How do you decide where to go?

A snowHead

Every year I spend a monumental amount of time trying to decide where to go. How do you do it? If I'm not careful, we'll end up back in Lech.

A snowHead

Ski convenience (everyone in the group being able to ski back to the village, and preferably close to our accommodation); a wide range of ski terrain; and a good snow record plus piste management are essential factors for us. My girlfriend particularly dislikes drag lifts and I'm not keen on creeky old 2-seater chairs so a modern lift system is also very important. A large lift network is good, but not if it only serves mile upon mile of blue and gentle red pistes. Factors which aren't important include massive nightlife, prettiness of the village and transfer times from airport to resort.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

Every year I try to go to one more place I've not yet been to.

I'll be adding Tignes and Zermatt to the list this year.

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erica2004, kind of depends really. If it's just the 2 of us then with go through all the brochures and still can't decide
if it's a group then it's even harder rolling eyes

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Not very experienced at this (only 2 trips so far) but here's my 2p's worth:

1. Price (pretty much the deciding factor).
2. Good snow record.
3. Not too crowded.
4. Reviews in guidebooks/other snowsports websites/ snowHead

's recommendations.
5. Good ski schools.
6. Greater percentage of slopes I can cope with than slopes that I can't.

Not sure if the price is still the same but not long ago on www.thomsonski.co.uk Banff in Canada was £600 for a week from 02/01/2008 ex. Gatwick and staying in the amazing Banff Springs Hotel Shocked

. Great hotel, great ski resort, fantastic customer service, amazing scenery and proper arctic temperatures with REAL snow. Apologies to other snowHead

s for banging on about Banff again (I'm beginning to get a bit of a reputation) but 600 notes for flights and a week's stay in a top-notch hotel with rooms that cost at least £125 per night, how could you pass it up?

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Good terrain and instructors/guides if relevant - hence my choice of LDA for January. Skiing with a gang I'll get along with. Hence going to the MSB. So not difficult so far- but having figured the third week yet. Going back somewhere really good I have not been for a while is a thought. So it could be St Anton.

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

After all it is free

Wear The Fox Hat, does that include day trips away from 'base' resort ?

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I like to go somewhere new each season too - this year, Les Contamines for sure, and ideally somewhere in Austria, I've never been

Other than that, it's quite difficult to say - we have always tended to wait until the absolute last minute and go where the snow's good at the time - the best place in the world can be spoilt by bad conditions, and I've had great times in places which would be nothing special normally, because the snow's been superb.

I've recently started looking for places that have a good environmental policy as well.

For long trips, a big area with lots of resorts to explore or plenty of challenge within the area itself. The most recent one for us (other than Chamonix) was Colorado, and we based ourselves in Breckenridge.

Somewhere with its own local character is a big plus - doesn't have to be trad though! - I love Avoriaz AKA Sauron's Dark Tower.

Good food.

Not too swanky - I'm not crazy about the glitzier resorts, though places where people go mainly to pose are often really good for off-piste because no-one does it. Even so, they tend to be very expensive.

Proper high mountain scenery.

heh - not many nicer subjects to mull over Smile

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my decisions are pretty easy now.

Family Holiday - Puy St Vincent for the quality of the tuition and suitability of the resort for young children

Week end trips all based on accessibility to/from geneva as I use London City Airport

Boys trip - PDS - pistage, off pistage, restaurants and bars on mountain - lechaletholiday.com

Couples trip - megeve - smaller but very nice skiing area, lovely shops/bars/restaurants and good for people watching

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erica2004, normally we go

1. Price what can we afford (important if a group is going)
2. ski area suitability to our level and / or group level
3. time / travaling time (may sound strange but if we have only time for 6-7 days no point in going states side even if price is good

If there is a group of us we then come up with some options and then have a few drink and chat it over
hope this helps

erica2004, Leaving aside the fact that I live in a ski resort. I've always liked skiing in places I know. I like to meet the locals, I like going into a shop where I know the people running it and where they know me. I like knowing the pistes, so I can decide where to ski depending on how I feel. I like being able to walk into a comfy bar without finding thousands of foreign tourists getting drunk. It would seem that I'm an oddity though! It may be because we always went to Wengen when I was a child (usually twice a year), so I just got into the familiarity habit. Very Happy

You know it makes sense.

easiski, I also like knowing a resort well. It's better for building up a good relationship with instructors and guides; knowing off-piste opportunities that are out of sight of lifts and pistes; first hand knowledge of good restaurants/bars; knowing where and when lift queues and busy pistes will be at their worst as well as getting to know the locals and regular saisonnaires.

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

Our group decides on which resort to choose like this....

1) Price. We all earn different amounts so go with what the lowest paid person feels comfortable with.

2) Is the resort suitable for us, as we're good beginners/decent inters? We want to adavnce our skills ecah time we go, but don't want a week of mega-hard graft where it's white knickle rides every time we get off a lift!

3) Availability. As we're on a budget, we can't afford to go peak season so we look at where is available early January when (although the snow can possibly be dodge) the piostes are a little emptier.

4) Reputation. If a resort has good things said about it then it can't be bad. Would like to go and find a hidden gem of a resort but for now I'm happy going with the masses.

