New resort every time or stay with what you know?

A snowHead

A number of sH return to the same resorts (especially those with accommodation there) - often for several visits a year.

Do you not get bored skiing the same few runs several times a year?

A number of sH go to new resorts each time.

Do you not find that you miss out on so much of the resort because you only have the piste map to guide you?

Which are you and why?

A snowHead

Ray Zorro we like to visit a couple of resorts that we know each year and also try a couple of new places as well! Very Happy

best of both worlds?

Mrs C particularly likes to ski in Meribel as we know the runs very well and she is more comfortable doing reds/blacks there than a new place just in case there's a nasty bit round the corner or whatever. Knowing a resort also has the advantage of being able to keep clear of busy pistes etc

Personally I think seeing a new place is all part of the fun. There are so many small resorts around and most are worthy of at least a weekend visit

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Ray Zorro, Good question. One new place, and one old friend each year.

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I'm a returner. ( Yes, because of accomodation)

Used to be a "go everywhere", and still occasionally hanker after that - you seem a little more worldy wise when posting on snowHead

for a start!

The advantage of returning tho' is that you seem more like a local than a holiday maker - you get to know the shop keepers and the restaurant owners, the ski school the ex-pats and the other owners.

You also, albeit so very very slowly, get to know more about the domain. How long to get from A-B, which lifts to avoid/use, which short cuts work, which don't, what time of day to ski which pistes, where the crowds will be, what times to stop at what mountain outlets.

I hadn't realised how much skiing there is in one area until we kept returning - I admit I was a little wary to start with - surely that's not enough to prevent boredom? But surprisingly there is always one more mogul run, one set of trees to dodge between, that you haven't yet found. And then there's the favourite run year on year comparision, trying to decide if you are getting better at the same rate as you are getting older...

So, I don't actually mind returning to Les Arcs - and indeed I still have La Rosiere to go and enjoy if it all get too much, as well as having 2V and Val D / Tignes on the doorstep.

Wouldn't mind havng another go at Colorado some time soon tho - maybe have to arrange an additional trip... ( now, perhaps that's the best of both worlds approach we should be thinking about!)

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

To answer your question. No!

I am lucky in that I have the the whole of Paradiski to play in, (still have most of Les Arcs to explore properly). We have a free day lift passes to ski in the other Tarentaisse resorts if we so wish, we can drive to the likes of Tigens Val. La Ros. Ste Foy etc etc.
Plus there are plans to extend La Plagne from 2010 into new areas and of course there is all that off piste to explore and also small unheard of resorts like Notre dame du pre which is near Montalbert and Longefoy but not linked to it. Very Happy

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Ray Zorro, I swing both ways as well Toofy Grin

Somewhere new for a week then Villaroger ( Les Arcs ) for a late March/April week - just as the real snows arrive snowHead

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

At the moment I'm more than happy to stick with what I know - it will be many years before I am capable of skiing just the few Km of piste which is there and then finally the 'wall!' - I can see it from the restaurant and it looks terrifying Skullie

, so for the moment for me there is more than enough to explore. Also, only 2 years we are treated like returning old friends which is rather nice. I won't want to explore too much more until I can ski more competently.

As a general comment it will be interesting to see if it is the more competent skiers here who enjoy the new experiences more than us novices.

After all it is free

hmmmm ... I like the comfy slippers but also the thrill of those spanking new stilettos Twisted Evil

This year 2x to the same resort ... but ... that was mainly due to the fact we knew there was good snow. The original plan was to go somewhere different. Will also go back there again but feel the need to explore as there maybe another favorite out there to add to the Imelda Marcos collection wink

I'm a serial returner and not just for skiing - summer camping trips as well, weekend breaks etc. I like to hit the ground running (so to speak), but I'm lucky enough to have several differnet types of holiday a year so usually get to try somewhere/something new as well. As for getting bored with the skiing - I need to vastly improve so I can actually ski the whole terrain.

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Megamum,

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I like to mix it up a bit. We've spent a week for the past 4 seasons in the PdS so will try Canada next season with any luck. My long weekend around Easter involves going wherever the snow is: we usually take on 3 resorts in 4 days. I've tried plenty of new places this way...

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There's a lot to be said for knowing a ski domain very well. You get to know the off-piste options much better than you would as a new or infrequent visitor. You get a better idea of how to avoid busy pistes and lift bottlenecks. You know your way around the piste network well enough to take advantage of changing snow and visibility conditions. You can build up a good working relationship with ski instructors and guides, and you also get to know the neighbours and locals (although not everyone will think that's an advantage). Even before we bought a place in Les Arcs we returned often to Courchevel for all these reasons. For me no one run is the same, even if it is on the same piste as last time! Although I see there are good things to be said for visiting many different places, on balance I'd rather know a ski domain well then just be a casual in and out visitor.

