easily than the Snowheads own search, which is a bit quirky).

There are some "packages" with transport, from the UK, but you can also just book a week direct with UCPA, with no transport, or with transfers from main airports (which is useful as this can be quite expensive).

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

+1 to the above, definitely the ideal option for you!

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Agree with the above, and I certainly met a skier from North America who was on her own but staying with UCPA in Flaine and was raving about it.

Another option is to go to a resort with a leader from the Ski Club of Great Britain in situ-see http://www.skiclub.co.uk . They have a daily programme of skiing usually getting more challenging as the week goes on, with a social gathering in a local bar each evening. The cost to join is small.
Staying in a hostel may be another way to meet new people.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Thanks for the links guys. Does anything like the UCPA exist in the other Alpine countries? As I'll be heading east from the Alps when I'm done skiing I was hoping to be no further west than somewhere like Zermatt as the train ride from somewhere in France to Vienna is rather long. Though if I have good reason to pick France over other areas I won't shut that door just yet.

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I agree that using hostels is a good way to go. You get a much more random crowd and people just hook up and ski/ride together. But be prepared to be largely self-sufficient to organise transport and feeding yourself. All good fun.

Don't be put off by long train rides in Europe - enjoy! The high-speed trains run at 180mph (yes you did read that right). The slower trundly trains are a fantastic way to see so many European countries and cities. There's an overnight train service to Vienna btw, with bunk beds. Sometimes listed on timetables as the "Orient Express". But not the real one. If you plan to use the trains a lot, consider an Interrail pass.

After all it is free

fly to munich, train down to kitz http://www.hostelworld.com/hosteldetails.php/SnowBunnys/Kitzbuhel/1053?sc_sau=sfab&sc_pos=1

Some quick searches lead me to believe a train ride from somewhere in the French Alps to Vienna could take over 14 hours... couldn't find any overnight trains but I didn't search that hard just yet. Even though a month might sound like a lot of time, with the amount of things I'd like to see it isn't, so if I can cut down on travel time it's an added plus.

I was thinking of Kitzbuhel but I've heard that the snow can be unreliable there in late March? From some articles I've read, it sounds like some of the better Austrain resorts for that time of year would be Ischgl, Obergurgl, Solden, St Anton, or Lech-Zurs. Unfortunately none of those resorts seem to have hostels with group rooms, at least from what I can tell.

I did notice that several of those resorts seem to advertise advanced classes with their ski schools where I assume you would be skiing with a group. Does anyone have experience with something like that? I would label myself as an advanced skier but there is always room for improvement, plus the guide/instructor might be able to show me good places to go, and there would be other like minded people in the class.

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Jokurr, the resorts listed are mostly pretty expensive ones. Yes, a ski school group would be one way to find people to ski with - though a group of mates you met in a hostel might be more congenial. The UCPA formula is so right for what you want to do, that perhaps you could overcome the travel problems - the whole of the French, Austrian and Swiss Alps would fit into a corner of Canada. wink

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But there are some snowheads who know austria very well - ask a specific question about hostels.

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Be wary of Advanced group lessons. They are often standard copy on websites but will only run if there are enough Advanced takers to make a group. And soooo many skiers who consider themselves advanced seem to also not take lessons.

For a snowsure Austrian resort, also take a look at the Hintertux valley. Handy glacier.

14 hours sounds about right. But you can break it up and have a lot of fun along the way. Eg, head from Chambery through the Frejus tunnel and take in Turin, Milan, Venice. From Venice, surprisingly close to Austrain Alps.

I'm biased and would invite you to come and enjoy Les Arcs / La Plagne. Two hostels available: The Loft in Bourg St Maurice (2 mins walk from the railway station) or Chaletarc up the hill in Nancroix. Easy exit by train to The Rest Of Europe.

So I have found overnight trains into Austria, which does make France and the UCPA package look more enticing...

I have a question regarding UCPA for anyone who has been. I'm looking at the website and I notice that some of the 4 days / 3 nights packages say they include a ski pass for 6 1/2 days (I was looking at the off-piste package). Is this a typo, or do you get a lift pass that is valid for longer than the provided lodging/equipment/course?

You know it makes sense.

Go to action outdoors the uk website for ucpa it is in English. It probably is a typo but they do include all food and hire and lessons depending on the package you choose. Give them a call or email. I am going to the one in val thorens next month and had to call about it and guy was great got it all sorted out.

Help!!

Finding other people to ski with at the resort

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