 Poster: A snowHead
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I’d like to spend a whole season skiing but I’m not going to be able to do that for quite a while. I do however have the chance of three consecutive weeks early next year (which weeks are flexible). So the advice I’d like is: when and where?
I’m a moderately strong intermediate piste skier but I’ve only done more than a standard week on two occasions, when skiing in Canada, and even then it was just short of 2 weeks.
I’d like to stick to Europe, but other than that I’m completely open about where. I’d like to be comfortable but I don’t need luxury (and don’t have the budget for luxury). Somewhere that’s a bit sociable but I don’t need a party scene. I have thought about doing the Birthday Bash, the Pre-Birthday Bash and tagging a week on either before or after... would welcome views on that idea.
Otherwise any advice welcome, and in particular anything I should think about for a 3 week trip that wouldn’t be an issue for a normal week in France.
I’ve previously skied mostly in France and Canada, with a couple of trips to Austria. I don’t know Italy or Switzerland at all.
I’d prefer to do 3 consecutive weeks to keep travel costs down and maximise the time I’ve got rather than lose days travelling.
I know there’s still uncertainty about next year but I’ve decided to be an optimist and start looking ahead.
Thanks
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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the super ski pass in Austria and decide on a whim where you’d like to ski?
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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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Avoid France during the English and French half terms, which normally meals from the second week in Feb to after the first week in March. Avoid Austria for the week where lent starts.
Others will be better placed to opine on different resorts.
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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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You could do a lot worse than BB double and a week tacked on before or after.
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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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@headtothehill,
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I’d like to be comfortable but I don’t need luxury (and don’t have the budget for luxury). Somewhere that’s a bit sociable but I don’t need a party scene. I have thought about doing the Birthday Bash, the Pre-Birthday Bash and tagging a week on either before or after... would welcome views on that idea.
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Those would fit the bill very well I think. As you may have noticed on here, both Dolomites bashes are very popular with a discerning bunch of snowsports enthusiasts.
The extra week I'd go before, rather than after the 2 Dolomite bashes. If you've not skied in Austria before, not only are you missing another treat, but the travel from Austria to the PreBB should be fairly easy to do.
If you leave your extra week to mid February, everywhere in the Alps is getting somewhat busier and more expensive, as school holidays start to kick in. Not yet high peak season, but definitely busier than late January.
What sort of skiing, terrain, piste grades etc do you like...and not like? Which areas have you skied before that you enjoyed?
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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@headtothehill,
Starting with the PreBB/BB and then another week before or after in another area covered by the Dolomiti SuperSki pass would be the best value for money as upgrading from a 13-day to a 20-day pass is inevitably going to be cheaper than buying a separate 6-day pass in a different area.
You could choose one of the other separate areas covered by the pass (San Pellegrino, Cortina or Kronplatz) or somewhere on the opposite corner of the Sella Ronda from Arabba (Selva/Ortesei) and then be able to better explore the bits which are more of a trek to get to (like Alpe di Siusi, Ortesei and Santa Croce) that you would only really be able to do as a dash for lunch and back from Arabba.
The 'transfer' from Alleghe to Arabba is done on skis so being able to take a day (or half a day) out for the other transfer may come as a bit of a relief. If you choose to do the add-on before the PreBB then you may need to have a chat with @admin as the pass for the PreBB is subsidised - he can arrange to upgrade it to a longer pass but if you're arriving a week earlier into a completely different resort then that might be a challenge...
The Salzburger SuperSki pass is another non-BB option - paricularly if you were happy to rent a car for the 3 weeks (or some of them) - the area covered by Ski Amade has enough skiing for 2 weeks if you base yourself centrally (say Flachau or Radstadt) and then drive from there to Schladming, Hochkonig, Gastein and others. Flachau itself is now a massively connected resort. You could then add another week on in Saalbach, Soll or Kitzbuhel.
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Thanks you for those ideas.
@PeakyB, @Mun_keh!, sounds like doing the double and adding a week on would work really well, and thanks for the tip about trying to get a 20 day pass if I stay around the Dolomiti SuperSki pass. That might just be exactly right for me.
I’m going to look into what public transport options are available for a transfer from some of the Austrian resorts you’ve mentioned as that would also tick all the boxes, but I like the idea of staying on a single pass. I think probably I’ll do some more research and then wait for @Admin to confirm the BB and pre week details.
I prefer to stick to fast reds before lunch and then bring it down to slower reds and blues in the afternoon. Close to a public swimming pool for some of the time would be nice but not essential at all.
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@headtothehill,
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I prefer to stick to fast reds before lunch and then bring it down to slower reds and blues in the afternoon. Close to a public swimming pool for some of the time would be nice but not essential at all.
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The bashes are ideal for that type of skiing and there'd always be others you could join if you wanted to. Public swimming pools trickier. Is there one in Alleghe? There's the lake, good luck with that.  In Arabba there's a small pool free to use in one of the bash hotels. If you decided to do a third week somewhere else in the Dolomiti area, then Ortisei and Canazei both have large pools. Not sure about Santa Christina or Alpe de Suisi but they certainly had a 'wellness' feel about them when I went there for day trips.
Austrian mountain towns almost always have a good public pool and spa centre. Travel wise, Bruneck (Brunico) is quite easy to get to by public transport from Austria (eg Innsbruck). It's right by the Kronplatz ski area.
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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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A lot will depend on how comfortable you are skiing on your own.
If you'd prefer not to then the Bash+ option would work well. Apart from anything else there's a very good change of other friendly SHs doing extra weeks at one end of the other of a Bash.
If you're perfectly happy skiing on your own then while the Bash+ option would still work (they aren't "organised fun" events so you don't HAVE to ski in a SH group if you don't want to) but it does open up a lot of other options, especially if you're willing/able to drive down.
1. You can stay 'out of resort' some/all the time, which will help streatch the budget.
2. You can stay somewhere central and easilly hit a few different resorts. Stay in somewhere like Laandeck in Austria and you can easilly drive/public transport to St Anton, or See/Kappl/Ischgl/Galtur. I think previous threads have highlighted a lot of options around Innsbruck too - and the same principle will apply to loads of resorts/countries.
One thing I'd get you to think twice about though is the "I’d prefer to do 3 consecutive weeks to keep travel costs down and maximise the time I’ve got rather than lose days travelling.". Yes, I'd 100% agree on the consecutive weeks part (you don't want to be flying back and forth to the UK) but don't let it stop you swapping between resorts in country. Sure you might lose a day on the snow - but unless you're used to back-to-back weeks of skiing you'll hit the wall at some point, when you body will say "AGAIN? Sod that, were staying in bed today!", so have the odd rest day anyway, and if you accept that will happen why not plan for it as a resort swap day. Even better if you can make it a "It's the last day of our week, we must all ski!" Friday or a "It's the first day of our ski week, we must all ski!" Sunday.
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Val Gardena and Canazei have public swimming pools, but that's not a good reason to stay there. Go with the BB
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