 Poster: A snowHead
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Pros and cons so far
Cervinia -
+cheap flights to Turin so short transfer and I like Italians. 
+ Also sounds good to be able to ski to Zermatt. Is it?
+found a couple of nice looking hotel options with pools etc…
+snow should be good
- no trees
-ugly?
-scary link to Zermatt?
Tignes
+fun for teenagers? Not sure why I think this more than Cervinia. More Brits for them to meet?
+more varied skiing than Cervinia?
+snow should be good
-looong transfer from Geneva and pricey flight from Scotland
-ugly
Lech
+looks luxey and different from our usual type of holiday
+love the Austrian mountain huts
+decent transfer from Innsbruck
+price ok
-not so good for teenagers
-snow in April?
I love trees, nice mountain huts (not self serve places with no atmosphere), views, pretty villages, forgiving blue and red slopes. Hate ice. Really hate ice.
Rest of family - love good snow. And a bit of atmosphere. Teenagers 17,15 good skiers. Not fussed on pretty villages as long as snow is good.
Any pointers would be very welcome. I have also looked at Paradiski France as so much cheaper but a bit worried about conditions. 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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| RosieL wrote: |
Pros and cons so far
Cervinia -
+cheap flights to Turin so short transfer and I like Italians.
+ Also sounds good to be able to ski to Zermatt. Is it?
+found a couple of nice looking hotel options with pools etc…
+snow should be good
- no trees
-ugly?
-scary link to Zermatt?
Tignes
+fun for teenagers? Not sure why I think this more than Cervinia. More Brits for them to meet?
+more varied skiing than Cervinia?
+snow should be good
-looong transfer from Geneva and pricey flight from Scotland
-ugly
Lech
+looks luxey and different from our usual type of holiday
+love the Austrian mountain huts
+decent transfer from Innsbruck
+price ok
-not so good for teenagers
-snow in April?
I love trees, nice mountain huts (not self serve places with no atmosphere), views, pretty villages, forgiving blue and red slopes. Hate ice. Really hate ice.
Rest of family - love good snow. And a bit of atmosphere. Teenagers 17,15 good skiers. Not fussed on pretty villages as long as snow is good.
Any pointers would be very welcome. I have also looked at Paradiski France as so much cheaper but a bit worried about conditions. Thanks |
I’ve been to three of the four resorts you mention, so hopefully should be well placed to answer this.
Cervinia - cheap to get to, very convenient with short transfer, hotels are good standard, although generally not cheap. The Italians are fantastic people and the food and drink is great, the resort is lovely, but maybe not the most picturesque. The skiing however is fantastic, yes there are no trees, but the views are stellar and the runs down from the Matterhorn glacier is one of the best as far as length of run and view goes. The other benefit I find is that it’s so open and spread out that once you get past the first two lifts it’s quick to get around and not too busy, though in April I suspect you won’t have issues anywhere. I’ve had some fantastic nights in Cervinia, but it’s fair to say the atmosphere is not the same as T/VDI. The skiing over Zermatt side is more testing and “different” but still plenty to occupy intermediate skiers. If staying in Cervinia you can easily hop between the two resorts (just don’t get stuck in zermatt as the taxi is €500) there is only one black run that is steepish but quite narrow which ends up at Furi, this is easily avoided by getting the gondola down. Snow early April should be ok but Cervinia is south facing so sun could eat away at the snow later in the season, it’s probably less snowsure at resort level but there will be quarantined skiing higher up on the glacier and over Zermatt side.
Tinges will have more tree Sking, more varied than Cervinia but I wouldn’t say more varied than Cervinia and Zermatt combined. It’s more of a PITA to get to which puts me off, and to be honest, I find it a bit overpriced, although it has to be said the skiing is good. Atmosphere wise, it’s more party oriented than Cervinia which is more focussed around dinner and a few drinks at a bar.
Lech - sorry no experience, but I do like Austria.
Montgenevre I this is fantastic value for money, and there is tonnes of skiing, but it takes ages to get around (if venturing into Italy) and it’s all a bit tired. There’s not much atmosphere in general, and I would expect the kids to be bored, regardless, the snow is cack this year with the exception of snowmaking so I would avoid.
I would personally go for Cervinia or Zermatt depending on budget, that said, I am biased, I’m out there in a few days!
Hope this helps, Andrew.
