 Poster: A snowHead
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Hi
I'm planning a snowboarding trip for xmas & im very confused about where to go, this will be my first trip, but the boyfriend is a pretty experienced snowboarder,
It will be just the two of us, looking for great snow fall with amazing scenery & an awesome xmas/romantic vibe!!
So far we have looked at the resorts that seem to have good snow for xmas time Zermatt, Saas fee, Val Thoren, chamonix, Tignes, ischgl, & Cervinia and im none the wiser......i loved the sound of Zermatt as it seemed there was a great xmas vibe but its not so good for beginners, (sorry im all about the xmas vibe). we have even concidered Canada, but i havent got as far as working out which resorts are good at xmas time?
Can anyone suggest any resorts that we have not concidered or suggest if any of the above suit what we are looking for?
Thanks
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Sainte Foy might suit you well. We're full, so this is a non-self-promoting post!
Small village, chocolate box looks, tree-line skiing, santa+husky-dogs on Christmas Eve. Snow-record is excellent. We've had top-to-bottom skiing every Christmas for the 5 winters I've been there.
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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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jamontoast, welcome to Snowheads.  You won't let your BF teach you to snowboard, will you? Might ruin the romantic Christmas vibe. 
Hard to imagine anywhere less romantic Christmas-vibey than Val Thorens, and the scenery is nothing special, either. And in Chamonix, apart from it not being great for beginners, there might well be little or no snow down in the valley at Christmas. Truly awesome scenery, though.
You haven't mentioned any Austrian resorts - Christmas vibe often reckoned to be better there, though I've not been at Christmas.
If the budget is big how about Lech?
Or lots of other places which are less expensive. Those who know Austria better than I do could advise.
Megeve in France is very picturesque (traffic-free, romantic, traditional, town centre with horse-drawn carriages) and has great scenery (Mont Blanc and surroundings) and is a good resort for a beginner, though the town, being a proper town not a ski station, is down in the valley and you are not guaranteed snow at that level (though i think it's higher than Chamonix).
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The very best Alpine scenery, in my book, is to be found in the Italian Dolomites. Madonna di Campiglio would be pretty romantic, but you'd need advice from people who've been to those resorts at Christmas. You will find a bit of a dilemma in that the prettiest, most romantic towns to stay in are NOT right up mountains. You might have to choose between the romantic surroundings and piles of snow outside your bedroom window. It's hard to find both in the same place. Lech, maybe..... and a few others, but v expensive and some aren't noted for beginners. You don't want to be scared sh*tless when you're trying to be romantic.
You might like to do a "learn to board in a day" course at one of the indoor ski slopes, before you go. Would make a big difference to the first few days of your holiday. If you do it soon, the bruises will have healed before Christmas.
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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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pam w, has it right about doing a learn in a day or some other lesson package before you go, much more fun to be onto the proper green runs straight away than having a frustrating time learning the basics surrounded by huge mountains!
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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jamontoast, I'd cross Val thorens, Cervinia and Tignes off your list, crimbo / romantic vibe-wise.
How about St Anton?
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Stevomcd - Sainte Foy does look stunning.
Pam W - thanks for the warm welcome, no i wont be letting the BF teach me having a few dry sloop lessons before i go & then morning lessons at the resort. Thats interesting about Val thoren....good you told me as the bf was quite keen on that resort.....thats not what im after at all.
Just looked at Lech.....it is very pricey. But im definatly interested in any Austrian & italian resorts that will have garenteed snow? we probably will have to compromise between the piles of snow & the romantic setting.....unfortunatly. 
Thanks for advise.
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red 27 - I have looked into St Anton & saw some great deals.......any idea if its likely to have good snow fall so early in the season?
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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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jamontoast, they're as likely to as anywhere I would say - the Arlberg region gets A LOT of snow...
