UKC

I've never skied in Europe so any suggestions for the best place to go for a weekend ski trip, taking no more than 2 days off work either in the next couple of weeks, or the last weekend in March? The most important thing is to get the most time skiing with only 2 days off work. I'm based in Warwickshire and can leave work at 4pm. Flights from Birmingham don't seem to good in their times but I can drive to another airport.

Money is a secondary factor but cheaper is obviously preferable, especially as I might need solo accommodation if nobody else is able to come.

In reply to dsh:

Fly to Geneva then somewhere like Samoens or Combloux would be closest
trouble is next 2 weeks have 2 French school zones on holiday
or fly to Treviso or Bergamo and go to the Dolomites

In reply to Carless:
Milan Bergamo has good flight times, where would you suggest skiing near there? I haven't skied in Europe but probably looking for mostly blues and reds.

In reply to dsh:

am interested in seeing the replies to this,

from another man in Warwickshire

In reply to dsh:

Checking a bit more, you'd probably have to drive 2:30 from Bergamo to either somewhere like Obereggen or Courmayeur
Treviso to somewhere near Cortina would be shorter

but Geneva to Combloux etc is about 1 hour

In reply to dsh:

if you can get a flight to innsbruck you can get the train to the zilatal valley and ski mayrhofen/zell am zee / kaltenback . i think you need to change at jenback (spelling?)

In reply to tim000:

fly to innsbruck and try whitedescents for your shuttle/accom

In reply to dsh:

As others have pointed out, next couple of weeks will be busy with half term (crowded AND expensive). If going at end March probably good to go reasonably high.
If you fly to Geneva or Lyon you can drive to Bourg St Maurice in less than 2.5 hours (maybe stay there overnight if ariving late) Then can go to La Plagne, Les Arcs, Val D'iser or Tignes. All excellent high skiing areas.
Lots of flights from London (eg easyJet from Gatwick), not sure about Birmingham.

In reply to dsh:

Transfer time up the tarentaise (Bourg St Maurice area) is pretty long for a weekend. French school holidays finish on 15th march but after 8th shouldn't be too bad as it will only be 1 zone.

I'd drive to Luton and fly to Geneva as there are loads of flights thru the day. The Portes du Soleil is within 1 1/2 hrs of GVA and Chatel would be a good option towards the end of March. Less expensive to stay in than Morzine and with a better snow record, you can access straight into Avoriaz which is higher and fairly N facing so holds its snow well, as does Chatel. let me know if you want a hand finding somewhere to stay if you do end up coming this way. Ali

In reply to aligibb:


Cheers will do.

In reply to dsh:

I have flown from Stansted to turin and driven over to serre chavalier and stayed in the ibis at Briancon.

early flight to turin and on the slopes by 12.30 for a half day ski , not sure what flights are like in the evening.

p.s also from Warwickshire . . .

In reply to dsh: I really like Portes du Soleil. We've stayed with Dougie in Essert Romand a couple of times - about £65 a night for chalet board and minibus drop-off and pick-ups at whichever lift you like.

morzineskiholiday.com

In reply to dsh:

I think some realism is in order here and don't want to sound too negative BUT likely to be pricey and potentially spend 2 days on travel.
Depends on flight times of course, but then need to hire car or go by train, buses less convenient. So GVA then train to Zermatt, Saas Fee, Verbier possible or ZRH to St Anton by train and can get accommodation for w/ends in these resorts. French resorts less likely as they are geared up for full weeks (Have managed with Chamonix, mind). Then return.
Best I've managed is late afternoon EasyJet LTN-GVA, hire car, stay in Visp, then up to Zermatt early next day. Return good as leave Zermatt in afternoon, car to GVA, flight was 9 pm and worked OK. Another time MAN to ZRH then train to St Anton, but took up whole day with travel out and day back.
You don't mention how much skiing you've done but can be hard to find your way round a new resort for 2 days, especially as weekends are usually very busy with locals.
Good luck, hope you find some good flights, and am interested in what you find! Mike

In reply to dsh:

Innsbruck has to be the most convenient if you can find a flight. Plenty of hostels or cheap hotels in town, and you can get on the lift (more or less) from the city centre.

In reply to dsh:

Sierra Nevada, Spain. Fly to Malaga (should have plenty of flights at all times of the day) then 2 hour drive just past Granada. Stay on the resort or Stay in Granada itself (35 minutes from the resort) and drive in the morning.

In reply to Mikek:

So you can get flights from Luton to Geneva that arrive at 9am on the Monday and depart at 9 pm on a Friday. I figured that it would be possible to get to a resort and have an afternoon skiing on the Friday and get most of a day in on the Monday before leaving. Is this realistic? Would Zermatt be the best for this? Or Cham?


