Ski resorts with sufficient snow over Thanksgiving?
 

Are there any? I'm looking for someplace I can get to fairly easily in late November. Thanksgiving week is usually my easiest opportunity...thanks in advance!

Where are you located? That would help in recommending a ski resort that you can "get to easily"?

I guess that is certainly open to interpretation, huh! I am located in Kansas, but wish to ski the Alps, Dolomites -- somewhere in Europe. I guess I meant that once I get to the airport (Munich, Vienna, wherever) I wanted a fairly simple route to the slopes (instead of a five-hour planes/trains/automobiles trek.)

Snow at Thanksgiving in the US is frequently nonexistent; I'm wondering if there's a "sure thing" destination in Europe this same week (late November) that will likely have snow.

Thanks in advance for any thoughts!

I don't think there are any snow sure resorts in europe so early in the season.Lots of quite high resorts had no snow at christmas and new year this year and struggled with snow until february.

And the resorts where you are most likely to find snow are never the ones that are easy to get to, since you need to be at a high altitude. A place like Tignes/Val d'Isere for example. Many resorts are not even open that early.

Hi,
Although not a skier myself, these two sites may be helpful.

www.stubaier-gletscher.com/index.php?l=en

http://www.soelden.com/main/EN/WI/Sk...thod=main.html

Paul

Have a search at

www.skiclub.co.uk

Click on the resort guide, and then you can select various categories, like close to airport, etc. In fact I just chose the snow sure option and it came up with this...

http://www.skiclub.co.uk/skiclub/res...rtsgoodfor.asp

At a quick glance all of them seem to be the very high resorts, so you'd need to search further to narrow it down.

Of those listed I've only been to Les Deux Alpes - it was about 2 1/2 hourse by coach from St Etienne airport. I think it's about the same from Lyon.

Glacier skiing will be the only option in Europe around September. The Stubai Glacier in Austria is the only resort that comes to mind that may have operations that early. The rest of Europe will be lucky to have any natural snow by Christmas, and even then the skiing is often poor as not.

Western US resorts are often operating by Halloween and can have excellent conditions by Thanksgiving. The high altitude Front Range resorts in Colorado, such as Loveland Pass, A-Basin and perhaps the upper part of Breckenridge. The Birds of Prey World Cup is the first FIS event of the season and is held at Beaver Creek in late November/early December. It has been cancelled in the past due to too much snow.

Also Alta & Snowbird in Utah can have quite a bit of snow by Thanksgiving, however it requires many, many feet of snow in order to fill in the more advanced terrain since it is so steep and the snow is so dry. Not a problem for intermediates, though. You'll get good snow, empty slopes and low prices for tickets and lodging.

If you are set on skiing in Europe, look for any resort on a glacier. Generally speaking, it is not great skiing IME.

I wouldn't bother. If there isn't snow in the US at Thanksgiving there's NO chance that European resorts will have snow - remember most are several thousand feet lower than resorts in NA.

Being a skier and having lived in Europe,I think ripit has given you some excellent advice.

Maybe in Norway?

http://www.oppdal.co.uk/skiing_in_oppdal_norway.htm

Interesting. I'm disappointed, but certainly believe your advice. Perhaps I'll readjust my schedule and aim for February and call it a birthday trip.

SO...with that in mind, I'd love to hear about your favorite resort -- and why -- if you're still interested in this thread. For those who are familiar with US resorts, Vail is my favorite: long runs, bowl terrain on the backside and a town you can walk to the slopes from. I do wish it were cheaper, though.

In Europe, I have only skiied at Dachstein and some surrounding areas -- which I liked very much. I'll certainly dig into all these links in the meantime. I mainly wanted to say thanks for the quick advice, and if you're inclined to put forth your favorite, I'd love to hear it!

Kit, just to warn you that February is high season for skiing. Certainly in France, where we always go. We've booked our hotel already. We usually ski in Megeve, which is easy to get to (an hour from Geneve), charming town, great skiing, but not as high as some resorts in France.

Agree with ripit that Alta & Snowbird are among your best bets if you want snow. I was at a conference in Snowbird in June and we had heavy snow two nights in a row.

