Val d'Isere V.S St.Anton

Going to tip my 2 cents in here and perhaps be controversial with it!

I cant comment on St Anton as I have never been (but OP has all the info from personal experience) however I have been to VDI several times (have just returned in fact and will write a full review in due course) and so can give some first hand experience on that:

VDI is renowned for under grading and deservedly so: (Vert - the "green" run down from Bellevarde to La Daille is guaranteed to destroy any nervous beginner's confidence and Santons blue is never a blue).

BUT

My wife learned to ski in VDI and this week we had a friend for only her second week on snow who came on leaps and bounds. VDI is actually very good for beginners in many ways:

nursery slope in town has free chairlift and is a reasonable length (drags are awful as a beginner)
green runs on both sides are long but manageable (meaning beginners don't have to do the same short run over and over like in some places)
plenty of blues that are simple progression from the greens
even some reds that can be tackled (Fontaine Froid etc)
if you want a beginner hooked for years to come then the feeling of travel in a large area like EK will do it like no other
LOADS of excellent ski schools with English speaking instructors who will happily tell you which pistes are and are not unfairly graded and thus build confidence accordingly
You do have to accept that realistically its a gondola down but so what?

Much of the above crystallizes what VSB said and I totally agree with him - though if they can have a choice too then all the better as it will make them come back (you'd hope)

Yes some of it is awful - I'd say the World Cup "OK" red is easier than Santons blue for anyone vaguely competent, I'd not go down Vert at the end of the day with a beginner in a million years (its narrow, has a tunnel and crosses an icy black)

Partying and pricing: depends on what you want. VDI has the legendary Folie Douce on the slopes and there is nothing like it (and I've been to a LOT of different resorts - personally I don't particularly like it but that doesn't make it not an experience). however the Folie is VERY pricy. As can be some other bars. But that's true of ANYWHERE you go (apart from Bulgaria).

What I do know from actual experience is that if you know where to go for happy hour etc then you can get 2 half litre beers and 2 HUGE G and T's for 12 Euros. Less than 8 quid for those drinks would be cheap in the UK - much less in one of the world's premier resorts. Yes I COULD pay more elsewhere but I don't.

Also people say VDI is crowded: I was there week before last (first of French half term, not UK)and was on first lift every day with no queues, quiet pistes and longest I queued all week was approx 1 min and that was cos one turnstile was off

Other things to consider with beginners is that they may not want/be able to ski all day every day so you need some off slope stuff: VDI is a proper town (unlike La Plagne, L2A etc) and so has a market, shops, sports centre etc

All of that said - I don't think its perfect for beginners and I probably wouldn't send a group of newbies there (the lift pass is actually brilliant value for what you get but only if you can cover the ground)but for a mixed group like OP has then I think its a great option.

As I said - I've been to a lot of other pl;aces and like them all for different reasons so I'm certainly not wedded to the place but did want to give some first hand experience

Andy

Andy's post is absolutely spot on regarding VDI. I've been there 3 times now and it's a top top resort. The 'Village' beginner area is very good and free. Not intimidating and seems to be very popular (which logically must mean that there are lots of beginners in the resort). Access to the green quiet areas is relatively easy. The Solaise chair lift and gondola goes up to 2560m. From there the madeleine green is accessible (slightly more blue on my opinion but a good place to progress to). The blues are also decent although the last section into the Datcha chair can get a bit hairy. The only way back down is via a very tricky red which is best avoided by beginners and even nervous intermediates. No problem though as it is easy to jump back on the chair or gondola.

The Olympique telecabin up the other side of the mountain to 2,827m is also straight forward. There is a tricky section to transverse to get to the tranquil green area but nervous skiers can actually walk down a short section to avoid this. The green runs down to the Marmottes chair excellent. As Andy says, just make sure a beginner doesn't carry on to the Verte run which is carnage at the end of the day. Like the Solaise side the runs back into the village are for good intermediates only. Santons blue can be hugely intimidating (icy half pipe) and then there is a long flat section once you've cleared the half pipe. The only other way down is via the olympic black run. Loads of people jump on the telecahin though.

The glacier area is also great for beginners as long as you can deal with the 'scare chair'.

The village is very good with plenty to do. The wider EK area including Tignes is superb.

We'll be back again before too long.

forgot to mention the glacier - and if you have real beginners you can get bus to Le Fornet, cable car to Signal, gondola to Glacier edge, ski green run, chair up to top (thus avoiding the scare chair)

Good shout BB

Thanks for all the great Info everyone, I will definitely take it into consideration. Like I said, I love St Anton and would ski there permanently, but I took a bunch of beginners there earlier this year in January and a few of them struggled. I only have three weeks of skiing under the belt, but don't really struggle anywhere, so my idea of what is tough for beginners is a bit impaired. The other alternative that I have skied before is Ellmau in the Ski welt region. Only thing that puts me off there is the snow reliability as I have had two consecutive bad years there. Ill keep hunting and again, thanks for all the great advise.

I've been to both, and 100% agree that they are not resorts for beginners. If I had to choose between the 2, I would go for St.Anton everytime, if anything because the neighbouring areas of Lech and Warth are welcoming and enjoyable, where as I found Tignes bland and without charm when I was in VDI. My opinion of course, but for me it's the whole area I look at, not just the locality of my chalet.

When beginners attempt to ski all mountain most will struggle in any resort unless it's flat. This is normal and there is no way around this stage and there are two options - either to suck it up and carry on or to stick to easy runs and let friends ski more advanced terrain and then see them for lunch/après. Also beginners really should be at lessons and instructors will take them where they would be able to cope without issues.

VSB is quite right. Also many many resorts have decent green/blue runs but it is not uncommon to be faced with tricky final sections into chair lifts etc. The Olympique lift up to the Bellevarde area is a case in point in VDI. The green runs are very good for beginners but the short section from the telecabin 'plateau' to the runs is very busy, carved up and intimidating for beginners.

Got to agree with all of the above re: Val d'Isere.

I've just come back from my second week there, and my missus' second-ever week on snow, and she improved immeasurably. Her lessons - with New Generation - actually treated her like a skier, rather than her previous ESF instructor's incessant cry of "PARALLEL!" and making them side-slip down everything.

She improved so much, we managed to SKI to Tignes on day three in fairly bad visability (for her), then ski back to Val via the Edelweiss blue and back down in the Daille gondola (after a refuel at the Folie Douce).

Yes, the greens get chopped up, but only because they often traverse slopes with a higher grading and are used by pretty much everyone.

The Madeleine up the Solaise was generally fine on a daily basis (and the fact you can get the chair or gondola down means no beginners on the red Piste M and Plan village runs), and the Grand Pre green accesible from the Bellevarde was in ace condition.

As someone who is currently trying to help a novice improve, I'd say Val offers the terrain to get better very quickly. And not just because they have to.

PS: If anyone goes with New Generation in Val d'Isere and gets Dani as their instructor, they're guaranteed to improve. My missus is living proof!