 Poster: A snowHead
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So ... looking to go away skiing over New Year next year (24/25). i.e Saturday 28th Dec to Jan 4th. Or that weekend, anyway.
(and before you start typing, yes, I know this will be busy. I know you're thinking "Go the week before". "go the week after". "go any other week but this week!". But .. I can't, I'm stuck with this week).
We are a family of (fairly) novice skiers. Kids will do blues and reds, Mrs. ZZ and I will do greens/blues, but really the blues need to be real blues, not "blues with a sense of red", as Mrs. and I both had confidence knocks on a prior trip due to painful falls on an ice-y (steep) blue (that someone later told us "yeah, that run is a mix of blue and red, really").
I have the following criteria, in order of importance:
* Quiet. Yes, I know, I've picked one of the busiest weeks in the year, but (for reasons above) this needs to be a confidence building week. Having people blast past us at high speed, and especially when we're really going "across the slope" and everyone else is pretty much straight down at high speed (no doubt because it's an easy run, for them!) isn't what we need. The busier the slopes are the more likely we'll get that sort of thing, I would guess.
* Following on from last point: A decent range of easy slopes. Greens, cruise-y blues etc.
* Ability to book lessons, in English. Probably private / one-to-one if possible for the Mrs. and I .. kids may just do their own thing in the morning or go into group lessons.
* Not completely filled with T-Bars or Buttons, or at least, not ones that are extremely long/steep. I know some of you are thinking "this is part of skiing", and "you'll be better for learning/using these now" .. and I hear you, and we may just have to accept this .. but yeah .. being a novice skier can be quite tiring, and so 10 minutes up the run with our feet up and not concentrating is, well, preferable. Given my criteria already, I think this might be the hardest one to accommodate!
* Not totally mental to get to from Scotland. I'd prefer not to spend 12+ hours traveling ... but if we need to do that to get other things on the list, so be it.
* Oh, and I guess obvious, but "snow sure" (and/or good snow making facilities). Really that should probably be number 1 on the list. No point going if there's no snow!
I guess what I'm looking for is a relatively small resort that wont attract lots of people, isn't connected to any other "major" ski area, and (for most people) the "easy nature" of the resort would put them off. i.e. probably the sort of place most of the people on here would get through in a day and find it boring 
I was thinking maybe Sweden/Norway/Finland - saw a TR on here on Ruka that looked good - but travel options are very limited and (at the moment) really expensive, all requiring multi-hop trips (and overnight flight connections, in some cases).
Anyway ... I'd really welcome any thoughts that people have. I know that really any other week would be better for us, especially given this needs to be a "getting back on the horse confidence building week" for the Mrs. and I ... but it's this week or not at all, so yeah, trying to work out the best way forward!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Sainte Foy Tarentaise. We spent this New Year there and other than the 9am queue for first lift, didn't see another queue all week.
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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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If you do go to Finland or Norway the days are very short at New Year and according to folk who have been can be very cold.
I haven't been away at NY for a while but Galtur was fairly quiet on one visit and has some gentle skiing.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Look into Val Cenis, lovely family friendly resort with some cracking runs including the Escargot green run that goes from pretty much the top of the mountain all the way to the village. Easily accessible from either Lyon, Grenoble or even Turin airports.
Slopes are north facing and generally have pretty good snow cover. And you needn’t touch a button lift at all, with plenty of chair lifts to get you around and a couple of gondolas. Can’t help on lessons but doubt it would be much of an issue and as it’s not a typical Brit dominated resort it’s never that busy even at Xmas.
Good luck with your search
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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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@zedzed_uk, I’d suggest Kaltenbach/Hochfugen. My second ever week of skiing was there and there were plenty blue runs to keep me interested.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| Valkyrie wrote: |
| @zedzed_uk, I’d suggest Kaltenbach/Hochfugen. My second ever week of skiing was there and there were plenty blue runs to keep me interested. |
I don’t know about there, it got pretty busy after Christmas when we went there, and the Austrians do whizz around a fair bit.
For quiet and calmer/polite skiing I’d go to Scandinavia and the runs of the same colour are easier, blues are definitely blues, but there are lots of drag lifts there.
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@zedzed_uk, at least in the Alps, there's a fundamental incompatibility between quiet slopes and New Year week. Some places are slightly quieter, nowhere is quiet. It's often icy this time of year and there will be people zooming around with no consideration for nervousness. Is there honestly no other week you can go? Eg, Easter? If you really really can't go any other week, and don't want to risk further damaging confidence, I'd actually suggest skipping this year and waiting till you can go at a quieter time, rather than it turning out to be your last trip...
Scandinavia could be great, but it's really much better later in season. I have family in Norway and often spend Christmas there, the days are very short and the darkness is pretty hard going. Also there tend to be a lot of drag lifts.
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The Dolomites are probably a good option at New Year. Reliable in terms of the number of open pistes, sheltered from bad weather and lots of Gondolas. Piste preparation is also excellent and visibility is likely to be good. Kronplatz would be a good choice flying to Innsbruck or perhaps Civetta on the south side flying into Venice, though I have never skied there.
Last edited by After all it is free  on Tue 30-01-24 9:15; edited 2 times in total
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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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Living where I do I would not recommend anywhere north of here, and every (semi decent) ski field in Scandinavia is north of here. As lovely as Scandinavia can be it's just no good at xmas/new year because of the tiny amount of daylight hours.
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Given your list of requirements, I'd tend to agree with @Gämsbock. There isn't anywhere that ticks enough boxes. If there were, there'd be so many people there that it wouldn't tick your boxes.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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To elaborate now I'm on a proper keyboard, I'll once again suggest Sainte-Foy-Tarentaise. It is not the biggest resort ever - 2 * magic carpets for beginners, 4 chairlifts and approx 40 km of slopes. It's very popular with family groups as the resort sits in a single bowl and all runs lead down to the single base. This also means that (depending on your exact accomodation) most apartments are very easily accessed from the slopes should you wish to pop back for lunch etc
There are 3 ski schools and a few independent instructors, and everyone speaks excellent english - somewhat diappointing as it meant my chances to practice french were limited.
It's in the Tarentaise valley just before you reach Tignes (opposite Villaroger at the bottom end of Les Arcs) so easily accesible from Chambery, Lyon, Grenoble and Geneva.
Keep an eye on Denfinella's current trip report as he's planning to go to Ste Foy
https://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?t=167827&highlight=
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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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Ste Foy does sound good - have driven past it to Tignes a few times. Wish I'd visited, now!
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@zedzed_uk,
Book Steve Angus in Val D'Isere & get your confidence issues sorted out.
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You know it makes sense.
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Thanks everyone for the replies - it's much appreciated, and all food for thought 
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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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Your list is how i decided on La Rosiere.
10 days and i’ll tell you what it’s like!
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