 Poster: A snowHead
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| pam w wrote: |
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If we can feel like we've done Espace Killy enough by doing two trips in two years
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Espace Killy exhausted in 2 weeks? You must have a very low boredom threshold, Monium.  |
Nail meets head. That's very true. I would go back there next year, perhaps later in the season, but wouldn't consider it for this year. It's not that I've skied every run, eaten in every restaurant, just that somewhere new will have new places and new pistes that I want to go and see. You're only young once, and it doesn't last long, might as well try and see as much as we can.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| Dr John wrote: |
| I don't buy the 'travel bug' argument for going to as many different resorts as possible. With so many resorts only a few miles away from each other you're not exactly channeling the spirit of Phileas Fogg by going to Les Arcs one year and Sainte-Foy the next (prepared to be shot down in flames). |
Whilst not discovering places off the tourist map, using budget airlines would have challenged Phileas Fogg's resolve.
There is a vast difference in the vibe between say: St Anton, Courchevel, Tignes, Wengen, Selva etc...along with different terrain makes variety the spice of life. Pre-Christmas skiing is usually finds me at the usual snow-sure suspects to kick off the season, diring european school holidays I try & get trans-Atlantic, in between I am often drawn back to places like the Sella Ronda, Jungfrau, Zurs from which a prolonged absence is bad for the soul.
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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 always like to try somewhere new but after 25 years of skiing the 'new' places are hard to find ( within budget) so we are back to Schladming area for the 3rd time ( 1st time was in 1990) - over the years it has changed a lot so its not a problem going back.
The only time I have really gone back to the same place was Hemsedal in Norway when the kids 1st learnt to ski. Same hotel and everything, but it was snowsure and we could get a great deal for the middle / end of March...
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New places for me, though will quite happily go back to places I have visited before but not seen all of.
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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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I used to like trying new places to ski and have gone to many resorts on both sides of the Atlantic. However after skiing the 3V I am nearly always disappointed with other places, so we return to Mottaret time after time.
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Really does depend on what your definition of "Returning to Resort" is, if all you're going to do is ski the piste all the time on your annual one week trip then that could be deemed to be a liitle lame.
In 30 plus years of skiing I've skied a fair few places and not skied an awful lot more. In the heady "Yuppy" 1980's I kept going back to 3 Valleys, then Verbier etc I've skied a whole host of other locations that I can't remember, further afield I've done Crested Bute and Vermont in the USA.
One country I do feel guilty that I have not skied in more is Austria. In the past 12 years I've been going back to La Grave but have also been fortunate to have additional weeks in any one season going further afield with my dear friend Per, a Swedish guide based in LG. We've toured over Souther Tyrol in and out of Italy and other parts of Switzerland into Italy a couple of times starting, dropping in and finishing up in a number of resorts after staying up in huts throughout any one week.
I've also have been been priveledged to have been to the Lyngen Alps (Artic Circle) five times staying on a boat and then hiking up from the snow covered beach to a summit before dropping back down to the sea; as many serious well travelled skiers / boarders have noted this rates as one of the finest trips you can do!
What I have not and really should do, and in no particular order, is Japan, New Zealand, Chile, Alaska (Heli) and Pemberton (Whistler) and I'm sure some others.
However the last couple of years we've done 5 - 6 weeks in Serre Chevalier. You could say it's going back to the same resort, but Serre is only a base for us. From there, with the car we can do so much, there are so many places to visit and so much skiing to do, from the huge resorts of Alpe D'Huez and Deux Alpes through to the smaller resorts of Puy St Vincent, Rissoul and not forgetting Sestrierre and the Milky Way in Italy. Our season lift pass gives us a couple of days in each resort should we have the time!
Then there's the ski touring that's available in the surrounding area, masses of terrain and so many mountain villages that you come across in the National Parks well away from the hussle and bustle of lift serviced ski areas.
And then of course there's La Grave, where many of the world's top skiers will spend a season or more or end up living, many tired & fed up with Chamonix.
If I did not windsurf then I'd probably end up buying a place in Serre - that said there are a whole number of other spots that are on the radar, Zignal, Engleberg, Alagna, Corsica that might well happen a week this March should the snow not get any better.
I Know I should travel more but there's only so much you can do.
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Had some many whiteouts last year at the 3 Valleys had to visit it again this year. Was like being in a completely new ski area!! Only thing I recognised was the signs!
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a different resort often has a different vibe, and even though you may not have skied every piste 20 times, sitting in the town of Verbier and having a beer looking at the mountains in the distance is different to sitting outside the revolving restaurant in Saas Fee or having a toastie at Cretes in L2A and watching the world go by !
