 Poster: A snowHead
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Perhaps we should factor in the chances of these long 'runs' being fully open?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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shagsa, Another vote for Zermatt, but if you find it unaffordable I have another vote for the Monte Rosa area out of Champoluc. Same scenery, half the price (Also half the night life and half the mouontain restaurants but hey) Neither will be as crowded or as repetitively dull as La Plagne (I'm prepared to duck the flack now)
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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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| rob@rar wrote: |
| Mid/late Feb is a busy time, best avoided if you can. 1st or 2nd week of march is a better option. |
Thanks for the advice Rob. It seems there is a lot of love for Zermatt here, while La Plagne remains firmly in the picture, and Serfaus the dark horse of the bunch.
The snow will be pretty good at all three around that time of year won't it? What's the grooming like in these resorts? Sorry for drawing this out by the way...beats work.
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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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shagsa, you can run down from 3800m to 1600 on groomed red in Zermatt, and the grooming there is great where its groomed (? about 60% of the 240km pistes shared with Cervinia). There are also lovely areas of ski pisted run that are great fun from late Feb on and worth a try, these can be more than 1000m of descent too - good for any quads workout. Grooming in La Plagne is good too. (And Monte Rosa!!) Tell me about Serus if you end up there
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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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Are there many mogulled runs in Zermatt? I'm thinking of perhaps Cervinia as a base, as my wife is particularly keen on the smooth stuff (not afraid of the steeperreds though) - neither of us are particularly fond of lumps and bumps to be honest.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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shagsa, Cervinia has a higher proportion of big cruisy blues, but Zermatt is quite a bit larger (probably 2-3 times). Plenty of steepish reds in Zermatt, but a good few cruisy runs too (particularly in the region of the glacier). Pistes (when I was there last Xmas) were pretty smooth throughout - rather too much for my tastes - and for moguls you had to head to the itinerary runs.
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| shagsa wrote: |
| Are there many mogulled runs in Zermatt? I'm thinking of perhaps Cervinia as a base, as my wife is particularly keen on the smooth stuff (not afraid of the steeperreds though) - neither of us are particularly fond of lumps and bumps to be honest. |
Only the off-piste 'itineraires' are usually mogulled I believe.
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So is Zermatt the only resort in Europe with long cruisy runs? Never been there but i'm surprised the discussion turned quickly to +1s for Zermatt with few other proposals
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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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I hope not, just seemed to be steering that way...I am keen on learning more about the skiing in Serfaus in Austria, along with the Paradiski area. I was also interested in Serre Chevalier - anybody had any experiences there? (good, bad or indifferent)....
Or at the end of the day are we really just better off sticking to the 3V?
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| shagsa wrote: |
| I hope not, just seemed to be steering that way...I am keen on learning more about the skiing in Serfaus in Austria, along with the Paradiski area. |
If your top priority is lots and lots of intermediate skiing then Paradiski would be suitable. There's probably more red and blue pistes than you can get around in a week (425km of piste in total, served by 140 ski lifts), unless you are an open 'til close mileage hound. The domain has a good mix of high altitude skiing as well as lower villages with lots of tree-lined runs which are useful if the weather closes in. Just in one run, Aiguille Rouge in Les Arcs, you can ski 2,100m or vertical without having to stop for a lift. There are 18 separate villages across the ski domain, so plenty of places to travel to for lunch, and a snowHeads challenge (Villaroger-Montalbert) which looks for the quickest time from one end of the ski domain to the other. If you want to venture off-piste there's plenty of gentle stuff to get started on.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| Quote: |
Or at the end of the day are we really just better off sticking to the 3V
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shagsa, we were surprised to find Zermatt cheaper than France last year. rob@rar, is right about cruisy Paradiski, you just need to base yourself on the "right" side. Serre Che I have only a couple of days experience of. You won't get the vertical, but you do get nice southern alps deciduous trees, well pisted cruises and emptier pistes with a more french feel than in the 3v, which tends to either be busy or horribly crowded (except at the edges of the Belleville valley or C'vel 1650).
Having said that I have just booked our lift passes for NY in Val Thorens because there is a very significant saving for booking the family passes on-line in advance, and we want snow sure. not my decision in the end 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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| rob@rar wrote: |
| There's probably more red and blue pistes than you can get around in a week (425km of piste in total, served by 140 ski lifts), unless you are an open 'til close mileage hound. |
Thanks again Rob@rar, I'm certainly no 'hound' (my wife won't get out of bed early enough for that!) But I do like the idea of spending more time on the slopes than on my bum. I think the mixed terrian of Paradiski is a real plus. My wife gets nervous when it clouds in so being able to exploit the woods would be handy. So where to stay? Some of the other guys in the thread suggested Les Coches or Belle Plagne, or Peisey Vallandry on the other side as good bases. Is there any benefit to being on one side or the other?
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[quote="Mountain Haddock"]
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| rob@rar, is right about cruisy Paradiski, you just need to base yourself on the "right" side. |
So is that literally on the 'right' side?
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You know it makes sense.
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shagsa, If you do decide to go to Zermatt, something you might consider is trying to arrange your trip when there is a full moon. If its a cloudless sky its possible to get an evening train up to the Gornergratt Hotel at 3000m, have a meal and then ski down to Zermatt by moonlight. Everyone I was with thought it was one of our best ever skiing experiences, made more exciting by the narrow crevices that appeared across the piste - until you realise they are the moonlight shadows of overhead wires. And if you like mountain restaurants there is no better resort to go to.
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