 Poster: A snowHead
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Considering booking the week before Xmas this year.
Would like to hear from anyone who has done this and any recommendations as to where to go (Europe only) whether any TO's cover this week and what resorts are likely to be 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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Personally I'd probably go for Tignes - plenty of TO cover, but also very easy to DIY. Many resorts won't be open until the Christmas week but there are plenty of other options. I wouldn't book till the last minute though; mid-December is very quiet and snow cover fickle - early snow might vary a lot, from east to west across the Alps. The last few seasons have seen huge variation from year to year. Don't get excited about snow in early November, either - it often disappears as fast as it arrives.
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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 been that week before christmas to Courchevel, St Anton, and Obergurgl in all cases we were lucky and had great snow.
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valleyboy, most resorts open fully the weekend before Christmas week, so this year that means from 15th December at the latest. You do not need to "go high" necessarily. This fallacy is used by many to sell French resorts but is mainly a means of charging you more. I've skied every December/Christmas for the past 40+ years and to be honest, never had a problem and rarely needed to "go high" except one year in Switzerland where we were in Leysin and skied the first three days at Les Diablerets. Then it dumped and we had more snow than any of us could wish for!
There was a time where we skied in November and finished in March. Now the season can start in late October and continues right through to the end of April without needing to go on glaciers. Advances in piste control and grooming plus better and more efficient snow-making systems ensure that pistes are kept in good conditions regardless of whether there is precipitation or not. Even exceptionally mild weather this season(2011/12) here in the eastern Alps did not close most resorts. Plus it went cold and dumped big time at the beginning of April.
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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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There is always plenty of accommodation available for that week and most places are very quiet so, as pam w, recommends wait until the very last minute and see what the conditions are like before deciding on where to go.
Last year in La Plagne towards the end of November the slopes were brown and everybody was panicking about there being no snow. Fortunately it absolutely dumped it down in early December and the conditions were fantastic for the first week of the season.
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Not sure any tour operators realy do this particularly well, I usually book independantlly.
Usually 1st week or 2nd week Dec. My favs for early Dec are;
Obertauern
Ischgl
Obergurgl.
On the none European front, I found last year that you can get a pretty good deal to Banff with Canadian Affair (go for car hire option). Stay in Lake Louise or Banff.
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Hi valleyboy,
The week before Christmas is actually a really good week to ski.
There are fewer people and cheaper prices than the big holiday weeks, the pistes are well groomed as they are pre-prepared before the season and there is a good chance of fresh snow. Most of the major French resorts, as well as plenty of smaller destinations are open from either the 8th or 15th Dec.
We have spaces in La Plagne (at 1800 or 2000m) for the 16th - 23rd December from £450 pp for catered chalet accommodation, with no supplement for solo travellers and discounts for large groups - click the link below this post. There are liftpass discounts that week too . . . .
Happy planning!
Heather
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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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valleyboy, I have been the week before Christmas 3 times, Reberty, La Plagne and Morzine, its a good value week to go. Down sides are risk of no snow, worry about the snow for about 6 weeks and it is dark, and in my experience cold (er). I was lucky and had great snow, ok snow and just about enough snow at the above resorts, and it was never my main trip, so could forgive the bleakness, especially given the savings. What I will say, is from endless web cam watching, the high resorts might offer a better chance of snow, but the weather sometimes was so grim you could not ski anyway.
Given the randomness of the current weather might be a bit nervous myself.
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Ischgl is an option - was good early December last year with the best snow cover in Europe the week we went - they make a big thing of being one of the first resorts to open and indulge in major snow cannoning. Agree booking late is good idea if you are after the best snow conditions- Ischgl easy to DIY but igluski are also pretty good for last minute deals to most major resorts.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Bormio italy opens the first weekend of december. Actually it normally has limited operning for 2 to 3 weeks before this
to let the locals get warmed up for the season. And they have lots of snow cannons.
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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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| Quote: |
And they have lots of snow cannons.
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they only help if it's cold. Mild weather has been a problem in several early seasons of recent years. No reason not to wait till much nearer the time.
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pam w, this is at odds with your usual advice to avoid December because it's too dark and cold. Now it seems to be dark and mild.
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You know it makes sense.
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Thanks for all your replies, some excellent advice
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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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Bode Swiller,
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pam w, this is at odds with your usual advice to avoid December because it's too dark and cold. Now it seems to be dark and mild.
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The two are hardly inconsistent it is typically cold but can be mild and sometimes the snow just ain't fallen by then.
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Poster: A snowHead
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pam w, Well they have managed to open in november for the last three years.
Granted only the top half of the mountain, but still good skiing.
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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've never told anyone to avoid December, indeed I consistently suggest Christmas is a better bet than the supremely expensive and crowded New Year week. I have, however, pointed out that if you just have a week, then January, February, March or April are generally a better bet than December. On average. One enormous advantage of skiing in mid-December is that you can wait till 48 hours beforehand to book. Booking 6 months in advance for mid-December is daft unless you have very particular and unusual requirements.
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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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Bode Swiller, given your admirable determination to protect "newbies" from misleading information I'm surprised you weren't diving in yourself to point out that having snow cannons doesn't guarantee snow on the ground.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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| pam w wrote: |
| One enormous advantage of skiing in mid-December is that you can wait till 48 hours beforehand to book. Booking 6 months in advance for mid-December is daft unless you have very particular and unusual requirements. |
There'll certainly be lots of choice of accommodation if you arrange your own trip, but maybe less choice if you want a package as operators seem to be taking a lot of capacity out of their inventory for pre-Christmas trips which might make it more tricky to chase the snow. One downside of a late DIY booking is that you'll probably pay more for flights.
I've skied pre-Christmas a lot, mainly in the higher French resorts and always had enough snow for the majority of the piste network to be open, even in relatively sparse years. Last season was looking touch 'n go until the first week of December, but the snow arrived just in time (and didn't really stop until Christmas, offering some truly epic days).
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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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If you have an idea of where you want to go i.e france, austria you can book flights in advance while they are cheap to say geneva or chambery for france and then you can decide where you want to go exactly a couple of days before, once you take a look at where has the best snow, and book your accomodation and transfers then. The week before xmas there is always good snow and the resort will be so much quieter. I normally go two weeks before xmas and even then there is normally good snow.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Having flights in to Geneva gives you a lot of scope and a huge radius of resorts which you can access, including, loads of France and Switzerland. And Italy, too.
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Yes, I'd book Geneva - but if you want maximum choice of accommodation, book Sat/Sat.
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As I remember last year there was an issue with drought - snow cannons need lots of water aswell as cold temperatures.
However, back to the OP as we have young kids in school and my missus struggles to get time off in Feb, we've been at the @rse ends of the season a lot of late. December is better snow but it's more likely to be severe weather and yes, less cheery.
Don't think it matters where you go personally. I only do DIY these days so can't comment on TO's.
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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 am not sure I agree with less cheery that week before Christmas you tend to find lost of christmas decorations and lights around which I find particuarly atmospheric with the snow on the ground. When we went to Obergurgl we took one day off skiinng to visit Innsbrucks christmas market as well.
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"Less Cheery" - I was talking about the weather, shorter days, etc.. on the hill more than in the town.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Layne, I dont think thers going to be a drought this year. It has rained nearly every day here for the last six weeks.
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