Europe late March
Posted Wed, 02/22/2012 - 19:54I'm possibly looking at trying to get away with a few friends around about the 24th of March before the schools easter rush. Looking for a bit of advice for where to look at, mainly advanced level skiiers - looking for varied terrain, some decent pistes to play on, some nice off piste lines with a mix of terrain (good lift served stuff would be cracking!), a park would be nice but not that big a deal if not. Where would you go? I've looked at a few options so far... Val d'Isere, St Anton, Portes du soleil, three valleys but cannot make my mind. Only places I have skiied recently in europe have been the three valleys and saas fee. Only criteria is not too expensive but there seems to be good deals going out to most places. Any help much appreciated, cheers :)
Re: Europe late March
Posted Thu, 02/23/2012 - 11:29Hi Scotty... Any of the options you mention will be decent. As always, most places can be great provided the snows good! Have you checked out our French resort guide or the ski holiday search page - there's some good deals on there at the moment!
I love some of the resort further south in France, including some great small resorts in the Queryas and places like La Grave which is epic. However, I'd stick to the northern alps just now as they've had more snow this season. Sounded like there was still some powder to be had in 3 valleys a couple of days ago. I prefer Tignes to Val d'Isere but there's great skiing to be had in both. There are some cool places in Switzerland too - Veysonaz, Nendaz, Zinal, Zermatt. Or in Italy try Courmeyeur, Bormio, La Thuile.
A top tip if you're looking for offpiste action is to seek out the offpiste guidebook for whereever you're going.
I'd try to pick somewhere high so that you're more likely to get good snow.
Where would I go and where's my favourite resort... hmmm, still searching for an answer to that one - it all depends what the snows like anyway!
Re: Europe late March
Posted Thu, 02/23/2012 - 15:04I wouldn't recommend Portes du Soleil - we stayed in Avoriaz a while ago and I was pretty disappointed. Maybe its good after a dump but we had pretty crap snow and it just didn't work for me! Last trip we were in Meribel and got some great skiing (found some really cool chutes that no-one else was skiing) its full of brits abroad but if you're a good skier you can get away from them...
Re: Europe late March
Posted Thu, 02/23/2012 - 16:42If you've never been to Chamonix, you can try that too. I've tried a lot of alpine resorts (not showin'off, just living 2h away by car from it). Chamonix is well known for its freeride spirit. If you want an advanced level resort, you'll find it. Slopes are freakin' steep and the off pist domain is crazy. You got 4 different resorts (although les houches isn't great if you're snowboarding) around town pretty accessible and beautiful. Chamonix is not about freestyle at all. There's one park though in Les Grands Montets, a pretty descent park where you can chill for an afternoon. According to your criterias, Chamonix sounds really good, except maybe for the price. Being on the bottom of the Mont Blanc, it's ridiculously expansive (42,50€ a day for lifts), but it's a great place. I was there a week ago and will probably go there next week again. But remember, better be a good skier/snowboarder, some pists and most of the freeride area require ski-lls !
Re: Europe late March
Posted Thu, 02/23/2012 - 17:41For me Val d'Isere is way too busy and pricey (as is Chamonix for that matter although matr is totally right about the terrain). I really like going to smaller places that maybe don't have as many lifts but have way less crowds and access to good terrain... place like St Foy, La Thuile, Grimentz have some awsome terrain but are way quieter than the big resorts. All depends on the snow though so sometimes its just about bein lucky!
Re: Europe late March
Posted Thu, 02/23/2012 - 17:43My top-tip scotty - go to one of the resorts you've mentioned but take skins etc to get that bit of powder that noone else is touching!
Re: Europe late March
Posted Thu, 02/23/2012 - 19:37Thanks guys! The plan will definitely be to leave it as long as possible and watch what the weather does - no other real option and maybe I'll find a last minute bargain.
@soulrider I had come across some of the deals on the site already, some very interesting looking ones. Going to keep looking. Thanks for the tip on the guidebook, will definitely try and seek them out.
@mayhem Been to Meribel before, really enjoyed it. As you say full of Brits and it's hellishly expensive, although as far as I can see all the big resorts are.
@matr Chamonix sounds really appealing to me, it keeps on nagging at me! Maybe I should just go for it, wait and see what the snow does over the next two or three weeks and what the outlook is. Not having a big park scene isn't much of a big deal at all, I'd far rather hit the slopes than the park, just a nice change up now and again. Also no snowboarding, so that's not an issue! You could be the snow correspondent, post some resorts up of your trips :) Where is it you are based?
@stubai I've read a bit about St Foy actually, very favourably reviewed. Any ideas how it traditionally does in late season? Will definitely keep an eye on the snow as it also sounds very interesting.
@SlickSlider That's my plan for future years! My budget can't extend to investing in a whole array of new gear right now, well... without sacrificing other areas. Some of the videos and reports I have seen from ski tours are really exciting, looks an excellent new way to get involved on the mountain.
Thanks for all the help everyone.
Re: Europe late March
Posted Fri, 02/24/2012 - 08:48I'm in a small town near Lyon, which allows me to go there quite often. Southern Alps are good too, usually more sunny. But yeah, Chamonix is a great ski resort. It has to be tried once. Regarding the snow, They have enough to last until april for sure, there are snow walls that are 2 meters high round town. You won't see many rocks. However, check about precipitations, cause I doubt there is much pow left. Anyways, whatever you choose, let us know how it goes!