 Poster: A snowHead
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Hello Everyone,
I’m looking for some help and advice about cross country (XC) skiing in Europe.
My wife is now only XC skiing, and wants to go to Europe in the second half of February next year. Now, I’ve never been skiing in Europe, and she hasn’t been XC skiing there either, and so we’re both clueless about where to go. We’ll be looking for somewhere to keep us both happy; alpine skiing for me, XC for her.
She won’t go up north to Scandinavia, due to the short days in Winter, so I guess the Alps or Dolomites are what we’ll be looking at. We can fly into most of the capital city airports from here in from Argentina.
Any advice/suggestions will be 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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Livigno has excellent XC and a good mix of alpine, as does the Ski Amadae (really requires a car). Also the Seefeld area has about the best XC in Austria but is more limited for alpine, but there is plenty in easy reach.
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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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St Moritz has great xc skiing. The alpine skiing is also quite good.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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For second half of Feb, check the calendar for school holidays. Unlikely to impact XC but will certainly impact downhill and hotel availability.
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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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@Skier from Argentina, yeah, from 10 Feb France is rather busier than not due to school holidays. Other countries similar ...
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Davos has an extensive easily accessible xc area with good transport links and places where xc and alpine skiers can meet together for lunch.
Of the places I've visited I reckon it integrates them well.
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Les Saisies has extensive XC skiing at relatively higher altitude than many centers, some of it demanding and 200 miles of mostly easy Alpine skiing. But French holidays not ideal.
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| Skier from Argentina wrote: |
She won’t go up north to Scandinavia, due to the short days in Winter |
Have you checked this? Days up north are very short midwinter, but by the time you get to mid February the difference compared to the Alps is nowhere near as big (probably between an hour and an hour and a half of daylight, at a guess). Add in the floodlit runs, and the Scandi resorts could look more favourable.
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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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The Dolomites offer some of the best xc I have skied. The town of Dobbiaco, in the North has excellent xc and great bus service so you can do lots of A to B. For the Alpine skier you have Drei Zinnen ski area, Cortina, Sillian and Krone plaza all accessible by bus or train.
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Hi @Skier from Argentina, I can offer some info on France, to follow below. It's adapted from a post a few years ago. I agree with @musher, that Livigno (in Italy) has a decent mix of downhill and cross country. Many Austrian resorts are worth checking out - again @musher's right that Seefeld is fantastic for XC but less so for downhill; St Johann in Tirol is the other big Austrian XC resort (with downhill skiing too) and just around the corner from its famous downhill cousin Kitzbuel. Here goes for France:
Bessans / Maurienne valley
Wide flat valley on the way up to Bonneval. Altitude of 1800m and with some parts quite shaded so unlikely to be a problem with snow cover. Shuttle buses along the valley to access downhill skiing in Bonneval, Val Cenis and many others but none from Bessans itself.
Col de Saisies
Sits at around 1600m astride the pass from Arly valley and Albertville. Used for the cross country competitions of the 1992 Olympics and highly rated. Very extensive wooded trails. Plenty of donwhill skiing and the start points both for this and cross country are pretty much co-located within the village.
Champagny-le-Haut
Very shaded valley at 1800m surrounded by high glaciated mountains (promoting cold-air inversions) so very snow-sure but can be perishingly cold. Best stay in main Champagny where for downhill there is a gondola up/down to La Plagne and for cross country there is a shuttle bus to Le Haut and back.
Peisey/Nancroix
Around 1500m and plenty of snow most seasons but slightly more marginal than the others above. All the villages in the area are connected by either a regular shuttle bus or a lift to get you to the downhill or cross country ski areas.
All of the above are properly-managed areas, with the purchase of a cross country ski pass being obligatory (these are pretty cheap). Walkers are kept separate from skiers so little problem with trampled tracks or people in the way (unlike many of the tracks in France which are within Alpine ski areas, where walkers are a real problem). They all have a 'forum' building where you can get changed, buy your pass, rent skis, get cosy by the fire...
Many of the major French downhill resorts do have free cross country tracks within easy access: Courchevel, Meribel, Val d'Isere, Tignes, Chamonix... In some cases the tracks are well maintained and kept separate from walkers (Meribel, Val d'Isere) in other cases they are shared with walkers and become an unpleasant mess (Tignes).
