jnelly
Member
Hello all. I have been reading thru some of the posts about skiing in Europe and it seems there are a few in here with excellent knowledge on it. I wonder if you wouldn’t mind helping a guy out a bit. I am beginning to pour over my first trip to EU for skiing and have found the amount of information and locations to be daunting. I wonder if I can give you my bullet points if anyone would be willing to help me zero in on some places that might fit the bill. I value the opinions and real world experience of the ski-purist aspect on here vs. random google searches that list “top 10” things.
Anyway, here is my ability and desires.
45yo strong intermediate, who can handle most blacks on normal North American resorts/ basic Snowbird-esque blacks. I don’t seek out nor care for crazy hard or extreme. I like varied and undulating terrain so I can change up turns and work my way down in controlled manner and enjoy my time vs. Super G ripping down the mountain. No thanks. I also love off-piste, finding nooks, exploring and trees. (I know there isn’t a ton of tree stuff in EU but its not a total deal breaker. I don't expect Steamboat but some aspect of this would be nice) In a word, variety.
Things I am looking for is obviously snow quality, lesser crowds. Authentic experience with towns, food and local flair and less touristy. I am not going to be partying but I do want a beer and food at quaint local haunts. When in Rome kind of mentality. I do not care about fashion or being seen. So experience-centric is favored. For comparison I am definitely a Brighton, Alta or Powder Mountain guy over Vail, Aspen guy. I know this sentiment isn’t an apples-apple comparison when talking EU but you get the drift.
I would also like to get to a few different places that might offer good contrasts over the course of say 10 days. Have you a sense of a good “loop” or route that you have done or would suggest for something like this. I haven’t gotten to the transportation aspect yet but I am open to suggestions for sure. Multiple countries/local cultures is a plus. I know across a mountain might not offer a huge variance of culture but I’m tossing that in as a ‘would be cool’ thing. (This isn’t a necessity)
Any insight on this would be greatly appreciated, I am finding the scale of places is insane and adds to the mystery. I have come to sort of figure out that a large place like Val d’Isere for example, seems to have many “sections” or pods of lifts and bases. They are all called different names (towns) but are all under the Val D’Isere umbrella? Am I reading that right? (this is part of the daunting aspect of figuring some of this out. What is resort built bases vs actual villages.
Its kind of an entirely new world and I look forward to seeing where it goes. Thanks so much for the help and information. If I am leaving out anything important let me know. I am super flexible and have an open mind on all this.
Thanks!
j
Anyway, here is my ability and desires.
45yo strong intermediate, who can handle most blacks on normal North American resorts/ basic Snowbird-esque blacks. I don’t seek out nor care for crazy hard or extreme. I like varied and undulating terrain so I can change up turns and work my way down in controlled manner and enjoy my time vs. Super G ripping down the mountain. No thanks. I also love off-piste, finding nooks, exploring and trees. (I know there isn’t a ton of tree stuff in EU but its not a total deal breaker. I don't expect Steamboat but some aspect of this would be nice) In a word, variety.
Things I am looking for is obviously snow quality, lesser crowds. Authentic experience with towns, food and local flair and less touristy. I am not going to be partying but I do want a beer and food at quaint local haunts. When in Rome kind of mentality. I do not care about fashion or being seen. So experience-centric is favored. For comparison I am definitely a Brighton, Alta or Powder Mountain guy over Vail, Aspen guy. I know this sentiment isn’t an apples-apple comparison when talking EU but you get the drift.
I would also like to get to a few different places that might offer good contrasts over the course of say 10 days. Have you a sense of a good “loop” or route that you have done or would suggest for something like this. I haven’t gotten to the transportation aspect yet but I am open to suggestions for sure. Multiple countries/local cultures is a plus. I know across a mountain might not offer a huge variance of culture but I’m tossing that in as a ‘would be cool’ thing. (This isn’t a necessity)
Any insight on this would be greatly appreciated, I am finding the scale of places is insane and adds to the mystery. I have come to sort of figure out that a large place like Val d’Isere for example, seems to have many “sections” or pods of lifts and bases. They are all called different names (towns) but are all under the Val D’Isere umbrella? Am I reading that right? (this is part of the daunting aspect of figuring some of this out. What is resort built bases vs actual villages.
Its kind of an entirely new world and I look forward to seeing where it goes. Thanks so much for the help and information. If I am leaving out anything important let me know. I am super flexible and have an open mind on all this.
Thanks!
j