 Poster: A snowHead
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Thanks all for advice so far. Found a flight to Basel that will give me 2.5 days skiiing during a 3 day trip. However hotels are not willing to offer 2 nights so I guess I will use Hostels.
Can anyone recommend a cheap place to stay within 2 hrs of Basel at the start of March.
Or should I wait until closer the time?
Likewise would Switzerland/Austria still be a good bet in March or should I consider a Grenoble or Genera flight?
Having done the Basel route I feel a little more confortable with the trains/post bus, can someone tell me if the connections (buses?) from the Grenoble/Geneva airports to French resorts are as easy.
I will be a solo skiier this time, I have really caught the bug and want to make the most of a couple of days holiday I am due.
Thanks in advance.
Mick
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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google " Basel hostels " and you'll find a few links. Or try www.hostelz.com
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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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micksup, because of the brilliance of Swiss railways you'd have no problem connecting with ski resorts from Basle. The best thing is to contact Swiss Railways (in London if that's convenient) and they can advise. As for hostels, there's a national network in Switzerland so you shouldn't have a problem with booking odd nights. The Swiss do a standard-priced transfer return ticket from airports to ski resorts, which might be handy.
I'd invest in a copy of Where to Ski and Snowboard, and get to know the lie of the land in the Alps, so you can work out good connections and ski resort locations.
Regarding Geneva and Grenoble, both cities have scheduled buses to ski resorts. Chamonix is very easy from Geneva, since it's only about an hour away. Grenoble has buses from the main train station up to places like Les Deux Alpes and Alpe d'Huez. There's also the local resort of Chamrousse (venue for the 1968 Winter Olympics) which has some nice skiing.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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micksup, when I've flown to Basel, I've skied in the W place that can't be named......can give you suggestions of accomodation there if you're interested.
The other resort that is fairly close is Engelberg. I've never skied there, but I think ise might have?
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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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Yes, I ski at Engelberg sometimes, it's pretty good. I thought someone (Charlatanefc?) did the Basel thing recently.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Elizabeth B, at the start of March will Grindlewald still be suitable for a progressing beginner, will there be any snow? Or would the the W place be better all round?
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Grindelwald will still be okay in March - what isn't so certain is if you'll be able to ski all the way back to resort. In that respect, Wengen would probably be better, but if you don't mind getting a train/bubble back at the end of the day, then Grindelwald is a good option.
From Grindelwald, to get to the top of the slopes, it takes around 20 mins to get to First, or 30 to get to Mannlichen, whereas from Wengen you can get to Mannlichen in 8 mins.
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Elizabeth B, Is there too much choice?
Have booked my flight to Basel and now face a decision on where to go.
My basic concern is booking now and finding that in 3 weeks that snow conditions have become poor.
The shortlist is hence;
Flims/Laxx
Grindlewald
Pettneu(St Anton)
Lenk
Should I add anymore?
It would be nice to fit some skiing in the afternoon but even with the 10am arrival I may be pushing it before the lifts close wherever I choose.
Would I best to wait a further week or so, or even two weeks and then see where the snow is? 
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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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Flims/Laax is absolutely brilliant.
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micksup, Flims/Laax you should have no problem finding accommodation. When we went at half term last year there were whole chalets unoccupied, and several hotels had free space (also the hostels - and there's one above 2000m) had rooms available. There's plenty of surface lifts there (some very long t-bars), and it also has a glacier, so there is some reasonably high stuff for reliability. Based on all of that I'd suggest giving it a week or two before booking. The local tourist offices should be able to find places for you at short notice (and some in Switzerland do reasonable special offers combining accommodation & lift pass). A few pictures of Flims/Laax from my trip there last year on the media site (though I seem to have less skiing ones than I thought - I think most of the skiing was filmed rather than snapped).
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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micksup, have you explored various transfer times? I'm guessing that Austria will be way more than 2 hours. Flims is a great resort, but is also a bit of a trek from Basel.
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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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Basel station -> Flims Village is just under 3 hours by train & bus. Over your limit, I'd guess.
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skanky, no 3 hours is about average. In fact there is hardly anywhere from Basel with at least some snow sure slopes less than 3 or 3.5 hrs transfer by train and post bus. Still the home flight is 21.30 so that makes the leaving day almost a full one on piste.
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You know it makes sense.
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micksup, in that case a hint about the journey: the change at Chur is pretty easy, up the escalator to the bus station where the bus will be waiting for you (don't leave the station there is direct access to/from the platform and you waste valuable time going round the long way). They will run the bus with people standing but you could miss it if you pfaff about and it's full.
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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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thanks skanky, so of my choices do you think Flims is the best bet. The Riders Palace have space and have made a good offer to include passes etc. Again my concern is that I will book and then it will suddenly turn warm!!
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Poster: A snowHead
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micksup, dunno which is your best bet as I've not been to any of the others. Riders Palace is the one at Laax-Murschetg, then it's in a good position and looked pretty good from the outside. There is also the one at Crap Sogn Gion then it's in an ideal situation - ski in/ski out, though you are restricted to what's up the mountain at nights. As for the weather/conditions...who knows? Three weeks is a long time. I would be surprised if you can't get a reasonable deal in a week or so though. I dunno, it's a difficult call, isn't it?
This may be useful, too: http://eng.alpenarena.ch/pages/schlafen_und_essen/hotels/default.asp as it shows vacancies for the coming week.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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At the start of March, you should be okay pretty much anywhere. I skied Flims a couple of years ago in March and the snow was generally okay, although it got a bit slushy by afternoon on the lower slopes. I have a vague recollection of there being a glacier there?? If so, then you'll be guaranteed some snow! Engelberg certainly has a glacier and can be skied all year round.
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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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| I have a vague recollection of there being a glacier there?? |
Yes, the Vorab glacier at about 3000m (I think that's the bottom). There's a decent mix of above and below tree-line runs as well.
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