 Poster: A snowHead
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HI
Om looking for suggestions of good early snow European resorts where we could go for New year 2016/7.
Doesnt neccessarily have to be the "well known" resorts.
Any suggestions gratefully appreciated.
Peter
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Usual suspects are the high ones - Val Thorens and Les Menuires in the 3 Valleys, Tignes / Val D'Isere or somewhere with a glacier like Kaprun / Zell am Zee in Austria, the Italian resorts near Zermatt. Or Colorado if you can budget for that?
Taking your chances with recent snowfalls over the last few years really. Another alternative would be to go for a resort / town with a lot more to do than just ski, on the expectation that the snow cover will be poor / thin / non existent.
What other factors are you looking at? Chalet? Ski in / out? Nightlife? size of area?
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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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@wadgebeast, recent snowfalls are not necessarily linked to future snow falls. So no information content there.
Chamonix has had skiing at New Year each of last 3 years quite happily and has more other stuff to offer than Val Thorens, f'rinstance.
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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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We're probably going to take a punt on Serre Chevalier this year, mainly because it's one of the few that the tour op are offering for 27th Dec, which suits us better than a pre-Xmas departure whilst still fitting inside the school holidays period. Hopefully there will be a better start to next season after two rather dodgy ones across the Alps. If not, then Briançon looks interesting enough for a day or two's sightseeing, along with other potential activities in the valley.
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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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Thanks guys.
Were not looking for nightclubs etc etc but some bars / restaurants Id expect would be available most places.
Were not particularly interested in not skiing tho. That is the primary reason for going so entertaining ourselves elsewhere would be a gutter!
Any thoughts on Solden?
Peter
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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May be worth having a look at some of the Scandinavian resorts - most usually have a decent amount of snow by New Year (though Trysil didn't have much until Feb. this year). I have no idea how busy they get at New Year
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Last few years I've skied - Obergurgl, Obertauern, Mayrhofen, Kaltenbach, Zell Am Ziller, Serfaus, Fiss, Lech and Champoluc at Christmas or New Year. Last Christmas at Champoluc was the most disappointing for snow, only a couple of runs open but we still had a great time. Generally I find that the runs might not all be fully open but that doesn't mean the skiing gets super busy as the locals tend not to bother going out.
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Isola 2000 often has early snow. It always came high on my records when I was charting early snowfalls and trying to decide where to go.
Never went at xmas new year though always went for the Tarantaise valley usually Val Thorens or Tignes if booking ahead.
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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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@Peter Groom, look east away from the moderating influence of the Atlantic Ocean and where canny investment of your lift pass monies has produced extensive snow-making facilities that simply use water and compressed air (no nasties cos they is banned here  )
I skied on the opening weekend (November 28th /29th 2015) of the Sportwelt Amadé this season and was amazed at how far we could travel and how many lifts were open. Last season (2014/2015) was the same, extensive areas open and linked and therefore skiable. OK heavy reliance on artificial snow but it was enjoyable skiing and we were not confined to a couple of narrow white strips between swathes of green and brown. This season there was more snow because the approach to ski opening had been colder. Who knows what next season will bring.
You don't necessarily need to have the back up of a glacier these days to be honest, although that old chestnut is trotted out regardless all the time. Those towns and villages that are close by are rammed in poor snow seasons and so are the limited runs up on the glaciers. Look at the resort maps and see how much of the area is covered with snow-making systems and you'll be OK.
I remember one Christmas in the mid to late 70s where I was in Leysin and the bulbs were actually blooming :-O It took us about 3 hours to get up to the top of the Les Diablerets system and the glacier where the queues to use each lift extended almost back up to the top of the short runs they served. Getting down was another mammoth task of moving from one queue to the next. More recently a foray over to the Kitzsteinhorn in early season also resulted in an early return to the car due to the crowds on the runs and the queues at all the glacier lifts. Getting up there had been deceptively easy but once up there, it was a case of more time spent standing in line than actually doing any skiing. As I and my skiing buddy both had season tickets we decided to cut our loses for that day and go down and come back another day (so far I have not bothered in the normal season time). I use the glaciers these days to extend my season to all year round but rarely if ever use them as a fallback device. If it is so bad in December, January and February that you have to resort to a glacier you can bet your bottom dollar that everybody else is doing the same
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