Having listed those advantages I have to confess that our choice of resort was influenced by its (large) ski domain and its (close) proximity to lots of other skiing. By the end of this season I will have spent a fair amount of time skiing Les Arcs and La Plagne, but will have also skied in Tignes/Val d'Isere, La Rosiere/La Thuile, Courchevel, Val Thorens, Zinal/Grimentz/St Luc/Chandolin, and possibly St Foy, most of these resorts being with commutable distance of our base in Les Arcs. Perhaps I like to have the best of both worlds?

Spyderman,

You know it makes sense.

I normally have two ski holidays a year - I like to try different resorts but have also been to Morzine the past two years and I'm going there again tomorrow Very Happy

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

A snowHead

Ray Zorro, So far I have been to a different resort every time.

If I could manage more than one trip per year, I might well do some to a "favourite" resort and some to new resorts.

But I am the same with other holidays too. There is nowhere we have been back to for a second holiday in the same resort.

A snowHead

Spyderman, very crafty Toofy Grin

Cute backdoor method of trying to get Megamum to disclose Resort X Laughing

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sproggski,
Worth a try. Toofy Grin

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alex_heney, that little hidden cheap quiet locals-only Swiss gem that is the Portes du Soleil?

Definitely prefer a compact place that you can get to know well. You can get much better skiing value from your time and money. Puy Saint Vincent is the current fave for holidays.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

I'm a bit in both camps - I realised that I was getting in a bit of a rut returning to Tignes and 3V year after year and have started trying to spread my wings a bit. So we did Saas Fee and St Anton last year. This year because I had my 5yr old daughter with me in Jan we went to Tignes for a bit of familiarity which really helped keeping things on an even keel. In Feb went to go to Seistriere with the lads but ended up in Serre Chevalier. And tommorrow like Sage off to Morzine (well Montriond really) for a weekend, been to Avoriaz before but not Morzine so looking forward to a slightly different perspective. Different places in future - yes I think so. I like runs I know but I like the feeling of exploring probably a bit better!

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X=Lenzerheide-Valbella Neutral

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when with the lads we tend to find a resort we like then do 4 or 5 repeat visits then move on .. if i go with my better half then its old faithful as it will be years before she has skied all of it!!

After all it is free

II, I know that Brits bought up on a diet of 600+km French mega resorts might think that Lenzerheide is small and unknown but I don't think that is quite the Swiss perspective Smile

must admit to being a big fan of the 3V and espace killy. having said that i like to try something new to test myself so next year maybe a bit of jackson hole, as i've never skied stateside.

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Well I have been to three different places so far. For a week each!

Will be returning to Val Thorens for the EoSB A MONTH TODAY!! Very Happy

so perhaps will be better placed to comment then. I was a little disappointed that we would not be going anywhere new at first, but I am now rather looking forward to going back and judging the improvement in my skiing. And to trying a first full black run of course! Very Happy

I reckon stoatsbrother has it - one week return, one week somewhere new Smile

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So far been 3 times and different place each time. While we are still new to it I like to try different places, although I haven't been anywhere yet that I definately would not re-visit.

I have been to several resorts more than once but I like to try new places.

I like to have places that I can plan to visit eventually. It gives me something to look forward to, research etc. After three trips to St Anton you think it is time to look elsewhere in Austria. Likewise when you have stayed in different places in the Three Valleys or Tignes/Val d' Isere.

I also find what suits changes over the years.

Initially I was happy with chalets- especially ones with late booking discounts, now I prefer good hotels. High altitude French resorts seemed sensible when booking in advance. Booking late gives more options.

I think I have sampled a reasonable range, but still look forward to going to :-

Alpe d'Huez, Serre Chevalier, Flims, Colorado, Ischgl, Scandanavia.

I would also like to try a small Eastern bloc resort(not Bulgaria, Romania) maybe in Poland, Slovenia, Slovakia as a mixed ski cultural trip.

You know it makes sense.

I am a wengenite in all but birth and nationality. Have been to a few other resorts but my main skiing trip is to Wengen each year.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

I think you need to visit a few places just so you can compare and be sure about the sort of holiday and ski resort you want / enjoy.