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jamontoast, St Anton is not great for beginners. A friend went as a beginner boarder there, with his GF who could already board. He is quite a tough South African, not a wimp at all. He found it hard. She had a fall and broke her back - helicoptered to hospital and eventually made a full recovery. Slopes were icy and crowded. The icy bit can happen anywhere - and ice is nasty for snowboarders, even quite good ones. But I think there are probably better resorts for you.
Very few resorts have "guaranteed snow" at any time, especially Christmas, though some have very good snow-making so pistes will be white provided temperatures are low enough (artificial snow isn't very nice, but better than grass). The high resorts with glaciers are exceptions, but if snow is very bad elsewhere, the glaciers will be mega-crowded at Christmas. Val Thorens and other high resorts are pretty well guaranteed snow, but if it's cold and windy, those high places can be very bleak and inhospitable.
You have to take your chances with snow - it's one of the things about skiing/boarding holidays. In most places, most years, you will be OK but having access to some high altitude slopes as well as lower slopes, preferably with some trees around, is worthwhile.
Others will disagree with me but I think dry slopes are not at all friendly for learning to snowboard. I did a "board in a day" course at an indoor slope and apart from being totally knackering it was fine. My daughter, half my age and quite athletic, had some lessons on a dry slope and hated it. Her BF did better, but he's a sports teacher, a really good windsurfer, a mountain biker and much harder!
Still, if you still like boarding after lessons on a dry slope, you'll probably be an expert after a week on snow.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Are Sweden is fantastic at xmas, very reliable snow, night skiing, real reindeer, very good board school, my boyfriend caught the bug there a couple of years ago. He went from complete novice to red runs by day 3. 
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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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Zermatt is good for beginners. Upper slopes on Klein Matterhorn side are very gentle, and you can download to avoid steeper lower slopes. Also nice blue runs around Gornergrat and they will have nursery slopes as well. Scenery is amazing.
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I'd recommend Zell am See as the easy runs are up on the mountain (and not in the cold valley), the Xmas Austrian vibe is rocking (as a previous poster stated), it's glacier nearby so guarantees the snow and it's good value. Source: our 2010 Xmas school ski trip with 28 skiers and 17 snowboarders (who loved it!!).
The snow was really good and we went from 27 Dec for a week in 2011. Great diversity of slopes and lots of happy boarders.
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You know it makes sense.
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Howabout making sure it's a location where you can easily find other people to ride with? If you're pretty much a beginner and he's a decent boarder, then after about 2 days' he'll be bored sensless trying to ride fakie down the begineer slopes, especially if it's a powder day. Yeah I know he loves you and he's desperate to get you into the sport, but I've seen more then a fair few dramas with incompatible partners trying to do snow trips together. If you're not taking other mates then perhaps look at chalet holidays, where at least there would be others in the chalet to board with for him and hopefully a couple at your level too (easier if you find more board speciific chalets/lodging etc)
PS take protection,
knees, wrists and bum, well at least for the first 4-5 days
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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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1. Lech, Austria;
2. Zermatt, Switzerland;
3. Serre Chevalier, France.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Great thanks everyone for all your suggestions.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| jamontoast wrote: |
Hi
I'm planning a snowboarding trip for xmas & im very confused about where to go, this will be my first trip, but the boyfriend is a pretty experienced snowboarder,
It will be just the two of us, looking for great snow fall with amazing scenery & an awesome xmas/romantic vibe!!
So far we have looked at the resorts that seem to have good snow for xmas time Zermatt, Saas fee, Val Thoren, chamonix, Tignes, ischgl, & Cervinia and im none the wiser......i loved the sound of Zermatt as it seemed there was a great xmas vibe but its not so good for beginners, (sorry im all about the xmas vibe). we have even concidered Canada, but i havent got as far as working out which resorts are good at xmas time?
Can anyone suggest any resorts that we have not concidered or suggest if any of the above suit what we are looking for?
Thanks |
val d'isere and tigne are open already, Val much prettier.
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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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OP Deer Valley.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Val will offer you links to Tignes, I understand its had good dumps already, so worth checking out. For a couple ideal mix of romantic and good quality apres !
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