Latest posts for the topic "Rate your resorts!!"

Rate your resorts!!

Fri, 5 Oct 2012 16:00:07 GMT

Bit bored this Friday afternoon and wishing I was flying out for a skiing hol this weekend.

Anyway, how's 'bout a quick rating exercise on resorts visited so far. Probably impossible for all those long time skiers due to too many resorts visited. Easier for me though as I only started skiing in the 2009/2010 season. My ratings are based on current day thinking rather than how I felt at the time (ie some context after visits to other resorts). Obviously, the time of the year, weather conditions, accommodation can have a serious bearing on one's experience. Mine as follows:

1. Val d'isere
2. Tignes
3. Les Arcs
4. Hemsedal
5. La Plagne
6. The hill near our house (20m vertical)

La Plagne at the bottom due to horrible queues and super crowded pistes (early March). I'm sure would be better next time.

Hoping a visit to a non-french resort in 2013 will give me better context (ie Austria, Switzerland or Italy). USA/Canada not looking likely at the moment but hope to get over the pond at some point.

Re:Rate your resorts!!

Fri, 5 Oct 2012 17:20:17 GMT

1, Are, Sweden
2, Banff
3, Maria Alm
Top 3 only :D
Desperate to get out on my skis again too.

Re:Rate your resorts!!

Fri, 5 Oct 2012 18:24:40 GMT

Does Val d'isere get top bcs of the scary chair lift?
1. Schladming, Austria. Haven't been anywhere else :(

Re:Rate your resorts!!

Fri, 5 Oct 2012 18:50:56 GMT

umm Top end is more difficult than the bottom to order

1 three valleys (shear area)
2 brekonridge (snow conditions)
3 steamboat (snow conditions)
4 alpe d'huez
5 la plagne/les arcs
6 tignes/val d'isere
7 courmayeur
8 zel am see
9 les deux alpes
10a Chamrousse
10b Snowy range
11 snow dome hemel hempstead (gets on the list for being snow sure)
12 borovets
13 aviemore (didn't even get any skis on - no snow) -still tempted to make this no.12 and borovets no.13 :twisted:

might have forgotten some (edit, added 10a)

Bedrock Barney I have NEVER skied down the hill at home ;-)

Re:Rate your resorts!!

Fri, 5 Oct 2012 19:25:02 GMT

smartski wrote:

Bedrock Barney I have NEVER skied down the hill at home ;-)

Nor have I. :D

Re:Rate your resorts!!

Fri, 5 Oct 2012 19:45:57 GMT

BB - the trouble is that all the resorts I have been to as an adult have been fine for what I wanted at the time. So this is where I have been, in order, with comments:

Borovets - great for the kids when I had no money (couldn't ski though because of my shoulder)
Zell am see - great for my first time back on snow after about 30 years, lovely non frightening resort, mountains not too steep and scary, very nice mountain restaurants
Obergurgl - wonderful luxury hotel for my ill daughter with a fantastic view of the piste, and snow sure in a very bad year.
La Rosiere - went there because hoping to ski with a friend - didn't really like it much but maybe just because the friend decided not to come
Val Thorens - great place to really improve my ski-ing - huge area etc.
Courchevel - went there because had someone with us who wasn't really very keen on ski-ing and I wanted somewhere where there'd be plenty of other stuff for her to do - was very successful - only trouble was we all really, really liked it and it's a very expensive resort
Meribel - now that WAS disappointing when compared with Courchevel - in my opinion Courchevel is about 10 times better.
Tignes - totally fantastic - no criticisms at all - much better than I was expecting.

Re:Rate your resorts!!

Fri, 5 Oct 2012 22:57:10 GMT

My Top 5 so far:

1. La Tania
2. Verbier
3. Whistler
4. Cervinia
5. Saalbach

La Tania - very friendly and a perfect location for Courchevel/Meribel valleys.
Verbier - Fantastic mountains let down by poor piste marking. Expensive!
Whistler - very nice mountains too but expensive, not much apres ski and long travel.
Cervinia - superb snow conditions but virtually all runs above tree line. Trip over the ridge to Zermatt is a must!
Saalbach - would have been better if it was not for the poor snow condition, due partly to low altitude, and accommodation.

Re:Rate your resorts!!

Sun, 7 Oct 2012 09:23:04 GMT

Not sure how to go about this, I'd rate resorts differently depending on what I rate on. Some resorts are pig ugly but have great skiing for instance. There are also a lot of resorts to remember! Here's my top 10 based mainly on the quality of the skiing.

1 Alpe D'Huez - Outstanding varied ski area, awesome runs, somewhere I will keep going back to. Best resort for big varied ability groups I've been to.

