jamesdeluxe
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confirmed what I’ve read about on mountain dining in France. Basically a self service buffet soup was the best I could find.
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confirmed what I’ve read about on mountain dining in France. Basically a self service buffet soup was the best I could find.
Dieni is as far east as Liz and I got from Andermatt in 2019. Andermatt is exposed to storms from the south. While it sounds like it is too far east for Fraser's current forecast, I'm sure they got plenty over the past 10 days or so.He reports that they're skiing down low in Dieni today. I
Underscoring the classic Alps storyline that coverage tends to come in big dumps rather than smaller, regular topoffs. When you're a destination skier, it's all about the timing. Tony, Liz, and I had a sub-optimum Val d'Isere visit (but compared to other regions at the time, it was more than decent); however, I hate to see people get really shortchanged, i.e. Skieric at Zermatt or Jnelly cancelling his Montefon trip.this new snow has turned well below average snow depths to well above average. (Valtournache/Crevinia was not doing all that well either until recent snows. Assume Zermatt was not great either).
Underscoring the classic Alps storyline that coverage tends to come in big dumps rather than smaller, regular topoffs. When you're a destination skier, it's all about the timing.
The difference in on mountain dining between La Rosiere and La thuille was stark and confirmed what I’ve read about on mountain dining in France. Basically a self service buffet soup was the best I could find. At this point, as excited I am by future trips to the French alps from a ski perspective, the Italian and Swiss lunches would be sorely missed.
I had two first class lunches at Serre Chevalier recently. Easily as good as a couple of memorable lunches I’ve had at Courmayeur.Not sure I agree with this.
St. Moritz and Zermatt surely benefit from their Italy proximity (<10 miles for each). Otherwise, Switzerland combines cheese, potatoes, bacon, egg....in various combinations and names them differently.
France does quite well. Especially Plat d'Jour at most eateries. Even Val d'Isere has places you can eat <15 Euros - shared salad, fresh pasta and wine.
You dined at both La Rosiere and La Thuile the same day? We dined at neither. It's often the story with a single day at a new big area. We didn't have the time, skiing 28K yet still downloading the bottom of La Thuile at 4:15. But we felt little need for lunch considering the breakfasts and dinners we were getting in Courmayeur.The difference in on mountain dining between La Rosiere and La Thuile was stark and confirmed what I’ve read about on mountain dining in France.
Average+ for the Alps, but of course far above average for North America. Italy does have the best value per $$ in dining of the alpine countries IMHO.<15 Euros - shared salad, fresh pasta and wine.
Off piste was a bust today. The trams opened but our one run off the back of the Arp cable car was terrible and we wound up with a 30 minute trek out of unskiable cement. Skied on piste the rest of the day. Visibility was good, place wasn’t too crowded, and had a great lunch at Chiecco. It is obvious that the off piste possibilities here are endless but seems like we just kind of had bad luck with the temperatures. Our guide basically said the Genoa low storms typically bring lots of snow but it is often heavy and warm.
All in all, I would call the 5 days a success. A picture perfect day on the Vallee Blanche, a great day today at LT, and 2.5 mixed days at Courmayeur. Certainly worse skiing wise and weather wise than my previous trips but no travel difficulties, easy logistics, and some of the best food I’ve ever had. For a short trip, I echo Chris in thinking Courmayeur as a base offers much of what I love about skiing in Europe in an easily accessed compact setting.
I am generally skeptical of such claims of winter being less snowy than shoulder seasons. I do not have much in the way of monthly split data in the Alps, and most of what I do have is from the northern side. Those places, with sufficient altitude, are like Colorado, quite even by month Nov.-Apr. The lower places get more snow midwinter, likely due to more rain in shoulder seasons like the Northeast. For the crest and southern I only have two locations with monthly info. Mateo Swiss has a 30 year summary for Passo del Bernino, on the Italian border SE of St. Moritz at 7,567 feet.They are pretty pessimistic about the Inner Alps (near the crest) and the Southern Alps. Areas like Zermatt/Obergurgl are slow to open and do not get big dumps mid-season. St. Moritz/Dolomites need southern storm tracks - that come in big dumps early or late. Monterosa needs big dumps that come early or late. If nothing comes before Christmas, do not expect a big catch-up mid-season since it's cold/less snowy. Need to see if Spring brings storms.
Nov. | Dec. | Jan. | Feb. | Mar. | Apr. |
44.88 | 44.84 | 42.28 | 33.86 | 41.50 | 57.52 |
Nov. | Dec. | Jan. | Feb. | Mar. | Apr. |
21.44 | 32.08 | 34.61 | 23.04 | 29.56 | 31.40 |
Due to that volatility that probably applies if you want off piste skiing anywhere in the southern Alps. If there's an exception, I'd say it's Cervinia. It's high, mostly intermediate terrain and exposed to storms from the west to some degree. Yes, Zermatt is just over the ridge, but much of its off piste is steeper boulder fields that need a lot of coverage.I would never really book a trip to Zermatt without snow on the ground.
Good luck with that. I went into the SLF office in Davos in person in 2013 and got nowhere, even though I name dropped someone who worked there that I had met at the ISSW conference in 2010.I am going to find the best government Alps data and how these guys measure up.
Nov. | Dec. | Jan. | Feb. | Mar. | Apr. | Nov.-Apr. Total | Season Total |
97.01 | 106.85 | 94.09 | 80.20 | 111.26 | 115.59 | 605.00 | 892.05 |
5.72 | 5.69 | 5.02 | 4.33 | 5.99 | 6.26 | 33.02 | 65.86 |
5.9% | 5.3% | 5.3% | 5.4% | 5.4% | 5.4% | 5.5% | 7.4% |
As in dates very soon to take advantage of the now considerable base? It doesn’t concern someone of your skiing ability that despite the base you might get ‘not quite winter but not quite spring’ conditions?Just was playing around.....and looked at some dates:
- 3 days/nights/guided skiing at Skier's Lodge La Grave. (<$1000)
- 2.5 days in Monterosa based in Gressoney. With a fully guided day or 2 half days. Likely stay a bit down valley.
- Cheaper flights to Milan.
Good luck with that
As in dates very soon to take advantage of the now considerable base? It doesn’t concern someone of your skiing ability that despite the base you might get ‘not quite winter but not quite spring’ conditions?
You’re hardly going to be satisfied with groomers and some substandard off piste like most tourists.
While we are on what we like….I like it just steep enough for me to be out of my comfort zone but certainly not confined by rocks or tight trees. Oh and nice chalk type snow too if I’m making a wish list. I struggle in crunchy snow. The worst I have experienced is second week of March under the Deep Temerity lift at Highlands. I was there alone and couldn’t turn. I had an anxiety meltdown before traversing out with my tail between my legs.I like/love Couloirs - lots of rock-confining skiing.
I’ll take your word for it. It’s something I’ll never do.heli-skiing is hard work.