Feb Half term - is EVERYWHERE heaving?

Having suffered the Grand Massif last Feb half term we swore we would never do Europe at that time again. However, we've been told that not everywhere has hour long lift queues & dangerous pistes. Trouble is we've not been told where those places are!

Can anyone tell me if Italy or Austria are quieter at these times? Or recommend any French resorts that the whole of Paris & Britain do not decamp to, which it what seems to have happened to us

Yours in anticipation
Bryan

Hi Bryan,

Your post gives you part of the answer ..... Paris decamps to the Alps so if you head further south to the Pyrenees you will avoid Parisiens and the rest of the north of France. Most of British skiers go to the Alps as they have not looked further at the fantastic skiing we have here in the Pyrenees, so you will avoid most of the Brits too!

The Pyrenees are family friendly, cheaper and quieter than the Alps.

Check out our website on www.pyrenees-ski-experience.com to find out more about the skiing available.

We offer catered chalet accommodation or self catered chalets and apartments and I am sure we can find something to suit your needs. Ase live in the area we also know the quieter periods and can advise on the best dates.

Regards
Sarah

I've skied a lot at Feb half term and never ever had hour lift queues!! I've skied at Filzmoos a lot (only a small resort though) and longest lift queue i had in Feb half term is about 3 mins. La Clusaz in France doesnt have huge lift queues even at that time of the year. Basically head to resorts that arent huuuge and arent at convenient places for city people, ie. not somewhere like Chamonix. Having said that La Clusaz is close to Geneva, but doesnt seem to get too busy.

Hi Bryan
If you don't need a very big area or you are interested in improving off piste technique then you could consider our trip to Bovec in Slovenia.
There are details onmy website www.soundskis.com and on my ebay shop. If you google Bovec Ski then details should come up.
I really love the place, a hidden gem! and cheap too, only ?1.5 for a large beer on the mountain

Kind regards

Ramon

Thanks for replies which I will look into. I have to say I was probably rather unfair to the Grand Massif area. We normally go there at Easter but circumstances forced us to in Feb this year. The queuing situation was made much worse by the fact that the snow was poor on the Samoens/Morillon side so the crowds tended to head for Flaine. This created huge bottlenecks.
It would be nice to have a change though and go somewhere less known
Regards
Bryan

Queuing for an hour - sounds terrible.

Have a look at the resorts in Austria - great skiing and although they are busier in February they are not heaving. We never queue for more than a few minutes even at the busiesr of times. There are also great places to eat on the slopes, lots of traditional mountain huts and not a purpose built resort in sight.

Another tip is to keep away from the resorts features in the tour brochures - try some of the resorts the "locals" use - take a look at www.dachstein.net - 140km of interlinked piste less than an hour from Salzburg.

ps. please don't tell everyone about it!