 Poster: A snowHead
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@abc, busy.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@lirong, plenty of sound, well balanced, impartial advice on this thread I think. Possibly enough for you to base a decision on.....except.....
You mentioned Davos and Klosters as being on your shortlist. Not much said about those.
Aren’t Prince Charles and the corporate hospitality international conference crew active on SnowHeads this time of year?
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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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Funny you should post that PeakyB.
I've been noticing how little anyone has to say about Klosters. Even in my broader searches on this site, there's very little, and especially very little recent, on them.
Is that because they're second rate and people don't bother visiting? Just not popular among Snowheads? It's big, supposedly gets good consistent snow, easy to get to and actually not that expensive relative to many other suggested places... And yet so few people have had much to say...
Thanks everyone for all the feedback!
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I have always assumed that Davos/Klosters were too expensive for the average punter (and Switzerland in general) -- may be wrong ?
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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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Definitely not more expensive than verbier, which got a lot of feedback!
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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@lirong, have you used the Search function, near top left hand corner of screen?
eg Advanced Search on keyword ‘Klosters’ brings up over 20 pages of thread references.
One posted by snowHead Farley Goode, in late 2018, looks of interest to you re off piste.
Switzerland generally considered expensive from UK. GBP exchange rate hasn’t been favourable for a long time.
I’m sure a snowHead or three will be along soon to debunk that widespread assumption about expensiveness.
Prince Charles was known to favour Klosters and Wengen. I don’t think his mother lets him ski any more.
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Haha thanks I did do a lot of searching.
My point was not that noone mentioned Klosters.
My point was simply that there was very little discussion of it relative to most other areas I've searched... And I was wondering why.
Thanks as always PeakyB!
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First, don't be nervous. We ski almost exclusively in Europe. I'm done with the costs in the resorts in Colorado and find Europe much more enjoyable and enjoyable.
Since 2015, we've been to Courmayeur, La Thuile, Pila, Chamonix (Argentiere, Vallorcine/Le Tour), St Gervais Le Bains, Obergurgl, Solden and Saas-Fee and Saas-Grund. Our next trip is the Via Lattea and Montgenevre. Have skied Val Gardena and Alta Badia, as well... not a good idea for early season skiing, even if the area is amazing!
If you're going in December, I would agree that Cervinia is going to be snow sure. I'm also a big fan of Obergurgl/Solden as being snow sure and the scenery is simply stunning. Easy to get to from Innsbruck and the drive from Munich is manageable. Now... Zermatt... snow sure, yes, but very pricey. Mind you, we were in Saas-Fee this past season which is "cheaper" than Saas-Fee and cheaper is very relative.
"I was blown away by the scenery. But the skiing was... underwhelming."
L
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L
Didn't know Glen Plake was posting on the board.
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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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| lirong wrote: |
My point was simply that there was very little discussion of it relative to most other areas I've searched... And I was wondering why.
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I considered it in one of my trips in years past. My recollection of the consensus is, there's nothing special about Davos/Kloster. Also, perched on the edge of a CITY, it's probably as charming as... Salt Lake City?
This reminds me very few US skiers talk about Brighten and Solitude. Anything wrong with them? Nope. Just nothing special when compared with stellar neighbors such as Snowbird/Alta.
| ItaloSkier wrote: |
"I was blown away by the scenery. But the skiing was... underwhelming."
L
O
L
Didn't know Glen Plake was posting on the board. |
That's rich coming from someone who doesn't ski off-piste 
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[quote="abc"]
| lirong wrote: |
That's rich coming from someone who doesn't ski off-piste |
What? If you're referring to me urging caution on unfamiliar glacial terrain in Saas-Fee without a guide on a recent post, yes, that's correct. But you'll also find posts of me advocating for off piste and talking about going off in Courmayeur, Grands Montets, Saas-Fee (non-glacial without a guide) and the like.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Pretty much have your dilemma every time we book...even though we are Europeans.
Almost Every year we end up going to an Austrian Tyrol resort because they are high, east and cold. Doesn’t really matter which one. They seem the most likely to deliver snow early on.
Having said that Dolomites and Arabba in particular have delivered spectacular holidays whether real or artificial snow. We’ve had a few repeat visits.
Enjoyed Val Thorens too .. but it is a bit bleak. Depends what you want.
Just avoid low resorts
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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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Pretty much have your dilemma every time we book...even though we are Europeans.
Almost Every year we end up going to an Austrian Tyrol resort because they are high, east and cold. Doesn’t really matter which one. They seem the most likely to deliver snow early on.
Having said that Dolomites and Arabba in particular have delivered spectacular holidays whether real or artificial snow. We’ve had a few repeat visits.
Enjoyed Val Thorens too .. but it is a bit bleak. Depends what you want.
Just avoid low resorts
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Klosters? Dunno never appealed to me to go there.
1 Davos summit & HRH give it a certain image
2 Engelberg and Andermatt in the general vicinity better known for proper skiing
3 if flying into ZRH just as easy to pop East to Austria and hit up the Arlberg
4 CHF
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You know it makes sense.
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coming late to this but the reality is that anywhere you go at Xmas carries some risk of poor snow and bad weather. Given that, I would prioritise going somewhere:
1. with real alpine charm - an authentic alpine town/village with great scenery rather than a purpose built resort (which are often excellent but don't give you the same unique character that you are tarvelling for)
2. have access to high terrain
3. have access to runs in the trees
4. have decent snow making
The intersection of that is not a huge list of candidates and they tend not to be cheap but given you are spending a lot to get to Europe I would not economise on the choice of resort.
I like skiing in France and have done it a lot but would agree with the consensus that there are stronger candidates elsewhere given your criteria.
Verbier, Zermatt, St Anton, Cortina would all be leading candidates. I'd say Sauze d'Oulx might be a cheaper /less obvious one. In France Serre Chevalier perhaps. And of the mega resorts I think perhaps somewhere in 3v like Le Praz or St Martin de Belleville but they are both quiet, pretty satellite villages rather than bustling towns.
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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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@lirong re Klosters: I think because there are a group of 'Premier' resorts in the Alps that tend to come ahead of Klosters given any particular criteria such as size, off-piste, landscape, nightlife etc. Given the effort and cost of flying out from the US to the Alps, then people will recommend the Premier ones. Which is probably unfair on Klosters (and similar resorts) - for example, does Verbier's 400kms vs Klosters 300Kms mean it's 30% 'better'? Probably not. It's a bit like a Brit planning to fly to Denver and finding that no one on a forum mentions Aspen.
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Poster: A snowHead
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How is Madesimo around Christmas time? I'm not sure if it ticks all the boxes but not far from MXP, good terrain, free skiing available, etc. Shouldn't be too crowded, either.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@jedster, Thanks thats a helpful framework. I was surprised to see Cortina on the list - I thought they dont have the high terrain you are recommending? Although I guess the snowmaking makes up for a lot.
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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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+1 for Zermatt. As long as the budget is not tight.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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@lirong,
Yes - lots of snowmaking, you would be trading the likelihood of goof natural snow for a lovely town, great food, beautiful scenery and good security that you would have skiing.
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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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...and its impossible to overstate the beauty of the Dolomiti. They're stunning.
You said you're an east coaster, right? I would recommend going during your spring break but I think you tend to take them in February which was coincide with school holidays in Europe. We manage in March and we find the slopes mostly empty. Someone here has posted a good calendar showing all the school holidays by country. Its excellent for planning.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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I'm eager to visit the Dolomites for sure but our trip this year must be Xmas...
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