Resort advice for a newbie

A snowHead

Hi all.

Just got back into skiing - my wife has just got into it for the first time!

I first went 25 years ago and loved it. But after three seasons and a new relationship with someone who didn't like skiing (my wife) a heck of a big gap....... But good things come to he who waits! And after two trips last year (Feb and Dec) my wife has announced that she LOVES it! So rather than moan about the wasted years, we're scraping together the pennies for another trip in March.

Which is where the request for advice comes in. Last two trips were with my Sister in law and her boyfriend, who owns a place in Switzerland. Great place, great skiing - but we drove in his truck and in March it is likely we'll be solo so we're looking for a resort to fly into with relatively easy transfers.

Can any of you snow-heads recommend a resort that fits most if not all of these criteria;

- good skiing for intermediates; good expectation of snow falls in March,
- can be reached from Bournemouth airport,
- ski-on ski-off from the hotel,
- relatively short transfer from the airport to the resort,
- probably not in Bulgaria (we're vegetarions with further diet limitations and don't want to starve!)

I await all and any advice eagerly and with baited breath! Sooo bitten by the bug again. And in the interim we're off to the Dry slope at Christchurch for a bit of practice and a chat about buying some boots. A trip to Filarinski near Pompey planned for next week!

TIA

A snowHead

If you don't want chocolate box alpine charm, Flaine seems to fit the bill, especially the short transfer and skiinskioutski, (I assume that you can fly from Bournemouth to GVA, but if not LHR can't be far from you).

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

t40ora, welcome to snowHeads

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Can't find a package to Flaine from Bournemouth, but Alpe D'Huez is accessible from there.

Any information from any of you Guys on this resort?

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Obertauern, good connection to Salzburg airport. If you'll go for it try Taxi & Bus Habersatter for transfer. Offcourse, you won't get anything cheap overthere. Cool

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I'm guessing you are early intermediates, in which case I would say that although there are plenty of blues, the reds in Obertauern really are reds, unlike the gentle slopes that are labelled red in many other resorts, so it's maybe not the best place to be making the psychological switch from blue to red. The runs are rather short which is either a good thing if you are not very fit or frustrating if you are. The grooming is poor, the worst I've ever come across, but the money they save on piste bashing has been invested in an outstanding lift system.

After all it is free

Obergurgl? don't know about flights, but everything else fits the bill. Transfer from Innsbruck is an hour roughly.

Looked at Obergurgl and as much as it looks nice, it's bloody expensive!

Flaine looks the ticket, but no packages gp there from Bournemouth. So I'm looking at flights and accommodation separately

Bought my wife some boots today..... poo-poo. Really got the bug........

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Hey! Like th editor. Poo-poo indeed!

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t40ora, why limit your options for the sake of a bit longer drive to another airport?

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t40ora, What sort of accomm? Hotel, catered chalet, self catering? you'd have no problem finding accommodation in Flaine (though not all of it is ski in/out) but be aware that French hotels and restaurants are generally not too great for vegetarians - and also that Flaine, whilst super convenient, is ugly (architecturally speaking) and a very long shot from a small Swiss resort. Are you looking for good ski lessons? There is an independent group in Flaine - see http://www.skiflainemoniteurs.com. I have no personal experience of them but they sometimes bring pupils over to Les Saisies, where we stay and I've been impressed by what I've seen of their teaching and general approach, if not by their rather lurid uniforms.

t40ora, If you liked Switzerland, how about Saas Fee, near Zermatt? The only downside is the journey time from Geneva Airport (there are closer airports, but not sure about the Bournemouth link - I'm assuming Bournemouth to Geneva is possible). It's about 2hrs from Geneva Airport to Geneva to Visp on the train, and it's a fantastic train ride along the north shore of the Lake, then into the mountains. Then about 45-60 minutes on the Post Bus to the resort. However, the Swiss travel system is soooo fantastic, one ticket does you from the airport to the resort. Timings, connections, etc, work like clockwork.

Because Saas Fee is so high up, snow is assured into the summer, and there's a good range of slopes for new and intermediates, although experts would be a bit bored after a couple of days. We stayed at the Hotel Waldesruh, which is on the edge of town but is by far the best placed for most of the slopes, literal ski-out, ski-in. We stayed half board, but not sure about veggie options. Also, the apres-ski only really happens between 5-7pm, and after that things get a little quiet. Suited me fine, but each to his/her own.

You know it makes sense.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

Hi Guys.

We won't limit oursleves to Bournemouth - it's on the wish list though, as travelling to aiports, parking, travelling back are just a pain. However, if the right place is not accessible from Bournemouth then we'll use LGW or LHR - or whatever.

Flaine does look good; weird that we can't get a package from Bournemouth, but I'm looking at DIY. There are some good packages around for £300 or so, which is going to be a target price. Also A d'H looks good and we can get a package from Bournemouth.

Not precious about the type of accommodation we want; a S/C apartment is probably best due to our diet but chalet or hotel would be fine if we get the right place for the right price.

My last foray into skiing was actually about 6 years ago with a mate (it was a bit of a disaster - long story - so doesn't really count) and was at Saas Fee. I can't remember the pistes very much as what skiing I did was with a variety of pre- and during ski injuries. I do remember the short term apres ski!! Worth a look again though.