That said, I have been to Tignes 4 times, L2A three times, Verbier twice, St Anton twice but have generally also fitted in a new resort or two each year too, so I have a foot in both camps really
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We do a combination of both. It's lovely to cruise around familiar territory, bcompletely stress free and nice to meet up with local pals/acquaintances etc. but can't imagine only ever going back there and nowhere else. A nice compromise is to use the region liftpass to ski other resorts within say an hour's drive.
We still want to go to completely new places though.
D
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I like to get my fix of La Grave and Alpe d'Huez every season. Aside from that, I have a roster of favourites which are accessible from Zurich, Geneva or Lyon and like to try somewhere new if I can.
That said, I have skied Alpe d'Huez for more than 100days (maybe more than 150 days) and there are loads of things there that I have never skied or only skied once. Could quite happily base myself around there all the time with side trips to Les 7 Laux, LDA, LG and others
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| Quote: |
after 25 years of skiing the 'new' places are hard to find
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 There are hundreds of resorts, just between France, Austria and Italy.
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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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It also depends on the skills and the experience of the people you are travelling with. When travelling with very young children / non-skiers villages with additional facilities are better than e.g. the ski-only villages. Zermatt, Saas Fee, Grindelwald, Kaprun/Zell am See and Seefeld have more side-attractions than e.g. Les Arcs, Veysonnaz or Zinal (to throw in a few places I did not see above).
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It also depends on the skills and the experience of the people you are travelling with. When travelling with very young children / non-skiers villages with additional facilities are better than e.g. the ski-only villages. Zermatt, Saas Fee, Grindelwald, Kaprun/Zell am See and Seefeld have more side-attractions than e.g. Les Arcs, Veysonnaz or Zinal (to throw in a few places I did not see above).
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You know it makes sense.
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Mainzelmaenchen, good point and one I forgot to mention. Another reason we base ourselves in Serre Che is that our friends can fly either to Turin or Grenoble and if all they want to do is piste ski then Serre is great for that. I think if you're just flying & transferring to resorts then you're missing so much of the area, I bet people who go to 3V's and base themselves in Meribel for example never get to see what La Praz is like apres ski at 17:00 for instance, or 1550 or 1650 etc etc.
With a car you can drive to these places and gain access to that area first thing in the morning and then finish there, chillax and then go home later.
Take a look at this special place http://www.peras.se/?Trips:Arctic_Sail_%26amp%3B_Ski
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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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Poster: A snowHead
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I try for somewhere new every year too. I think it's a basic human philosophy that 'the grass is always greener on the other side' or should it be 'the snow is always whiter on the other slope'. So I'm convinced that one day I'll find the perfect resort with perfect pistes, accommodation, and food.
It's the same philosophy that drives me to ski every run on the map. I'm convinced that the run I haven't yet skied is going to be better than the one I've skied already, whereas reality tells me it's actually just another slope with snow on it!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Bounce
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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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Bounce
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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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| bum wrote: |
I try for somewhere new every year too. I think it's a basic human philosophy that 'the grass is always greener on the other side' or should it be 'the snow is always whiter on the other slope'. So I'm convinced that one day I'll find the perfect resort with perfect pistes, accommodation, and food.
It's the same philosophy that drives me to ski every run on the map. I'm convinced that the run I haven't yet skied is going to be better than the one I've skied already, whereas reality tells me it's actually just another slope with snow on it! |
When I was a relatively new skier, I felt exactly that way and kept on trying new places. Frankly, I didn't know what I wanted anyway. Plus, one really need to see a bunch of different places to get a sense of what's available.
But after some years, I realized each resort has a unique character. It then became a matter of finding the ones that matches with my personal preference. For example, I don't care for perfectly groomed pistes if that's ALL the resort has. Nor do I fancy jumping off cornices every single run. Some resorts has a better mix of all different terrain while other may have a stronger focus on one over the other etc. Same with villages and such.
So the list of "candidate" resort got quite a bit shorter and I started to go back to the same one rather than being disappointed with "new" resort that doesn't fit my style.
That's when I discovered the joy of familiar terrain: I know which part of the day a particular piste is at perfect condition, or when to avoid it at all cost!
You see, the "perfect resort with perfect piste" is only a matter of timing!
Now, I do a mix of both. Every year, I re-visit at least one of my short list of favorite from past trips (some years are multiple "old favorites"). But no more than 3 years are allowed to go by without stretching for a new place I've never been before! Now I've seen a lot of places and knows what I really like, the new places tend to work out in matching my own preference pretty closely too. Still, the new places are typically a bit more work for me to find the perfect spot in the perfect time of year and right time of day to get the best condition. Whilst in the old familiar places, I knew exactly where I need to be when! That is, until re-visit some of those "new" places again and they become "old familiar" resorts! 
