J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by AllyG

Welcome to J2Ski :)

My only piece of advice would be to repeat what Bedrock Barney says about your mate. Don't let him drag you onto a slope which is too difficult for you! If it was me I think I'd have lessons every morning and then ski with him in the afternoons.

Best of luck, and I hope you have a great time :)

Hi BB,
I'm glad to hear you're interested in coming with us :)

Which other airports would you consider, if you don't want to go via London Gatwick or Stansted?

Manchester is a possibility, if you fly to Venice (Marco Polo VCE), with Monarch. A return flight, with luggage, is currently £123.

There are 2 more people thinking of coming with us and flying from Manchester, if they can sort out flights and transfers.

Venice would be possible, I reckon, if you hired a car for the week. Otherwise, if we get enough people interested in this route, perhaps we could consider hiring another mini-bus taxi to do the return route between the airport and the hotel, timed to fit in with the Monarch flights.

Going out, the Monarch flight departs Manchester at 15-00 on Sunday 2nd February and arrives at Venice at 18-20.

Coming back, the flight departs Venice at 19-20 on Sunday 9th February and arrives back in Manchester at 20-50.

The other possibility is Innsbruck. There is a direct train from Innsbruck train station to Trento (which is on the line to Verona). The public shuttle bus picks up at Trento train station going to and from Folgarida. Or, again, if enough people wanted to do it we could consider hiring another taxi.

EasyJet does Bristol to Innsbruck and back, and Monarch do Manchester to Innsbruck and back.

Innsbruck airport is closer to Folgarida than Venice airport. The distance from Innsbruck airport to Folgarida is 132 miles, or 3 hours travelling time. From Venice to Folgarida it's 147 miles, or 3 3/4 hours travelling time.

And it's only 2 1/4 hours from Verona airport to Folgarida.

I haven't skied the area before, but I have read quite a few reviews on it, and I think it will suit us very well. Most of the reviews are about Madonna di Campiglio, which is the 'posh' village, but the ski area is shared with Folgarida, much like Tignes and Val d'Isere I imagine.

Here is part of the review from the Ski Club of GB by the guy who led the first FreshTracks holiday there a few months ago:

Italy's top resort?
Overall rating: 5 stars
John Bennett
Visited: January 2013

Campiglio claims to be Italy's top resort - and maybe it really is now...
I first visited Campiglio in 2004 and my only criticisms then were a lack of some more challenging skiing, and maybe a few kms short for a full-on ski week
In 2013 I found:
- a new gondola link bringing Pinzolo (a locals resort) into the Campiglio network
- new covered high-speed chairlifts (life-savers in last seasons snowstorms)
- a new gondola up to 5-Laghi, and new pistes/lifts as well
- some runs left unpisted for a bit of free-skiing/mogul skiing
so now good for more advanced as well as good intermediate skiers.

The Pinzolo link opens up a lower-altitude area, featuring several decent black runs, and also some off-piste pitches.
The linked pistes above resort level mean also mean that you not need a ski-bus to get back to your accommodation, regardless of which areas you ski in.
Unusual for an upmarket resort, Campiglio loves boarders and freestyle skiers, you will find a great snow-park in Groste area.

I checked the historical snow records on the Ski Club of GB website and they looked pretty good to me, and February is probably the best month for snow :).

We now have 18 people going, and 10 for the 12 seater mini-bus transfer, so there are only 2 places left for the mini-bus!

As a consequence of this the cost of the return transfer in this mini-bus between Verona airport and the Gran Baita hotel in Folgarida is now only 70 euros :)

Is anyone else interested in coming with us?

OldAndy wrote:

AllyG wrote:18 sleeps before I get to ski on the glacier at Tignes :)

Weather permitting........

Don't be so mean Andy :( ;)

I am quite sure there will be plenty of snow, no wind, and it will be beautifully sunny when I'm there :)

18 sleeps before I get to ski on the glacier at Tignes :)

This is a still taken off the Grande Motte webcam in Tignes this morning.
I will be there in just over 2 weeks, for 3 days of ski coaching on the glacier. It looks as though at the moment they have 4 pistes open - the red and black in the picture, a blue off to the right, and a red off to the left. Let's hope there is more snow before then, and they open a few more, like the Double M! :)

She looks really cute :)

He almost looks like he's leaning backwards, at times!