Favorite European Skiing Experience?

[53anddone]

My wife and I have been to Switzerland (Verbier) a bunch of times and love it.

I'm interested in branching out and perhaps trying Italy or France.

Do you have a favorite spot? Why? We'd like to find somewhere where the skiing is great and away from the crowds. Good food never a problem over there......

Obviously this year is an issue but I'm thinking ahead 21/22.

 

[davebarnes]

The best skiing in the world is Utah.
Second best is Colorado.
Just saying.

 

[53anddone]

The best skiing in the world is Utah.
Second best is Colorado.
Just saying.

I love both and have skied weeks and weeks out in the Rockies and BC. That could be a whole thread.......

But we also do the Alps and they are pretty incredible in their own right so looking for some experiences from folks.

 

[clobber]

Italy: We have skied several times at Kronplatz in the Dolomites. It is beautiful. The part that made the trips amazing is staying at Hotel Burgfrieden They serve amazing ~5 course dinners every night (included in your half-board price). On the downside it is a 30 minute drive to/from the slopes, but that has been worth it for the food.

France: Les Coches is a really nice place to go. The thing that makes this area nice is that it has none of the pretentious attitudes of the more famous places. Every time we go there, it feels more like Europeans just out for a good ski time. Also, you can stay in ski in/out accommodation for a reasonable price. We have usedthis company several times and they are great.

Austria: You didn't mention it, but Austria usually offers the best value in European skiing. For some reason it is quite a bit cheaper than Italy, Switzerland, and France.

 

[FIREd]

In France, I usually go to smaller resorts less than one-hour drive from where I live, near Geneva, Switzerland. But for great skiing, I prefer "Le Grand Massif" and "Les Portes du Soleil" (400+ miles of slopes - part of it is in France, part of it in neighboring Switzerland). They are both rather family-friendly and not so highbrow.

 

[marko]

The best skiing in the world is Utah.
Second best is Colorado.
Just saying.

In France, I usually go to smaller resorts less than one-hour drive from where I live, near Geneva, Switzerland. But for great skiing, I prefer "Le Grand Massif" and "Les Portes du Soleil" (400+ miles of slopes - part of it is in France, part of it in neighboring Switzerland). They are both rather family-friendly and not so highbrow.

Until my brother's injury four years ago, he and I would do both Utah and the Alps each year.
Agree 100% on Utah "Greatest snow on earth".

But for overall ambiance and 'style' agree on Portes du Soleil plus Alps d'Huez and Les Arcs. More 'rustic' is a little place in Austria, Gargellen.

 

[53anddone]

Thanks for these tips. Plenty to dig into and I will check out those French suggestions.

Proximity to Geneva also a bonus as I have a friend there who I can hook up with for logistical assistance.

 

[deserat]

Ok-I have skied all over the world, minus Hokkaido and AUS/NZ (they are on skiing bucket list). For ambiance, apres ski and general support of skiers (buses, trans resort passes, types of places to stay, close proximity to slopes, etc), Europe hands down the best. You have lots of choices. Switzerland is beautiful, but definitely more expensive: my favorite Swiss sites are Laax Flims and Engel....Porte du Soleil ( can ski CH and France) is great, too. France, I like Val d'Isere - huge and lots of different terrain. Austria is nice and probably the cheapest skiing- Sud Tirol has definitely made the linkage between resorts wonderful. You can ski all day and never repeat. The famous Pachnaklamm (sp) professional downhill race in Austria is an amazing experience. That is a national party for Austrians.

Now, I've decided that my absolute favorite in Europe is the Dolomiti in Italy....for many reasons: gorgeous scenery that is so cool (I've hiked the Via Ferrata there, too), the Sellaronda, a CW and CCW ski circuit with connected runs and lifts that wends it's way through different towns. Add the Dolce Vita Italia food and fun...awesome!!!!!!!

Sort of off topic; the absolute most challenging skiing with regard to vertical I've done is in Chile, South America.

In the USA, Alta, Mammoth Mountain, Copper Mountain, Winter Park, Sugar Bowl, and Squaw Valley are my favorite so far...I will get to Montana and Idaho soon.

I give you my opinions above based on having skied most resorts in several continents. PM if you want more specific info.

BTW- COVID has really shut things down over here in Europe. Germany is trying to convince Austria to cancel the season...as far as I know, no lifts are open. I was supposed to ski twice already, but all cancelled.