If you want to go to a ski resort in Europe, go in mid January and call it an early birthday present. In mid-January, the Christmas/NY holiday revelers are gone and the school break crowds haven't yet descended.

If you're a woman and you want lots of male attention, go to Ischgl.

My favorite places to ski stateside would be Sundance (for the atmosphere) or Deer Valley (limited ticket sales to keep the crowds down). Although I absolutely love Willamette Pass in Oregon's central Cascades. A beautiful, friendly, uncrowded place, one of the few in the OR/WA area that offers glade skiing high up. You can either stay at the rustic cabins at nearby Odell Lake Lodge or stay in Eugene, OR, and catch the special skibus back and forth.

In the East, we loved Mad River Glen after a fresh snowfall. A single, leisurely chair lift is a serene alternative to the high speed quads everybody else seems to go for. It's the only single chair left in the U.S., I believe, but it needs an overhaul.
http://www.madriverglen.com/single/

If you enjoy Vail, you will absolute adore Lech, Austria. Vail is essentially a copy of the archetypical Austian ski village which is the definition of Lech. There is a an amazing ski route called the Weisse Ring (White Ring) that makes a complete loop around Lech. Along the way you pass through some of the nearby smaller villages and high mountain restaurants where you can stop for an atmospheric drink or bite to eat.

The area is huge. You could fit all of the Front Range resorts within the bounds of the Arlberg region (which includes Lech, Oberlech, Zurs & Zug which are all connected by lifts, as well as the entire St. Anton area which is connected by free bus and is a destination in and of itself). The Arlberg pass covers over 200 lifts, trams, gondolas, etc. (Vail has 33). And this does not even include all of the off piste options which are nearly limitless. If you like to ski off piste, this is a great place to go (with a guide) because unlike many other resorts in Europe, here most people tend to stick to the pistes, so you can often find good powder days after a storm.

It can be pricey, but in my opinion a good value since all of the food and lodging is of very high quality. I found it to be a far better value than Vail, which is way overpriced IMO. Most of the hotels are within walking distance to town. There are also free buses that run from all of the hotel areas into town. Our hotel is only a short walk into town (we stay at the Felsenhof) however there is a bus stop directly out the front door, which makes it much easier to get to and from the mountain with ski gear. You can also stay in Oberlech (literally Over Lech) which is a small car-free village you can only get to by lift. There is also Zurs, which is very upscale but low key.

There are very good restaurants and lively apres-ski, however this is not a party-all-night, ski-boot-salsa-on-the-table kind of resort for which Austria is famous. For that look to Ischgl as mentioned above or even St. Anton nearby (which you can get to and from by bus and taxi from Lech).

Thanks Btilke. I also love Deer Valley! Yes, I definitely want to ski someplace new in Europe. I know all the US resorts like the back of my hand and am eager to be suprised by something new again! Looks like January will be better, as y'all say...

I'll probably be by myself -- and I'm 41, single and a solid intermediate skiier. I gave up the blacks as sport when I had some knee trouble a few years ago...

Thanks for the suggestions! I'm a little out of my travel-planning element in this area! HAve a great Friday

Thanks Ripit! So now I have some serious researching to do! I'm going to take y'alls advice and head out in January!

If you do decide to go in January, I would look at late January. Lately most European resorts have been getting a slow start to the season and have had thin coverage into early Jan. I don't think it is all that bad to go in February if you start planning now. You should have no problem finding a place to stay, though some places are indeed booked year after year by the same people and it is peak season so you will pay peak prices. I would actually lean more towards March rather than January if your dates are flexible. You will have lower prices, better weather and more reliable snow coverage in March than January.

Just checked the French school holidays, and they are Feb 9 to March 9, divided over three districts. The first week of February could be good for France too. March is much nicer though, if the snow is good, as you get more daylight.

The Europa Sport - Zell am See-Kaprun (near Salzburg)starts early because of the altitude on the Kitzsteinhorn. There is a big party to kick it off mid November.

Its 2 hours from Munich one hour from Salzburg.