bobby12 0 Posted January 11, 2004 Share Posted January 11, 2004 I will be going home to London next summer, and I plan to get out on slopes the following winter somewhere in Europe. I have no knowledge about snowboarding in Europe, so if anyone has any recommendations I'd be much obliged. I'm basically looking for somewhere with enough variety to last me a week or so and good apres-ski in terms of cultural/natural sights. Link to post Share on other sites
SerreChe 2 Posted January 17, 2004 Share Posted January 17, 2004 I am not sure about countries, but France is supposed to have 6 of the 10 largest lift-linked ski areas. You can try les 3 vallees which has 600 kms of slopes and regroups the following resorts: Courchevel, Meribel, Val Thorens, and Les Menuires. The following is taken from an article in Goski: "A good example of the difference is again France's Trois Vallées. The ski lifts occupy a vast area extending to some 250 square kilometres. This converts to 96.5 square miles or 61,776 acres - about 8 times bigger than the Whistler Backcomb area in North America." There are other large resorts in France such as la Plagne (see the recent thread on this one) which has 210 km, or Serre Chevalier which has 250km. By the way La plagne just got linked with Les Arcs, so alltogether they now combine for 415kms of slopes. You can check this link for further ideas: http://www.goski.com/experts/biggest/1linked.htm Good luck and happy skiing. Link to post Share on other sites
cal 6 Posted January 18, 2004 Share Posted January 18, 2004 That sounds awesome. Got to get there sometime,. Link to post Share on other sites
Stefan 0 Posted January 19, 2004 Share Posted January 19, 2004 Chamonix has a lot to do. Loads of ski areas around there about 6 in all I think. Morzine and Avoriaz (SP) are pretty massive. try www.natives.co.uk for some better advice. Link to post Share on other sites
Lama 0 Posted January 19, 2004 Share Posted January 19, 2004 Yeah i can vouch for chamonix..... absolutely amazing!!! loads of varying terrain (up to 1300-1400m of verticle in some areas!!!, good night life an the scenery is second to none!! highly recommended;) Link to post Share on other sites
SerreChe 2 Posted January 19, 2004 Share Posted January 19, 2004 Great suggestion by Mr M. Not been to Chamonix but heard one of the most beautiful scenery on earth for skiing. For those who like awsome scenery and awsome skiing, the french alps' best kept secret is called La Grave (maybe should not divulge it, oh well...) . http://lagrave-lameije.com/us/winter.htm Used to go there all the time when I was a kid. Not for beginners though, steep and deep. Un-groomed, NO SKI PATROL, and 2150m vertical drop... Basically ski/board at your own risks. It is linked to Les 2 Alpes at the top. A must do for afficionados! Also, Doug Coombs also has a steep skiing camp there. http://www.dougcoombs.com/lagrave.html Enjoy! Link to post Share on other sites
bobby12 0 Posted October 23, 2004 Author Share Posted October 23, 2004 I am planning a ski-trip for January so need to ressurect this thread. I can fly cheap to any of these places: NICE BERLIN GENEVA BUDAPEST Which is of these would be a good choice for an intermediate snowboarder for a quick 5 night (4 days of boarding) trip? (Cheaper the better). Link to post Share on other sites
quattro 1 Posted October 23, 2004 Share Posted October 23, 2004 Bobby12 It would be best to fly into Geneva. This would be the closet place if you want to ski in Chamonix, Les trois valley or Veriber. All these places have some excellent skiing. The airport in Geneva also has a train station from what I seem to remember. So getting to places like Chamonix is easy if you don’t want to drive. One thing to remember about Chamonix is that it is spread out over a large are of the valley. So you will have to rely on public transportation if you do not have a car, other then that the skiing is great. If you want the convenience of skiing right out of your lodge I would suggest the three valleys. I t is one of the largest lift served areas you can ski. Veriber is another nice spot to ski. It’s not as big as the three valleys but the vertical there is awesome. Have fun and enjoy your trip. Link to post Share on other sites
marnix 0 Posted October 23, 2004 Share Posted October 23, 2004 I agree fly to Geneva. From there you can easily go to France or stay in Switzerland. Nice is good if you want to good to the French Southern Alps (Isola, Les 2 Alpes, Alpe d'Huez). as for resorts in europe. Chamonix is great for about 1 day after a big dump. After that all powder on normal accessible places is gone. There are just too many skibum hanging around waiting for snow. La Grave is a little better. Better go to Les 2 Alpes good park and from the top a 5 minute hike to La Grave. Good nightlife. Val Thorens (Les Trois Vallees) is great also with good nightlife, which can be difficult to find anywhere west of Austria. Serre Chevalier is vast and has excellent snow, but not so much nightlife. For many photographers this is a favorite location in Europe. There are many smaller resorts (still big compared to Japan) where not so many skibums are around and where you can ski powder during the whole season and nog just a few days after a dump. Switzerland is great too, but more expensive in general. Link to post Share on other sites
