Skiing Europe
 

Hi,

Skiied Zermatt last Xmas - loved it - great skiing, apres/ski - and want to head back to a different snow secure mountain this year - early January. We are a couple in our early 30's, and like the village atmosphere (shops, restaurants, etc.) and will be travelling in Italy Dec/Jan and want to hit two ski resorts, each for one week: France, Austria & Switzerland are all options. We are intermediate/advanced skiiers,having lived and learned in Blackcomb/Whistler. We prefer Blackcomb because it is in the sun whereas Whistler is on the shady side. We want to be able to ski into the village and would absolutely love a place with a fireplace/kitchen. A sauna would be great - complex shared. Live in Costa Rica now so heat is always a great end to the day! Any help would be much appreciated!

Thanks,

Elizabeth

topping for Elizebeth.

Sorry not to have answered you sooner, but there have been a few threads seeking ski info.
Lech (or rather, Lech-Zuers), Austria would be my number one ski destination recommendation, especially for good skiers. It's also more likely to have decent snow early in the season.
Do a search here under "skiing" and you will pull up several threads. In addition, go to www.ski-europe.com to get the lowdown on many European resorts.
In Lech, the 4 star Hotel Elisabeth seems to fit your bill (so will many other hotels). A nice fireplace in the lounge; spa/exercise facilities, good food (in Europe, you'll find many people book their hotels on the half-pension plan, i.e., breakfast and dinner included).
We had friends who went to Gstaad last winter and had a delightful time, but they are "lazy intermediate" skiers and were only partly interested in the slopes--they were equally interested in relaxing in cafes, strolling the village, doing a day spa. And Gstaad's altitude is a little too low to guarantee reliable snow, esp. early in the season.
(In my Pacific NW days, I was more the Willamette Pass type than Whistler/Blackcomb...did you ever ski there?)
BTilke (Brussels)

In parts, I second BTilke's suggestion of the Arlberg region, although I prefer Lech's neighbouring village of St. Anton as I think its slopes are a little more demanding but also rewarding.

I am also in my early 30s and find the crowd in St. Anton a bit more to my liking. In general, there are more younger people than in Lech, which, while pretty caters a bit more to the really upscale market, whereas St. Anton, which is by no means cheap, is just a bit more sporty to my taste, if you catch my drift.
The slopes around Valluga and down into the village allow for skiing in the sun all day.
Apres-ski partying is a lot of fun, too, at Moserwirt, Krazy Kangaroo on the slopes and Postkeller right at the end of the slopes in the village.

Both villages are not really on high altitude, but are absolutely snow secure.

I've only skiied in Europe once, and that was at Meribel, France, which is part of Le Trois Vallèes. I was there with a group of about 15 people and we rented our own chalet (8 double rooms with each private bathroom, and outdoor jacuzzi), which came with a chef (who made breakfast, afternoon tea & dinner), a maid, 2 guys who did odds and ends (and served as ski guides). The valley is huge and we skiied completely different trails the whole week we were there. Good deal if you could get a bunch of friends to go along with you.

..no specifics but as implied by BT be very careful about snow conditions...many european resorts have become "unreliable" re snow (? global warming)...keep this in mind when making your finally choice

Thanks for the help! We are planning two weeks (two separate resorts) one is looking like it will either be in Lech or St. Anton. Where would you go to for the second week?

Unfortunately never had the chance to ski Willamette Pass.

How far do you want to travel for the second week? I think you'd love Meribel from your original post. Great ski in/out access from the main resort!

We stayed in Lech (the Kristiana) and had a great time... skied Lech, Zurs, St. Anton, St. Cristophe. Hiked to Zug one day... took the train to Innsbruck one day.

It's a very nice village and we had a great time. The buses between locations are very convenient and are included in the price of your lift ticket.

We flew into Zurich and there is a bus that will take you to Lech (quite reasonable if I remember).

Me again

Will Meribel be snow secure during early January? Where would you recommend to stay? What we have been looking at is around EUR 1000. per week per person, hotel, half-board & (6/7 days)ski lift/bus passes. We really don't want to go much over that.

We rented a car on our last visit but ended up turning it in and training it for the rest of the trip. So we are thinking that we will just get a rail pass this time around. Any advice?

We are going to be travelling around Italy and are keeping two weeks free for skiing.

Any info is much appreciated.

Thanks again everyone!

Surprisingly the Jungfrau Region (Wengen, Grindelwald, Muerren) hasn't come up yet as a second week option. The Alpine scenery there is breathtaking, particularly from Muerren, my favorite resort. It is also a comfortable train ride away from the Arlberg, i.e. St Anton - Zurich -Interlaken - Jungfrauregion villages.

Thanks for the help. We are narrowing our trip down. We are flying into Rome on the 18th then travelling throughout Italy until the 2nd. We would then like to book a week in France (Courchevel, Maribel??) We booked the Hotel Schwarzer Adler from the 8th - the 15th. The Elisabeth in Lech was all booked up.

1)Where do you recommend, snow secure, in France?
2)We would like to book a Eur

Thanks for the help. We are narrowing our trip down. We are flying into Rome on the 18th then travelling throughout Italy until the 2nd. We would then like to book a week in France (Courchevel, Maribel??) We booked the Hotel Schwarzer Adler in St. Anton from the 8th - the 15th. The Hotel Elisabeth in Lech was all booked up.

1)Where do you recommend, snow secure, in France?

2)We would like to book a Eurailpass - does anyone know if this will work for travel between Italy/France/Austria as well as in Italy?

3)Travel times between Ski resort in France - St. Anton in Austria?

Thanks again!

Regards,

Elizabeth

Hi,

We ended up changing our plans - due to distance and time of travel - to ski the first week in Switzerland and continue on with our already booked St. Anton ski week.

The possibilities that keep coming up are: St. Moritz, Klosters, Wengen, Grindelwald, Davos. Any recommendations?

Thanks,

Elizabeth