 Poster: A snowHead
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Thought I'd post on here and see if anyone would like to help me decide which resort for an upcoming trip!
It looks like I might be able to do a short trip w/c 10th December without the family. Looking for the best options for 2 women skiers, intermediate level but late to ski and not very fast or confident. Looking for - great instruction, decent hotel/ apartment, convenient or even ski in-ski out, and obviously snow. Not bothered about night life. Healthy budget and will be flying from London. We would like to keep transfer times reasonably short but think this might have to be the compromise we make....
Any thoughts or opinions gratefully received!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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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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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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It's ringing a bell that you've said elsewhere that you can't make the Ski Goddess course dates work but the one 12th-15th might be ideal, and has two really fun ladies going who i met on the course in March. 
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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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Where would I go? Mid Dec. So snow can be thin or even non-existant!
Grimentz/ Zinal, reasonably high north facing. Lovely variety of accom.
Les diablerets, links to Villars. All very pretty but you have access to glacier 3000.
Saanenmöser, far end of Gstaad region! This is more risky, not particularly high.
Some nice accommodation , prices may surprise you in a good way. If you were lucky with snow and weather you would never want to ski anywhere else!
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Soldeu in Andorra tries to make snow well before Christmas.
Canadian Rockies: longer “transfer” but nice accommodation, tuition and snow!
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Tignes Val Claret. Great choice of ski instruction
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Thanks all! @ElzP we would love to do that date for Ski goddess but I don’t think the PdS opening dates are on our side! And the snowheads bash is too long (we’re so fussy!). I should have said we’re only planning to ski 3 days.
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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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I'm thinking of doing a shorter trip over that weekend (Thurs-Mon) but am sitting tight until we see where/if its snowed. I'm banking on accommodation being plentiful that early on.
If you can wait that gives you the best chance of going where there is snow......or that's my theory anyway!
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What’s Trysil like at that time?
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@Soozm, oh yes - that'll be interesting. I imagine Katie will bus everyone off somewhere but certainly not ideal. I'm there for the next session when something should be open!
For three days (not including travel dats?) and no budget issues I'd go to Turin, get a taxi up to Cervinia (2hr), and eat delicious Italian food at one of the swankier hotels up there. The ski area is perfect for intermediates. But equally, I might wait until the last minute to book...
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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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Val Thorens hits all your requirements. The ski area should have been open for 2-3 weeks by those dates and if things go to plan, some of the wider 3V should also be open at least in part.
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Tux is an option. If the snow is good there is a local mountain (Eggalm Bahn due to open 2 Dec) if it's OK, then there is lift access to the Mayrhofen area. If the snow is poor, then there is a free regular 10 min shuttlebus to the Hintertux and the glacier. Off course you can ski Mayrhofen or the glacier if the snow's good too, but Eggalm's tree lined runs might be welcome on poor vis days.
If you want a larger town then Mayrhofen is an alternative, but the longer bus up to the glacier is a pain.
Transfer to Mayrhofen is short enough (train), to Tux, you change at Mayrhofen for a bus (or taxi) - the same bus that goes on up to the glacier.
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You know it makes sense.
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I'd go to ischgl. The lift system is amazing. Snow making all over the mountain. Plenty of great hotels and restaurants. The skiing will be as good and varied as anywhere else in the Alps. As a 2nd choice saalbach the snowmaking and lift system are on par with Ischgl, lots of quality hotels and restaurants
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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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Kronplatz or Selva from Innsbruck? There should be a fair bit open.....Kronplatz tends to open at the start of the month and Val Gardena usually has the World Cup race towards the end of your week. Lots on here who can advise on Selva and at least one very knowledgeable Kronplatz SH.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Obertuern....decent varied skiing for a few days ..ski in ski out if there's snow usually snowsure ...easy flight to Salzburg and a short transfer...good hotels
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Waiting to see how the snow comes is a good idea.
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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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@pam w, Is spot on . Nothing needs to be booked till a couple of days before. Keep. A short list of preferred options right across the alps. Then head where the weather and snow looks best for what you want. No point being in a blizzard in Val Thorens if it’s sunny with lots of snow in Lech. Much more fun with the planning and anticipation.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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@Soozm, yeah, wait and see. Surprising stuff opens up. Eg Monterosa will probably be open, great food. Great pistes. No people.
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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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One year we booked flights to Turin for the first or second weekend (can't remember) of December and just waited to see where the snow looked good. We went to Serre Chevalier in the end, which had lots of natural snow on the top half of the mountain and enough man-made snow on the lower half of the mountain. Made for a good 4 or 5 days' skiing. If doing the same again, I'd book some flights and be prepared to drive a few hours. You then just need to find a resort that has a decent amount of lifts open at that time of the year (Serre Chevalier did).
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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It's true that the cost of flights will just drift up. But buying flights now narrows down the choices. My safe but rather dull suggestion of Tignes Val Claret assumes you want to buy flights when they're still fairly cheap. If the budget is really flexible some of these other suggestions sound much more fun.
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Not mentioned yet, Verbier likely to be a good option, with train connect from Geneva to give reasonable transfer.
Usually gets going early season with many slopes at significant altitude.
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Personally I'd be inclined to look for an organized trip including instruction & transfers. I very much enjoyed the early-season trip I did with the SCGB to Tignes last November (2.5 days of excellent group lessons, half-board accommodation, group transfers from Geneva), but the corresponding trip is a week or so earlier than you plan to go this year.