A snowHead

Good question! We like going to different places (bar Canada!) and haven't been anywhere twice in Europe - although that will change next year as we'll be giving Kitzbuhel a second chance and hoping to see more than grass! Very Happy

I reckon that once I've visited the majority of resorts then its time to go back and start re-visiting the favourites - how can you tell what's out there if you never visit them?! Toofy Grin

Chat on here might give me an idea of where might be nice, such as Obertauern next year, or it might be somewhere I've always wanted to go, like Zermatt or Wengen. I look at the snow history for the time of year we can go and whether its suitable for me, as a wuss, as well as the OH, more adventurous. And then typical prices for the type of accommodation. I think that's one reason we've gone to Austria more over the last few years - we like to stay in hotels rather than chalets or apartments and they're such good value in Austria as compared to France! Unfortunately our various skiing groups that we had when we started off skiing have lost their dedication Shocked

and the last few years its just been the two of us going, but at least we don't have to worry about keeping the rest of the group happy.

We like going to Canada as well as Europe but have only been to the Banff resorts, Big White and Sun Peaks - all of them twice! snowHead

The Where to Ski and Snowboard guide book is also a good start if you really don't have a clue. Gives an idea of snow reliability, extent & grading of pistes etc.

A snowHead

For the group it has to be a chalet big enough for 12 and all ensuite rooms, that narrows it down a bit. A good variety of skiing as we have a mixed group. Price is important for the reason given by Specialman above. For our new year holidays it has to be high and preferably somehwere new. For the two of us it's generally somehwere new, a nice hotel and close to the slopes.
oh yes - and preferably without drag lifts

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

I use a tick-in-the-box method.

Prioritize the world's top 30 resorts. Tick off each one after I have skied it. Only a handful left to go.

A top resort is defined as one that is high, steep, big and famous. Examples include St Moritz, Zermatt, Verbier, Chamonix, Val d'Isere, Lech, Cortina, Whistler, Aspen, Termas, Hakuba, and so on.

If I go in Nov, Dec, Mar, Apr or May, then I head higher (e.g. ValTho). If I go in Jan or Feb, then I go lower (e.g. Kitzbuehel).

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Well, I have been to all the really big places pretty much, so now I am trying to pick off the little gems...

I am not concerned with ski-in, ski-out, hotel in the village, apre-ski etc as we will have a car, I'll be loking at a nice route/day-trip probably lift-served but becoming less important.
If we plan a road trip, we make sure we pretty well do one big circle route...ie, go in through the top of Switzerland and back out through Chamonix... giving us huge scope on where we can go.
I expect this years trip to be able to hit Engelberg, Andermatt, anywhere along the Aletsch resorts, detour upto Saas Fee and then back down the Rhone to backend into Verbier from the valley and then past Chamonix with a stop for a day of two.

I am planning/plotting for the must-do's of VDA, Arolla, Verbier and Chamonix which in 2 weeks will be more than enough travelling.

So basically a high lift and we make our own way down and a detailed regional map is good for this as I love pouring over maps

So, what you need to do is make a list of the important criteria to you, start looking at the bigger places and then count the ticks... and then that is on your short list.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

masmith, yes, day, or multi-day trips away from a base. I differ from some on here, in that I like to go to other places, see/try other things, then I have a better ability to compare and contrast based on my experience, and have a more adventurous holidy. But I can understand that some prefer to stick to one area/region for their own reasons.

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I try and mix going to new places with going to places I've enjoyed in the past.
I decide on new places based on what I've read and what I've been told by people I've met on holidays. Also as I often go on my own the presence of a Ski Clug of GB (SCGB) rep is an advantage
Last winter I went to Saas Fee because I'd heard good things about it, it had an SCGB rep, and it was easy to get from there to Zermatt to meet with friends for a week. Going to Wengen for the MSB was suggested to me by Alisatir Pink whom I met in Saas Fee.

This winter I'm planning to go to 2 new (to me) resorts Flachau (because of what I've read on Snowheads about the area) and Crans (partly because it's got a SCGB rep there).

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

Wear The Fox Hat, I just ask myself if I can 'tick' a resort if I've only been there for the day ? I used to apply the rule that you had to overnight there to qualify but not sure about that anymore.

Last year, for example, we had a good day in Lech (en-route to Zurich from Ischgl), covered most of the runs there (on the main side of the valley), found our bearings of the town etc. I now believe I've skied Lech, so that gets a tick.

But last year we also stayed in Zermatt and skeid over to Cervinia, where we had lunch. I woudn't say that I've ticked Cervinia though, maybe because I skied INTO it rather than OUT OF it ?

How do other Very Happy

's assess if a resort has been ticked ?

After all it is free

masmith, you have to drink a jagermeister there?? Very Happy

masmith, sometimes I don't stay in a resort, but travel from a base that isn't a resort. I'd tick a resort off if I felt I'd seen/skiied enough of it to recommend some runs, and to be able to decide whether I'd want to come back again or not.

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I never look at just this vacation I always have at least 2 vacation ahead in my mind. Usually the ski trip dictates the rest of the travelling that year but some years its other way around.

