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best place for easter skiing

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
any advice please on the best place to head for good snow conditions at easter, we're probably looking at 4th april for the week.

we need green and blue runs for the kids, and some reds for us.
and ideally we'd like ski-in ski-out as i hate walking about in ski boots, whilst carrying the kids ski's too.
don't mind if it's pretty or not as we're there to ski, and family friendly (kids are only 4 and 6) is more important than night life.

i have been thinking about tignes, but wondering where else you would suggest for guarenteed snow conditions.

many thanks for you thoughts
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
blueberry, Oberlech would be a good choice. That region has one of the best, if not the best, snow records in the Alps. It can be expensive to get there, but cheaper than most French resorts once there. This website is good www.oberlech.com for finding rooms. Would highly recommend Hotel Montana but the Cresta Sporthotel or Hotel Igla/Ilga are cheaper alternatives - all of which are directly on the piste, right beside ski school meeting point, chairlift and cable car seconds away and at the start of the toboggan run down to Lech. Skiing is nice and cruisy and the vast majority of uplift is fast and heated seats, so no button tows or tbars for your kids. This year there was over 4m of snow in April at the top station, so whilst not guaranteed I reckon you would get enough snow - which they top up regularly if snow is dwindling a bit with the plentiful snow cannons. Took my 3 there this year and was without doubt the best ski holiday they've had. They enjoyed the toboggan run as much as the skiing. Also, your kids can use the creche free of charge until 6.30 (?) if you stay in one of the Oberlech hotels
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Lech is great and usually has good snow at easter and beyond, personnaly I prefer to stay in Lech proper as there is more nightlife but oberlech does look nice and even though its Austria's most "exclusive" resort its cheaper and better value than France, with better service and nicer people.
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blueberry, avoid France at that time of year. Their resorts are exposed to the warm westerly air flow and so can be prone to the freeze/thaw ice/slush malaise politely termed 'spring snow'

Pick somewhere central/east in the Alps, eastern Switzerland or western Austria would be ideal. Oberlech, as others have said, probably perfect.
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thanks for all the replies.
i haven't really considered anywhere other than france really, but oberlech does sound idea. i shall look into it further......

the other place i have just come across looking through some old posts here is sierre chavaliere, which is high-ish, and has all north facing slopes less of the snow melting problem, but again is in france and i guess with those warm westerly winds still....???
spring slush doesn't sound too great.

i'll keep on investigating further.
thanks guys
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blueberry, Serre Chevalier at that time of year might require taking the lift down to the station. The valley floor isnt particularly high up. However the majority of the ski holds it snow pretty well.

A very good resort though.
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Quote:

sierre chavaliere, which is high-ish, and has all north facing slopes

Say what? Confused Whoever told you that blueberry? No way all north-facing.
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
the ice perv, blueberry, Briancon is definatly not north face and does suffer because of it. However Briancon doesn't have a large proportion of the pistes.

You'll have some more Serre Che regulars and appartment owners on here soon!
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re Serre Che, i don't know if they are all north facing.
the inghams brochures, and some website (i think it was a british skischool there) said they were.

thinking about oberlech too, as i am considering all options at present - how do you get there??? am i right in thinking you get to lech, then get a cable car to oberlech?

it does sound lovely having a car free village, but i can envisage a nightmare trying to get there.
picture: 2 adults carrying 4 suitcases, 4 handluggage bags, 2 kids who are asleep, falling over in the snow or trying to run off and us not having any spare hands to hold them.

we have only travelled with a TO before, but are considering going independently this time. but this is one place that sounds a bit more tricky to get too, especially not speaking any german. am i making it sound harder than it really is? do most people there speak english ok?
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blueberry wrote:
re Serre Che, i don't know if they are all north facing.
the inghams brochures, and some website (i think it was a british skischool there) said they were.

thinking about oberlech too, as i am considering all options at present - how do you get there??? am i right in thinking you get to lech, then get a cable car to oberlech?

it does sound lovely having a car free village, but i can envisage a nightmare trying to get there.
picture: 2 adults carrying 4 suitcases, 4 handluggage bags, 2 kids who are asleep, falling over in the snow or trying to run off and us not having any spare hands to hold them.

we have only travelled with a TO before, but are considering going independently this time. but this is one place that sounds a bit more tricky to get too, especially not speaking any german. am i making it sound harder than it really is? do most people there speak english ok?


You've missed the hidden secret - yes you go up in a bubble but don't worry about the luggage - it'll get whisked away from you and delivered to your hotel via the underground 'goods' railway. Take on hand-luggage bag with you and the kids Laughing and let the rest get delivered.

There are other resorts good for kids - other people have recommended obergurgl (do a search) and I reckon Valmorel would be good - not sure how snow sure either of those resorts are. Alpe d'huez would I reckon be pretty good as well PROVIDED that you get a hotel right on 'front de neige', otherwise it would be a complete PITA.
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bertie bassett wrote:
There are other resorts good for kids - other people have recommended obergurgl (do a search) and I reckon Valmorel would be good - not sure how snow sure either of those resorts are. Alpe d'huez would I reckon be pretty good as well PROVIDED that you get a hotel right on 'front de neige', otherwise it would be a complete PITA.

