Latest posts for the topic "1st April Italy, worth it?"

1st April Italy, worth it?

Thu, 8 Mar 2012 22:40:18 GMT

Hey all

I am looking to book a week on 1st April ( I know, I am going pay through the nose due to Easter) but that is the whole reason for the thread, I have been recommended to go to Italy as is better value than France or Austria, however, is there anywhere good in Italy that time of year?

What I want to avoid is the slushy stuff that you get in April if you are too low down, I hate skiing in that stuff.

Your advice will be hugely appreciated, even more so if you know where any good deals are.

Re:1st April Italy, worth it?

Fri, 9 Mar 2012 06:58:24 GMT

no guarantees but I have done Courmayuer/La Thuile last week in March ...Courmayear got a bit slushy but La thuille wa s ok ...you take a chance at that time anywhere

Re:1st April Italy, worth it?

Fri, 9 Mar 2012 07:07:15 GMT

Cervinia, nice and high, mellow slopes, and access to Zermatt :D

Re:1st April Italy, worth it?

Fri, 9 Mar 2012 09:51:47 GMT

Well, it might be difficult to avoid the slushy stuff in April. If the freezing level goes up to 3000m there will be few places unaffected where you can ski above 3000 m. Maybe it's time to get some fatter skis with rocker - they make skiing afternoon slush a great fun:)

Re:1st April Italy, worth it?

Fri, 9 Mar 2012 12:28:39 GMT

I often ski at Cervinia in April. The runs below Plan Maison are usually pretty slushy in the afternoon but above there is normally fine, unless it's extremely warm.

Re:1st April Italy, worth it?

Sat, 10 Mar 2012 06:14:51 GMT

I have found a deal in livigno that suits, worth a try?

Or

Stick to places like Val Thorens, Tignes etc to guarantee the high snow.

The reason I fancied Italy is because

A: I have never skied there before

B: I have been told its cheaper than France

C: Its not full of French people

)

Re:1st April Italy, worth it?

Sat, 10 Mar 2012 07:18:53 GMT

The usual places will be filled with people who had the same idea. There are lots of places in Europe for late skiing, you don't have to use a glacier or motorway style slopes which have been bashed to the consistency of concrete.

Check the historical snow depths for Livigno before booking )

Re:1st April Italy, worth it?

Sun, 11 Mar 2012 01:10:06 GMT

We were in livigno last year first week in April where it was 20degrees on the slopes and the snow held up great-it's from 1800 o 200 m I think though

Re:1st April Italy, worth it?

Mon, 12 Mar 2012 06:14:47 GMT

Still not found anything, the problem is that the temps are rising, freeze points getting very high which is starting to make me nervous about booking anything too low so now looking at anything above 1850.

problem with that is it is Easter and the prices are silly. :evil:

ALSO

Mrs P is getting fed up with looking and has started to talk about somewhere "HOT" :shock:

Anyone got any ideas before I end up on a beach

Re:1st April Italy, worth it?

Mon, 12 Mar 2012 11:13:38 GMT

tonypants wrote:Still not found anything, the problem is that the temps are rising, freeze points getting very high which is starting to make me nervous about booking anything too low so now looking at anything above 1850.

problem with that is it is Easter and the prices are silly. :evil:

ALSO

Mrs P is getting fed up with looking and has started to talk about somewhere "HOT" :shock:

Anyone got any ideas before I end up on a beach

Yes.
Give up on Easter skiing. You are more likely to feel let down by going. Save the money and book for Jan 2013 somewhere you know will get snow and make the most of it. And then book a cheap week in the sun to earn yourself some brownie points with Mrs Pants

Re:1st April Italy, worth it?

Mon, 12 Mar 2012 12:16:28 GMT

I'm planning to be skiing much later than Easter 2012, pretty much up until the end of April. Then I shall head for Spain 8)

Re:1st April Italy, worth it?

