J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by Dan-o

Thanks for the replies.

Because we plan on going in early January I've looked at the snow history stats for December and January.

In a number of seasons the average snow cover on the lower slopes of Morzine, Val Gardena, Skiwelt was pretty close to the 15cm mentioned by a couple of people.

Has anyone been in any of these resorts in early Jan and found the runs to the villages are closed due to a lack of snow?

I have been lurking around there pages for several months, and finally decided to join in the discussions.

We are a group of fairly confident beginners, with about 4 weeks of skiing/snowboarding under the belt.
I'm considering a few resorts situated below 1000m for a 2 week trip early January, but the prospect of poor snow cover concerns me.

Skiwelt, for example, averages between 1cm and 35cm of snow cover on the lower slopes during that period. Snow cannons obviously help a lot, but how much natural snow cover do I need to be looking for to be sure one can ski all the way down to the village?
Is it possible to venture off the edges of the pistes (my idea of off-piste) on the lower slopes of an area like Skiwelt, or would the snow cover simply be too thin?

The prospect of having to take a lift down to the village at the end of a day's skiing doesn't appeal to me at all.