Where to ski at Christmas 2015

We are meeting our son in Geneva and would like to travel to a ski resort over the Christmas period. I would describe my husband and myself as cautious intermediates (would prefer some nice blue runs and easy reds!!) our son obviously is a bit more adventurous. Were thinking about Saas Fee but after reading several reviews wonder if the red runs are a bit too steep for us. We would like a small resort and are not too bothered about it being a huge ski area - any advice would be great.

Mrs G

Saas Fee is not one of the resorts I would associate with Geneva; from where there are 10's of good resorts within 1 1/2hrs drive. Early season conditions are looking good; there is a 1/2 decent base which will will be nicely consolidated by the current cold stable conditions. That means you can basically take you pick.

john george wrote:We would like a small resort and are not too bothered about it being a huge ski area - any advice would be great.

And traditional rather than purpose built?

For starters :- Samoens, Les Carroz, Les Contamines, St.Gervais, Les Gets, La Clusaz, Le Grand Bornand... etc. 8)

Les Carroz is nice and an easy run from Geneva (Saas-Fee is a 3-hour drive).

Good advice from admin man.

I would personally go for La Clusaz-under one hours drive from Geneva. Nice town, lots of easy blues and some slightly more difficult reds. The high sector of La Balme has some good demanding blacks.

Cold conditions are not current anymore, so I doubt there will be any consolidation of snow pack going on in the nearest future but some of it will definitely melt away in the next 7 warm days, and no-one knows yet when next snow will arrive. Saas Fee is a bit of a trek from Geneva but you will be guaranteed snow, and it's a pleasant train journey followed by the bus. I only skied there once for a day maybe 6 years ago, so don't know it all too well, but I wasn't under impression that skiing was particularly hard there; in any case it's a fairly big area so you should be able to find suitable terrain. Many resorts close to Geneva were not even skiable last Christmas.

I would heartily recommend Les Carroz: we have skied there for several years & have taught several grandchildren/nephews etc. It's a super resort with plenty of options for all levels, with very well-groomed pistes of (normally) great snow. Lovely forest trails & once the beginners progress, some very nicely staged 'challenges'. Bon ski!

We were originally only looking at the Swiss options (getting there by train) but will probably look at a few of the French resorts too now - last minute as usual!!!