 Poster: A snowHead
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hi there, we (myself and the mrs) have experience in canada but have never done the alps before,(in winter) however due to le crunch we are gonna give it ago, however having never been, all you hear is nightmare stories, queues, crammed pistes etc. we are not massive party animals and are just after a quiet peacefull week on the slopes, anybody got ideas of places that fit said description? small quaint type of thing would be great! ohhh and cheap as chips please!!!!!hopefully not asking to much and we are prob worrying over nothing, but trying to find independant advice is not easy, also what companies have the best reputation for skiing on a tight budget? ive found lots online but knowing if they are cowboys is not easy(this is after a summer alpine experience biking with a company who have all the 'elements' of the 'alps', those in the know will know exactly who i am talking about! we are after pref catered in the first week of feb, even a gentle poke in the right direction would be mmuch appreciated!
thankyou
ed
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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edthegammon, Welcome to snowHeads. I usually ski in Canada, and will do this season as well as France. I can;t recommned anywhere in the Alps as I tend to go to the same place. All I can say is avoid half term like the plague (you'll be fine early feb), try and get Sunday - Sunday to avoid long queues on the alpine roads on saturday and try not to think about the lamentable exchange rate. You might find Canada is more affordable than you think!
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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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edthegammon, welcome to Snowheads.
The first week of February is a good week to go (though the previous couple of weeks would be even better, from the point of view of quiet pistes and cost). If you want quiet pistes you're really better going somewhere where the tour operators DON'T go. You don't say what standard of skiing you are after.
A company of which I have personal experience, and is spoken of highly by Snowheads as a rule, is Ski Olympic. They're not "bargain basement" but they are good quality, reliable and certainly not expensive. You can save costs, and give yourself more ski time, if you travel by them with coach (which won't take you any longer than a trip to Canada, and cost a lot less). I also found Snowcoach good - and cheaper. I did a last minute holiday with SkiWorld once - very cheap, basic catered chalet but good value.
There are just hundreds of beautiful, quiet and unspoilt places in the Alps. I personally don't know the Austrian resorts well, having only skied there twice, but there are plenty of Snowheads who know them, and the Swiss resorts, well to give you some advice.
You'll have a great holiday and may not bother to go back to Canada again. 
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edthegammon, After several years of skiing in the US, I switched back to France when the family arrived. Yes it can be very busy at half-term but I think the horror stories belong to a long time ago.
If you're looking for a quiet evening, try some of the smaller satellite resorts. Eg Peisey-Vallandry is a collection of small villages with little nightlife but links easily to Les Arcs. Likewise La Tania in 3V
Can't really help with catered as always go the DIY route - we have used Ski Beat several times (in La Tania) and they were fine, but haven't been for 4 years with them
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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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edthegammon, Welcome to SnowHeads  I've sent you a pm
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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edthegammon, welcome to s
Although Canada is a place I would love to snowboard, France really does it for me because it's easy to get to, everyone's pretty much good to get on with (even with basic Franglais) and the areas are vast.
If you're after low-key then try Les Gets in the portes Du Soleil area. The LG area (150Km) is really extensive with loads of different grades of runs and because it's at one end of the PDS, it's quiet and seems to have more French than any other resort i've been to. Good restraunts, good access tot he slopes and prety cheap by European standards. Plus, it's only an our by coach from Geneva.
I went with a company called Alpine Elements, but they have a chequered history. They were okay, but not the best. the big TOs all seem to go to LG anyway. Just check on something lke ifyouski.com or igluski.com.
If you want amazing service then an alternative company (but for Val d'Isere) is www.yseski.com. We wewre with them last week and they were trully brilliant. We went pre-season so got a really cheap deal but even in peak times the prices are good and the food is worth the money alone - we had a great Swedish chef who worked in a Michelin-starred place before and his cooking was amazing. Great service and really good accomodation.
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advice for alpine virgins please!
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Become a chalet girl, you won't be one for long!
The writer accepts no liability for the long held notion that chalet girls are of easy virtue and is merely reflecting an often offered, but not necessarily factually correct, assumption on their willingness or otherwise to indulge in activites of such nature.
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seems to have more French than any other resort i've been to.
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 Well I haven't been there for a while, but I recall lots of English voices in all the restaurants. It's even got it's own English ski school! Nice place, though.
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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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edthegammon, Rocketski seem to be a pretty good choice both from the POV of cheap, and from going to some of the less well-known resorts.
If you are looking in Feb (evEN 1st week), probably best to avoid France (which is rarely the cheapest anyhow).
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I would avoid France if price is a big factor. It is the most expensive of all the Alpine countries. Have a look at a small Austrian resort like Ellmau, Scheffau or Westendorf.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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I'm not sure it's sensible to generalize about the resort prices of entire countries.