So I'm probably going to be able to go with my friend who is an experienced skier (used to be a professional instructor). However if that doesn't happen there is one thing on this point I have been confused about. I have mostly skied in the Eastern USA and can confidently do blue squares and have done a couple of short icy Black Diamonds. However in the USA there are lots of marked trails and these are easy to follow as they mostly go through the trees. Looking at the alpine piste maps it doesn't seem like they have nearly as many marked trails. So are these areas just ski where you like at this grade? Or is it mostly off piste. There definitely seems to be more danger of falling off a cliff in Europe than America.

In reply to dsh:

In europe on and off piste is much more defined. Between the markers everything is generally groomed, or at the very least controlled (definitely minimal cliff falling risk!). Outside the markers (even 6 feet), your safety is totally your own responsibility, and you will need transceiver, shovel and probe, as well as avalanche knowledge. So it is very different to the american idea of an in bounds area in which everything is controlled, on or off piste. In terms of amount of marked trails, the average alpine resort is on a much grander scale than an east coast american one, so i wouldnt worry about a lack of trails

In reply to dsh:

In my experience, easier to get short stays in traditional places with hotels and not the French purpose built resorts that tend to be apartments that are rented out weekly. Hence the places I mentioned. Chamonix, France, is traditional and possibly able to get a hotel room for less than week. However, lot of traditional places like Zermatt are a way from GVA - 2 to 3 hours by car, then park and ride the train up to resort. Chamonix is about 1 hour drive, Verbier about 2hr, so need to factor that in, especially if roads are busy and affected by snow. If not car rental, trains in Switzerland are good and I think all their ski resorts are accessible by train, similar Austria, but obviously GVA no good then. There are specialist firms that do weekend skiing trips - search in google? -but that's pricey, but even diy will be pricey, cheaper per day if go for a week. If price isn't too important I would recommend you use such a firm, at least for your first time!
Thing I meant re busy ski resort is that it always takes me a day or so to find my way around and (I've not skied in US) European resorts are all a bit chaotic with lifts and runs to suit the terrain. Piste map is essential! Keep to the pistes and you'll be OK, no telling what you would find off piste but I think you'd spot the cliff! Mike

In reply to dsh:

Hi am also Warks and have done prob 30 or so long weekends over the years.. It's quite possible to get 4 full days skiing done with 2 days off work using last flights both ways. iMO the last thing you want to be doing is lots of driving if you will be landing late on, so I second GVA either LTN or the last BA or Swiss from LHR - once you are on the M40 its as quick to LHR as it is to LTN.

in Feb, if you are looking for blues/reds terrain the Grand Massif is good - we go to a friends apartment there 3-4 weekends a year - 1 hr door to door off peak. In the GM, les Carroz is easiest to get to and has some hotels that will do weekends. Morzine/Avoriaz are good but also look at Les Contamines maybe quieter and plenty to do for a few days - lovely views of the W Side of Mont Blanc as well

if you choose end March, however, it's worth noting that most of the easily accessible from GVA resorts are mostly low-ish and I think you would be better served with somewhere with access to higher slopes to mitigate against crappy snow esp in the afternoon. Cham is the obvious choice and there are a ton of hotels of all standards that you can book for 3-4 nights. This year is good for weekends after the Feb holidays as Easter is late so there will a longer time between the high booking periods

Hope this helps

Andy

In reply to Mikek:

Actually I'd disagree with having to spend 2 days travelling and it being pricey. If you choose your resort carefully then you can ski both days that you travel for at least half the day and theres plenty of resorts in France that welcome long weekend with open arms. Its the big high altitude resorts that turn their nose up at them.
For example my brother is coming to stay next weekend here in Chatel. hes flying on Wed morning from Gatwick, 1 1/2 hrs up to resort and he'll get a local lift pass for €20 for the afternoon. Then Thurs Fri Sat to ski the full Portes du Soleil area and then another local area pass for Sunday before leaving resort at 5pm to get the 9pm flight. Difference is he is staying with me but there are plenty of hotels and chalets here that are happy to have weekenders as I used to work in one.
Actually that might be a good idea for you dsh - in a chalet you'll be eating with all the other guests and normally you then ski together a bit as well.
The pistes are well marked here in the PdS for the most part, with a mix of above and below tree line to keep you busy. You'll find your way around once you get going so I wouldn't worry too much.

Ali

In reply to aligibb:

Sure, know what you mean - but I'm in Yorkshire, and so to start with I've got a bit of a distance to go. And always gone for resorts like Zermatt, Chamonix or St Anton that involves a bit of a journey at other end. Have often managed a half day on return day but always a bit worried about missing flight! Never had much luck trying to get short stays in French resorts as they seem to hold out for a week. Perhaps paying a week in apartment might be cheaper than 3 nights in small hotel? Have skied on arrival day a few times but generally after a 3 am start I'm pretty knackered when I arrive. So prefer a week, now tour operator prices sometimes on par with diy, or happy for a day travelling. I've skied plenty as I'm now an old git. Mike

In reply to dsh:

Isola 2000, fly to Nice, bus from airport to resort is 8 euro return and takes 1.5-2 hours.

Lift pass is cheap too.