Markie 0 Posted October 23, 2004 Share Posted October 23, 2004 Yes, Geneva seems to be the obvious choice. Straight off the plane at Geneva airport, there are coach services directly to a large number of resorts in the French alps. Check this out. Coaches to Ski Resorts in the Alps The Three Valleys, Les Arcs, La Plagne, Chamonix,Val-D'Isere and Avoriaz can all be conveniently reached from Geneva. Having done the Three Valleys, Les Arcs and La Plagne, Avoriaz has been added to my hit list and I am booked to be there in early February next year. Link to post Share on other sites
Honest John 0 Posted October 23, 2004 Share Posted October 23, 2004 As above, Geneva is the choice. I think it'll be more than Nice, but not too much. Definitely the better choice though. Link to post Share on other sites
bobby12 0 Posted October 23, 2004 Author Share Posted October 23, 2004 thanks a lot. i did some more research last night and came to the same conclusion. I am looking at Avoriaz / Morzine (portes du soliel area) at the moment, though the one quote i got back from a hotel was 4 times the price of the hotels i was previously looking into in Italy (Livigno). Has anyone snowboarded in Avoriaz / Morzine? I like a little bit of powder but I am not a major off piste person plus I am with my beginner girlfriend so. The priority really is long runs, lots of diff runs, and convenient access (and price). Link to post Share on other sites
BagOfCrisps 24 Posted October 23, 2004 Share Posted October 23, 2004 Same. Where you flying from? PS I thought you were married to a Japanese lady bobby? Link to post Share on other sites
SerreChe 2 Posted October 23, 2004 Share Posted October 23, 2004 If your gf is a beginner and you are not too much of an off-piste person then La Grave is not for you, all else should be ok. One tip for those going skiing in France this winter. Avoid school holidays if possible. France is divided in zones for school holidays. February usually has the best snow but is also the busiest time of the year in that respect. Especially try to avoid mid February when the Paris & Marseille school zones over-lap one another... If snow conditions are already good in January, then mid January to end of January is good. Otherwise beginning of march can have incredible conditions with a lot less people. You need a little bit of luck as well. Link to post Share on other sites
Markie 0 Posted October 23, 2004 Share Posted October 23, 2004 SerreChe, you probably know more about skiing in Europe than most people in this forum, so let me ask you. When is the French school holidays next year? I've been trying to find out but don't know where to look. Also, have you done Avoriaz? How is it? Link to post Share on other sites
daver 0 Posted October 23, 2004 Share Posted October 23, 2004 serre chevalier is wicked, and huge, and relatively off the radar. and also when it gets snow, it is wonderfully dry unlike much of the alps. for sheer mass, the porte du solie circut in france and switzerland is quite impressive. and once again, not as busy as other massive resorts. but like serre che states, the french and swiss certainly all know of these places so they can get crowded on the school holidays. best i skied was verbier. but pricey. Link to post Share on other sites
Davo 1 Posted October 24, 2004 Share Posted October 24, 2004 Have done the Luton-Geneva-Verbier trip and can highly recommend it. It's a slightly shorter trip than Chammonix and the whole area is massive. Pretty expensive town but there is a backpacker place and supermarkets for self catering. Slopes in Chammonix are prolly steeper generally but I only went walking around the skifields in summer so I can't compare the two. Link to post Share on other sites
quattro 1 Posted October 24, 2004 Share Posted October 24, 2004 In Verbier there is legendary "Le Bunker" a hostel that is located in the sports center. Almost a mile away from the Medran but the skibus is good invention. I think that's the only cheap place in whole village. Perhaps in Le Chable you could also find something.. http://www.thebunker.ch/ Link to post Share on other sites
bobby12 0 Posted October 25, 2004 Author Share Posted October 25, 2004 Bag Of Crisps - Yeah my gf is japanese but we arem't married yet. I am gonna fly from Liverpool to Geneva probably on Jan1, as I am going to my mates place there for new years. But I am gonna see if its cheaper to go in the first week of February because as a student I can go anytime really, and I think the snow will be better then. Porte de soliel seems huge so I am sure it will rule. We are gonna get half board so the expense of things there doesnt really matter much. Link to post Share on other sites
BagOfCrisps 24 Posted October 25, 2004 Share Posted October 25, 2004 Sounds good Link to post Share on other sites
The Black Bear 0 Posted October 26, 2004 Share Posted October 26, 2004 Oh I'm looking forward to the season now. Geneva is definitely the best choice for you there bobby12. We might even meet down there. If you hear a loud Scots accent, ask! Link to post Share on other sites
bobby12 0 Posted October 27, 2004 Author Share Posted October 27, 2004 yeah its all booked now so i'll be at Morzine from Jan1 - bring it on. Link to post Share on other sites
BagOfCrisps 24 Posted October 28, 2004 Share Posted October 28, 2004 Great. How long you going for bobby12? Link to post Share on other sites
bobby12 0 Posted October 29, 2004 Author Share Posted October 29, 2004 just a week, should be enough - i have to get back to uni etc. hopefully it wont be too rammed out everywhere, im assuming itll be better that week than the xmas week? Link to post Share on other sites
yarukibanban 0 Posted October 30, 2004 Share Posted October 30, 2004 I had an amazing time over a few seasons back, great place. I hope the snow cooperates Link to post Share on other sites
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