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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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I'm not sure it's sensible to generalize about the resort prices of entire countries.
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I'm not sure either. There are a good many factors - and if the OP is looking for a catered chalet his choice outside France will be limited. There could well be some good last minute offers, especially if he were able to travel in January rather than February. Staying in a B & B or a hotel, where every single cup of coffee or beer is at restaurant/bar prices can push the price up astronomically.
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I think La Thuile in Italy probably ticks most of the boxes, although it isn't a desperately picturesque town. Big ski area, quiet pistes, no real queues outside of school hols. A few nice bars and lots of decent eating.
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You know it makes sense.
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edthegammon, there's a thread about Chamrousse somewhere, that might fit your bill and very close to chambery airport. DIY is the way to go really. alternatively you could try to contact snowheads Scubaski by PMing them. they run a small catered operation here, and the week you're thinking about should be quiet. (Of course LDA is neither picturesque not small, but neither is it a purpose built monstrosity). The horror stories are mostly old hat, but this year is likely to be a reversion because most of europe are having their half term hols at the same time.
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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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edthegammon, welcome to snowHeads
You haven't said much about what type of skiing you would like, but I would suggest getting yourself a cheap flight to Salzburg, annd looking at one of the resorts in Ski Amade. DIY can often work out much cheaper than going with a tour op, and if you email the resort tourist office, they will send you a list of available accommodation.
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Poster: A snowHead
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edthegammon, Go independant to VDA
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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 wrote: |
| edthegammon, Go independant to VDA |
VDA?
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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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Valle d'Aosta perhaps?
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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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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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If talking about cheapest things in Alps (not andora that is not in alps) never seen cheaper resort then Livigno in Italy.
Pretty small, but rocks!
Livigno is in tax free zone. 1 litre bottle of whiskey cost about 6 EUR. Meat roast in restaurant 7 EUR, etc.
Italians call it the little Tibet, because of location in dead end high alpine walley with customs on exit of walley.
www.livigno.eu
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Livigno is a lovely place, very picturesque, and if you get a chalet at the edge of the town, it's quiet. It seems to have a bit of a reputation for being downmarket, but I think this is probably due to the fact that it's cheap because of its tax free status, so a bit of snobbery kicks in.
Other than Livigno, I've mostly been to large French resorts, e.g. Tignes, Alpe d'Huez, Les Deux Alpes etc, which I've loved, but I find Livigno a bit more "alpine".
It's not a massive area, but it has a lot of wide open cruisy type runs and there is more challenging stuff if you want to search it out, including some good tree skiing and a great park.
It's all over 1800m too, so tends to have good snow 
I've never had a bad holiday in Europe, and I've been a lot of places, so don't fret, Europe is good!
Here are a couple of photos from my last holiday there
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Yes, Livigno ski area is from 1800-3000 m. Snow sure resort and a lot of sun in the spring.
Have been twice - both times at the end of march 
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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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p.s. and there is Bormio with natural thermal baths in rocks near Livigno.
Possible to use the same cheap skipas..
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Livigno is my least favourite resort that I have been to, if you want Italy the Sella Ronda is beautiful! Unless you are a beginner where the nursery slopes are behind nearly every hotel the area is disjointed. The town as you can see from the picture above is about 4km long and about 5 buildings deep. Getting anywhere to or from the central area will need a bus or taxi, that said the taxis are cheap.
If you want to have a good impression of european skiing avoid Livigno! If you want to have a skinful at night it may be a good place. Lots of boarders from memory!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Having been to Livigno twice now, it can't understand where its negative reputation comes from.
To call the area disjointed I think is misleading. Both sides of the valley can be skiied, and they are well linked within each side. If you want to change the side of the valley you're skiing on, there is a pole of about 5 minutes across the valley floor, or a short free bus ride, but there is a good amount of skiing on each side, and you can ski to and from the door of most of the accomodation.
There are regular free buses and as Roy says, the taxis are cheap, but there's not really much need to travel if you don't want as there are plenty of bars and restaurants all along the town.
If anything, I found it to have fewer snowboarders than most places I've been, tends to be mostly families skiing, but I don't think that's really relevant anyway, we're all friends nowadays!
I enjoyed Livigno a lot more than Gran Valira in Andorra, which is probably the next best budget option.
I think it fits the bill of being cheap, quaint, and not suffering from queues.
I'd also second Les Deux Alpes, great ski area and a nice enough town, but a little more expensive in my experience.
I suppose these things all come down to opinion and personal experience though 
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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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edthegammon, might be worth checking out Andermatt - especially as it may be developed out of recognition after the end of this season. Despite the old military barracks near the resort entrance, it has a lot of Alpine charm - prices were reasonable, but you'd better check for yourself. If you go by train (at least from the airport, if from the UK is too much) it's a lovely ride winding into the resort.
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FAQ
