J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by Gaz C

A little bed-time reading?

http://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?t=92727

That's a lot of spa treatments. Better take your Gold Card. Might even be cheaper to take her skiing;-)

Folgarida may be a bit quiet for you if you are into your apres. Only one bar (Eta Beta) in Folgarida 1300 and it is often almost empty, which is a shame as the owner, Ricky, is a good egg and a bit of a character to boot. Nightlife, in the main, revolves around the hotel bars, which welcome non-residents, but offer a rather more gentille experience than that which a bunch of mates may be anticipating. Eta Beta gets busier later on with ski instructors and other local workers but by that time most holidaymakers, many of whom have children in tow, are tucked up in bed or are having a nightcap in their hotel bar.

Folgarida 1400 (a 20-25 minute walk) may be livelier, but if it were me, I would take a few more euros and stay in MdC. (if it's good enough for Rossi and Schumacher then it's good enough for me :wink: )If nightlife isn't such a priority then you could certainly do a lot worse than Folgarida.

On the langlauf front, there are 15km of trails at Campo Carlo Magno, just outside Madonna, and I believe there are more at Pinzolo,which is linked. My first thoughts were along the lines of 15km is not a lot, but I suppose that depends on how much of that is pointing downhill :lol: .

One last thing: if you enjoy long flowing blue pistes, blue#2 (azzurra) down to 1300 is a beaut. I think you'd like red#3 (belvedere)too. Hope this helps.

P.S. Livigno is not a bad shout either. Good apres and nice feel to the town in the evening. Only downside is the transfer: used to be 5 hours from Bergamo, now it's 4-ish from Innsbruck (prices have sneaked up too :evil: ). 40 km of langlauf there, if your mate is a real glutton for punishment -) .

Ooh, can I play? 27 days to Tignes and 62 days to Scheffau. Looks like my season's gonna be over by the middle of January :-( Just like Arsenal, eh?

Kitzbuhel, Saalbach, Ski Welt, Zillertal or Lech? Depends on your budget really.In Lech the snow is guaranteed as is the big hole in your bank balance. The Weisse Ring around Lech, Oberlech, Zug and Zurs will suit if you like to clock up the miles. Also opportunities for trips to Stuben, St. Christoph and St Anton. Go on, you know you want to.... -)

Ski Welt, friendlier on your budget but less snowsure. Ellmau, Scheffau or Westendorf could be just the job. Off to Scheffau with the family in January, so will be more qualified to make recommendations on return. It looks just the ticket though.

Looked at Zillertal for the January trip but opted for Ski Welt as a really good deal was on offer. Zell am Ziller or Finkenberg might suit.

Another option might be Saalbach/Hinterglemm. Don't have any experience of this area but,on paper at least, it seems to suit your needs. Hinterglemm might be more up your street if you aren't party animals.

Finally, Kitzbuhel is worth bearing in mind. 150+km of piste now linked up with Westendorf and the rest of the Ski Welt area with a Ki-West extension to your lift pass. Classy town centre, some party hot-spots but basically as up-beat or low-key as you wish to make it. Kirchberg and Aurach on the same system if you absolutely insist on being tucked up in bed by 10pm.

I reckon you'll get loads of advice for this one. Who knows, it might re-open the old Austria v France debate -)

Hope you find this useful: http://www.moena.it/default.asp?stagione=4&lingua=1&cms=205&alloggio=0

Also suggest you keep an eye on this link: http://www.fassa.com/EN/Skibus-service/

The 2012/13 timetables haven't been published yet, but it shouldn't be long now :thumbup:

While Moena isn't the most convenient of bases for the Sella Ronda, it should be possible with an early enough start. It doesn't have to be breakfast at 5:30, so you can start to get the kids ready at 6 in time to catch the first bus at 8:30 which will drop you off at 9 at the back of a two-hour queue for a cable car which will take you up the mountain just in time to stand in another queue to get your lunch -) , but it's as well to be as organized as possible. It might be a big ask of lower intermediate kids to complete a circuit of the Sella Ronda (the guidebooks suggest 5-6 hours). None of the runs are overly difficult but you are the best judge of their abilities. Let the alternative of an £80 taxi-ride be your incentive to make sure you catch that last lift that gives access to the valley where your skibus runs :twisted:

I would be inclined to take the Col Rodella cable car from Campitello and head for Selva and spend a day in the Selva/Santa Cristina/Ortisei area. This would allow to assess your kids' ability and energy levels for a full-on assault of the Sella Ronda later in the week. Also bear in mind that you can not ski back down to Campitello: you can either come down in the cable car or ski to Canazei and get the bus back from there.