2 3 Valleys - didn't know whether to rate the resorts I've stayed in (les menuires, Val Thorens & Meribel) separately, but really the area is so well linked I'm not sure it matters that much. Meribel is the most picturesque and best placed, but least skiing on your doorstep.

3 Verbier - breathtaking area for good skiers, friendly. I'll be back.

4 St Anton - Good for similar reasons to Verbier, huge challenge, bite off as much as you think you can chew! Head over to Zurs or Lech for a cruise. Extreme nightlife!

5 Val D'Isere/Tignes again can't split them, awesome area skied here more than anywhere else. Will keep going back.

6 Jackson Hole. Friendliest place I've ever skied and one of the most challenging. Small area but so much packed in.

7 Les Arcs - Great area, varied terrain. Awesome blacks.

8 Sella Rhonda - Amazing area, spectacular scenery, one of the best down hill runs too.

9 Serre Chevalier - Only spend a day skiing here, but certainly impressive area, would love to go back.

10 Soldeu - huge ski area, completely different to anywhere else I've skied as it's packed with beginners. Actually there's miles and miles of great runs, only the odd run that could be called challenging but loved it never the less.

Re:Rate your resorts!!

Sun, 7 Oct 2012 16:43:55 GMT

So if I get this right, you're asking us to put where we have skied in order of how much we liked them. Hmmm, very difficult. Some places at the time were brilliant and perfect for what we wanted, but have been skied out and hold no desire for a future return for a few years anyway.

But I will have a go:

1. St Moritz - breathtakingly beautiful, wonderfully quiet slopes, great varied skiing

2. Verbier - itching to go back and a fabulous ski area with masses of different options. Lots going on in town.

3. Arlberg - massive area with some awesome runs, best skiing in Zurs and Stuben. Only down side is how busy St Anton gets.

4. Serre Chevalier - massively under rated area, nicely rustic, fairly quiet slopes too.

5. Alpe d'Huez - nicely varied ski area with some interesting runs in different directions.

6. Mayrhofen - skied it to death now, but it holds a lot of affection for me as I've developed so much by skiing here. Loads to ski in this valley.

7. Sauze d'Oulx - good fun and lovely sweeping runs which tend to be quiet, but snow is a massive problem here. Good links to other areas makes you feel like you're travelling around a lot.

8. Val Thorens - I just didnt like anything about this place, although that was probably because I was learning and didnt enjoy one minute of the first 4 days! Nothing about the 3 valleys flaots my boat.

9. Bad Klein Kircheim - only had 3 days here early in my skiing history and the snow was rubbish but it was a lovely place and we drank so much that I only have hilarious memories of the place. I'd like to go back and ski it in good snow.

10. Niederau. I have nothing to say about this place as nothing about it stands out in my mins, other than how small it was, and how icy the slopes were and the fact I had skied it in about an hour.

Hope I havent forgotten something obvious!!!!

Re:Rate your resorts!!

Mon, 8 Oct 2012 10:19:24 GMT

Good stuff, keep it coming.

Our 2nd ski holiday of the season might end up being the averaged no.1 from this thread!!

Re:Rate your resorts!!

Mon, 8 Oct 2012 14:37:42 GMT

1. Val D'Isere / EK
2. St Anton
3. Serre Chevalier
4. La Thuile
5. Soll

Val D'Isere and Tignes/EK is incredible, the skiing is just fantastic there. Also Val D'Isere itself is lovely.

St Anton ski area is amazing as well.

Serre Chevalier is underrated I feel - big ski area with some excellent runs, but not talked about as much as some of the bigger resorts.

La Thuile - Decent ski area, enough to keep me and Mrs DJTJ occupied for a week, but limited in terms of atmosphere and things to do other than skiing.

Soll - I'm sure the rest of the SkiWelt is great, but this was our first week's skiing as total beginners, and had a learner's lift pass which let us on about 5 lifts in total. So not really Soll's fault that we were limited.

Only a top 5 - as that's all I've been to! However, we are now booked to go to Sauze D'Oulx in January so I expect that to jump in somewhere around the 3 position from what I've heard!

Re:Rate your resorts!!

Mon, 8 Oct 2012 18:44:03 GMT

In reality never had a bad days skiing but anyway someone asked for list.

