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Excellent snowboarding resort for carving & off-piste?

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Hey SnowHeads!

Which snow sure resorts in the Alpes could you recommend two beginner/intermediate snowboarders with easily accessible easy/intermediate off-piste with 1+ perfectly groomed wide blue run to practice carves on and building up confidence when there’s no pow?

Resorts that we liked:
Courchevel & Meribel (3V, France)
Ruka (Finland) - excellent but a little small

Those I didn’t like:
Val d’isere/Tignes: off-piste was alright (little fresh snow) & I didn’t find any great slopes for carving (too much ice or too flat)

Dates:
25 Dec - 9 Jan

Would be super grateful for any pointers!

Video showing the type of slope I’m looking for:
Wide blue:
http://youtube.com/v/aJKEADSGaFQ


Last edited by Poster: A snowHead on Mon 13-12-21 19:37; edited 1 time in total
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
I could watch Korua Yearning for turning videos all day and those Toy Films are pretty good for technique. I got a Dart last year but obviously not used it yet.

I had booked for Japan but looks like that's going to be off. I think you will find Italian resorts have a hight proportion of groomed steeper runs they don't like to grow their moguls as much as the French. I'm going for a week to Passo Tonale to teach my daughter to board after years on skis. She is booked in ski school for a couple of hours each day as well that's when i'm going to practice my carving. You also need quiter slopes which you can find mid week in many italian resorts. Interesting thoughts on Tignes/Val i been there a few times and loved it.
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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?
Sölden is good and attracts lots of race snowboard people. Like me.

But you can't really judge a resort by one visit. Many here will have never encountered ice in Tignes/ Val d'Isere.
Flats? Look ahead more or ride faster or wax better wink
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eat>sleep>ride>r wrote:
I could watch Korua Yearning for turning videos all day and those Toy Films are pretty good for technique. I got a Dart last year but obviously not used it yet.

I had booked for Japan but looks like that's going to be off. I think you will find Italian resorts have a hight proportion of groomed steeper runs they don't like to grow their moguls as much as the French. I'm going for a week to Passo Tonale to teach my daughter to board after years on skis. She is booked in ski school for a couple of hours each day as well that's when i'm going to practice my carving. You also need quiter slopes which you can find mid week in many italian resorts. Interesting thoughts on Tignes/Val i been there a few times and loved it.


Funny you mentioned Korua’s vids, I was actually thinking of posting one of them Smile Speaking of coincidence, I’m also riding a dart and also initially planned on heading to Japan! Hence the new search


Last edited by You need to Login to know who's really who. on Mon 13-12-21 19:03; edited 1 time in total
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
philwig wrote:
Many here will have never encountered ice in Tignes/ Val d'Isere.

I wish.

The runs down to La Daille are often sheet ice.....and Piste M down Solaise, can get pretty dodgy.


Last edited by Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do. on Mon 13-12-21 19:20; edited 1 time in total
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philwig wrote:
Sölden is good and attracts lots of race snowboard people. Like me.

But you can't really judge a resort by one visit. Many here will have never encountered ice in Tignes/ Val d'Isere.
Flats? Look ahead more or ride faster or wax better wink


The very wide & long greens next to Rocher de Bellevarde (génépy, borsat, fresse) would have been excellent if they were a bit steeper and didn’t have a few flat spots. While I haven’t explored all the way east over at tignes 2100 & Val claret after checking videos of the slopes over there, I’d love to have someone prove me wrong with a hidden wide blue that I missed! Little Angel
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Cols are a good bet. Very consistent gradients, wide slopes and usually not too busy.
My favourites that I can vouch for are Les Mosses in Switzerland (a bit small) and Les Saisies in France. I hope to get to Montgenevre this year in expectation of more of the same.
The downside of cols for you is that they often mean a lot of drag lifts (100% in the case of Les Mosses).

My other, more mainstream, recommendation would be Saas Fee.
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
BoardieK wrote:
Cols are a good bet. Very consistent gradients, wide slopes and usually not too busy.
My favourites that I can vouch for are Les Mosses in Switzerland (a bit small) and Les Saisies in France. I hope to get to Montgenevre this year in expectation of more of the same.
The downside of cols for you is that they often mean a lot of drag lifts (100% in the case of Les Mosses).