In the major donwhill resorts, finding XC ski rental can be difficult but not impossible. In the ones I have listed above, there are many shops offering XC rental gear and often also the forum building where the trails start.
Also worth a look is the Serre Chevalier valley (Besancon up to Col du Lauteret). Much cross country and many downhill resorts off to the sides but I have no personal experience (whereas in absolutely all of the above, I have skied both downhill and cross country).
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Thanks for all the replies so far.
We'll both have to take a look at all the suggestions posted here and try to decide soon, so we can start booking flights and accommodation.
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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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@bobski62, Chamonix is not free, although not crazy expensive, €10 a day or so I think? But very well maintained, even has snow making.
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Have a look at Morzine / Les Gets in the PDS. Known for alpine skiing it has a surprising amount of xc trails many at altitude inc near Avoriaz. free access to xc trails but will need a specific lift pass to access many of the trails. Bonus is that it is easy to meet up with your partner for lunch. Do not know what standard your wife is at but Morzine ESF do group beginner lessons or individual. Hire shops will only have limited choice for xc equipment
You do not specify whether it is classic or skating but most tracks cover both.
The quality of maintenance of xc tracks is not to the same standard as specific areas for xc.
You may also want to take a look at Praz de Lys which is a small resort just below Les Gets. It used to be 75:25 in favour of xc but is now more like 25:75 . Hire shops and ski schools really geared up for xc. There is a charge for xc pass but much cheaper than alpine. Small resort favoured by French and Swiss.
Grand Bornand is another possibility. France world cup biathlon is held here and has extensive scope for both xc and alpine.
Les Rousses in the Jura is very much xc orientated but does have some alpine.
Your timing in Feb means you will be peak school hols. Xc tracks unlikely to be busy but accomm / parking / restaurants will all be busy.
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You know it makes sense.
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| Quote: |
You do not specify whether it is classic or skating but most tracks cover both.
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This identifies the difficulty of responding to the OP. We have no idea whether his partner would just enjoy pottering around on some mostly level tracks, in classic style, or tackling significant ascents and descents, skating effortlessly along in lots of lycra!
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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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| pam w wrote: |
| Quote: |
You do not specify whether it is classic or skating but most tracks cover both.
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This identifies the difficulty of responding to the OP. We have no idea whether his partner would just enjoy pottering around on some mostly level tracks, in classic style, or tackling significant ascents and descents, skating effortlessly along in lots of lycra! |
Well, if the OP is spending a week in one place, it will take more than just a few flat tracks in the valley to satisfy even the tamest xc skier.
That said, unlike some downhill skiers, even dedicated xc skiers are often quite happy to repeat the same section of trail a few times, as long as it’s got some variety in gradian.
I’d say any place that has a decent network of tracks should do.
(Personally, I’d say 30km network is good enough for me for a weekend, 100k good enough for a week, even though I’ll be repeating a lot of it during my stay. And I’m only an intermediate level xc skier. 100k isn’t too much to ask for any place that can claim to be xc oriented destination)
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Poster: A snowHead
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| Quote: |
100k isn’t too much to ask for any place that can claim to be xc oriented destination
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True, but in some places some of the tracks are very low altitude, bottom-of-the-valley efforts.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| abc wrote: |
(Personally, I’d say 30km network is good enough for me for a weekend, 100k good enough for a week, even though I’ll be repeating a lot of it during my stay. And I’m only an intermediate level xc skier. 100k isn’t too much to ask for any place that can claim to be xc oriented destination) |
In France, at least, a lot of ski areas double, triple or even quadruple count their kms.
One area that doesn't do this, mentioned above, is Champagny-le-Haut. It has a real 23km of runs, although this seems small it is actually not bad compared to some bigger areas. The scenery is also stunning.
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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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| Teletart wrote: |
| The Dolomites offer some of the best xc I have skied. The town of Dobbiaco, in the North has excellent xc and great bus service so you can do lots of A to B. For the Alpine skier you have Drei Zinnen ski area, Cortina, Sillian and Krone plaza all accessible by bus or train. |
what are the logistics like getting from the airports or major train stations such as Milan?
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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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| pam w wrote: |
| Quote: |
100k isn’t too much to ask for any place that can claim to be xc oriented destination
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True, but in some places some of the tracks are very low altitude, bottom-of-the-valley efforts. |
Not 100km of valley, I wouldn’t think. That would be a very long valley!
The low altitude could be something to keep in mind though.
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