Arc 1950 might be suitable. Small village with lots of family activities, traffic free (and very easy access from the underground car park beneath the resort), high enough to help with snow later in the season, good ski school, lots of easy slopes as well as lots of tough slopes for mixed groups.
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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.
blueberry, Innsbruck is best airport in terms of closeness - c. 1.20 hours away. I would get a taxi using www.innsbruck-taxi.com as the local taxi companies around Lech are more expensive. You can obviously hire a car if you want, but you probably would not use it for the whole week, would need snow chains potentially etc... You can get a train to Langen am Arlberg from Innsbruck but it would involve a lot of cafuffle with the kids etc, so taxi probably best. If you book with say Inghams, they do offer coach transfers to Lech if doing flight only but it works out about the same as private taxi, and the taxi is a hell of a lot less hassle. Other alternative could be Zurich or Friedrichshafen, both of which are probably 2 hours away. Innsbruck is definitely quickest though, plus you get to experience the landing approach to Innsbruck - amazing.

Once you arrive at the cable car in Lech, you luggage is whisked away from you and taken up directly to your hotel room, and skis etc are desposited in hotel ski room - absolutely fantastic and extremely efficient. All that you need is to remember to take your kids up in the cable car with you. Seriously though, the service is fantastic.

English is widely spoken and will speak it without hesitation. I do speak reasonable German and do try to converse in German but they usually revert to English as its easier (probably as my German in reality is ropey). Also they do not make you feel guilty about not speaking the lingo - take note Frenchies.

From personal experince Oberlech is a magical place to take the kids. As you arrive in the cable car, there is a tiny chapel, all lit up with candles etc, below you all surrounded by snow. Our kids wanted to come back again after only being there about an hour, due to the sledge run, which is open till 10 at night and great fun.

If my finances were better this year I would have absolutely no hesitation in going back, but as I am a mortgage and commercial loan adviser my income has taken a severe nosedive. We are going to Stuben instead which is just along the road from Zurs, but is a much cheaper base. Probably not that practical for the ages of your kids though.

I have done independent travelling pretty much since the kids came along and would not go back to package holidays, where possible. Independent offers you much more flexibility, more options and usually cheaper. Last package we did was to Belle Plagne and the travelling was total disaster - waited 1 hour at Lyon for luggage to appear, then 2 hours in carpark waiting for further flight, 4 hours journey to BP, dropped off at inderground tunnel at midnight and had to walk about quarter mile to get to reception in tunnel (with no bleeding oxygen), carting all the luggage for us and the 3 kids (all of whom have own skis etc). Never again!

Hope this helps anyway. Best to contact hotels direct for offers and they usually get back to you very quickly and in English.
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 So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
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when do the flight operators release flight for easter?
i've looked on easyjet, but they were only booking up to the end of march
are they stacks more expensive over easter?
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
Ejet just released Easter for liverpool and Manchester
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Where are you flying from?
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
boabski wrote:
Where are you flying from?


either east midlands, birmingham or any london generally.
i'll keep watching for the flights
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Quote:

I reckon Valmorel would be good -

I don't think I'd go for Valmorel that late in the season. Oberlech sounds great, though I'm very dubious about its being cheaper than anywhere in France.... wink
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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?
Ryanair go to Friedrichshafen from Stanstead, and think they have decent flight times going out. Friedrichshafen is a tiny but efficient airport. And pam w, it is cheaper once there - granted getting there can be more expensive. eg ski school for kids €165 for 5 hours a day, 6 days. Belle Plagne ESF €180 3 hours a day for 6 days. Beer in most restaurants €4 in and around Lech, €5 in France. Gulaschsuppe €4-6 will fill you up until dinner. We spent on average €50-60 for lunch in France (3 years ago) and about €40-50 in and around Oberlech this year for 5 of us. Keine Scheisse NehNeh
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blueberry,
Re Serre Che
I have been there quite a lot at Easter.

No resort with reasonably extensive skiing that I know of has all its slopes facing in one direction. Serre Che has a lot of north facing slopes and quite a few that face East. Very few face south and no pistes that I can think of face west.

The snow has varied between decent and very good when I have been at Easter. As the day progresses in warm weather the areas with good skiing become smaller and the runs to resort will invariably be soft after midday in April unless there is a very cold snap and no sun. They are generally skiable if you like that type of thing though.

We have always enjoyed it with the family.I have been to Oberlech as well and enjoyed it a lot though it is pricier than Serre Che.
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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[quote="T Bar"]blueberry,

The snow has varied between decent and very good when I have been at Easter. As the day progresses in warm weather the areas with good skiing become smaller and the runs to resort will invariably be soft after midday in April unless there is a very cold snap and no sun. They are generally skiable if you like that type of thing though.

thanks
are they still some skiable blue and green runs, as well as reds/blacks up top? can you still ski back to the village?
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blueberry,

There are gentle runs at altitude, no probs the most reliable is at Monetier, in very warm weather it almost always remains good. There are very good gentle runsat Grande Alpe above Chantemerle which are usually good as well.

There has always been skiing open to village level at Villeneuve, Monetier and Chantemerle though not Briancon at Easter. The conditions though would usually make it adviseable for more nervous skiers to get the lift down after midday as the snow can get quite soft. The main village run to Chantemerle is rarely easy at any time.
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