My other, more mainstream, recommendation would be Saas Fee.


Just watched this video (http://youtube.com/v/o1qWyv6XJzw) about Les Mosses and their slopes are out of this world! Having Les Mosses as part of a bigger ski resort with faster lifts would be gold!

Do you happen to know how the off-piste is in Saas Fee?
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@radio123, I think I've posted that video on here before and I've certainly had many many days that are super quiet. My favourite carving piste isn't even ridden in the video!

There is a 10 minute bus link to Leysin.

Another option is La Thuile.
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Massive Koruna fan here. Ride the Otto '19 myself. Great to see.

Pretty much every resort will offer some of carving terrain. Echoing some other comments I'd turn to these:

Soelden
Saas-fee
Val d'Isere and Tignes would also be on that list
Even Serre-Chevalier and Les Contamines had some good pitches

For more demanding carving I'd turn to Zermatt

You could find ice and thin off-piste conditions at any resort
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I'd second Saas-Fee from a piste perspective, but not so much from an off-piste perspective, as much of the potential off-piste is on glaciers with significant crevasse risk.

If there's a decent amount of fresh snow then you can get some excellent wide groomed slopes in Italy - e.g. Courmayeur or Pila, but for your dates they may be relying on artificial snow that gets scraped off pretty quickly.

Although it's back in the 3V, I'd suggest Val Thorens or Les Menuires for snow-sure at that time of year, without glaciers. In Val Thorens, the pistes that are normally drawn on the right-hand side of the map (e.g. served by the Portette, Grand Fond and Boismint lifts) can be a bit quieter ad give some good options. Also the main area of Les Menuires, or La Masse
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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.
LittleBullet wrote:
Massive Koruna fan here. Ride the Otto '19 myself. Great to see.

Pretty much every resort will offer some of carving terrain. Echoing some other comments I'd turn to these:

Soelden
Saas-fee
Val d'Isere and Tignes would also be on that list
Even Serre-Chevalier and Les Contamines had some good pitches

For more demanding carving I'd turn to Zermatt

You could find ice and thin off-piste conditions at any resort


Thanks for the suggestions LittleBullet! Do you happen to remember the names of any of the slopes you felt were good for carving over at Val D & Tignes?
I’ve actually been looking at Serre-Chevalier from a off-piste perspective, but didn’t have the chance of looking at whether it might be good for carving. Will check out some videos covering their slopes
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So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
viv wrote:
I'd second Saas-Fee from a piste perspective, but not so much from an off-piste perspective, as much of the potential off-piste is on glaciers with significant crevasse risk.

If there's a decent amount of fresh snow then you can get some excellent wide groomed slopes in Italy - e.g. Courmayeur or Pila, but for your dates they may be relying on artificial snow that gets scraped off pretty quickly.

Although it's back in the 3V, I'd suggest Val Thorens or Les Menuires for snow-sure at that time of year, without glaciers. In Val Thorens, the pistes that are normally drawn on the right-hand side of the map (e.g. served by the Portette, Grand Fond and Boismint lifts) can be a bit quieter ad give some good options. Also the main area of Les Menuires, or La Masse


Viv, I really appreciate the off-piste perspective on Saas-Fee. Our top priority is to hunt for easily accessible pow followed by carving once we see that conditions for off-piste aren’t great anymore.
I’ve definitely heard quite a bit about Italy’s wide slopes, will keep them in mind if we happen to plan another trip later in the season.

As far as 3V is concerned, I actually wanted a change from Courchevel/Meribel so Val Thorens and the eastern mountains might do given that I’ve only been there once or twice. I’ll look into the slopes you mentioned wink