I think really it depends on how much of your healthy budget you want to go on transfers, &/or on if you want to hire a car (which shouldn't be a huge cost for such a relatively short trip). Absent a suitable group trip, my own preference would be to go to Verbier or somewhere else I could easily get to by train from Geneva or Zurich. Or fly into Turin (or possibly Milan) & hire a car
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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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I'll probably go to Sölden in November, so that's another to consider. Haven't been before at that time but it's easy to get too and has a couple of decent glaciers etc. I'll wait and see how the snow is though, no need to gamble on the weather. I'd look at flight options, but I always end up flying to Munich and driving from there. Maybe prices will go up a bit, but with those flights you can't easily cancel or switch, so I'll wait. Accommodation is unlikely to be at capacity...
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Go to Zermatt. You can get Adult group lessons from Dec 11 for 3+ days with Zermatters ski school.
Don't let the long train transfer put you off: it can be a much better way to travel than a coach.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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As a last minute, short stay, where snow & weather can be ascertained just prior, I'd plump for Chamonix. It's a short transfer from Geneva.
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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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I can second Verbier, went last year mid-December and was good (was also a crap year for Alpine snow, but Verbier is high enough). Same trip we also went to Pays St Bernard, which is a cluster of small ski resorts which are cheeeeeap, but very decent for what they are. They're also close to Verbier, so you can kinda do both in one trip.
I did a post on my own site about La Fouly/Pays St Bernard - https://ugosnow.com/la-fouly-switzerland-review/ - if thats blog spam feel free to remove mods.
Previous years... Also went to Mayrhofen in December a few years back which was very good. I think we timed it right cos it was right after a dump and was lush.
My cousin often goes to La Clusaz before Christmas and has good things to say about that. Sounds family friendly too, and relatively cheap.
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Have a look at Ischgl. It opens the last weekend of November and is guaranteed skiing (even in very snow poor winters). Plenty of piste skiing. It is not a budget option though December should be less expensive than other times. I dont like the village but no doubt the skiing is good. If you can get flights to Innsbruck (if budget is not a big issue Lufthansa via Frankfurt though there are a few direct flights) then fairly easy transfers from there, if not then Zürich, easy train to Landeck and pretty quick transfer from there
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You know it makes sense.
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Thanks for the replies! We are hanging on til close to the dates, rough shortlist (not short): Verbier, Obergurgl, Lech, Baqueira Beret, Tignes. @gruffnutz - thanks for posting the site, currently reading it all!
One question re Verbier for those who mentioned it - we are what the Where To guides class as "true blue" skiers - I was under the impression Verbier was a bit tricky and better suited to the very confident, any thoughts?
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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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| toyah807 wrote: |
| Kronplatz or Selva from Innsbruck? There should be a fair bit open.....Kronplatz tends to open at the start of the month and Val Gardena usually has the World Cup race towards the end of your week. Lots on here who can advise on Selva and at least one very knowledgeable Kronplatz SH. |
Much though I love Kronplatz, for mid / early December the “ski in / out” is dependent on the conditions.
90 minutes transfer from Innsbruck. Good high quality accommodation in San Vigilio. There should be more than enough good intermediate skiing and it won’t be crowded.
But the “Miara” piste to ski back to San Vigilio is probably going to be open. Only probably. If not then there’s no difficulty as it’s a gondola ride instead of ski back.
It might be ski in/ out. But it might not.
A week later and I would expect Miara to be open.
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Poster: A snowHead
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| Moorzee10 wrote: |
| Val Thorens hits all your requirements. The ski area should have been open for 2-3 weeks by those dates and if things go to plan, some of the wider 3V should also be open at least in part. |
Val Thorens opens for the weekend 25 -26 November, then shuts again until 2 December, when the 3 Valleys starts to open, so open for a week by those dates.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@Soozm, I wouldn't have thought Baquiera a candidate  also long transfer?
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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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For just a short break, I wouldn't want to be having to get a bus from my accommodation to the skiing. Or a long transfer.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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1. Tignes
2. Zermatt
3. Val Thorens
4. Lech
5. Davos
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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 was at Zermatt quite a few years ago, and it took 3 hours from town chalet, via bus, elevator, and 3 cable cars to summit & snow. That makes Zermatt the odd one out in that list - big time.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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We’re off to Verbier the same weekend as the OP staying in La Tzoumaz, to check and prep our apartment for the season. Just fyi that is the St.Nicholas weekend when you ski for free if you buy a ticket in a St.Nicholas outfit. Verbier almost always has snow then - the variable is in how many of the slopes are open. Many ski areas across the Alps don’t open the whole domaine pre-Christmas, however good the snow is, so as to preserve it for Christmas/New Year. It’s fair to say that on-piste Verbier is an intermediates type of place i.e. you probably need to be able to negotiate reds to be comfortable there. But bear in mind the pre-Christmas difference in many places, which can mean that a Blue-dominated resort may not have all its blue runs open either. We’re hiring a car to get there for the weekend, but for our longer January excursion, we’re getting the train. Partly because if we do need to get replacement or new stuff for the apartment we’ll need the car to go down to the valley shops. The gondola up to Verbier from the Le Chable railway station in the valley is public transport, so usually is running from around 6.30am to 11pm. Personally, I much prefer the train/gondola transfer to hiring a car.
See the SBB timetable www.SBB.ch/en site for train times and costs. The Saver Day Pass is an option if you can buy in advance. Our Jan fares will be CHF 52 per person each way: For Verbier it’s the train from inside the airport to Martigny, change trains and a short hop to Le Chable, where the station is just by the télépherique, up to the centre of Verbier.
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