 Poster: A snowHead
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before i start i am going to apologise for asking this as i know it has probably been asked a million times before. i have looked around and am still struggling to fine a suitable resort. basically what i am looking for is a resort next jan/feb that is going to have good snow ski/ski out and relatively uncrowded slopes they for me are the most important things. if it also has a few bars in the resort for somewhere to go for a drink after skiing that would be a bonus. i went to fernie last year and there isnt even a pub which got a bit tiresome after 10days. can anyone recommend somewhere? dont care if its europe , usa, canada?
cheers
ste
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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anywhere really 
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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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We always go to Lech in mid January - just after Christmas and before 'high season' - reasonably quiet.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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sabraham,
Alot of resorts should fit your requirements. For best snow go high.
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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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hi johnboy, can you name some for me so i can take a look?
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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How about Grindelwald?
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heard it gets very busy at grindelwald so not really suited to what im after, thanks anyway
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Hotel, catered chalet, self-catering? Large resort, small resort? Package tour or DIY holiday?
Lots of resorts are very quiet in January, with few if any queues for lifts and very uncrowded pistes although enough people to have plenty of apres-ski atmosphere. I've skied in Les Arcs a lot in January and it's always quiet, with just a few short queues at one or two lift bottlenecks which can be easily avoided if you want. February gets busier, especially from the end of the first week when school holidays begin to deliver a lot of families into the resorts.
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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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sabraham, asking for a resort that it quiet in "Jan/feb" is like asking "which quaint Cornish seaside resort is best for a quite holiday in Aug/sept. The answer is most of them in September, and none of them in August. By far the most important factor, if you want quiet, is when you go. Look for low season (think early to late January) then most places are bearable. You'll need to be a lot more specific about the sort is skiing you're for, as rob@rar, suggests. There are thousands of resorts - not much point just naming a few at random. OK, I'll name one at random. Les Contamines.  Don't go anywhere that you find in lots of tour operators brochures.
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the thing about going early jan is there might not be any snow. half board would be preferable but if its in canda or usa then self catering. i dont care about the size of the resort as long as there are enough runs to keep me happy for a week but a package deal would be easier than booking everything myself. im at intermidiate level so reds runs are fine. i mean if i went somewhere like three valleys in france i know that will be busier than say le thuile in italy so not every resort is going to be like a cornish seaside in august now is it. fernie for example was not half as bad as say somewhere like soldeu in andorra so i dont quite believe that every resort is busy in jan/feb
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Any resort that I've been to outside of Feb half term has been what I'd call quiet. Even Les Gets at Easter this year had miles of sparsely populated pistes and not a lift queue of more than a couple of minutes in the resort centre. sabraham, you really have limitless choice IMV.
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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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| Quote: |
i dont quite believe that every resort is busy in jan/feb
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 Maybe I didn't explain myself very clearly. Here goes again. Almost all ski resorts are busy during peak holiday, just like all quaint Cornish resorts. Almost all of them are much quieter outside these times, as are Cornish resorts. OK?
Your "Jan/Feb" bracket includes the very lowest and the very highest weeks of the season; it's impossible to generalise across a two month period.
Mid to late January will probably give you the best combination of snow likelihood and keen prices. Last year, the snow in mid January, in the French Alps at any rate, was heaps better than it was in mid February. Wait for a last minute deal if you want to do a package; keep your options open till a couple of weeks before. If you want to book up in advance (which I wouldn't) I did make a suggestion of Les Contamines. There's a fair bit about it on Snowheads and it should suit you well.
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You know it makes sense.
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This a wind-up....? 
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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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| sabraham wrote: |
| the thing about going early jan is there might not be any snow. |
Maybe, but extremely unlikely. I've skied a lot in January and have never had "no snow". Sometimes it's been poor, sometimes awesome, but mostly at least OK or better. And I've never been in a resort that has been busy in January, not even the mega French resorts like the Trois Vallees.
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Poster: A snowHead
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I always go to les arcs 2000 which is high up and you can go higher and the snow is great hence the level of the resort,bars you have around 7 bars to chosse from (if you go in to village 1950 as well, and its really nice if you wanna send a post card to your mum!!),Busy, well alot of places are,but when you get out there in the mountain its all cool!!!! Dude you chosse where you wanna go.www.skiparadi.co.uk
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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JT,
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This a wind-up....?
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If it is then we need the 3 billy goats gruff to kill a mega Troll 
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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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dont know why people think this is a wind up, i was only asking for advice
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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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sabraham, me also.