We initially came to tignes for a 10 day holiday, after going to a low resort the year before and finding only grass Sad

We loved it so much we came for 2 weeks the next year, then 3, then 4 etc. then bought somewhere. With the help of easyjet we then came for alot of weekends - finished work at lunchtime of Friday, drove to the airport, arrived in Tignes about 11.30pm skied Sat / Sun, flew back and got home (uk) at about 1am, went to work on Monday. Now we're here all season Very Happy

But we also tried other resorts, liked America - Vail / Beever Creek, Lake Tahoe, Austria - Mayerhofen, Italy - Gressonay, La Tuile, France - L2A, Alpe D'Huez, Rissule etc. Each place and holiday is different, and it also depends on the snow conditions and the weather. Also the level of skiers in your party, (Stewart would get bored in a small resort rolling eyes

). In any event we always end up coming back to Tignes, and I can say that after skiing here for 20+ years I have not yet skiied everything, and IMO the lift system is second to none.

Mrs W

A snowHead

Latchigo, I'd recommend Bulgaria for a ski/culture holiday, just back from Sofia and Vitosha ski station is just above the city and Borovets is only an hour away. Lots of culture in Sofia.

I have always skied a different resort every trip to date asI like variety and the excitment of new places, however I'm going back to St Anton at Easter for second trip this year as never got futher than St Christoph at New Year and want to check out Lech/Zurs/Stuben. Also really enjoyed the atmosphere, the people there and apres ski in St Anton. Only 2 weeks to departure now!

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nessy, I know the Portes du Soleil is a large area, but some of the individual resorts ar pretty small, and not in many UK tour operator brochures. Les Crosets being one of those. Smile

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Bit of both. (funny thing just happened - I mistyped the word "bit" and got "bity". Little Britain fans, out there?)

I have found I leave a resort with fond feelings and want to return. When I return its still good but not like the first time....then I want to move on.

Having said that, the only resort I have been to twice is Courmayeur (which I have now DONE) and about to go to Obergurgl for the second time and think that'll be it. Had a great trip to Morzine in January so will likely go back and try it when there's snow this time. wink

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Tend to stick with somewhere we know. This is due to skiing with small children though as this ensures that we

a) know the ski school
b) know the nursery
c) know where it is safe for us to take them
d) know there is sledging etc

When they're older and a nursery isn't an issue will be a bit more adventurous.

Although having said that, I really like current resort (Vallandry) and would happily buy there if had cash. I can see why the really keen skier may get bored, but there is enough variety to keep me amused.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Basic rule - go somewhere new every time.

As usual, there can be exceptions.

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I have a long list of resorts that I'd like to visit, and some that I'd like to go back to as well. But in the main I like to visit new places. It can be difficult at times as the family always expect me to know where we are going and what each run will be like, even if we've only been in the resort for 2 hours rolling eyes

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I have had ten ski holidays, all to different resorts.

After all it is free

Ski the local hill daily, and go to different places with the long weekends unless the local hill is getting snow, too. Just spent tuesday skiing fresh all day only 25 skiiers on the mtn, fresh tracks every run, love those days. Twisted Evil

pinhead, any houses near you up for sale? Going green

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I like to do both and am fortunate enough to take 3 or 4 trips per year. We tend to return to Zell frequently as Mrs SnowGodess ( Confused

) loves the resort ambience, the place we stay, her instructoress, the runs, and we have lots of local firends there now. If it were my only trip. I'd probably have to put my foot down and insist we went somehwere different, at least every other year! I also take a rather wild "lads trip" for 4 or 5 days every year, and we tend to stick to Verbier, Ischgl and St Anton for the mix of skiing and apres ski which suits our needs(although we did do Kitz this year, but we won't go back there for a lds trip!). My other trips vary from quick weekends to full weeks either with Mrs S, or with other couples, or corporate trips. We go virtually anywhere (with the exception of France which it's well documented I don;t like in the slightest for various reasons) and its actually these trips that give me the variety of resort, runs, ambience and experience I think I secretly crave. I believe that, even if we bought in Zell which we're likely to do in the next couple of year, I'll still visit other resorts on occasions as well, with or without Mrs S.

Of my 30 ish weeks skiing, I've probably stayed in around 15-18 resorts, although have skied many more on day trips / linked runs etc.

I do have a list of places I must visit before I die (which may be sooner than I think if tis years lads trip is anything to go by!) which includes amongst others Aspen, Jackson Hole, Whistler and Alaska, as I've never skied on the other side of th epond, and whilst there are lots of thing which put me off doing so, I feel I ought to so why not do it in style at the best resorts!

I totally agree with stewart woodward, when he says

Help!!

New resort every time or stay with what you know?

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