Tell me all you know about... Nendaz or Courmayeur

A snowHead

Hi All,

Looking for any tips on either of these 2 to help me decide between them

We are a group of 11 lads, from 3rd weekers to strong intermediates mostly skiers and a couple of boarders
going on a 3 day short break mid jan

Have they both got, tree skiing if the weather is bad and driveable options if the snow is cr&p, any recommneded bars/restos?
convenience / state of the lifts
many thanks if anyone knows anything about these two

p.s if anyone has stayed at the hotel walser in Courmayeur that's where I am looking at

A snowHead

Nendaz I don't know, but I like Courmayeur. Some nice tree runs as I remember, lots of great mountain restaurants and good food in the town too, you can't beat the Italians for food I think. If the weather's rubbish, you can check the webcams at Chamonix and be there in 40 minutes - there's often quite different weather on the other side of Mont Blanc.

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

Courmayeur: free food at Bar Roma in the early evening. Superb bombardinos there too. For apres just hit the Via Roma and follow your nose/ears. On-mountain signposting fairly crap, moderate-sized area mainly suits intermediates so should suit you fine wrongsideof30.

You need to Login to know who's really who.

I was at Courmayeur March 2006.
It seemed a smallish resort, so we needed access to other areas (we did La Thuile and Pila on the skipass) but for 3 days you should be fine. The weather closed in towards the end of the week, vis was well down and the top part was closed. They didn't do any pisting, so we kept doing the same piste - again and again.
I joined 2 pics to get this view from the bottom of the pistes (you have a gondola to get up to there - make sure you are quite early, the queues for the hangover crowd were a bit long)

As far as I understood, the Mayor decided he didn't want any rowdiness in the village, so the only nightclubs are at hotels at the edge of the village. They run free buses to get the people in. It was very quiet in the evenings in town even though it was Fiesta week.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

wrongsideof30,
Never been to Courmayeur I was in Nendaz at Easter. Links in pretty well with Verbier and a good lift system in the Verbier area if you start off up the road at Siviez (Short drive or free ski bus) Slower links if you do it from the base area at Nendaz. Links to Thyon area are very slow
Decent tree skiing at Nendaz for bad weather. Large area all together with a good variety of piste and off piste.
Verbier has a glacier and you would be unlucky to get very poor snow, Zermatt and Chamonix are both driveable though not particularly close.
I was self catering on a family holiday and did not check out bars or restaurants but looked like there were a few lively ones.
Definately worth going too but I would like to try Courmayeur sometime as well.

You'll need to Register first of course.

Sorry, I don't agree with T Bar.

I've been to Nendaz (and the surrounding villages) quite a few times and think Nendaz is particuarly rubbish. The connections to the rest of the area are crap (bus to Siviez or 2 crappy drags and and old cable car) and the snow there has been much worse there than in the rest of the 4 valleys. Nightlife is pretty limited ... no apres at all really and one nightclub that's open very late but is full of kids.

Zermatt and Chamonix are both at least 2 hours drive away .. plenty of skiing in the 4 valleys so should be no reason to drive anywhere else.

Never been to Courmayeur but have been wanting to go for ages. Being Italy though I doubt there is much in the way of 'laddy' nightlife ... probably a bit more of the furcoat and 2 hours over a glass of vino in an ice cream bar stylee.

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

I think the above post is somewhat unfair on the pleasures of Nendaz Confused

, I will try and be as objective as possible as you are planning as trip and it is unfair to mislead in the interests of protecting it's reputation.

There is skiing immediately above Nendaz itself which is largely intermediate in nature with pleasant tree lined pistes. It is accessed by a high capacity stand up gondola, the lifts above this are largely tows. To access the rest of the 4 valley skiing from here is possible but slow.

To access the rest of the four valley skiing you have to go via Siviez, as mentioned above to ski there is slow. To take a bus or car if you have one however is not difficult and is as easy as say getting a bus to access the Portes de Soleil from Morzine. The parking is free. The lifts from Siviez to Verbier area are swift and efficient, it is at least as quick getting into the highest bits of Verbier's skiing as it is from Verbier itself.

I have not been often enough to comment on the snow record and the above may be true but on the visits I have made to the area the skiing between Verbier and Siviez has had about the best of the snow, The skiing down to Nendaz at Easter was open and pleasant in the morning when the runs to Verbier were closed. The link to Siviez from Nendaz faces south and is probably not the most reliable.

I won't comment on the night life as it is not really my thing but the views over the Rhone valley are fabulous. The resort clearly does not suit everyone and obviously is not to RichA, 's taste but I I would look at all it's aspects before dismissing it. I certainly want to return at some point. snowHead

( And the trips to Chamonix and from Zermatt didn't seem as long as 2 hours though I cannot remember the timings accurately wink

)

After all it is free

Thank you to all of you who have replied so far, in never ceases to impress me on this forum that people are prepared to spend time answering questions like mine, & with the kind of info (positive and negative) you just can't get anywhere else
Smile

I will try and spread my albeit limited snowHead

knowledge a bit more in the future

I have been to both places (sort of) and here is my comments

Nedaz does have a link to Siviez but I found driving to Siviez is a lot safer because of lack of snow. Didn't ski in Nedaz at all but the area is too small to spend a week there. Thus the visit isn't viable unless one can spend enough time in Verbier, which must go via Siviez. If there is lack of snow Nedaz seems to be the first one to to be hit because it is 1400m and the outer most whereas Siviez is situated at 1730m deep into the valley.

