 Poster: A snowHead
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I find myself in the fortunate situation of being at a loose end in Strasbourg 12-14th March, and figured it would be a great oportunity for a few more precious days on the snow. I'm potentially picking up a friend who's flying into Basel to join me, and then I'm happy to go anyway within about a 3.5hour drive of Basel, which opens up a fair proportion of the Swiss resorts - hence my dilema, which one to choose.
So what are we looking for...
- I'm a skiier, my friends on a board, (so lots of long flats and uphills are out!)
- We're both confident on pretty much any marked piste, and will play off piste, but don't realy like being out of site of a run without a guide (which we won't have on this occasion).
- We've done the family trip this year, so the weekends really about making the most of the snow. That means somewhere with a good amount of terrain, efficient lift system (preferring express chairs and fast gondolas) and no queue's.
- Skiing first lift to last lift, with a quick break with lunch in a mountain restaurant.
- Don't mind a bus at the start and end of the day to get to the lifts, but don't really want to waste valuable skiing time on bus's.
- Pistes not too busy (Saturdays are normally good for this, being changover day - but I read some Swiss resorts get filled up with weekenders.)
As an example, covering the extents of Espace Killy (highest to lowest, far left of map to far right) with some off piste thrown in for good measure is my idea of making the most of a day.
We did Laax/Flims a couple of years back and had a great time (with fresh dumps of powder every night), however, I'd rather do somewhere new this time. (I'm a firm believer that things are never as good the second time!) Zermatt is out for a similar reason (and it's a bit too far from Basel).
I was looking at some of the big names, like St. Moritz, Verbier and the 4 Valleys and Davos but after reading around various comments on here I'm just getting more and more confused about which might suit us best.
So, suggestions please!
Graham
PS. I might end up skiing on my own yet, so if anyone wants to meet up, let me know!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Graham,
Group of Irish Ski instructors will be in Saas Fee that weekend and if you are intrested you are more than welcome
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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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f948lan,
Davos is a great place but does get significanly busier at the weekends and its lift system is not exactly the last word in efficiency.
One slightly alternative suggestion is Samnaun which joins up with Ischgl; big efficient lift system with plenty of variety. Saturdays are quietish quieter than midweek but Sundays as with most places will be busier.
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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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St Moritz doesn't get all that busy on weekends. Though it's on the far end of your drivability range. The beauty of it is there're a lot of side-of-piste area to play in. The seperate mountains are best to ski one day at a time. Just stick to one resort for each day and not waste time traveling from one to another mid-day.
Wengen and Murren are one of the closest to Basel. Although it's not known for challenge on piste, I think it's a good candidate for playing on the side of piste. The only drawback is its somewhat inefficient lift systems.
I bet Verbier would fit the bill from what I read here. But I've not been 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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f948lan, Verbier has some nice pistes (and lots of moguls on the long itineraries if that's your thing) and is great for off piste but is no Espace Killy. The links to the 4 valleys include quite a few drag lifts and are a bit tiresome. If there's good snow low down the Portes du Soleil, accessed via Champery or Les Crosets on the Swiss side would be a great piste bashing option. Chamonix is also a good option if you have a car. A day at Grands Montets and a day at Brevent/Flegere would make a nice weekend. You can access via Martigny so it's not much further than Verbier. It is also easier to find weekend only accommodation in Chamonix.
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