Switzerland trip which resort. Advice needed

A snowHead

Hi all

Am looking to do a trip to Switzerland in March and wondering which resort.

What I want is a pretty village with o.k night life that's good for beginners and intermediates. So far on the list is Saas Fee, Zermatt, Verbier, Wengen. Have I missed any?

Any suggestions from snowheads who have been would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks in advance

A snowHead

Zermatt is your best option.

Saas Fee is boring.

Verbier is beginner-unfriendly.

Wengen is too low for the second half of March.

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Zermatt, would take Saas Fee off the list anyway.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

+1 for Zermatt.

Certainly ticks the boxes on the pretty village part, snow sure, great for intermediates, not bad for beginners

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Wengen in Recent years has been good right until the end of the Season however it would be better in Early March Rather than late March, it's a better choice for Beginners than the other resorts, night life is fairly quiet with only a few late night bars and overall will be slightly cheaper than Zermatt, if going towards the End of March however or if beginner skiing is of only minor importance I'd say Zermatt

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So many votes for Zermatt. Is March the best time to go? I know some villages are in shade until March. Would like to ski all the way down to the village. I was in Cervinia this year in April and only made it to the glacier. I think the snow at resort level had gone by then, but that was April end of the season.

After all it is free

Zermatt will be spot-on in March barring an act of God.

Cervinia is usually open until May. Cervinia was skiable down to the town all through April last season, I'm pretty sure...

In my experience, Zermatt at the end of March is usually just about perfect. It certainly meets all of the criteria that appear to be at the top of your priorities list.

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For Wengen February is generally the best month, where it sits on a south facing plateau Wengen gets the sun all the time, unlike some villages in the very bottoms of a valley, Grindelwald for example gets the sun far later in the day, but for the best combination of snow, day length and good weather February is the best time for Wengen, the longer days and south facing slopes mean that March can have rather heavy snow, though as I said previously the last few years have seen excellent conditions to the very end of the season.

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Why Switzerland anyway?

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patricksh, Because I've done France, Italy and Austria. Next is Switzerland and then Sweden.

Mr Piehole, didn't know that. Next time will be on the Zermatt side

+ 1 for Zermatt, great views & great skiing.

however i would hesitate to say good for beginners, not really sure about that part, def good for an intermediate. Guess the advantage of the resort for beginners is as the slopes for beginners are higher than the village less problems of March sun making them sticky in the afternoons which can happen with some lower beginners slopes & they aren't part of the homebound run causing them to be like racetracks later in the day.

I would agree with opinions above that Saas Fee should be off the list, at least until they invest some decent money in their lift system.

You know it makes sense.

matt23, I love Zermatt too, but wouldn't rate it ideal for beginners.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

matt23, Verbier better than Zermatt on every level IMO, skid Verbier many times, Zermatt 2 weeks, says it all. Can't deny the setting at Zermatt is awesome but the skiing not a patch on Verbier.

A snowHead

matt23, Don't discount Davos/ Klosters, great skiing.

A snowHead

Markymark29, but Verbier is also not ideal for beginners. Agree with Davos/Klosters - excellent for all levels of skier.

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Another vote for Zermatt! It is such a pretty, diverse resort and there is guaranteed snow thanks to the glacier and the excellent snow making facilities. Smile

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Another vote for Zermatt, they may not be the best resort for beginners but they have improved over the years with slow slopes on the Sennega and Gornegrat areas.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

I've a soft spot for Saas Fee - certainly better for beginners than Zermatt IMO. There are a couple of good nursery slopes and then even higher up the mountain some nice blues for cruising - though downloading has to be considered as an option.

I'd agree with the comments about Verbier not being ideal for those new to plank(s).

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How about Crans Montan? Only had a day there but it seemed to have plenty for beginners and intermediates.

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

halfhand, not sure what Crans Montana's March snow record is - a lot of the slopes are south-facing. I believe it's excellent for beginners and intermediates otherwise, though it's donkey's years since I've been there. It's very pretty on that plateau - I spent many summers there in my mis-spent youth, as well as a couple of winter holidays.

After all it is free

If you did not have beginners, I'd say Zermatt without a doubt.
Have a look at Flims / Laax, Arosa for something a little less obvious

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matt23, Saas Fee would tick all your boxes it is pretty much an intermediary/ Beginner resort, reasonable party life with the Black Bull followed by Nesties and Popcorn if you want to keep on going.

You can throw in a day trip to Zermatt included on lift passes for 6 days or more in Saas.

Its snow sure and the village is pure chocolate box.

Verbier, is certainly not ideal for beginners and the village is not as pretty as zermatt or Saas, but the nightlife is epic.

Zermatt, is very spread out mega expensive even for Switzerland.

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matt23, While Verbier may not be ideal for beginners, I learnt there and survived the experience. The first few days on the warm village-level nursery slopes (it was early March) weren't that great but after that they got us up to Savoleyres and on to blues and reds quite quickly. (I'd done a dry ski slope course before going which speeded up that bit - definitely money well spent - or you can do it on real snow now which is much less painful.) Elsewhere, the slopes at Lac de Vaux are nice, and up on the glacier. While I wasn't skiing down Tortin by the end of the holiday, I was definitely getting around the mountains and enjoying it. Once we'd got routes sorted out, we found it relatively easy to meet up fairly quickly at lunchtime from different starting places - which I think would probably be quite difficult in Zermatt. So I wouldn't necessarily write it off if it appeals in other ways.

snow reports

1; Davos. extensive ski,broad range of nightlife and off slopes activities as it is a town.
2;Saas Fee. pretty village, hush police if you like it quiet after about 9pm.glacier so snow.
3;Verbier. extensive ski, very lively nightlife. found the resort/ski overated by the British crowd.
4;Zermatt. Will tell you after the 22nd!
5; Wengen. not been yet.
I would go back to Davos out of the 3 swiss resorts I've visited if I could choose.

You know it makes sense.

Is Zermatt really spread out? I know it's mega expensive. Lift pass prices are huge. But the comments here and from what I've read it's a ski resort you have to visit once in your life.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

matt23, I'm not convinced that Zermatt is a good choice for beginners, however here's a pistemap of the area here http://www.snow-forecast.com/resorts/Zermatt/pistemap_full as you will see there are far more easy blue runs over on the Italian side above Cervinia, The resort itself is more spread out than somewhere like Wengen however I think there's a ski bus that circles the area which should make it easier getting to the different lift stations

A snowHead

We did Adelboden Jan this year, and found it very amenable. Runs are all fairly easy and would suit a novice blue runner no problem.

A snowHead

Matt 23,, get what you pay for with the lift pass. A lot of very long, very high lifts, run pretty well. It is 3 separate areas if you like, but they are all skiable in between. Its only spread out because its so large.

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matt23, I do think its somewhere to visit for sure and agree with twoodwar, lift passes are what they are. The resort has spent a lot of money improving things over the past few years. Depending on how you like to ski will determine whether you go to an area and stay there for the day or interconnect which you can now do from the mountain rather than coming down to the town in the bad old days.

I agree with the comment that Cervinia is better for beginners but again depends what you are looking for. You don't get quite the same charm or views on the Italian side but neither do you get the same cost level either!

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Switzerland trip which resort. Advice needed

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