Latest posts for the topic "Late march resort suggestions?"

Late march resort suggestions?

Wed, 26 Nov 2008 12:43:41 GMT

Hi all,

great forum, best I've seen for sharing snow based information.

I've looked all over and read a lot but cant make a sure decision for my needs, so I thought I'd ask.

I'm looking for resort suggestions.

We are a group of 7 people; 1 beginner snowboarder, 1 intermediate snowboarder, 1 novice skier (not beginner, not intermediate), and 4 intermediate/experienced skiers.

We are going for our annual trip on 21st March 2009 and are concerned about snow availability.

We are happy to go more or less anywhere in Europe and would probably quite like a change away from France which we've skied for countless years now. But I keep coming back to the need for a high resort due to the time of year and France having the majority of them.

To give you some idea we have recently skied Val Thoren (good amount of piste and apres ski), Avoriaz (good amount of piste and apres ski), La Plagne Soleil (good amount of piste, too little apres ski, even in Plagne Centre), Sauze D'oulx (limited piste, too little apres ski). We also have a policy of never skiing the same resort twice, although this may have to give way to snow priority this year.

We don't have money to burn so places like Zermatt are out of the question I think but we definitely want to stay in resort (not a satellite village) as ski in/out and decent apres ski (lots of restaurant and bar choice) are high on our list.

So, does anyone know where I can get the moon on a stick?!?!?

All help desperately and gratefully received.

[MaccA]

Re:Late march resort suggestions?

Wed, 26 Nov 2008 13:58:23 GMT

Well I am going to Serre Chevalier on March 20th. That might give you something to think about, ie avoiding the place in case you bump into a nutter like me

Late march resort suggestions?

Wed, 26 Nov 2008 14:23:39 GMT

Hahah, thanks for the heads up!

*Runs off to google Serre Chevalier*

Re:Late march resort suggestions?

Wed, 26 Nov 2008 14:23:55 GMT

Why not go to North America?

Late march resort suggestions?

Wed, 26 Nov 2008 14:32:20 GMT

We've always figured you'd need two extra days holiday due to the flight times which most of us cant afford.

Also, we're used to getting flights, transfers and accommodation for <GBP300 when we DIY, which we've struggled with when looking at America/Canada in the psat.

Shame really as I'd love to try N.America as I've heard only good things, but don't think it'll be possible this season

Re:Late march resort suggestions?

Wed, 26 Nov 2008 14:37:12 GMT

Hi MaccA and a warm welcome to our cosy little world

(and now we risk one of those monster threads that spirals into infinity)

Might I just mention that you "shouldn't" need to rely on altitude to achieve your requirements ... Last year, on 29th March, at 850m I was skiing quality, natural pistes and some untracked off-piste

As a quick search of previous threads will show, altitude can have it's problems with "snow sureness" too (glaciers excepted).

Anyway, just a thought

Jan

Re:Late march resort suggestions?

Wed, 26 Nov 2008 16:01:28 GMT

Hi Jan and thank you for the welcome.

One of the benefits of starting my own thread was the ability to ask questions of people's replies without hijacking someone elses thread. Hopefully this'll keep it on track and stop it spiralling into infinity

I know that height doesn't guarantee snow but it sure does help! We all feel ski in/out can make or break a ski holiday as a lot of people rent equipment which isn't pleasant to trudge around in. Whereas there may be snow on lower pistes it often dries up in the towns lower down quicker (from what I've read on the forum).

Also I seem to remember last winter being a very good season for snow late on after a very delayed start, so guess thid have helped towards your 850m March time skiing?

[Macca]

Re:Late march resort suggestions?

Wed, 26 Nov 2008 16:11:17 GMT

[MaccA wrote:]Hi Jan and thank you for the welcome.

One of the benefits of starting my own thread was the ability to ask questions of people's replies without hijacking someone elses thread. Hopefully this'll keep it on track and stop it spiralling into infinity

I know that height doesn't guarantee snow but it sure does help! We all feel ski in/out can make or break a ski holiday as a lot of people rent equipment which isn't pleasant to trudge around in. Whereas there may be snow on lower pistes it often dries up in the towns lower down quicker (from what I've read on the forum).

Also I seem to remember last winter being a very good season for snow late on after a very delayed start, so guess thid have helped towards your 850m March time skiing?

[Macca]

I was in Val d'Isere the week before Christmas last year and we had plenty of snow. Saying that I was also on the Hintertux in May this year with plenty of snow....

......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.

Re:Late march resort suggestions?

Wed, 26 Nov 2008 16:11:31 GMT

Edited - duplicate post

Re:Late march resort suggestions?

Wed, 26 Nov 2008 16:17:10 GMT

[MaccA wrote:

Also I seem to remember last winter being a very good season for snow late on after a very delayed start, so guess thid have helped towards your 850m March time skiing?

[Macca]

Last winter, delayed start..hmm...then again, on the 11th December this would be no good for you as it's not ski in/out, oh well

Re:Late march resort suggestions?

