 Poster: A snowHead
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Hi,
I've been skiing my entire life and can ski pretty much anything, including ice, backcountry or 'piste'. Based in NY area, but I've skied extensively in Idaho (not Sun Valley), and Alberta. But I've never skied in Europe.
I'm from Northeastern US, so I'm looking for good spots to ski in Europe that are challenging but not 'glamorous'. Personally, I find Stratton to be overwhelmingly preppy,,, vail horrifies me and even Jackson Hole has gentrified too much. Coming from a background of *extreme* small town cheap skiing, where might I be most comfortable in Europe? What mountains will have great terrain and maybe a few good bars but no five star resorts, fur stores, or celebrities in heels?
***In particular, I am looking into Spain or Andorra (since I have family friends there).
Thanks!
-Adirondacquette
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| Adirondacquette wrote: |
| What mountains will have great terrain and maybe a few good bars but no five star resorts, fur stores, or celebrities in heels |
Most of them, providing you pick where on the mountain you stay. Many resorts, even 'glitzy' ones, have cheaper satellite villages attached to the ski 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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Baqueira (Val d'Aran) or Cerler (Benasque) in Spain; Arcalís (Ordino/La Massana) or Soldeu/El Tarter in Andorra - which are covered by the same ticket these days.
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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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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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| Quote: |
What mountains will have great terrain and maybe a few good bars but no five star resorts, fur stores, or celebrities in heels?
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Define "great terrain"?
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Vielha is a proper town near baquiera beret would be a much cheaper base to live in than baquiera itself. It has big supermarkets and some great cheap bars.
Baquiera has a lot of wealthy visitors, but it's not exactly val d'isere
Ski area, piste maintenance etc is top notch.
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I wouldn't recommend Andorra if you're at an advanced level...
Did a road trip a couple of years ago that I would recommend to the man on a budget, can be extended as needed.
We started at Sauze d'Oulx, on one end of the Via Lattea - excellent skiing in a traditional Italian resort. Gets something of a bad reputation from the snobs on here, but the wine is cheap and superb, and the Via Lattea is huge.
We then drove onto Briancon, where we stayed in another cheap Airbnb in the town and skied the Serre Chevalier network; another box ticked. The thing I liked about Briancon was it felt like a 'proper' town as opposed to a mega-money resort town. Plenty of cheap places to eat, and a good hypermarche for cooking at home and saving a few quid...
Then we drove up to L2A which in itself offers good resort skiing, and has the mega bonus of accessibility into La Grave, which I believe offers some of the best off piste skiing in Europe.
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The Pyrenees are hardly fancy, in my experience, you'll be fine there. That said you need to learn to eat dinner at midnight. I've only been twice, but the snow depth wasn't sufficient to cover the rocks in many places; it may not be the best place if you're into that sort of "extreme".
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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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Not sure what you will find “challenging” given that 10ft to the side of a piste can legally be considered “off piste “ and thus uninsured by many. A different concept to N American “in bounds”. Of course there is off piste but do check this before you go.
Andorra is outside EU which has several practical effects such as phone bills, medical coverage etc (but also lower taxes).
I don’t imagine any resort in Pyrenees to be Luis Vuitton; Pas de la Casa has quite a Spring Breakers reputation though.
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I understand that resorts in Europe are not owned in the way that NA resorts can be, so they might evolve more organically. Might be wrong.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@Adirondacquette, You are going to need a partner for "extreme" skiing in Europe. Off piste is not patrolled and not avalanche controlled. It's the equivalent of going through the gates at a place like Jackson. Are you aware of that? That will impact your choice because it sounds like you will need at least one person to ski with to do the type of skiing you are accustomed to doing.
Putting that aside, look into Grimentz/Zinal. It would like satisfy parts of your list. Andermatt Ski Arena is another to consider. I've never skied the Pyrenees so no help there.
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