 Poster: A snowHead
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OK,
So a caveat here; this isn't me looking for ski resorts to avoid!
Rather, it's more I'm interested in the what the collective belief of others might be as to which of the major alps resorts is the most 'dicey' throughout ski season?
Altitude Undoubtedly plays a factor here since air tends to be colder as we go higher, but then that would be ignoring the east-west and north-south impact of weather in the alps, or even the aspect of typical slopes.
With this in mind I wondered out of the large domains (let's call it in excess of 150km of advertised pistes or extremely popular in the euro market) might you be taking a figurative roll of the dice on conditions?
For reference, I hear a lot of grumbles about the PDS, the via lattea and the skiwelt in particular.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I think the PDS and Via Lattea are good suggestions, as their snowmaking is not so effective as many resorts further east. Though both of course have sectors with more reliable snow / snowmaking.
I would add Megeve and the Espace Diamant - though the latter usually has better conditions than the former. Maybe Pra Loup-Val d'Allos if that counts as big enough? In Switzerland, Adelboden-Lenk, though that's really multiple separate areas.
I think the Skiwelt has more comprehensive snowmaking, and it's more effective due to the more suitable climate further east.
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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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Megeve is one of the less snow sure areas but Les Contamines which is in the same ski area has a very good snow record.
Likewise the lowest parts of espace Diamant might suffer in a poor snow year but Les Saisies itself has an excellent snow record.
I would disagree on via lattea. Montgenevre and claviere have a good snow record and Montgenevre has a longer season than average from early December to May. Not sure about Sauze and Sestriere.
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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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Fugen, Zillertal and Kaltenbach can get a bit thin come mid March and you'll be taking the Cable Car to the bottom.
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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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Hmm, as a regular visitor to the Skiwelt, it's not an area where I'd complain about the snow cover. Much of it is north facing and has excellent snowmaking.
For those looking for easy access and short transfers, it's a good option. Yes, the snow will be poor from mid-March or later and in warmer years there will be soft conditions in places, but that's a trade-off I'm happy with. I've had similar conditions across Austria, with the obvious exception of the glaciers at Hintertux and Kaprun, but then I've also experienced those in whiteout conditions or -25 and with strong winds adding a -20 windchill to that.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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A "big" ski area is one with over 300km of claimed piste.
You can ski out 150km in a weekend.
All the biggest ski areas worldwide have naturally grown big because their interlinking trails and lifts are reliably open for most or all of the season.
You can't promote yourself as "big" if everything is closed and small.
Among the "big 8" largest ski areas worldwide, those with more than 300km, the Portes du Soleil (PDS) in France is the one most vulnerable to future global boiling, with many slopes below ~1500m.
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@whitegold what are the big 8?
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I think a better question would be which large ski area is less vulnerable to a bad season and the answer in reality is probably none of them.
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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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Some interesting insights here for sure, I hadn't really thought about Megeve. You make a good point @under a new name, that any ski area is very vulnerable to a bad season, but I wonder whether we're comparing apples to oranges in that a bad season at say Morzine would result in rather less snow coverage than somewhere like Ischgl?
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