Wed, 26 Nov 2008 17:08:10 GMT

Hmmmm, am I wrong? I thought the Alps, with the odd exception, were very late for snow last year. I could easily be wrong though

And yes, I know not every European ski resort is in the Alps

Back to the subject though, resort suggestions please

Re:Late march resort suggestions?

Wed, 26 Nov 2008 18:31:55 GMT

In thought last year there was a brilliant early start, and then a severe tail off and rise in temps, until late season when it all kicked off again.
This was reflected in my early season trip to Mayrhofen being snow packed, followed by a hot, sunny and ever decreasing snowline in Sauze in mid Feb, finished off with a fantastic blast of fresh snow in Verbier last week in March/first week in April.

Re:Late march resort suggestions?

Wed, 26 Nov 2008 19:31:57 GMT

Tony_H wrote:I thought last year there was a brilliant early start, and then a severe tail off and rise in temps, until late season when it all kicked off again.

That was certainly my experiance

Re:Late march resort suggestions?

Wed, 26 Nov 2008 20:41:46 GMT

in your position I'd be having a good look at:

saas fee
val thorens (though you've been there)
tignes
val d'isere
alpe d'huez
les arcs
la plagne
avoriaz
les deux alpes
obergurgl (though expensive)

to start with but that's just me. (sorry, most are in france)

good luck

Re:Late march resort suggestions?

Wed, 26 Nov 2008 23:51:13 GMT

Hello Macca, welcome to J2ski.

Jan already told you he was skiing on 29 March in Austria. I know, I was there, the skiing was great.

Other J2skiers might be amazed at this, but since you asked for resorts, we might both, entirely coincidentally, suggest Niederau. I certainly will, have been there at the end of March for many seasons, and every year, when the lifts have closed, there has been skiing down to the village. The Auhof will do you a deal!

On the other hand, over and above the base cost, Zermatt is less expensive than France. I can recommend the Hotel Atlanta. It does cost GBP550+, unless you can get a deal. But you can get a price direct from the Atlanta, and see if you can do flights & trains to do better. The Zermatt lift pass for instance is cheaper than VT.

Re:Late march resort suggestions?

Thu, 27 Nov 2008 09:32:14 GMT

Levi -Lapland-

For a mixed group of abilities.

100% snow cover.

15 mins trans.

Crystal/Inghams do some fantastic deals nearer the time.

Late march resort suggestions?

Thu, 27 Nov 2008 09:56:05 GMT

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

Re:Late march resort suggestions?

Thu, 27 Nov 2008 11:09:13 GMT

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]

Re:Late march resort suggestions?

Thu, 27 Nov 2008 11:15:48 GMT

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.

Re:Late march resort suggestions?

Thu, 27 Nov 2008 11:37:37 GMT

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]

Re:Late march resort suggestions?

Thu, 27 Nov 2008 12:09:31 GMT

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?

Re:Late march resort suggestions?

Thu, 27 Nov 2008 12:50:56 GMT

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

Re:Late march resort suggestions?

Thu, 27 Nov 2008 13:33:47 GMT

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

Re:Late march resort suggestions?

Thu, 27 Nov 2008 15:46:35 GMT

[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....

Re:Late march resort suggestions?

Thu, 27 Nov 2008 17:01:58 GMT

We aren't "seasoned" skiers so hiking around ski resorts and getting on buses isn't usually appreciated by the group, even those of us with our own boots and skis, so I think we'll give Mayrhofen a miss for a few more years.

Thanks for the experienced info on it though Tony.

We are favouring towards Alpe D'Huez as a resort that we haven't been to before but seems to offer a large ski area, cheap accomodation, ski in/out and a variety of restaurants and pubs.

Can anyone else give me an opinion on this please?

Thanks to all

[MaccA]

Re:Late march resort suggestions?

Thu, 27 Nov 2008 17:54:30 GMT

I'd try it judging on what you say you are looking for. Its as cheap as you can get for France if you are prepared to look around.

You dont need to be a seasoned skier to get on a bus you know....

Re:Late march resort suggestions?

Thu, 27 Nov 2008 18:33:22 GMT

Hi Macca... My suggestion would be Alpe D'Huez too... good bars ( Try The Free ride bar) and every ability catered for.. beginners get good area called the DMC to grow in ability.. Ive been once before and go again im March also planning trip for 24 in 2010 mostly beginners...

Re:Late march resort suggestions?

Thu, 27 Nov 2008 20:25:11 GMT

I've been there 4 times, once self catering, the other times taking big groups staying at Chalet Les Eterlous the des Bergers.
I don't think I'll ever tire of the area, it has everything.

Re:Late march resort suggestions?

Fri, 28 Nov 2008 11:32:32 GMT

Hi Macca, I went to Alpe D'Huez last February with a group of about 35. There was a wide range of ability with the skiers and boarders and the place just suits everyone down to the ground. For the beginners they can just stay in the DMC and the intermediate/experienced can go all the way to the top (3330m) on Le Pic Blanc and Ski the worlds longest run - Le Sarenne (16KM) or Le Tunnel if you dare!!!!!
There are plenty of great pubs and restaurants, which is something high up on our list as the majority of our party are rugby playing maniacs.
So if you do decide to go there you will have a fabulous time.
Hope this helped.
Josh V