I think I'm shortlisting Flain, A d'H and maybe Saas Fee.

Off to try to get some boots tomorrow.

A snowHead

Alpe d'Huez is great if there is good snow. The advantages are the breadth of the terrain and variety (wooded runs lower down, high glacier skiing higher up) and the real feeling of travelling between different areas. Also it usually has a good sunshine record, will be pleasant temp wise in March. Also it is quite a reasonably priced resort compared to say the Tarentaise with a lot of good places to eat out. The Bergers area and the west side of resort (next the the chairlift) can be truly ski in ski out. The satellite ski areas, perfectly linked by lifts (eg. Auris/Oz/Vaujany) are often pretty quiet and all have a lot of intermediate terrain.

The disadvantage is that if the snow is patchy in March (usually snow is good however) then the lower terrain (below 1600m) may be a bit dodgy and also somewhat of a funnel effect on the most popular return to resort runs (e.g Couloir) at the end of the day.

Also the tougher runs (e.g Tunnel, Breche, Silene, Combe Charbonniere) are likely to be out of your ability range- to make the best use of the higher terrain (i.e from 2700 to 3200m), you need to be able to ski blacks. However the long Sarenne run from the top is a very very easy black and there are about 3-4 easier runs on the glacier which you can take the cable car down from to avoid the Sarenne.

A snowHead

Any advice on Niederau? Below is a quote from CrystalSki.

"Characterised by the picturesque scenery and friendly atmosphere, this family resort is situated in a popular area of the Kitzbüheler Alps known as the Wildschönau valley. The ski area is ideal for beginners and is also a perfect confidence building resort for second and third year skiers."

Perfecr confidence builder for second and third year skiiers.... Is this a good thing, or does it mean "Too easy"?

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

t40ora, if you're thinking of that area, have a look at Kitzbuhel, the skiing should be right up your street.

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Kirchberg is a little cheaper solution. For me much better for staying and starting the skiing day. And with a car you'll have no problems to reach a Kitzbühel's night life. Personaly I have my best accomodation in that region right on Kirchberg's side but offcourse this time I'll keep it for myself...

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Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

t40ora, if you are still thinking of Alpe d'Huez, have alook here http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=330301142552&ssPageName=STRK:MESE:IT&ih=014
But you probably need to be quick

After all it is free

If Alpe D,Huez is accessible then so is Les 2 Alpes which I think is great for all ability's, but don't take my word check through this site and you will find plenty about the resort.
http://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?t=42914 Very Happy

Thanks for all your help folks. A couple of more resorts I've questions on;

1) Seefeld, near Innsbruck, and
2) Yllas Saaga Spa, Finland - in fact Finland in general!

I know nothing of these places (just about to Google them) but have found a very good package deal for each. Although perhaps I should leave it as I'm having enough trouble deciding between the ones I already have listed...

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Yllas is a nice quiet resort - take a look at the piste map on www.Yllas.fi
You ahve to get a ski bus if staying on the akas side but on the yllas side you will be fine.
Theres no night life to speak of, you can do other things such as huskys, reindeer snowmobiling -

Another esort to look at is Levi - its only a 15 min transfer from the airport yllas is 50mins so both close.

Levi has more places to eat bars etc and also has the G2 world cup run.

Down sides to Lapland - runs are not very long - and its very cold - we were there for 2 weeks at chistmas got to -22, Last feb we had -30.

If you want quiet runs no ques - i would givve it a go.

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Shell, welcome to Snowheads.

Interesting to hear from someone who has skied in Finland.

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It should be around 0 but to be honest it changes by the hour over there . The snow is there until aprox may but getting a package deal after mid April is a no go. You would have to get a flight to Helsinki and then a flight to Kitttilia.

http://www.snow-forecast.com/resorts/Yllas

http://www.snow-forecast.com/resorts/Levi

You know it makes sense.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

How much of a bargain is it???

A snowHead

A snowHead

To be honest that isnt much of a bargain - last year some friends went family of 4, first week in April in a Log cabin for £600 including transfers . What date is the booking for.

Crystal or Inghams are the main people for Lapland - Inghams put sqaure deals on there site. Lastmin.com also get some good deals for Lapland - If its finland you want there are other resorts such as Ruka, Sarriselska but these dont have the number of runs you will need. Levi and Yllas are a lot bigger.

Cross country ski-ing is Huge in Finland if you fancy giving that a go - there is some fantastic scenery and dont forget you have a great chance of seeing the northern lights which are amazing plus all the other activities they do.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

And no - i dont work for the Tourist board -LOL

We went to Levi this Christmas/New Year for 2 weeks - Feb 08 for 1 week to Yllas and Levi for 2 weeks Christmas 07

We are going to Les Arcs 195 on feb 21st a bit worried as im used to empty slopes hubby skied all over europe pre- me, if anyone has any info or tell me where to find it I would be most grateful.

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I think that I'm tending towards France/Switzerland rather than Finland. I like the idea of empty, but I also like high.

As Shell says that the price is not especially good, I'll give it a miss this time.

I think....

Help!!

Resort advice for a newbie

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