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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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Interesting thead @Nickski, but what on earth made you bounce a 4 year old thread without any further comment - could the hour (half past midnight) and a few glasses of fermented grape juice have anything to do with it? 
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I enjoy both going back to somewhere I really know and visiting new places.
I've been skiing with one mate for 25 years. For a lot of that time we have had one long weekend a season when mostly we like to try somewhere new that offers interesting off-piste potential and is no more than about 90 mins drive from an airport. Good fun but you only scratch the surface, need to pay a guide to explore and otherwise feel you may be missing the best bits.
ON the other hand, I loved getting to know the 3V when I worked a season. I didn't get bored of it at all and there is still plenty of stuff there that I have only skied once or not yet done (off-piste). And there was huge benefit in knowing exactly where to go to find the best skiing given the conditions.
And last year we bought a place having been to the same resort 4 times. Obviously the question of whether we would get bored was on our minds but we felt there would be a lot of pleasure and satisfaction in immersing ourselves in somewhere that felt "right" especially as it offers tremendous potential for touring, exploring and adventures in the higher mountains. So far so good.
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I received the prompt about this post but had forgotten what I said last time. I checked what I had said & 4 years on it still holds good for me. I like variety but some resorts you want to revisit. An excessive number of trips to 3V & EK has killed my need to revisit them but my friend still hankers for the 3V, so I guess I will be going again but please not 1850. I normally ski in Colorado with another buddy doing a different resort each day but I want him to find the yen for Japan next season. I turned out that I would have saved money had I bought a season pass for the Sella Ronda this season. Fortunately it is such a big area you can stay at different points on/off the circuit & do a different route every day & have come to the conclusion it is the best place for high mileage, scenery, coffee and value. I don't think I will tire of being in the Dolomites but still will want to explore elsewhere.
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For me there's a sweet spot on maybe the third visit.
The first time I'm in a resort, I'm very aware that I tend not to make the most of it. I'll stupidly find myself on a bleak, exposed slope when the wind is up; I'll accidentally head straight for the places where the clouds settle on the mountain on a grey day; I'll find myself skiing ice in the morning and slush in the afternoon because I haven't properly sussed out which direction the slopes are facing; I'll spend too much time on the crowded, obvious connecting slopes; and I'll always roll up to a lift at the same time as the rush-hour crowds.
After a couple of visits, I know exactly where to head at each time of day in all weather conditions. I can find the best snow, the best bumps, the best steeps, the quietest slopes, the best mountain restaurants. The holiday is perfect.
Then, slowly, the urge for something new kicks in, and the cycle starts over again.
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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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| Jonny Jones wrote: |
| For me there's a sweet spot on maybe the third visit |
Usually same for me. Most important is who you are with.
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Personal boredom thresholds I suppose are the issue. We've done VT now three times in four years, and after this year I really feel like there's nothing new it can offer. But I can't ignore the fact that for many reasons Easter is the most convenient time for us to do our 6 days of skiing, and its hard to look past VT's rock solid guarantee of decent snow at that time of the year.
I also look at piste descriptions of other resorts and look sniffily at anywhere which doesn't have at least 400km of pistes, having been spoilt by mainly tripping to Espace Killy or 3 Valleys in our skiing history.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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There's only one resort I love enough to visit year after year, and that's Val d'Isere. I absolutely love how familiar it is now after 10+ holidays. Never need a piste map, know the nice places to eat, the pistes I like and the good apres bars. If I could only have one trip a year, it would be to Val.
But if there were only TWO, the second one would be Saalbach, it's a very close second for the resort which has everything that I want.
I like visiting new places as well though it's fun to discover and explore new resorts. I'm really warming to the idea of visiting the Dolomites.
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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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I've been to VT 4 times in the the last 3 years, and still love it! It probably helps that, as a new-ish skier, I've always progressed every year in my ability and the difficulty of the runs I'm doing. So it always feels fresh from a skiing point of view. Plus I love the resort - the bars, the ski in/ski out element, the weather (I seem to always get good snow and sun!). And I go with different groups so that again makes it different.
However, I'm lucky enough to go skiing twice a year so on my other visit I'll generally try somewhere new - so I get the best of both worlds. I'm essentially employing the champion\challenger approach - and maybe one day I'll like one of the new resorts so much that it'll become my new champion but it hasn't happened yet
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I have the sense that to some extent the better the skier the less they feel the need for massive mileage and the less bored they get repeating runs. I'm not quite sure why that is?
