 Poster: A snowHead
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Hi guys i'm tentatively looking at these places for my ski trip this year and wondering whether to go for one of them, or stick with the old faithfuls of france, italy, switzerland. the reason that i wd prefer the former is that i always prefer to go somewhere new, and i have been to the latter 3 countries. however now that i've done a little research i'm wondering whether i'd have a better holiday if i go to the 'safer' option of france or italy where, apparently, now that i've done some research, the weather is warmer, resorts have more facilities, bigger grocery shops, and snowheaders have some brilliant and reasonably priced self-catering accomodation. any thoughts?
i was leaning towards finland, as it has the whole attraction of northern lights possibility and lapland experience. but no one on here seems to have any property there and looking on the internet i haven't found great deals for self-catering. moreover apparently it's extremely cold even by ski-holiday standards, and i'm someone who found verbier absolutley freezing last week when it was only -5 or so. i'm also concerned as i've heard it gets dark early and i do like my bright days, and don't fancy floodlit skiing. sweden i've heard is quite flat and more for cross-country instead of downhill, which i am far too lazy for! i don't mind if it's a question of the slopes not being steep as i like the gentler slopes and stay off the blacks anyway - me and my bf are happily blue/red. however nor do i relish lots of those flats stretches where u'r doing that cross-trainer motion to keep moving. norway i've heard is also flat plus the most expensive. bulgaria i've heard is nicely cheap, and so even if a snowheader doesn't have accom there we could probably find somewhere nice for a good price, however i've heard the snow is not brilliant, the facilities are not modern, and the resorts lack that alpine charm.
however my research cd be way off, so if there are any snowheaders who have done one of those 4 options i wd love to hear from u, particularly in the context of my above concerns. thx guys!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Are in Sweden is great, especially the after-ski (its after not apres in Sweden), but its a trek to get to and relatively expensive. Been to Pamporovo in Bulgaria - waste of time for anyone except complete beginners.
You mention France, Italy and Switzerland as the big three, err aren't you forgetting Austria - go there if you're looking for somewhere new.
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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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France, Switzerland, USA, Canada, Austria and Japan are the world's top ski countries.
They generally have the best slopes, the best snow and the best sun.
Anything outside these big 6 will be secondrate.
Of the list you mention, Norway has the best skiing. Sweden has the biggest resorts and peachiest women. Finland has the nicest people. Bulgaria offers the best value (i.e. cheapest).
I would recommend Hemsedal in Norway in Mar or Apr, when it warms up a bit. Are in Sweden would also be fine.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Whitegold, I think there should be a "big 7" not 6, and Italy should be included.
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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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alex heney -- Italy sucks.
It has the best food and some peachy sheilas, but the skiing is too bland for it to be included in the toptier list.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Whitegold, What utter tosh!!!
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Frosty the Snowman, I would have replied to him, but I couldn't have done it as politely as you did 
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levart, i forgot to include austria in my post but actually we did go to austria last year so it's in my list (unfortunately) of a guaranteed good hol but have already been there done that.
Whitegold, u say Norway has the best skiing from my list, but is that cross-country or downhill. on last minute.com the resort info on geilo is surprisingly honest in that instead of the usual estate agents speil it essentially says it is only good for cross-country. are there anmy particular resorts on norway u wd recommend for downhill?
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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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| Frosty the Snowman wrote: |
| Whitegold, What utter tosh!!! |
you have to laugh though 
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Ridha, When are you planning on booking your holiday? I'm off to Borovets 12th-19th this month so i'll post a trip report when I get back.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Ridha, I went to Geilo in Norway for New Year 3 years ago. It's neither a large or challenging resort but for beginners it was good. Not too many slopes where poling was necessary. The slopes were only open from 9.30 to 3.30 due to daylight hours but I think there there were a couiple of evenings of floodlit skiing too. Eating out and particularly any alcohol is particularly expensive.
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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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Swedish Lapland has probably the best skiing. But I must talk in favour of my own home country, Finland. In any case, end-Feb/March it should not be too cold anywhere in Lapland. The coldest month is Jan-Feb, and in the second half of March you are sure to have good snow and daylight for 12 hours which is not the case in January.
Check Are in Sweden, Yllas, Ruka and Pyha in Finland.
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| Quote: |
France, Switzerland, USA, Canada, Austria and Japan are the world's top ski countries.
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Chile
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You know it makes sense.
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demos, thx for the info. have u been skiing in france/austria? just wondering how u wd compare late feb in finland to those in terms of cold on a scale of 1 to 10 (since my tolerance for cold is wimpier than most people's haha.)
i think march may be a bit late for us so what's the latest in feb i can go and not be too cold and or in the dark?
is 'Are' good for downhill skiing?