It's not all bad news though :) . Moena is a terrific base for the hidden gem that is Lusia. I really can't think of a better place for families. The blue and red, long, wide and rolling pistes are beautifully prepared. There are lovely mountain restaurants with wonderful views, a kids' snowpark and a timed section of piste complete with speedgun. You won't believe how fast your kids will be going by the end of the day! The kids may find the black piste back down to Ronchi a bit of a challenge; the alternative is to unload in the gondola. I believe that you can ski all the way back to Moena along a frozen track when conditions are good; here's hoping... :D . This is a 10 minute bus ride away from Moena. Another 15 minutes further on is Passo San Pellegrino, another super family area that the Italians keep to themselves, while the Brits and Germans flock to the Sella Ronda -) .

Another grand day out would be Pozza di Fassa(10 minutes by bus), from where you take the Buffaure gondola which then allows you ski on the opposite side of the valley to the Sella Ronda as far as Alba di Canazei. Bear in mind the only run down to the valley in Alba is a black, a typical Italian black; lovely and smooth in good conditions with a couple of steep sections that look far worse than they actually are. You may simply decide to stay high and ski back to Pozza, in which case you would be skiing just blues and reds.

The link also shows access to Carezza, Falcade and Obereggen which are unknown to me but could well be worth further investigation. It seems to me that you have chosen well and the world, or at least the Dolomiti Superski is your oyster. Have a good one :thumbup:.

Wow! That brought back some memories. Stayed at Lo Scoiattolo two years ago (highly recommended); spotted 'our' table in the dining room. Sadly, the Guglielmina burned down last year, (bit of a recurring theme here as there is a burnt out, once quite grand hotel, called the Busch-Thedy, in Gressoney. It's just begging to be restored if anyone has a spare £20 million or so!!!

I recognized sections of La Balma and Canalino dell'Aquila, where our guide, Pierre took us. I would never have dreamed of tackling some of the sections he took us on, but what a sense of achievement we felt on completing them (even though we had the erm 'occasional' tumble -) . A word of advice to anyone wanting to improve off-piste here: Trust your guide. He quickly susses out your ability and just wants you to push yourself a little bit more. Although it may not always feel like it, he doesn't want to kill you. It's bad for business :). I can't wait to go back, with better off-piste skills, and get me a slice of that heli-skiing.

The best valley to stay in depends on individual circumstances. Champoluc is livelier, but is some distance from Alagna. Not a problem, for keen and fit intermediates, but don't forget to keep something in the bank for the homeward journey after a hard day's off-piste skiing. Gressoney is more centrally located but bear in mind that you have to ski the black down to Stafal to pick up the links to Champoluc and Alagna. The alternative is a 10 minute bus ride - no big deal.

While the nightlife in Gressoney isn't up to Austrian standards, there is a lovely little apres bar just around the corner from the end of the home piste with a great selection of Belgian and local beer, served with a smile and free nibbles. The bar in the centre of the village, in the church square, you have to catch at the right time. We went in there one evening about 9 o' clock and we were the only people in there; by 10:30 they were partying hard and swinging from the rafters!

Pros and cons in a nutshell?

Pros: Off the beaten track. A little bit wild and totally unspoiled.

After a good snowfall, off-piste to give La Grave and the Arlberg a run for their money.

Long, often wide, and always quiet pistes. We were warned about the weekend influx from Milan and Turin, but we hardly noticed a difference.

Chee-ee-ee-ap!

It's Italy. :thumbup:

Cons: Erratic snowfall. The off-piste is not in tip-top condition as often as it is in La Grave and the Arlberg. Not a problem on-piste; they have loads of snow cannons.

Nightlife can be too quiet for some.

Not ideal for beginners or nervous/lazy intermediates.

Not a huge amount of pistes. You will ski them all several times over in a week, but I doubt you'll touch the same piece of piste twice.

So, to sum up; I love it, Swingbeep rates it, Dids1 loves it, (see post re: This coming season), and Tony H is gonna love it too. Do yourself a big favour and get it booked :thumbup:

Just do it. You won't regret it!