ChrisC
Well-known member
WARNING: Verbier really needs some more snow. I would ski elsewhere until its base doubles. Currently, the base is 25-75cm/10-30in.
That said, Verbier is a really nice resort and should be visited once during a week trips to Chamonix (1.25-1.5 hrs away). The place is HUGE!
Town/Parking
Switzerland is a very expensive country. We drove up to Verbier and had to pay 12 francs ($10) to park near the Medran gondolas. I would recommend people park their car down in Le Chable and ride the Medran gondola up to Verbier. You get to avoid 15 hairpin turns and parking is free.
Expert Skiing
I would like to tell people about its great expert terrain, but most was closed or unskiable. Mont. Fort and Mont Gele were both closed - although trams were open for scenic rides. The Tortin-Chassoure gondola and Tortin-Gentianes tram were open and you could ski the closed expert terrain underneath these lifts. This was some of the best skiing since crowds had not yet skied it down to rocks. Also, the Plan de Fou cable car in the Nendaz sector was decent -- chutes leading into an open bowl.
Frankly, the most interesting skiing did not look to be Mont Fort, but Mont Gele. There were numerous chutes and bowls accessible from the cable car.
Intermediate skiing.
I founf the intermediate skiing to be just OK. The Attelas slopes were nice, but very crowded. The Lac des Vaux area had good coverage, but is small. Finally, the La Chaux area was wide-open, but not very steep.
Overall, I would really like to come back and ski Verbier when the resort has more snow.
That said, Verbier is a really nice resort and should be visited once during a week trips to Chamonix (1.25-1.5 hrs away). The place is HUGE!
Town/Parking
Switzerland is a very expensive country. We drove up to Verbier and had to pay 12 francs ($10) to park near the Medran gondolas. I would recommend people park their car down in Le Chable and ride the Medran gondola up to Verbier. You get to avoid 15 hairpin turns and parking is free.
Expert Skiing
I would like to tell people about its great expert terrain, but most was closed or unskiable. Mont. Fort and Mont Gele were both closed - although trams were open for scenic rides. The Tortin-Chassoure gondola and Tortin-Gentianes tram were open and you could ski the closed expert terrain underneath these lifts. This was some of the best skiing since crowds had not yet skied it down to rocks. Also, the Plan de Fou cable car in the Nendaz sector was decent -- chutes leading into an open bowl.
Frankly, the most interesting skiing did not look to be Mont Fort, but Mont Gele. There were numerous chutes and bowls accessible from the cable car.
Intermediate skiing.
I founf the intermediate skiing to be just OK. The Attelas slopes were nice, but very crowded. The Lac des Vaux area had good coverage, but is small. Finally, the La Chaux area was wide-open, but not very steep.
Overall, I would really like to come back and ski Verbier when the resort has more snow.