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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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I don't think Japna can beat Italy as a skiing attraction, just based on the strength of Dolomites alone and its 500km+ fully linked Sella Ronda. Where else on earth one can ski a 40 km loop in one day and then do it in opposit direction the next day?
I haven't been to Japan yet but I am going to take a look at Niseko in March. Japanese resorts do not appear to able to match in sizes to those in the Alps and many skiing holidays are sold for less than a week long.
From experience resorts in Sweden and Norway are seldom catered for the international market, much like many in Switzerland and Austria too. Thus they are generally smaller so that the local and regional skiers can go there to ski weekends and public holidays. The sizes are not big enough to attract international skiers but they are less commercialised and so people are usually friendlier. All the resorts, no matter how small, can be enjoyable if there is plenty snow but a large resort with a high altitude access can also provide plenty of runs at times when snow is hard to come by. For this reason I wouldn't have thought the countries suggested by the OP would be the first choice to spend a skiing holiday. This is based on my experience to Are, Oppdah, Geilo and Hemsedal. The last two have 28 and 42 km of piste. The biggest Sweden Are has 70km piste.
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Poster: A snowHead
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| Ridha wrote: |
| Hi guys i'm tentatively looking at these places for my ski trip this year and wondering whether to go for one of them, or stick with the old faithfuls of france, italy, switzerland. the reason that i wd prefer the former is that i always prefer to go somewhere new, and i have been to the latter 3 countries |
If you want quality skiing, stick to the old faithfuls. I very much doubt you or I have seen everything they have to offer. There must be dozens of resorts you haven't even visited. The only reason to consider places like Bulgaria is low cost.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| Ridha wrote: |
levart, i forgot to include austria in my post but actually we did go to austria last year so it's in my list (unfortunately) of a guaranteed good hol but have already been there done that.
Whitegold, u say Norway has the best skiing from my list, but is that cross-country or downhill. on last minute.com the resort info on geilo is surprisingly honest in that instead of the usual estate agents speil it essentially says it is only good for cross-country. are there anmy particular resorts on norway u wd recommend for downhill? |
Ridha -- See above. Hemsedal has some solid downhill skiing. Are has, too.
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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 suppose the choice of the resorts is related to the skier's ability to use it.
If a skier can go anywhere is a 400km domain he/she probably wouldn't mind get whacked 40+ Euro/day for a ski pass and would like to see the 500Km or 600km piste resorts that have not been visited.
On the other hand a newcomer or beginner who spend most time skiing a couple of green and blue slopes and go with an instructor in most days will not benefit from paying a ski pass to cover the full 400km domain. He/she is better off just paying the section of the resort he/she is using and so small Scandinavian resorts will suddenly have a broader appeal.
Instead of competing for space, stuck at traffic jams in the transfers, spend a significant amount of time in the queues and being treated as in a factory product line then it is a lot more civilised to go to a quiet Scandinavia resort even at peak time during school holidays. Scandinavians place a much higher priority on family needs and can be very enjoyable if the cold months are avoided, say Dec and Jan. A small resort can be an advantage if one wants to keep an eye on one's children starting skiing.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Went to Sweden last year - in feb half term - to Vemdalen. Small resort but connected by ski bus to others and it had plenty of blues/reds/few blacks itself. It was mercifully quiet and even though cold - up to -20 - we were fine (and that was unusual apparently).
The runs were open approx 9-4 but there was night skiing twice a week and it was great fun - just felt different and worth trying once?
It wasn't expensive - I think it is unfairly compared to Norway which is.
The reps suggested Are as an alternative, bigger and more challenging resort. I'm sure world ski championships or something similar were there last year so must decent?
Think if you are fortunate enough to be able to ski every year then it is worth giving a Scandinavian resort a go just for the experience - really did have a special winter wonderland almost ethereal like feel and everyone was so polite and friendly - made a nice change from the chaos of lift queues in Europe. And flights/airports etc much less hassle.
I wouldnt say it was flat- just didnt have the height of other mountains - but if you arent a black junkie then not an issue.
Apres ski non existent in Vemdalen but plenty in Are. We had s/c and it was fine - not sure how you define cheap but out of school hols especially it seems to be and the supermarket food not pricey.
We have just come back from a mad week in the Dolomites and you just cannot compare that to a Scandinavian experience - but I know many people want that buzz of a busy resort.
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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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| Whitegold wrote: |
France, Switzerland, USA, Canada, Austria and Japan are the world's top ski countries.
They generally have the best slopes, the best snow and the best sun.