Say that I wana go to Brazil in november then I will have a lower budget for my ski trip. If not then I use the following way.

1. How much money can it cost?

2a. What type of trip do I want?
Answers can be "powder trip", "trip with big group of friends", "trip with relatives", "two different ski trips", ect ect.

2b. What region do I wana go to?
Sometimes this is compatible with 2a sometimes not. For example few years back the deal was "I want the best skiing I can find in europe, villages are not important" so I picked france. Last year the answer was a direct answer to 2a "powder trip" so I was looking across the globe and ended up in fernie. This year we are simply going back because it was so great. Next non Canada trip will be a purely regional choise "NOT ALPS!!" so the answer will be Greece, Pyreenes or some other of the beaten track place. So region and type often go hand in hand but sometimes it can be just the one.

3. What resort fits the profile of my vacation?

4. Out of the list generated from 3 which one is affordable and best value for money.

Tex

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It depends quite a lot on who I'm going with and when I'm going.
Early season other than xmas new year period I tend to wait and see where the snow is and go where the snow is.
Family holidays are in school holiday time and fairly high season either Feb or Easter and sometimes both. I try and go somewhere that is not to expensive and has skiing up to a reasonable altitude even if the resort level is low. I often stay slightly out of the main resort as prices are lower and appartments larger. I am not fond of purpose built areas and usually give them a miss.
Easter I try and go somewhere with highish North facing skiing but avoid the glacier areas as the crowds are often worse.
I try and mix up places I've been before and try new places,
I find a top 30 approach utterly meaningless for the skiing I do. Evil or Very Mad

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brian

There's a few places I have a notion to get to at some point ; Chamonix, St Anton, some Utah powder field or other, drop of alaskan heli maybe ??

But for the moment I'm happy just repeating a quiet Swiss valley and La Grave, I'm a man of simple needs wink

You know it makes sense.

Price, Snow Record, KMs, who's going (standard of skiers in group) and the most important question - can we get there easily enough from Belfast or Dublin?

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

For short trips: where I can get to in the evening after work so I maximise my skiing by being there at opening the next day. That pretty much limits things to Garmisch and Engelberg (evening Berlin-Munich/Zurich flights).

For longer trips: needs to have good xc as well as alpine skiing. Reasonably priced. And most off all, not full of Brits.

A snowHead

well, this year my trips booked so far are as follows:

1. Whistler + maybe Mt Baker - Christmas and New Year in Vancouver seeing wife's family and friends so it would be rude not to

2. Oisans (ie La Grave, Alpe d'Huez and Les Deux Alpes) because every year I sit down and ask myself where offers a better combination of skiing which fits my taste, low key atmosphere, lack of crowds and fairly easy access. Haven't come up with anywhere yet.

3. 4 days with a guide. We will fly into Geneva and his brief is for us to go somewhere with big skiing, great conditions and minimal crowds. We won't decide exactly where until just before we leave

will have a couple of weekends too - maybe somewhere I have been to before for relaxing skiing and long lunches with my wife and somewhere new for slightly more hardcore skiing. maybe engadine/diavolezza?

A snowHead

rob@rar, resort layout, lift capabilities (and queues), food/drink quality/price, run grading, scenery, and if I can go a few times, snow quality and grooming.
I'll take advice from others on where to go/try. (whether that is advice on resorts to try, or parts of resorts)

Why? I guess to give me more personal experience, and allow me to choose resorts I like more.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

Wear The Fox Hat, have none of the places you've been to ticked all those boxes for you, or are you still searching for the right resort for you?

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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Like many I like to try new places.

Over the years criteria change. At one time I used to go for big French stations de ski.

I tried North America but it is only worthwhile to me for a fortnight. US lost its appeal for me with the fingerprinting malarkey. It is bleedin obvious I am not a terrorist and I should not be treated like one.

Now I like Swiss places that are on the fly/rail scheme and have decent hotels. Austrian hotel resorts also appeal. My lack of German is a bit of nuisance though.

I would not mind an Eastern block holiday mostly sightseeing with some skiing - say Poland or Slovenia. No Roma places though, I can see enough of them in Slough.

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rob@rar, I've been to places that tick a lot of boxes, but I'm not looking to settle down with just one.
I'm a snow tart. I want to seek out new resorts, to badly ski where I haven't skiied before (and have a lot of fun doing it too).

But I can list a few resorts in the northern hemisphere that I've been to, and would consider major box-tickers...

Wengen
Whistler
Alta/Snowbird
Chamonix
Homewood

(then again, my boxes change as my skiing changes)

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

After all it is free

Exploring a new place is alot of fun.

Knowing exactly which run to hit in what condition to get the best skiing possible out of the hill is fun as well (if the hill is fun ofcourse).

Though at some point at least I get to where "I know this inside and out and it just isnt challanging anymore" thats when I dont come back.

TexMurphy, I would like to try Fernie (and quite a few other places in western Canada) but it does fall down on the "easy access" aspect! I can leave London after work and get to Bourg d'Oisans somewhere around midnight. Can't quite do that with Fernie!

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How do you decide where to go?

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