I'm still searching for Austrian and French resorts with a) lots of tree-line skiing b) gentle cruising blues, my ski partner doesnt like heights so pistes which appear to "fall away" are a no-no c) transfer time under 2 hours d) a village with a bit of character
I had narrowed it down to SC and Montgenevre and Kirchberg (as an outside possibility) but have just now found La Clusaz. It looks perfect for us with plenty of trees to hide the height issue, lots of easy-ish runs and very French (in a good way). My only concern now is that the lower sections leading to the village are fairly low and was wondering if they tend to suffer from poor conditions. We will be travelling the first week of February so that should help.
La Clusaz would be ideal, as would its neighbouring resort of Le Grand Bornand. Both very French and very friendly (good cheese too!).
In any normal season snow cover will be good all the way to village level in February.
Obviously check the piste maps carefully but you should find some good skiing to suit.
If your partner is comfortable on chair-lifts then (in La Clusaz) there are long, wide, easy Blues just above the town; with lots of space and no cliff edges (unless you take a seriously wrong turning, of course). Just avoid the top section of l'Aiguille.
Beauregard has a selection of easy runs and is accessed by gondola - often sunny with good views and tends not to attract so many faster skiers (hence less intimidating for the nervous).
The Croix Fry area has (I think - been a while since I've been there) quite a few button lifts, if your partner prefers to stay on the ground, and is all tree-lined with mainly Blues. Usually possible to ski into town from here.
You should avoid the top section of La Balme (above the tree line) but there is a long Blue down from the gondola station that should be ok. You can ski back into town from here but would need to ride the ski bus to get there.
And to avoid heights completely, there's cross-country available up at Confins (bus ride out of town).
Most of the runs at Le Grand Bornand are below the tree line - just avoid the Le Lachat peak as there's no really easy way down.
HTH.