Update: Just saw this run
http://youtube.com/v/chuIRj9A2u8 from Variante & the blue Fond, looks great! Is there any good off-piste in VT & the east of 3V?
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
@radio123, There is plenty of between the pistes stuff in the Bellville Valley (VT + Les Menuires) which is all I think that you're really after at the moment as well as more serious stuff. You have your East and West mixed up, VT is the in the south western corner of the 3V and I'm fairly sure that the slopes that you're referring to in Tignes are the ones in the west. For resorts where the slopes predominantly face north, such as Tignes/Val d'Isere, the piste map will be orientated so that south is at the top. If you do go back to Tignes, Grattalu, on the western side, matches your requirements perfectly, and I wouldn't not go back. If conditions were poor there they will almost certainly have been poor all over the northern French Alps
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
rambotion wrote:
@radio123, There is plenty of between the pistes stuff in the Bellville Valley (VT + Les Menuires) which is all I think that you're really after at the moment as well as more serious stuff. You have your East and West mixed up, VT is the in the south western corner of the 3V and I'm fairly sure that the slopes that you're referring to in Tignes are the ones in the west. For resorts where the slopes predominantly face north, such as Tignes/Val d'Isere, the piste map will be orientated so that south is at the top. If you do go back to Tignes, Grattalu, on the western side, matches your requirements perfectly, and I wouldn't not go back. If conditions were poor there they will almost certainly have been poor all over the northern French Alps


I naively based my west/east on the resort maps Smile https://www.les3vallees.com/en/guide/the-world-s-largest-ski-area/ski-area-map

I’ll have a look at some videos of slopes over at Grattalu, thanks!
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
@radio123, How about Avoriaz, or La Plagne/ Les Arcs......either but not as good as Tignes/ Val imv. My suggestion is give Tignes/ Val another try in more favourable conditions.
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
The glacier up at Les diablerets, best carving arena I have ever seen. Super wide and nobody up there.
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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?
In Avoriaz you have the SM sector which has wide blues like Zorre / Proclou, Abricotine & Bleu de Lac also suitable.
Then you also have all the snow parks, plus plenty of off-piste in the managed freeride zones.
With the PdS pass you can find wide blues in la Chapelle, Chalet-neuf, Champery too.
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Sainte Foy.

Small, quiet, impeccable grooming, amazing off piste. Couple of big wide blues to get your carve on. The Crete Serru du Bas piste is, in my internal piste map, better known as The Land of Carve.
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
stevomcd wrote:
Sainte Foy.

Small, quiet, impeccable grooming, amazing off piste. Couple of big wide blues to get your carve on. The Crete Serru du Bas piste is, in my internal piste map, better known as The Land of Carve.


Interesting, haven’t ever looked into Sainte Foy to be honest. Stevo do you have any backcountry snowboarding camps between 25th Dec to Jan 8th?
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Markymark29 wrote:
@radio123, How about Avoriaz, or La Plagne/ Les Arcs......either but not as good as Tignes/ Val imv. My suggestion is give Tignes/ Val another try in more favourable conditions.


Marky, do you happen to remember the names of the slopes you remember being great for caving? I’d then be able to find some vids about them
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
WindOfChange wrote:
In Avoriaz you have the SM sector which has wide blues like Zorre / Proclou, Abricotine & Bleu de Lac also suitable.
Then you also have all the snow parks, plus plenty of off-piste in the managed freeride zones.
With the PdS pass you can find wide blues in la Chapelle, Chalet-neuf, Champery too.


Hey Wind, what does SM stand for?
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
@radio123, I'm not running any camps over Christmas, but I'm available for private instruction / guiding.
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Super Morzine
Abricotine is in Lindarets sector and Blue de Lac in Hauts Forts sector.
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If you’re going off piste surely it’s better to avoid resorts.
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Quote:


The glacier up at Les diablerets, best carving arena I have ever seen. Super wide and nobody up there.


Great off-piste at Glacier 3000 too
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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.
WindOfChange wrote:
Super Morzine
Abricotine is in Lindarets sector and Blue de Lac in Hauts Forts sector.

Just been lapping Abricotine, will get an early start on it tomorrow.
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 So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
Take a look at Sierra Nevada in southern Spain. There's a bowl above the top gondola station that's filled with various blues and a wide blue down from that to the village. There's also quite a range of side piste throughout the resort and the possibility of a massive dump of Atlantic snow if you are lucky.

L2A would also fit the bill, the top section on the glacier and below is pretty wide and cruisey and probably would be low risk for ice given the altitude.

Also check out Cervinia it is pretty much all wide blues and easy reds for carving and is in Italy so they piste it to the max each night, my mate's not keen on boarding there because the runs are just like wide highways (which sounds like what you want). The link from Cervinia to Zermatt also gives you massive options.
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