Anything outside these big 6 will be secondrate........ |
So Chile and the Andes are a waste of time then. And forget heli skiing in New Zealand.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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i went to yllas in finland in 05, to be honest i really didnt think the snow would be good, but there was over 1.5m base and no queues at all snowed every day, lift pass cheap as chips and the booze well i missed a couple of days riding due to drinking till 6 am
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Ridha, I think it can still be annoyingly cold in the Nordics in end of February. Variations are huge, so it's hard to put it on scale. However, up on the hills the temperature is several degrees warmer than down in the plains where the official figures are always measured, so do not be surprised if what seems -10 officially is only -5 up on the pistes. Or what could be -25 is actually -10... This could still be very cold by your standards.
As for the light, on the second half of February, the sun rises around 8am and sets around 5pm. However, the light does not disappear very quickly. The daylight lengthens there those days by almost 10 minutes a day...
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Ridha, as already recommended by several people, Are and Hemsedal are both great if you're after something a bit different.
The key for both is to go at the right time - early March to mid April. Are in particular doesn't open the main upper ski zone until the end of Feb - the last couple of years i think the upper mountain has opened on the last weekend of February. If you can't delay your trip to start til then then i wouldn't bother with Are
If you can, Are is probably better for you. There's some serious tough piste skiing in the upper zone, with a 900m vertical - it's quite wild up top and descents can be pretty epic. There's also a lot of cruisy terrain on greens and blues below the tree line and you can travel to multiple bases. Some great pisteside eateries too. The town is good too, lots of activities, plenty of shops. Booze no more than London prices. Very high standards of equipment and service. On the downside, a lot of drag lifts which get tiring on the legs, and it seems to have hard and fast conditions a lot more than the norm.
Hemsedal is also good, but just one mountain - you can see the whole area from some points - and about half the piste miles of Are. On the other hand the mountain is a lot of fun - fast chairs, 2 great terrain parks and in-bounds off piste areas. The nightlife is kicking 2 nights a week (like Are full of beautiful people, and even friendlier) but then it becomes a totally dead hick-truck-stop style town the rest of the week. Very expensive - circa 30% over Are, but there is a decent supermarket there.
Neilson do good packages to Are. Hemsedal you might be better off going DIY, hiring a car, booking accom line via skistar.com, and spending a day or two in Geilo.
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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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Hi Ridha,
We are in Bansko, Bulgaria where all the lifts are brand new and where we have great snow at the moment. I'll admit that the resort is not your usual alpine village but it does have a UNESCO protected olt town at it's centre which is full of cobbled streets and courtyards. We like it because it's so different!
The apres-ski is very affordable here which is a big draw, but the pistes are also kept in great condition and we have great off-piste that doesn't get tracked out because it is more of an intermediate resort.
Have a look at our site www.christopherchalets.co.uk or email us at rozov@christopherchalets.co.uk if you would like any more info.
Hope you have a great holiday when you decide on your location!
Victoria
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I'm off to Himos in Finland at the end of February, so I'm happy to report back my findings. The resort is 3 hrs drive North of Helsinki, so it's very much in the south of Finland, as opposed to say Kuusamo that is in Finnish Lapland. You can get a feel for the resort here www.himos.fi
I'm a newbie when it comes to skiing so I'll really not have much to compare with, but I'm more than happy to let people know about the facilities, atmos, friendliness of people and generally how good/bad it was
One of the other ski resorts that's in Sweden is Sälen (http://www.salen.se/start_SE.asp) which is used by a lot of the locals as it's a lot closer to Stockholm than say Åre
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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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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victoriac,
Congratulations on your Chalet it looks fantastic on the website. I hadn't heard of it before despite 8 visits to Bansko in the last 2 years. Do you ever have any room in your off piste guiding trips ?
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Hi Dave,
Thanks for those kind words!!!
Depending on conditions and number of guests etc Marty does do off-piste guiding for people who aren't staying with us, we're friendly like that!
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You know it makes sense.
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Hi Victoria, great idea wrong place. The Bulagarians are strangling the old goose that pops out the golden egg and it's gasping already. Due to corruption and practically zero planning control development has run riot, no way will the 70k mountain ever cope. Another gondola will only shift the problem up the hill. Russian controlled Ulen have a virtual monoply on the mountain and are cranking up the prices big time. There is a 'grap their money' culture which is a throw back to communism. The town infrastructure is at busting point. Oh, and the Greenies will stop any more trees being ripped up. The Bulg. Government are in the crap with the other EU members already for failing to deal with high level corruption and organised crime. It wont risk rocking the boat any further. Many say that 5 yrs will sort the place out, it'll be totally on it's back bottom in 5 yrs and might recover by 15 yrs. Sorry, but this is the reality. Bulgaria has some major issues to address and it's gonig to take a long time.
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