Late march resort suggestions?

MaccA wrote:Hi all,
We are a group of 7 people; 1 beginner snowboarder, 1 intermediate snowboarder, ...

MaccA, much as I would love to recommend Niederau and would be happy to do you a cracking deal I’m not sure that would be the best advice considering your snowboard contingent. The gondola takes you to the top of the hill from where there is a fairly long transfer path which is great on skis as you can get your legs warm before hitting the slopes but I know snowboarders struggle as it’s quite flat.

Going the opposite direction from the top of the gondola you can get straight onto the top of a fun red from where you can board down an unpisted run directly beneath the gondola if the conditions are ok, but it’s not for beginners. Staying on the fun red eventually brings you out on a longish off camber run back to the village, no problem if you are a confident boarder but to get enough speed to make it back (on a board) requires a fairly committed schuss at the beginning which might not be so good for the faint hearted.

Alternatively there is the new 4er chair which I know boarders like, the only issue here is that one way takes you back to the gondola and the other is a black all the way back to the bottom of the chair …

The beginner slopes at the bottom of the hill are all really good but are only serviced by surface lifts …

I don’t think I’ve done a great job of selling Niederau but I would hate for you to come here without the real lowdown.

Whatever you choose, have fun!

Jan

tino_11 wrote:......so my reccomendation is, if you are going early or late, pick somehere with a Glacier to fall back on. I have to say Mayrhofen is a good choice for this.

Hi tino,

thanks for taking the time to reply.

I've just had a look at Mayrhofen as I've seen it recommended countless times on the forum. But from what I can see the resort is really low in the valley with all the skiing up on the top of a mountain plateau. It seemed to offer very little skiing back to the resort except via one red run which might not suit some of our group. Is this the case or am I reading the maps wrong?

[MaccA]

Dave & Jan,

thanks for the suggestion of Niederau and the honest feedback on it.

Our intermediate snowboarder is not exactly the sporty type so does tend to moan every time we cross a flat. I normally have to end up pushing him as I'm fairly manoeuvrable on my blades (I'd hoped to keep that secret in case you all stopped taking me seriously)

For this reason I think we'd best avoid this one.

DF wrote:Levi -Lapland-

Hi DF,

thanks for the suggestion. It looks very tempting!

Doesn't look like there is much chance of ski in/out as all the slopes end at one end of town. What is the transport around the resort like? Do you have to walk to the gondola's or there a bus which winds its way round the resort and picks everyone up?

[MaccA]

Hi all,

one of our party has suggested Flaine in France. From reviews it suggests it is a plain ugly resort with not much nightlife but it does seem to have a big ski area with a pedestrianised centre and a lot of ski in/out.

What are other people's opinions on this resort?

Many many thanks

[MaccA]

P.S. Is it worth signing up to UK Ski Club? I'm tempted to as they offer holiday discounts, but is it just as cheap to DIY?

I'm off to Adelboden 08/03/2009.

For a mixed group like that, at that time of year, my first suggestion would be Alpe D'Huez. Wonderful place.

[MaccA wrote:]

tino_11 wrote:......so my reccomendation is, if you are going early or late, pick somehere with a Glacier to fall back on. I have to say Mayrhofen is a good choice for this.

Hi tino,

thanks for taking the time to reply.

I've just had a look at Mayrhofen as I've seen it recommended countless times on the forum. But from what I can see the resort is really low in the valley with all the skiing up on the top of a mountain plateau. It seemed to offer very little skiing back to the resort except via one red run which might not suit some of our group. Is this the case or am I reading the maps wrong?

[MaccA]

The resort is at 690m so its low. However, look at the webcam today - the place is a white out and when it opens you will be able to ski back to the village from Ahorn.
You are right though, its mainly a case of going up the Gondola to get to the slopes, which are all above 1800m generally, so snow cover is good most of the season. I have never found a run closed or not been able to ski in good snow there.
Its not a ski in/out resort though, perhaps why you can get accommodation there fairly cheap. Getting up the lifts is not a big issue, as long as you know whats involved.
However if you want ski in/out, go somewhere else. Mayrhofen is getting way too popular now with all the people on this forum....