Could I suggest La R...............
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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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sabraham, because the question is too vague.
Where will have snow in January/February .............. er, everywhere, usually.
Where won't be crowded .................. everywhere except during school holidays, at which point nowhere
Ski in/ski out ............... most likely in purpose-built resorts, of which there are many
Some bars/restaurants ............ eveywhere (except Fernie, it would appear)
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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sabraham, There's always snow in the Arlberg in January and it is fairly quiet compared with February. Frankly. as other people have said, your question is too vague. Try reading some of the 'write ups' that Snowheads have produced (on various resorts) or do a little internet research to narrow down your choices.
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i cant believe how snotty some people are, i thought a forum was a place you could come and ask people for genuine advice instead of getting sarcastic remarks. all i wanted was a few pointers and asking for a snow-sure uncrowded resort isnt such a bad thing to ask now is it. dont know why everything is basically taking the p**s. i have done a search on here and i have read a lot of things on the internet and in brochures but im no expert so thats why i wanted some advice from you guys as i have only ever been to 3 places. they should give you a warning something like 'post on here and people will happily take the p**s'
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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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sabraham,
Obergurgl fits the description you have given. Has enough red runs for a weeks intermidiate level skiing. Is in a village at the end of a valley with only so many beds so tends to be quieter than other resorts. Although not strictly ski in / ski out most places are a few foot-steeps from the ski lifts so it's almost ski in / ski out in a village as opposed to purpose built eyesores. Plenty of pubs / bars for mild apres ski.
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thank you DB, thats very helpful 
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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sabraham, yup, people forget how little knowledge they had when they started out, or a few months on snowheads under their belt stick with it until t summer boredom eases off.
The point about February being busy is a very valid one. We went to Tignes in the quietest week and still found it far busier than some smaller resorts in their busy weeks.
In general, avoiding the busy weeks is the key.
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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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sabraham, To their defence, if you give a date, say weekend starting January 17th it would be very easy to give you advice. First of all say when you want to go and life would be a lot easier to you. We go xmas, and never have had a problem with snow! The lads holiday in late January has always had good snow! I dont go during half term week, snow is always good but it is crowded!
Come back to us when you decide on a week and you will get a lot of advice, the question was so general not to be valid, (how long is a piece of string!!).
Welcome to 's
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sabraham, I think you've been given a fair bit of general advice as well as a few specific recommendations for resorts. To get further advice it would be helpful if you could start to narrow down your priorities and preferences, then you'll get a more positive response. There is a lot of collective wisdom on snowHeads, but the forum is not a personalised travel agency and will not be able to decide your holiday plans for you.
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You know it makes sense.
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sabraham, sorry if you felt got at, but so do we, if we take the trouble to write detailed replies which you apparently don't bother to read properly, and then make sarcastic remarks like
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so not every resort is going to be like a cornish seaside in august now is it.
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Yes, in the peak holiday times they will, which is exactly what I said. You need to help yourself here, you know. You could start by telling us if you are free to go skiing in mid to late January, or the very beginning of Feb. 'cos if you are, you'd be off your head to go in February.
Tell us where you've been already, how much tuition you've had (and whether you want more) and what you liked and didn't like, and how big your party is, then we can begin to provide more focussed responses.
This is really a very friendly site if people use it right. And there's a huge amount of info already on the kind of thing you're asking - as well as an excellent search facility.
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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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by next jan/feb i meant last week in jan or first week in feb totally avoiding half term, think half term is around the 15th next year (hoping ive got my dates right there). it does just seem as though some people on here automatically think you should know that resorts are quiet or busy etc etc straight away. i dont know a great deal about resorts and what they offer but i am trying to learn and i thought snowheads could help me with that. info from people like DB is exaclty what i am after, however comments from northantsred are just pointless dont see the point in having a go at someone when they are just really asking for a bit of help. i know people keep saying avoid half term and it should be ok but i went to andorra 3yrs back in mid jan and it was just crazy so thats the type of thing i was hoping to avoid. so far oburgurgl seems my best bet
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Poster: A snowHead
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sabraham, in my experience the first week of Feb is slightly busier than the last week of Jan, but not so much busier that it means you should avoid that week altogether. I've skied Les Arcs in the last week of January for the last four years and hardly ever had to queue; first week of Feb there are a few short queues. From the second week of Feb things get very busy as half-terms begin across Europe (I'm not sure how much this affects North America, but if you are specifically interested in that you could ask that question). In summary either the last week of Jan or the first week of Feb should be fine as foar as crowds are concerned.
