 Poster: A snowHead
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OK. We like to find off the beaten track type places; have been to Chandolin in Switzerland, discovered Montgenevre at Easter and would love to go back. (We have also spent many weeks in the 3V, La Plagne etc.) But like everyone else I am sure I love finding hidden gems: you know: historic alpine village with traditional shops, perched at 1600m plus on a sunny plateau, cowbells! But of course good skiing, access to at least 300km varied terrain, preferably partly tree-lined, not too many long drags. As for accommodation: we self-cater (have special diets), we drive. We are always on a tight budget! I have found accommodation in newly built 3 star appartment for 6, on piste, with a pool in St Sorlin in the Les Sybelles ski region for under 400 euros in January. What's not to like? Would I be making a mistake? Why, if Les Sybelles is the 4th biggest ski region in France (?) have I not heard of it? Please advise!!!!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Village is low.
Skiing is average.
It is a second-tier resort.
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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 supect part of the reaon it is not well known is that it has fairly recently been joind to other nearby resort to creat a large domain. Before then it was probably very similar to lots of other small- medium resorts.
I have not been so cannot comment from experience WTS&S which I find reasonably reliable does indicate that there is little challenging piste skiing and some of the lift infrastructure is a little old.
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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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noodle, I've been twice, 2006 & 7, not perfect but nice place, trip report here. If you want any more info I'm more than willing to help.
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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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Whitegold, I don't disagree with your 2nd and 3rd points but it's not low, about 1600m I think which is on a par with many well known resorts.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Bit of a secret but....................check out Fiss, part of www.serfaus-fiss-ladis.at area.
Lots of good skiing at a good height, pretty villages, only an hour from Innsbruck, no big tour operator type hotels, no riff raff and best of all hardly any Brits! Nice to keep it that way really................
Never been, but also we also like non mainstream stuff, and have been tempted by Lenzeheide in Switzerland, reports on other websites ('snow-forecast' and 'ifyouski') have quite different reviews but I'm still tempted by it. Can prices in Switzerland be any worse than what we're suffering elsewhere in the Eurozone?
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I'd echo ColinB's comments
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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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| Colin B wrote: |
| noodle, I've been twice, 2006 & 7, not perfect but nice place, trip report here. If you want any more info I'm more than willing to help. |
Colin - I think your report is a bit out of date re the lifts. There are now fast chairs to get you to the top of Les Perrons - though you still need a drag lift to get back from Le Corbiere/La Toussuire. We were there in March, as you say, a nice place. Not top drawer but more than enough skiing for me. Pretty much ski-in ski-out which was really a boon (see the "Worst ski holiday ever .." thread - http://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?t=52668) when the OH got injured.
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St. Sorlin is a nice place, but not a top skiing resort. Nor does it have the Austrian/Swiss alpine charm. It is cheap though (both accommodation and food/drinks/etc!). I'd say it's a perfect beginners/budget/2nd skiing trip resort  .
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| Quote: |
historic alpine village with traditional shops, perched at 1600m
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historic traditional villages weren't built at 1600m plus. All the ones at 1600m (including Les Saisies, which fits the description fairly well) are essentially fakes.
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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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pam w,
Not true, Bonneval sur arc is traditional at 1800m (as is part of val d'Isere) but if you want high try:
http://www.saintveran.com/
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noodle, have to say I've got a bit of a soft spot for Montgenevre. Learnt to ski there, its a great relatively unknown gem.
Going to day trip there from Serre Chevalier this year I reckon.
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You know it makes sense.
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Pretty sure that SMALLZOOKEEPER posted a vid shot in St Sorlin which looked pretty good if you look beyond the marked pistes
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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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I'll be at Montgenevre in early March - certainly the nicest bit of the Milky Way. I'll be visiting Serre Chevallier for a day (and possibly Puy St Vincent).
You do get traditional Villages higher up in Austria and Switzerland (relative to the snow-line, anyway), because the rulers wanted to encourage occupation of the mountainous areas and gave villages over a certain elevation tax breaks. But this didn't happen in the French Alps, so the French mostly had to build their ski resorts from scratch.
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Poster: A snowHead
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noodle,
| Quote: |
(We have also spent many weeks in the 3V, La Plagne etc.) But like everyone else I am sure I love finding hidden gems: you know: historic alpine village with traditional shops, perched at 1600m plus on a sunny plateau, cowbells! But of course good skiing, access to at least 300km varied terrain, preferably partly tree-lined, not too many long drags.
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Have you ever stayed in Champagny en Vanoise?
It is one of the villages of the La Plagne ski area and only 20 minutes drive from Courchevel Le Praz, it has over 1000kms of piste close by if you include the Paradiski and 3 valley areas, but is not that well known - http://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?t=53015&highlight=
I would say it meets most of your requirements. It is a historic Alpine vilage (16th Century baroque church of St Sigismond) and was rated as the best unspoilt resort in France by the Daily Mail ski and snowboard magazine. It is a south facing and sunny resort at an altitude of 1250m but the main ski area starts at 2000m, it is a 7 minute trip in the gondola up to 2000m. There are 2 tree lined red runs back into the village, Mont de La Guerre is my favourite, the other one, Le Bois, can be tricky even in good snow conditions. However, most people tend to take the gondola back down to the village.
There are a few working farms in the village, one chalet we rented out for somebody is next to a barn where the farmer keeps his cows over winter. You have to be careful to park away from the water trough or you are likely to get an earful from the farmer (I'll leave it to your imagination as to what the cows leave you with).
It also has a couple of 'traditional' shops that sell local produce as well as more modern supermarkets and sport equipment shops.
You can see more details of it at www.champagny.com
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Most surprisingly overlooked place I have been is Solden Am Ortler or Solda (depending on whether you prefer German or Italian) in Sud Tyrol. It hasn't got a huge ski area but what there is is superb, varied, very high and yet still has a number of tree-lined slopes. Great off-piste. Pretty cheap too.
Anyone else been?
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