Chamonix:- Loved it so much moved there, 16 years after first skiing there.
Engelberg:- Great offpiste, nice town.
Cervinia:- Nothing to dislike, good food, coffee, wine, sun, snow.
Courmayeur:- When Chamonix doesn't they do. Powder!
Whistler:- Snow bit on wet side (was late in year in fairness) but some great terrain. Was not impressed by town itself. Whistler mountain resort i.e. one big chain pub, zero charm.
Obergergul:- Good apres ski and some fun terrain.
Passo Tonale:- Good Pizza
Pamporovo:- Great people and great place for anyone to start. Making skiing affordable for families, has to deserve credit.
Voss/Myrkdalen:- Spent too many days here skiing so has to make top ten. Wet snow, pathetic vertical, but still went every weekend :-).
Chatel:- Despite being low and dodgy snow record, certainly few good days skiing to be had here.
.
Disappointments
NZ:- All areas, not quite same as Alps. Novelty factor as was "summer" but hell of a distance for what in reality is pretty average skiing. Heli skiing did look good though.
Banff:- Great town, too cold to enjoy skiing! 2 x persons in group got frost nip on exposed parts of face.
Livingo:- Massive transfer! That is pretty much all I remember was long time ago.
Les Deux Alpes:- Rubbish! Zero appeal.
Megeve:- Worst resort in world, quite possibly! Think crossing rivers in torrential rain.

Re:Rate your resorts!!

Mon, 8 Oct 2012 20:44:19 GMT

Chronological order.
1. Filzmoos. Part of Ski Amade in Austria. Popped my skiing cherry at the age of 41. Tiny village, good enough for us beginners. Locals are great. We had a blast and conditions were good when we where there but other people we know have bombed out there snow wise.

2. Ortisei/St Ulrich, Val Gardena, Italian Dolomites. Stunning village, amazing scenery. Tons of snow and beautiful food, coffee and weather. The local are a great bunch. Had the time of our lives. Loved it so much I snuck in another ski trip - see below.

3. Innichen/San Candido, Alta Pusteria, Dolomites. A more budget conscious trip planned at last minute after trip 2 mentioned above. Pushed the skiing gods but came up trumps. Everything just as good as Val Gardena but less swank and cheaper.

4. Perisher, Australia. Most expensive couple of days skiing ever. It was holidays so crowds were mad and there was no snow. Accommodation third world standard. Debacle.

5. Mount Hutt, New Zealand. No on snow accommodation so had to stay in Methven and run the gauntlet of the terrifying trip up every morning. Snow arrived just as we landed much to our relief as resort was closed due to wind and no snow the week prior our arrival. Weather and snow were good and it is drag having to get the bus up every day. Skiing was pretty good but limited in area.

6. Thredbo, Australia. Quite a nice village. We had good snow and conditions when we were there apart from afternoon slush down low. Not cheap.

7. Perisher, Australia. Much better conditions this time and quite enjoyed it.

Re:Rate your resorts!!

Wed, 10 Oct 2012 09:45:07 GMT

Difficult - here is my best attempt. There's a heavy north american bias since we learned to ski in Canada.

1- Kickinghorse, BC - best all rounder
2- Nisseko, Hokkaido, Japan - for the 15m annual powder fest
3- Sunshine, AB - Snow and sentiment
4- St Anton - Apres and nightlife
5- Val Thorens - You can ski powder in December (if your'e lucky)
6- Zermatt - Even though we had awful ice, it's very scenic
7- Whitewater, BC - Small hill vibe - great terrain
8- Revelstoke, BC - Terrain, when there is good snow
9 - Chamonix - Great all rounder
10 - Crystal, WA - Great terrain, low key base area
11 - Vail, CO - Lost of terrain, nice resort base and facilities
12 - Big White, BC - Great snow + Nice atmosphere

Re:Rate your resorts!!

Wed, 10 Oct 2012 09:48:03 GMT

Tony_H - I have been wanting to ski Verbier for ages, maybe this year.

Re:Rate your resorts!!

Wed, 10 Oct 2012 12:36:25 GMT

steverandomno wrote:Tony_H - I have been wanting to ski Verbier for ages, maybe this year.

Do it. Its very good.

Re:Rate your resorts!!

Wed, 10 Oct 2012 17:07:43 GMT

1-Jackson Hole. Nicest place I've ever skied and one of the most complicated. Little place but so much loaded in.
2-Sella Rhonda - Awesome area, amazing landscapes, one of the best down mountain operates.
3-Les Arcs - Great area, different geography. Awesome shades of black.

Re:Rate your resorts!!

Wed, 10 Oct 2012 18:34:35 GMT

Tony_H wrote:

steverandomno wrote:Tony_H - I have been wanting to ski Verbier for ages, maybe this year.

Do it. Its very good.

Yep, straight to the top of your to do list.

Re:Rate your resorts!!

Wed, 10 Oct 2012 21:56:02 GMT

andyhull wrote:

Tony_H wrote:

steverandomno wrote:Tony_H - I have been wanting to ski Verbier for ages, maybe this year.

Do it. Its very good.

Yep, straight to the top of your to do list.

Most definetely a must :!: However in terms of lift interconnections it will be much better in 2 seasons time when Bruson and Savoleyers areas will be fully integrated!