 Poster: A snowHead
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Hi there,
My wife and I are thinking of going skiing somewhere in Europe early next year. Both us have a reasonable level of ability but my wife has some eyesight problems and struggles to see well in flat light. As a result, she only really enjoys skiing on very wide pistes without too many people near her. She's been to whistler before and described the runs there as perfect, but it's too much of a stretch in terms of price.
I like more technical, steep and twisty runs, but I'm not all that bothered about off-piste.
Can anyone recommend a European resort that might fit the bill? If there isn't one that offers both, the big wide pistes are much more important.
Thanks in advance.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Lech-Zürs-Warth ('Arlberg-West'; Austria)
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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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The pistes around San Cassiano and Corvara in the Dolomites might suit you
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A few points one is that light tends to be at its best on sunny days and the most open runs are above the tree line but when light does get flat it is above the tree line that it is at its worst but return runs to the valley can also be bad, going somewhere where downloading is possible may be sensible. In terms of business February and New Year tend to have the worst crowds. Less popular resorts in January can be very quiet and have the advantage of generally being the cheapest.
The majority of resorts that I have been to have wide open pistes were there any that were a particular problem?
One possibility I would suggest in Jan is Serre Chevalier which is not particularly crowded and has good open skiing above and below the tree line , options to download, a sunny climate and some more technical runs.
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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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@Left_Turn_Only, were the runs in whistler perfect because they were tree lined which can help a lot in flat light as opposed to simply being wide? In which case Austria is likely to have the best options for you but I haven't skied many Austrian resorts so wouldn't be sure which
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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As long as you’re comfortable on red runs then Mayrhofen is worth looking into. Plenty of long, wide sweeping reds. There are far fewer blues though, but it’s a red run dream.
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Maria Alm and the Hochkonig (pictured) has some of the best pistes in Austria. Leogang is similar and so is Saalbach. Otherwise, Alta Badia and the general Dolomite area.
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I wouldn't describe Whistler as uncrowded on piste nor particularly good visibility in the alpine in flat light/storm weather so you can only really be talking about the benefits of tree lined pistes. Serre Chevalier would seem to be a good shout as well as the best high transmission modern goggle lens you can find (I like Smith Chromapop Storm Rose but opinions and brand preferences vary).
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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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| Klamm Franzer wrote: |
Maria Alm and the Hochkonig (pictured) has some of the best pistes in Austria. Leogang is similar and so is Saalbach. Otherwise, Alta Badia and the general Dolomite area. |
I've shown her this picture and she's pretty keen on the tree lined idea, so Hochkonig or somewhere similar could be a good suggestion.
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my recollection of Whistler is not of unusually or especially wide pistes ...
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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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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Plus 1 for the Hochkonig. It also has the Konigstour to take you from one end to the other with minimal navigation. The relatively new "extension" which goes round Maria Alm has some lovely gentle slopes to ease you in and there are some cracking restaurants and hutte to visit. Stay in Maria Alm for the best options and fly to Salzburg for short transfer options although it's not much longer from Munich either.
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Wide featureless pistes are the last thing you want in flat light, as that just makes it harder to visually gauge the slope. You want tree-lined pistes to because the contrast between dark trees and white snow helps the eye and brain 'see' what's going on better.
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You know it makes sense.
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Courchevel and Trois Vallees in general has loads of good wide pistes
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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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Davos/Klosters. Lots of open space on the top of the Parsenn area in particular, long, wide pistes, glorious scenery. And plenty of possibilities for the stronger skier to drop off and do a tricky run while remaining pretty much within the same area, so "lets meet back here, or at that restaurant, in half an hour" arrangements are very easy.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Zakopane has very wide and in midweek very quiet pistes. They are also tree lined. The only problem is that it is a tiny resort.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Cervinia
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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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| hammerite wrote: |
| Cervinia |
I'm not sure there is a single tree?
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Wide wide empty pistes in flat light are great fun and forgiving, narrow tree lined full pistes are a nightmare ... wide tree lined empty pistes would be the optimum
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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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| Dave of the Marmottes wrote: |
| hammerite wrote: |
| Cervinia |
I'm not sure there is a single tree? |
I didn’t notice the word tree in the original post!
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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On the plus side, in flat light, no trees means fewer obstacles to hit that can really make your eyes water if you do.
If tree-lined pistes are very very wide, doesn’t that reduce the ‘ability to see better’ benefits of trees anyway?
Medium width tree-lined pistes that aren’t too steep or busy?
Evasion Mont Blanc area springs to mind, outside of French mid Feb to early March busy weeks.
Also Les Gets and Morzine + a few other parts of Portes du Soleil.
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@Peter S, +1 for Kronplatz. Really wide pistes there, most of which are treelined. Also has some proper long and proper steep blacks which would suit the OP.
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| hammerite wrote: |
| Dave of the Marmottes wrote: |
| hammerite wrote: |
| Cervinia |
I'm not sure there is a single tree? |
I didn’t notice the word tree in the original post! |
True but they are the only consistent way to mitigate against poor light. If you are on a wide piste tuck in closer to the trees etc.
I had some genuine no idea which way is downhill skiing in Cervinia once in May returning from Zermatt side.
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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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@Dave of the Marmottes, agreed. Trees are very useful.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Your wife may already have suitable goggles with low light lenses but if she's due an upgrade might be worth investigating goggles with low light lenses, as already mentioned above. From my own experience initially I had an inexpensive pair and was regularly frustrated (I don't think anyone likes not being able to see). I was surprised at the difference a branded pair made to the enjoyment, although in truly flat light it's still hard to see. You can generally find goggles that come with 2 lenses (sunny and low-light) or you might be able buy extra lenses or transitions type lenses that darken automatically for her current goggles. I've tried Smith and Dragon low light lenses, both do the job and not much between them. But if I buy goggles again I'd get one with an easy lens change, magnetic or similar because the ones I've got are a faff.
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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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@silentice, completely agree.
It's definitely worth the investment when you consider the cost of a missed day on the mountain due to low light.
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