Mon, 12 Mar 2012 12:47:18 GMT

Tonypants,
We went ski-ing at Easter in La Rosiere (22nd-29th March) a few years ago and it snowed masses all week - well over a foot I should think - and they even opened the lower run that goes down to the road.

So, I think the weather is unpredictable. I know we were a bit worried about the snow before we left, but we ended up with weather more like January. In fact, my only complaint was that it was too cold!

Have you thought of hiring a car and driving around the ski resorts? You could stay somewhere cheap, like Bourg-St-Maurice and go and have a look at La Rosiere and Les Arcs and Tignes etc. and decide which one had the best snow. I know Bourg is practically IN Les Arcs and I think Tignes is only about 12 miles away. And if the snow was rubbish in all of them (which I think is extremely unlikely) then at least you could have a good look at the area and decide where to go next year and do a bit of sight-seeing.

If you stayed in cheap self-catering accommodation, or cheap bed and breakfast you should be able to do it for about GBP450 each including flights, car hire and accommodation.

Or - there are still cheap deals around for Easter (from around GBP500 each half-board or catered chalet), and there are bound to be more soon as some unfortunate people have to cancel their ski holidays due to illness etc.

If it was me, and I could spare the time and money, I wouldn't give up just yet :D

Ally

Re:1st April Italy, worth it?

Mon, 12 Mar 2012 13:36:30 GMT

AllyG wrote:

So, I think the weather is unpredictable.

Agreed, even more so at Easter than Jan/Feb/March to be fair.

Everyone is different, but I always choose to go at a time and to a place where the unpredictability is reduced to a minimum. I have not been let down yet.

Re:1st April Italy, worth it?

Mon, 12 Mar 2012 19:35:14 GMT

Cervinia winter skiing season always closes on the first Sunday of May for annual maintenanace in preparation for Summer skiing )

Re:1st April Italy, worth it?

Mon, 12 Mar 2012 19:43:33 GMT

biki17 wrote:Cervinia winter skiing season always closes on the first Sunday of May for annual maintenanace in preparation for Summer skiing )

:D :D 8)

Re:1st April Italy, worth it?

Tue, 13 Mar 2012 06:03:08 GMT

Thanks for the tip Ally, Mrs P emailed a deal to me yesterday at work to La Rosiere, just checked the weather and it will get colder by the end of next week with a couple of snow showers.

I might take the plunge and go there........

Incidentally there are lots of deals on offer for La Plagne 1800, in my opinion La Plagne is quite flat? just not feeling it ?

Re:1st April Italy, worth it?

Tue, 13 Mar 2012 06:30:45 GMT

ADH worth a try? never been there before but found a lovely chalet :)

Re:1st April Italy, worth it?

Tue, 13 Mar 2012 08:24:44 GMT

tonypants wrote:ADH worth a try? never been there before but found a lovely chalet :)

Does it have a nice terrace where you can sunbathe? :D

ADH has lots of south facing slopes )

Re:1st April Italy, worth it?

Tue, 13 Mar 2012 16:13:59 GMT

tonypants wrote:ADH worth a try? never been there before but found a lovely chalet :)

At this late stage in the season, as has been said a lot recently, ADH may well struggle with lots of sunshine. There will be a few dumps too, but even in January some of the slopes struggle to hold decent snow.
You'd be skiing at beat 3 hours a day IMO

Re:1st April Italy, worth it?

Tue, 13 Mar 2012 21:53:04 GMT

Thanks Tony, good call, I must admit I did read that elsewhere which created a little doubt.

Mrs P is on Tenerife websites now :lol:

Re:1st April Italy, worth it?

Tue, 13 Mar 2012 21:54:20 GMT

tonypants wrote:Thanks Tony, good call, I must admit I did read that elsewhere which created a little doubt.

Mrs P is on Tenerife websites now :lol:

Some cracking deals to Greek Islands at the moment, travelzoo and teletext