Courmayeur isn't a big resort either but it has 2 to 3 times more piste than Nedaz. The snow is also reasonable because most skiing is done above 1700m. It is also right at the Italian end of the Mont Blanc Tunnel. Historically it is one of the resorts I visited when going to Chamonix.

So really it all boils down if don't mind taking the bus to Siviez then Nedaz is good to cover the most of the Verbier 4 valleys. The return from Verbier back to Nedaz can be challenging if a skier misses the last lift from the top and forced to ski down the "skiroutes" which looks like an un-groomed black runs to me. I wouldn't like to worry about getting the last bus when going down this run myself.

In Courmayeur it is more convenient, assuming the accommodation is close to the lift station. The runs are also a lot friendlier too concentrated on either side of one mountain.

*Ski* the Net with snowHeads

wrongsideof30: I presume from your name you were born after 1977 Cool

I wonder what you have gleaned from the post so far? You’ve certainly learnt that one person’s perfect resort is another person’s hell.

I’ve been to both Nendaz and Courmeyeur
We used to go to Nendaz every Easter in the 1990s
And I‘ve been to Courmeyeur 3 times over the last 10 years – last time 2004.

Nendaz is quiet. It was great when the kids were young, but now they want more excitement.
You also need a car to make the most of the place
But the skiing is excellent.
You are right in the middle of the 4-Valleys. The local skiing is fine (despite posts here suggesting otherwise). If you drive up to Siviez you can beat the Verbier crowd up to Mont Fort. Or you can take the interesting route over to Veysonnaz: a lovely run.

Courmayeur is Chic with a capital “Sh”
The town is lively: full of expensive bars and restaurants, and the greatest concentration of gorgeous elegant aloof ladies you’ll ever see.
The local piste skiing is fine for a couple of days. But you can easily get to other areas such as La Thuile.
There are also some wonderful off-piste routes. If you want some real excitement, then forget the middle of this picture and get a guide to take you down the dotted lined runs on the extreme left (Tete d'Arp) and right (Aguille du Midi) sides.

For your group of 11 lads on a 3 day short break mid January? I presume you are flying to Geneva. What about Chamonix? You will be going through Chamonix to get to Courmayeur. Rent a large apartment and enjoy the delights of a Real Town for Real Men. They are rugged here rather then chic.

If you are stuck on either Nendaz or Courmayeur, go for Courmayeur on account of the night life (and the elegant ladies Toofy Grin

)

snowHeads are a friendly bunch.

If it helps, my 14 year old skied Courmayeur in a day and then spent the rest of her school ski trip doing the same 3 or 4 pistes and off piste with her advanced group (of 2! ) instructor.
FWIW she has no wish to return.

snow reports

I'd say both resorts would suit the posters needs...

Courmayeur is a lovely little resort and certainly entertaining enough for 3 days. And Nendaz should qualify on the basis that it should be a cheaper way to ski Verbier's slopes.

I'd choose Courmayeur.

You know it makes sense.

T Bar, I agree with you entirely. I've been going to Nendaz for 20 years now, and although the village ski-ing is not vaste the connections to Verbier via the navette included in the pass is Ok and takes only 15 minutes. Once in Siviez you have the choice to go up to Mont-Fort and Verbier or go over to Veysonnaz on the new chair-lift and sample the famous Piste de l'Ours (Bear Run) and the gentle runs of Les Collons. For me and my family Nendaz is a great resort ideally located for Verbier or Veysonnaz and mostly undiscovered by the UK ski-ing public.

As far as night life is concerned there are a few clubs in Nendaz but the favourite has to be the Cactus Saloon which is a good starting place to meet friends and plan the evening ahead. Our 23 year old daughter did BASI 3 here a few years ago and loves the place - say no more.

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

wrongsideof30, I went to Chamonix in a group of 5 lads for a three-dayer last March, and we nipped over to Courmayeur for one day (never skied in Italy etc) and had a really great day. Lots of big cruising pistes, trees to p1ss about in, great for lunch. But I would concur with others here; head for Chamonix and make Courmayeur your one day away (if you must have one). Much more fun to be had in town for a group, and the skiing offers a greater diversity if you're prepared to make an effort with the transport up and down the valley.

A snowHead

wrongsideof30, I have had more than one week in both and would choose Courmayeur.

A snowHead

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

wrongsideof30, did you end up in Nendaz, if so I may have some questions for you ? wink

You need to Login to know who's really who.

I'm going to Courmayeur in 4 weeks time and hopefully skiing a day in each of Pila and La Thuile too... Very Happy

Help!!

Tell me all you know about... Nendaz or Courmayeur

snowHeads Forum Index >>> Resort Reviews and Trip Reports