 Poster: A snowHead
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I see that Easter 2018 is comparatively early, and school holidays (in Cumbria at least) are the first two weeks in April. I am thinking of squeezing in an extra trip as cheaply as I can manage. Drive down on Good Friday (yes, Easter traffic) and get a week of Spring skiing. Not too bothered about myself as I am sure I will manage another trip in the season. But this could be the chance to take a couple of teenagers for their first trip.
I tend to prefer the atmosphere and "feel" of Austrian / Tirolean village resorts rather than the La Plagne / Les Arcs style of resort, but this trip isn't mainly for me. I have never been to Serfaus / Fiss / Ladis. I see that the resort stays open until mid or late April but obviously not all runs are open.
Can anyone comment on what is likely to be open and suitable for beginners (never been at all but may get a couple of days in UK before going) in Serfaus in April.
We are likely to drive from Cumbria. Any thoughts on route? We would probably drive to South UK on Thursday evening and go Dover / Calais or Dunkerque rather than ferry from Newcastle or Amsterdam, mainly because that allows an earlier start in mainland Europe. Could return via Zeebrugge / Rotterdam / Amsterdam though and spend a day at Ypres or similar.
Any comments?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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JohnHSmith, some info on why you narrowed down to these particular resorts might be helpful.
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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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Ours are finishing 23rd March which is perfect.
I can vouch for La Plagne late season and for beginners.
Never been to Serfaus.
Have you driven to the French Alps before?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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I would suggest going to Les Arcs rather than La Plagne - just my personal preference. We drive from the south east so I can't comment on the journey from Cumbria but I'd aim to get to Reims on your first day of travelling. There are plenty of overnight hotels in Reims Tinqueux - we use the Novotel there. Whilst we prefer the ferry we tend to use Eurotunnel Flexi Plus for skiing as it saves a lot of time - if you book through one of the self drive operators it is included in the package. We have used Ski Collection for Les Arcs.
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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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I looked at Serfauss for our last trip as it seems lovely but, as a nervous intermediate, ruled it out as it looked a bit too tricky for me.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| Jonpim wrote: |
| JohnHSmith, some info on why you narrowed down to these particular resorts might be helpful. |
Serfaus etc because I've never been there, it seems a reasonable size and it's driveable from channel ports.
La Plagne / Les Arcs because I have been there and I know them to have altitude and likely good snow in early April although maybe not at the valley bottom. Don't like the architecture though.
I'm open to other resorts and have emailed Haus Susanne in Radstadt.
Layne I have driven to La Plagne and similar distances. Have driven to the Maurienne Valley. Have driven to Westendorf.
I will inevitably also find myself in the Südtirol at some point and my main concerns are over availability of beginners areas at Serfaus.
If that is questionable then I think La Plagne / Les Arcs is preferable. Otherwise I prefer the feel of Austrian resorts.
But I don't know Serfaus
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| JohnHSmith wrote: |
Layne I have driven to La Plagne and similar distances. Have driven to the Maurienne Valley. Have driven to Westendorf.
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Cool. Just asking because you asked "Any thoughts on route?". Are you the sole driver?
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Serfaus is a safe bet for next years easter.
Valleyruns might be poor, but the skiarea is high and should be competely open.
Serfaus is a big name in Austria. "sub-top", just behind St.Anton/Ischg/Lech. Attracts a well heeled German/Dutch clientele. Known to be especially good for kids and families, and gentle pistes.
Radstadt is very low, and in a completely different league
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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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| Langerzug wrote: |
Serfaus is a safe bet for next years easter.
Valleyruns might be poor, but the skiarea is high and should be competely open.
Serfaus is a big name in Austria. "sub-top", just behind St.Anton/Ischg/Lech. Attracts a well heeled German/Dutch clientele. Known to be especially good for kids and families, and gentle pistes.
Radstadt is very low, and in a completely different league |
Gentle pistes in Serfauss? I got that wrong then!
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@Langerzug, Serfaus has something for all levels and plenty of off piste too. I do not rate it as 'sub top' in any way. Just not as well known as St.Anton or Ischgl ( thank God ).
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| Layne wrote: |
Cool. Just asking because you asked "Any thoughts on route?". Are you the sole driver? |
Sorry to be a bit "wishy washy" about this. It all depends on who goes when. Probably have two drivers per car. We have done this length of journey switching drivers every hour. We have done it switching drivers about every 3-4 hours.
I'm sorry I wasn't really specific when asking advice on routes. I find it an "interesting" balance between French Autoroutes for speed but at a cost against French N roads for freedom from tolls but slow. Balance that against Belgium / Germany and a bit of France, or against driving to Austria avoiding France.
I'm interested in finding points of interest en route and making the journey into a part of the holiday. For example, coming back to the North of England via Amsterdam or Zeebrugge and having a stop over in Ypres so as to introduce the younger generation to the Menin Gate and so on.
If Serfaus / Fiss / Ladis looks likely to be a viable option then I'm leaning that way as a destination
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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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| JohnHSmith wrote: |
| Layne wrote: |
Cool. Just asking because you asked "Any thoughts on route?". Are you the sole driver? |
Sorry to be a bit "wishy washy" about this. It all depends on who goes when. Probably have two drivers per car. We have done this length of journey switching drivers every hour. We have done it switching drivers about every 3-4 hours.
I'm sorry I wasn't really specific when asking advice on routes. I find it an "interesting" balance between French Autoroutes for speed but at a cost against French N roads for freedom from tolls but slow. Balance that against Belgium / Germany and a bit of France, or against driving to Austria avoiding France.
I'm interested in finding points of interest en route and making the journey into a part of the holiday. For example, coming back to the North of England via Amsterdam or Zeebrugge and having a stop over in Ypres so as to introduce the younger generation to the Menin Gate and so on.
If Serfaus / Fiss / Ladis looks likely to be a viable option then I'm leaning that way as a destination |
I understand. We've done a bit of touring at the end usually of some our holidays.
The only reason I asked about the drivers really was to clarify if sleepovers were a definite requirement.
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@Steilhang,
For intermediates Serfaus is definitely one of the bigger names in Austria.
Dutch well heeled families appear to switch between Lech and Serfaus....
And it is very crowded in high season as well...
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You know it makes sense.
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Serfaus has lots to offer for all levels of skiers. The Serfaus kids and beginners area has its own gondola up from the village, but you can ski from there down to the main mid-mountain hub to connect to an easy home run and other gondolas chairs. I really like Serfaus and would happily holiday there again. Fiss is also a nice village with good gondola connections, but the beginner area there is half way between Fiss and Ladis and is much lower. Late season it might be very slushy. Fiss doesn't quite have the range of easy blue runs to progress on to that Serfaus has, so it'd be my second choice. Ladis only has one piste back into it which will probably be shut late season. It's usually cheaper to stay there but would involve getting the gondola to Fiss every morning before you can get any uplift that'll actually get you skiing.
Never been to La Plagne.
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