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You know it makes sense.
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I think you need to go to the places you like at least twice. Once to find you like it, then a second time to really make the most of it and gain the benefit of knowing the best restaurants, pistes etc.
Road trip? No thinks. Doesn't appeal to me at all. Far too much faffing about.
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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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| foxtrotzulu wrote: |
I think you need to go to the places you like at least twice. Once to find you like it, then a second time to really make the most of it and gain the benefit of knowing the best restaurants, pistes etc.
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| Jonny Jones wrote: |
For me there's a sweet spot on maybe the third visit.
The first time I'm in a resort, I'm very aware that I tend not to make the most of it. I'll stupidly find myself on a bleak, exposed slope when the wind is up; I'll accidentally head straight for the places where the clouds settle on the mountain on a grey day; I'll find myself skiing ice in the morning and slush in the afternoon because I haven't properly sussed out which direction the slopes are facing; I'll spend too much time on the crowded, obvious connecting slopes; and I'll always roll up to a lift at the same time as the rush-hour crowds.
After a couple of visits, I know exactly where to head at each time of day in all weather conditions. I can find the best snow, the best bumps, the best steeps, the quietest slopes, the best mountain restaurants. The holiday is perfect.
Then, slowly, the urge for something new kicks in, and the cycle starts over again. |
You two nailed it!
I tend to find the sweet spot varies anywhere between 2nd to 5th visits, depending on how big the resort is. Smaller places, I can managed to find my way around by the end of the first visit. So the second one would be the best. But boredom may set in on the third visit, if I even tried the 3rd one at all. Big places like 3V, it took the end of the first visit to even get my heads around the place! 2nd visit to start to find the good spots at the right time. 3rd and 4th to really enjoy it (probably, since I've only been to 3V twice so far). I doubt I'll get bored in such a big place any time soon.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I have been lucky enough to try lots of new places in the last couple of years, Monterosa staying in Champoluc (this Christmas and then a long weekend cos we liked it so much) Hakuba Japan (twice in 2 years cos of various offspring of Mr P and Mr P's mate getting jobs there), Squaw Valley (another ski instructor job there) St Anton, Grimentz and Zinal, Engelberg.
I do think as someone else posted, the better skier you are, the more you are into off piste, the less important becomes the mileage of pistes. However, it's still great to go back to the 3v, which I know like the back of my hand after a season there 9 years ago.
I'd go back to Japan in a heartbeat for the tree skiing. Our second trip involved a couple of awesome days because we had begun to work out the off piste in bounds tree skiing options. Can't wait to return, though maybe take in other resorts.
Would never go back to California unless they were having an epic year for snow...this year was dire.
I thoroughly enjoyed my 3v trip this Easter, even though it was quite a low key trip with my sister, bro in law and her boys aged 9 and 11. Being with them made me really appreciate the area. I really love the variety of skiing and the sense of heading off to a destination as dictated by the weather and conditions and lunching requirements  . I think they enjoyed having me to guide them about as they would have been too cautious to head far from base, and I love taking people to my favourite lunch spots and slopes.
I still think that if I had to base myself in one ski area for the rest of my days, it would be the 3v, and the St Martin area in particular. But then we loved Champoluc this year...once of my new faves, definitely on the long weekend hit list. Lovely village. Lovely people, great grub, great value, great skiing.
Am spoilt spoilt spoilt! 
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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'm with skim on this one. I like to travel to somewhere new. I've been to a number of favourite resorts several times. But I found it quite remarkable that another poster on another topic had only been to Meribel and Val D'Isere (just once) in many, many years of skiing! The variety of experience from country to country and resort to resort is something I very much enjoy.
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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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| Quote: |
| I do think as someone else posted, the better skier you are, the more you are into off piste, the less important becomes the mileage of pistes. |
This
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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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I think they enjoyed having me to guide them about as they would have been too cautious to head far from base, and I love taking people to my favourite lunch spots and slopes.
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Plus it helps that there is a team of fabulous snowHeads there to meet, ski, eat, drink, stay with.
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These posts sum it up, for me. It's not just about the resort, is it?
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| TheGeneralist wrote: |
| Quote: |
| I do think as someone else posted, the better skier you are, the more you are into off piste, the less important becomes the mileage of pistes. |
This |
+1
For me, there is a lifetime's worth of exploring the backcountry around the Arlberg. I love returning to what feels like home, people who have become friends over the years, and introducing the Arlberg to new friends.
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FAQ