 

[pb4uski]

In 1986 I had a 1 week residency outside or Paris as part of my EMBA program. I used that opportunity to put a 10 day trip in front of residency. We flew to Switzerland and spend ~5 days in Klosters skiing, including a one-day janut over to Davos just to check it out. We really enjoyed it. Then we flew to Paris and spend a long weekend there sighteeing. Then DW flew home and I met up with my EMBA class.

 

[mpeirce]

My one European ski trip was loads of fun and a real bargain.

I was just out of college in the winter of 84/85 and my college friends wanted to get together for a ski trip now that we all had real jobs. We talked about Colorado or Utah, but at that time the dollar was strong and the Italian Lira was not. It turned out to be significantly cheaper to ski the Italian Alps than to go to the Rockies.

We put together a week in Cervino (the Italian side of the matterhorn) which worked out to less than $1000 including air fare, a condo, skiing, rental cars and food.

We flew Pan Am and they had a deal that year where if you bought a Polaroid camera you got a discount on a flight. I bought the camera, gave it as a gift, and saved more money on the flight than the camera cost me!

The other amazing thing about the flight was that because one of our group arrived at JFK late (I flew in from California, he was flying in from Boston), they had given away his seat by the time he showed up just before we boarded. That seat was in coach, but there were two seats open in First Class and we (well, he) talked our way into those seats. We probably paid as little for the flight as anyone on that plane and got to sit in first class on a long NY to Milano flight. It was so nice.

Cervino had great skiing. One day we skied over the "hill" down into Zermatt for lunch. That was a real treat.

The people in Italy were so nice and the food was truly amazing and cheap.

Our only real problem we had was that it got very very cold one day - cold enough to shut down skiing for the day (-30F IIRC) . And one of our cheap rental cars wouldn't start. I think it was a Fiat Panda - not the car anyone should rent to drive up into the Alps. We recovered from that though. And with it being that cold we had the deepest blue skies...

What a great trip.

 

[53anddone]

Great stories and tips! Really appreciate it.

 

[BigNick]

Cervino had great skiing. One day we skied over the "hill" down into Zermatt for lunch. That was a real treat.

We went skiing there in July once - there are pistes open above about 3000 metres in summer. The snow isn't great after lunchtime, but it was cool to ski in the morning and sunbathe in proper heat in the valley in the afternoon.

One day we were near the top of the lift that comes up from Zermatt and a bunch of American college kids got out, wearing shorts and flip-flops, and proceeded to fall over a lot in the snow. Our ski instructor was very disapproving: "How would they like it if we turned up at their hotel in our ski boots?". We thought it was hilarious.

 

[jerryo]

As a former instructor and avid recreational skier, I agree that the skiing itself is probably better in North America....particularly Utah and Tahoe and Whistler-Blackcomb; and Colorado too (particularly often under-rated Beaver Creek!). But the overall skiing "experience" (long runs, great meals, quaint villages, lively apres ski) is unbeatable in Europe (despite the unruly lift lines and crowded runs). Haven't skied Europe that much (perhaps a dozen times), but particularly liked Klosters-Davos in Switzerland, Lechs in Austria and the "Stella Ronda" in the Italian Dolomites. Also really loved Hokkaido in Japan; great snow, interesting meals and exotic apres ski (onsen), but not very challenging slopes....

Of course, not at all clear what kind of skiing will be possible (or safe) this year! Will likely stay closer to home at the smaller East coast hills!

 

[53anddone]

In terms of raw snowfall and powder there is no doubt you cannot beat the mountain west of North America. Its why we do a pilgrimage every year and now that our last kid is about to exit the house we will be doing more. Have plans for Big Sky the end of February (hopefully).

What we do like about Europe is the food and great historical towns with just a ton of character. But also, in terms of the skiing the Acreage of the large resorts is just massive meaning that you can often get multiple days out of a powder day without a lot of hiking or traversing.

What I'm trying to find for our next experience is a high snow quality but fewer crowds. I've been getting some good reading out of powderhounds.com as it allows you to sort by a number of factors and seems to be focused on the Alps. I've been looking up many of the resorts mentioned here.

Thanks All. Think Snow.....

 

[deserat]

Ahh, forgot about Cervino, back side of Zermatt. Where I snapped my first ACL after glorious half -day of skiing and awesome lunch...we were staying on Swiss side and I got the e-ticket ride up and over on a gurney .... Better skiing on Italian side, almost half the price and daresay more friendly people, although not quite as organized as the Swiss.....

 

[53anddone]

Zermatt is tempting because its on my IKON pass.....