Hello,<BR><BR>I will be in Geneva the first week of March on business. My husband would like to join me for a ski holiday. Where are the closest slopes? I know Chamonix is relatively close but I am a novice skier and am worried that I will be out of my depth (literally!).<BR><BR><BR><BR>Thanks!

The Portes Du Soleil area is very close as well. This is a collection of resorts in France and Switzerland with about 600 kms of runs. Some of the resorts are Champery (CH), Avoriaz, and Les Gets. Les Gets is very good for beginners. Check out Ski-europe.com. They have a wealth of information on these resorts as well as Chamonix. By the Way, Chamonix is great for all levels!<BR>Cheers,<BR>Jan

I would head for nearby resorts in the Alpes Vaudoise.<BR><BR>There are several resorts very near Geneva: Les Diablerets (a nice small village), Villars (a slightly larger village) and Leysin (a small town). Each has good skiing and in addition there is an excellent glacier at Les Diablerets.<BR><BR>You could even consider staying in Vevey or Montreux and commuting each morning to a resort (maybe staying overnight occasionally). If you base yourselves in Montreux (or Vevey or Lausanne) you will have resorts like the one's above within an hour and resorts like Gstaad, Verbier, Crans Montana, Saas Fee and at a stretch Zermatt within two hours commute.<BR><BR>The Swiss trains are excellent and so you really can just get up pick up your skis and take a train to a different resort each day to ski. They even offer train and lift packages to keep the costs down.

Hi melanie. My husband and I are going to Morzine (Portes de Soleil) the last week in February. I am a timid intermediate skier - more used to gentle Italian runs - and I have been told that there are areas in Les Gets, Chatel, and Avoriaz that are suitable for beginners and low intermediates.<BR><BR>The advantage of Portes is that it is fairly close to Geneva (about 1.5 hours). If you're willing to travel 3-4 hours, you could try Courchevel in the Trois Valees. <BR><BR>The disadvantage of the Portes area is that it is fairly low and not too snow-sure. First week of March should be OK though.<BR><BR>FOr all ski Europe questions, I recommend the Google Group for ski resorts Europe. - Go to Google, click on groups, rec, skiing, resorts, Europe.<BR><BR>

If your husband is any good he will get bored at Portes de Soleil. The Alpes Vaudoise resorts I mentioned have a good variety of terrain for all levels and are no further or more difficult to get to from Geneva.

Melanie:<BR><BR>I agree with the 'other JOhn&quot;. I was pleasantly surprised at the beauty and variety of Villars! Although I am a good skier, I hear that Villar has a wonderful ski school. The slopes are primarily intermediate, but you can find difficult areas as well. A small, quaint villiage with a major ski resort!<BR>JOHN

I agree with Melanie: the Portes de Soleil region has a fabulous choice with slopes going up to 3000 m asl. So it is quite safe also for skiing later in Spring. The Alpes Vaudoises (nr Montreux) are certainly charming (Swiss mountains DO have a special charm), but slopes are lower and are often very exposed to the sun (and sometimes rain).<BR>In any case, when in Geneva, you got a large choice: In less than two hours, you can drive to Chamonix, Flaine, Avoriaz/Morzine, Champery, Verbier, Gstaad and Courmayeur (Italy, S of the Mont-Blanc Tunnel), St-Gervais/Meg¨¨ve, La Clusaz and the Jura is a mere 30 mins from the city centre (slopes up to 1700 m asl). Day trips by train are possible to Verbier or Villars (among others), by bus to Chamonix, St-Gervais, Les Contamines, Flaine etc.It is to be said that public transportation in Switzerland is far superior to France.