J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by Pole Plant

Hi Paul. Have been fortunate enough to ski in the states on a number of occasions-you won't be disappointed. Best bets from to Houston to the ski areas would be either Denver or Salt Lake. All round, for everyone, I would recommended Breckenridge (with good bus links to Keystone, Vail, Copper Mountain and Beaver Creek) and if it hasn't changed same lift pass for Breckenridge, Beaver and Vail. If you have a car then it's a doddle. Obviously the States doesn't suffer with language problems, important for the young ones and beginners, and they have excellent lift systems which are monitored by marshals thus doing away with the 'push and shove' of Europe. However, lift passes can be very expensive so need checking out before travelling. In the main I used Crystal to travel to the USA but also booked flights into Denver, booked self-catering or hotel in the resort and this all worked very well. Also worth considering is Salt Lake with Park City, Snowbird, Alta and Deer Valley all fairly accessible from a central point in Salt Lake itself. Probably best to avoid the east coast resorts such as Killington and Stowe-usually bitterly cold and very windy-even the American east coast skiers fly into Colorado! Beware of January, temperatures are often in the minus 15 to 20's and also try to avoid the USA 'Spring Break' where the university students arrive en mase for their spring break and can be a nuisance to other skiers, unless, of course, you are also a student looking to get completely annihilated every day and night. As I said originally I cannot imagine you being disappointed if you make the trip.

Hi Vivalas

Don't risk Seefeld-much too low for this time of the year, in fact, pretty low for most of the season. Take the other peoples advice-Tignes, La Plagne-both are a good height and have glacier skiing as well. You could also consider Zermatt, Obergurgl in Austria, Flaine and Val Thorens in France. As you are running into the Easter holidays you may find it difficult to find accommodation but best of luck.

Spot on Stevie.Used to have class now a place to avoid unless you want to join in the table and mooning events.Not been helped by a couple of TV documentaries featuring the chinless wonders egged on by financial
city tes and the worst types of estate agents.

Hello Medskis

Have skied Madonna a few times-used ski guides twice. Yes, tipping in Italy is not too common but certainly your group should offer to pay for lunch/coffee. Depending on how your guide is then I would suggest that you tip 5 euros each if you feel inclined, it is normally greatly appreciated. Lovely choice for a resort-good linked area, vibrant, good restaurants and fairly reasonable prices compared to Switzerland, France and Austria. Enjoy.

Lovely area with extensive lift system. The main problem for you is the time of year (end March into April) and you would be taking some chance on getting a reliable and good snow cover. If you are happy to take the risk then it is an area well worth visiting. Austrian resorts, in general, tend to be, on average, lower than a lot of the main French and Swiss resorts. If you want reliable snow at that time of the year in Austria then the obvious choice is Obergurgl with a resort level of around 6500 feet with skiing from the top at around 9000 feet (3000 metres)which usually equates to skiing through to the beginning of May. In any event you'll have a great time!

When I was a fairly novice skier I had exactly the same experience-couldn't agree with you more. Bear in mind that most resorts that don't have a genuine blue run to the village will 'convert' a red run in order that visitors can be assured (!) that their is a blue run back. Val D'Isere is a great resort so if you don't fancy their 'blue' get the gondola down the final runs and sit back and enjoy the scenery.

Best advice has to be one or two days with ski instructor-nobody knows their own resorts better than the instructors.

Take a look at Chamonix France. Near to Geneva, large town, numerous restaurants, gondola up to top of Mount Blanc-check it out.