Poster: A snowHead
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I have some friends who live nearby to Flumserberg and am planning a family trip with four children to the area over New Year (been here before but only in summer). I am looking at the Cristal Hotel www.cristal-flumserberg.ch ifanyone knows it and could pass comment I'd be grateful. Most importantly whats the skiing like ? Best airport to fly to (I assume its Zurich but are there any obscure regional ones I should know of). 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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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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I've not been but you could use Zurich or Friedrichshafen airports.
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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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the ice perv, Thanks, Freidrichshafen is quite cheap with Ryanair when I looked this afternoon but I'd still like a bit more info on the ski area. Davos is not a long way away I think and may be a possible.
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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 don't know east Switz well. I don't think Flumserberg is that large but there must be a resort website if you google. It may be big enough to keep you interested for a week, it may not. Looking at a map the nearest large area looks to be Lenzerheide-Valbella, which is just beyond Chur. Have a look at:
http://www.bergfex.com/schweiz/?lang=en
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Frosty, sadly it's far from quiet and uncrowded, especially at Xmas. Thing is it's on a direct train line from Zurich so the world and his wife go there from the city as it's the closest place with excellent public transport links. It's also more appropriate for day trips than to spend a week I'd have thought. Given the choice I'd look a bit further afield to Flims/Laax (also easy for transport) or someone put a link to Braunwald the other day with a hotel that is ideal for children
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eng_ch, Thanks, just what I needed, I had read elsewhere that its busy at week-ends. I had done a search but missed Ray's post which is a very helpful thread. Thanks
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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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eng_ch, The children are between 2 and 7 this place sounds perfect
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Frosty, Nessy could probably tell you more about Flumserberg, if he's around, because I believe he tends to go there because of his kids. But the place in Braunwald sounded ideal for people with kids. Braunwald is v small (only 32 km of piste) but further back down the valley is Elm which has a nother 40 km of pistes and looks like it's about an hour from Braunwald by train and bus. Braunwald has the advantage of being a fairly "undiscovered" part of Switzerland so it will be pretty authentic
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Frosty, there are lots of photos on the website. I have never been anywhere quite so child-orientated but at the same time making it really enjoyable for the adults (I partticularly enjoyed the 7 course evening meal). The only slight negative is that most of the children will be Swiss and primarily German speaking. The owners speak very good English though.
As eng_ch, says, the skiing area is quite small, but even at peak times, it doesn't get too busy.
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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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Frostytalking of Flumserberg
+ chairs everywhere and plenty of 4 man lifts => easier when skiing with small kids
+ plenty of gentle wide terrain
+ efficient lifts mean queueing is rare. The one queue prone lift (Prodkamm) is being replaced by the first 8 seater chair in CH
+ easy to get to without a car - if you are taking luggage get the bus up from Flums - it will be a bit slower than the gondola but you will probably have to walk less
+ The Leist mountain is reasonably steep and is not so crowded thanks to a slow old 2 man chair
+ Ski school is well equipped for kids and there are lots of English speaking instructors.
- Can get really busy on the piste even though the lift queues are not too bad.
- Not sure what childcare there is for under 3s. The creche never ran whenever we wanted to use it.
- Bit expensive (lift pass, lessons etc.) compared to other local areas.
Davos, Laax, Lenzerheide are not that far away. Arosa is very family friendly, never crowded and has a fairly spectacular train journey up from Chur. All these places are day-trippable from Zurich - even by public transport
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nessy, Ray Zorro, eng_ch, Thanks guys very helpful, I'm mailing the Brandwald hotel for availability (it was the cow that did it for Mrs Frosty, she almost cried ).
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You know it makes sense.
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Another thing in the favour of Flumserberg (and probably Braunwald as well): this region may not be high but it does attract snow.
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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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nessy, Ray Zorro, eng_ch, Hotels and flights booked for New Years eve I'll let you know what its like. I think there is another area called "Elm" nearby that has a reasonable ski area to perhaps visit.
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Poster: A snowHead
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