I'm surprised that you found Andorra (Soldeu?) crazy in mid-January, however, as a beginner you couldn't ski all the mountain so the nursery slopes and lifts might have been much busier than the resort of the resort. As your skiing improves you will have a wider range of lifts and pistes that you can use, making it easier to avoid any bottlenecks.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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yes it was soldeu, i know it has a huge terrain to ski but we did go right up the mountain and it was so busy. apparantley the week before was even worse literally just thousands of people on the slopes which just made it a bit uncomfortable. fernie last year was great, could go on some runs without actually seeing anyone but there wasnt anything at all to do at night, seems they have hiked the prices up this year too so thought i would look for somewhere new. thanks for the advice
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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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Anywhere last week of January will relatively cheap, purpose built resorts give you ski in / ski out access, usually meams self catering, but the down side is a lack of character.
How many in your group?
SC or hotel?
What is the skiing level of your group?
What price range are your group interested in?
Nightlife? I know you said it is not the most important thing. Is nightlife referring to restaurants? nightclubs? bars? or something else?
Soldeu is a good resort for nightlife with a fair amount of skiing but not too challenging. Like rob@rar, I am suprised you found it busy in Jan! However that may have just been the nursery slopes! Other parts of the mountain may have been empty, no doubt this season you will see more of the mountain. How did you find Soldeu? I enjoyed it, maybe it is a place you should return to and see what other slopes it has to offer! In fact you could cover the milage and not have too much problems with the gradient of slope.
If you dont fancy going back to Andorra let us know the answers to the above questions and you will find that we are a friendly and helpful bunch!
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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sabraham, to supplement the huge amount of advice you can get on here I suggest you have a look at
www.skiclub.co.uk in the resort guide section
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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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its just myself and my gf so its not a lads holiday so in terms of nightlife just some half lively bars would suit me. if its europe then hotel but if its canada or usa then i think they are all sc anyway. in terms of level of skiing im more adventerous than my gf, she can get down the reds but gets nervous when its gets busy and then doesnt enjoy it. myself im happy on reds and will ski down comfortably. price range isnt really much of an issue although i dont want to be spending crazy money so up to £1700 i suppose. i did enjoy andorra as it was my first skiing trip but when i think back i just found that the queues and the pushing and shoving and also the lack of snow would really put me off going back, it does seem to have suffered the past few yrs in terms of decent snow. plus i like to try new places all the time, its a big world and want to see as much of it as possible. want to try skiing in japan and new zealand when i have the money but have to keep that on hold for now.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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| sabraham wrote: |
| i went to fernie last year and there isnt even a pub which got a bit tiresome after 10days. |
You didn't think to explore away from the hill in 10 days? That's kind of depressing... Kelseys should of been open until at least 10pm too and there's definately a bar there... plus 5-6 downtown.
Anyway, you'll always find that Europe is rammed all the time, and worse on school holidays/peak weeks, whereas Canadian resorts don't have the same week break culture, so will be pretty much empty monday-friday and busier weekends. I can't imagine anywhere reasonably sized in Europe will be as quiet as Fernie was weekdays.
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oh we did go to kelseys but it was always nearly empty, just a handful of people thats about it really. hmmmmmm thats got me thinking now, should i scrap europe altogether. are there any other resorts canda/usa that are similar to fernie in terms of uncrowded slopes, ski in/ski out?
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| sabraham wrote: |
| yes it was soldeu, i know it has a huge terrain to ski but we did go right up the mountain and it was so busy. apparantley the week before was even worse literally just thousands of people on the slopes which just made it a bit uncomfortable. fernie last year was great, could go on some runs without actually seeing anyone but there wasnt anything at all to do at night, seems they have hiked the prices up this year too so thought i would look for somewhere new. thanks for the advice |
You simply will not find any major resort in Europe which is anywhere near as quiet during the week as most Canadian resorts (possibly excepting Whistler!).
So you will have to adjust your expectations of what is "quiet" if you are going to ski in Europe. Even at the quietest time of year, you will almost always have other skiers in sight on almost every piste. And the busiest pistes will always seem crowded, although in the quieter resorts, that will usually only be a few runs.
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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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you'll always find that Europe is rammed all the time
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rubbish.
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you'll always find that Europe is rammed all the time
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seconded.
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FAQ
