 Poster: A snowHead
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Hey guys
Myself and a few friends are thinking of a cheeky trip in December, maybe the second weekend which is 13th-14th. We'd fly out of London on Friday afternoon, ski all day Saturday and Sunday, and head back Sunday evening. I've never been this early in the season....can anyone suggest a good strategy for ensuring snow and a reasonably short distance from airport?
At the moment I'm thinking of getting flights to Geneva and not booking a hotel until nearer the time, to go where the snow is, probably Chamonix if there's any there, since it's so close to the airport. Does anyone else have suggestions for reasonably snow-sure resorts (for December) close to an airport?
Thanks
Mark
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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tronic, Glacier -> Val d'Isere/Tignes - Les2Alpes - Cervinia
Much though I'd like to be able to - and although Chamonix opened that weekend last season - it's hard to guarantee...
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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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Around that date there should be plenty of accommodation available in many places. Two or three years ago I had a cracking weekend in Cham around 15 Dec (knee-deep pow), but waiting until the last moment gives you a lot more chance of heading where the snow is, especially if you rent a car. Get the flight times right and driving an extra hour won't matter too much if the snow is much better.
Mid Dec may be a better bet in Austria, though? Flying Ryanair to Friedrichshafen may give you the option of St Anton and a few Swiss resorts.
...or wait until closer to the date and see in which areas there's early snow, so you can fly close to somewhere where there's a decent base. the way the oil price is going the last few weeks, tickets may be cheaper!
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tronic, welcome to snowheads.
Definitely the best idea is to leave hotel booking for nearer the time, so you can see if any resorts nearby already have a reasonable base. By then there will also be a long thread on snowheads discussing medium range forecasts (warning: these are rarely accurate, but fun to watch!), which might give you further ideas 
Probably a good idea to look into which resorts you can feasibly get to as well - if you're relying on public transport then it might be a bit early to for a full 'winter service'.
As David Murdoch says, go high and glacial. I'd add Val Thorens to the list too.
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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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tronic, welcome to 
Geneva is a good option, and others have covered the resorts for there.
For your criteria of snow-sure near any airport, you could add Salzburg to your list, Ryanair do some nicely timed flights to maximise a weekend skiing from there. Kaprun, Obertauern, Schladming are all likely to be open then and all about an hour from the airport. Hintertux is about 2.5 hours from Salzbug with guaranteed skiing on the glacier.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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tronic, stansted - turin, cab to Cervinia? Ryanair flights worked well last year, and the resort is snow-sure...
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Hey guys
Thanks for your suggestions...you sure are friendly to a noob 
At the moment I'm thinking about booking some flights to Friedrichshafen - they're about £60 each, Friday to Monday, and there are loads of decent resorts in Austria and Switz within 2 hours driving (and I'm heading to France later in the season)...sounds reasonable?
Mark
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tronic, very reasonable....
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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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Have a look at this - it's basic info on our new short breaks operation in Les Coches which is starting that week. New website to be launched soon with better info - but this give you the general idea for now.
http://www.mountainsunltd.com/guests/shortbreaks.htm
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Joanne Mountainsun, Nice one. Might that stretch to a four night option? Say Thursday night to Sunday?
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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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We're now thinking of heading for our trip on the weekend before Christmas - leaving on 19th December until the 22nd - Zurich seems to offer some reasonably priced flights at the moment. Where do you guys recommend for resorts with a few hours' drive of there please?
Thanks
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