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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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Lech - 1. Ur organising why not choose the one that suits you best 2) different so u all need to see if it is ur thing - move there permantly etc 3) currently has a snow base, so if whether gods smile could be gr8 , otherwise still good on piste in 3 weeks time whatevs ymmv
4) descent to Innsbruck is a proper start to a ski hol imv!
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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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Thanks so much Andrew for taking the time to answer so fully.
I’m swaying towards Cervinia now. Flights from Edinburgh to Geneva are nearly £500 pp and £700 return on the Saturday. Turin is a tenth of that!
Funny you should mention Montgenevre. We’ve been. I loved the link to Italy. The novelty of skiing across a border never wanes for me. But where are the mount sun restaurants? There weren’t any! All at resort level which was a shame. We did it like it though although didn’t travel far as the kids were very small.
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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 should also ask- Cervinia there are lots of restaurants showing on the piste map. Are they nice? Not fussed on luxury just a bit of atmosphere piste side.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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@RosieL, Not sure why you think Tignes is ugly. OK you cannot see the Matterhorn, but the scenery is beautiful, especially from the Grande Motte.
In the past the conditions in Les Arcs in April are usually pretty good. I'll be in Les Arcs the start of April upto the Easter holidays and have no worries about it.
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| RosieL wrote: |
| I should also ask- Cervinia there are lots of restaurants showing on the piste map. Are they nice? Not fussed on luxury just a bit of atmosphere piste side. |
Yes definitely - Chalet Etoile in particular, but I really like the two huts on the border high up and the ones on the home blue run…
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Sorry I know I’m being a bit snobby but it’s the tower blocks. I know the mountains are beautiful.
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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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Oooh if we go to Cervinia I’m so going to do the snowcat to Chalet Etoile. Sounds fantastic! Thanks.
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| Wildsmith wrote: |
| RosieL wrote: |
| I should also ask- Cervinia there are lots of restaurants showing on the piste map. Are they nice? Not fussed on luxury just a bit of atmosphere piste side. |
Yes definitely - Chalet Etoile in particular, but I really like the two huts on the border high up and the ones on the home blue run… |
Yep, Chalet Etoile is great, might want to think about booking as it gets busy, Rocce Nere is at the bottom of the blues at plan Maison and is also good. I’ve never eaten on the Swiss side but from what I gather it’s twice the price….. no idea if twice the price means it’s twice as good!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Personally I like Lech but I've never been in April.
If I had cheap options to Turin and was going in April I might consider Orelle which is about 2 hours from Turin in an easy drive and gives entrance to the 3V and is very snow sure though you are uploading and downloading to the skiiing.
Maurienne valley is very attractive more so than the Tarentaise in my view. Can't remember what it's like for mountain restaurants though.
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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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| LDP816 wrote: |
. Snow early April should be ok but Cervinia is south facing so sun could eat away at the snow later in the season, it’s probably less snowsure at resort level but there will be quarantined skiing higher up on the glacier and over Zermatt side.
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Quarantined skiing sounds like a good option though maybe more useful earlier in the pandemic. 
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@RosieL, Cervinia every time for me in April based on cost/quality of snow/skiing. We have been a few times, but normally go to Sass Fee in April which is ideal in my view (more limited skiing which I do not see as a constraint especially for a spring holiday).
Couple of points:
1. Not at all easy (or cheap) to get to Innsbruck from Scotland, so Lech can be a challenge to get to from here/
2. Flights to Geneva are nuts right now! BUT you might pick up a bargain in the next week or so (I often have) and consider not doing Sat to Sat.
3. No personal experience of Tignes but know lots of people who rate it, both for skiing and teenagers meeting others.
4. Also consider flights to Milan Malpensa and transfer to Sass Fee or Zermatt (same time as from Geneva), also for Cervinia.
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You know it makes sense.
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Thank you! We’ve actually been to Saas Fee too, one Easter a very long time ago. I do remember a hellish icey blue slope half way down that was sheet ice. Lovely village though and we stayed in a fab cheap family run traditional hotel with a dog and a huge fire- lovely with our 3 little kids.
I’ve just booked Cervinia on booking.com I’ve got free cancellation until next week and there was very little availability so just went for it. Got the Sertorelli Sporthotel for 6 nights. Including flights from Edinburgh to Turin for 4 of us £2.6k B&B so not bad.
Thanks for all your help. I’m still wondering about Tignes for the teenagers though….
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