Skiing / Snowboarding Suggestions for groups.

[Herr Tubthumper]

Wengen in Switzerland is a great place, if you base yourself in Lauterbrunnen (which is far cheaper) you can then choose to ski either Wengen or Murren or both..!
And all under the the amazing Eiger..

Cham is my favourite resort but I have been to Wengen twice and it's a truly delightful place. And the Eiger is awesome. If you want to reduce the costs there are some self-catering apartments in the town bit of Wengen. I have also stayed at the Alpenrose which is reasonable and old-school.

 

[Dr. Notthenineo'clocknews]

in the 90's we used to regularly go to Arinsal (Andorra)we had a group of about 30 of us, we always had a laugh, Skiing was fine, night life was great and cheap and you could smuggle back enough JPS to pay for the trip. (bet it's changed now though)

 

[adrian29uk]

Zell am see or Kaprun in Austria.

 

[DarrenFreemansPerm]

Sorry france again tignes great for all abilities great snow(north facing glacier) can ski over to val disere!
First time skiers don't buy lift pass till you are off the free lifts!(couple of days into hol)

I would normally recommend Tignes and Val (Espace Killy) however it is far from cheap. The southern Alps is better suited for cheaper trips. Try looking at Alpe d'Huez or Les 2 Alpes

 

[Lyndhurst 14]

Vermont has plenty of ski / snowboard resorts, or Mont Tremblant just north of Montreal. Excellent snowboarding.

I’ve skied in Stowe, Killington and Jay Peak in Vermont. All good resorts but not seen many Brits there as it’s not exactly blue sky skiing, can be a bit cold and icy

The West Coast of the States and the Rockies had a bumper year for snow last year – plenty of good resorts like Steamboat, Breckenridge, Vail, Jackson Hole, Snowbird. With the flight it’s probably a bit more expensive than Europe but their après ski has improved a lot, you can sunbathe at lunchtime and a lot of resorts offer free ski guiding.

 

[folkestonesgull]

Bumping this as a few (3-5) of us are looking at a week skiing in Jan (pretty much straight after new year.) we are all novices with only 1 or 2 trips each previously. Where is best to go / quite safe at this time for good snow? Ideally we want cheapish, especially food & drink (no more than UK prices.) Bulgaria looks and sounds good, but more than open to advice from the pros.

Also is it best to do ski hire in UK to ensure you are happy before going? Only ask as know a couple of people that had ruined trips with poor hire kit!

I always hire via a website - snowrental.net i think (at work at the mo so can't check). Its basically pre-booking so a lot cheaper - you get the same gear from the same hire shop but with a 40% or so discount on walk in hire, which means you can pay for better quality kit

 

[Vegas Seagull]

I’ve skied in Stowe, Killington and Jay Peak in Vermont. All good resorts but not seen many Brits there as it’s not exactly blue sky skiing, can be a bit cold and icy

The West Coast of the States and the Rockies had a bumper year for snow last year – plenty of good resorts like Steamboat, Breckenridge, Vail, Jackson Hole, Snowbird. With the flight it’s probably a bit more expensive than Europe but their après ski has improved a lot, you can sunbathe at lunchtime and a lot of resorts offer free ski guiding.

Forget Stowe, -30 and too easy, US overrated (they all want to ski Europe) all hills, few spectacular mountains..forget Tignes too ugly, Val D'Isere best in World all round & has a Dicks (T) Bar thrown in

 

[mccraque]

I lived in St Anton Austria last season. The place is brilliant for on and offpiste. There's plenty of terrain for everyone....from beginner to advanced. Not to mention the hidden gem of Sonnenkopf which a ski bus takes you the 20min drive to. Always pretty empty and a shed load of powder there long after the other pisted in the area have dried up. For offpiste, it's great too.....but unless you know what you are doing please take a guide. The skiroutes give a safer introduction to offpiste.

Oh yeah . and Lech and Zurs are on the same liftpass.

Ischgl in austria was also good....very lively. I would say the terrain there is more "intermediate" with loads of places to cruise around. Naked women dancing on bars from 4pm every day there. Only downside was that there were 100's of russians there, but we were there for the ruskies new year holiday period so can't say if that is typical

Plenty of voices for the french resorts on here.....they are all pretty good. Courchevel (Cheaper to stay in 1650 than 1850) or Meribel. Val Thoren is also an affordable option - they are all on the same lift pass and some 600km of skiing. I would say that Meribel is like Benidorm on snow though. Full of brits. Which some like, but I prefer to avoid!

Espace Killy is good too. Tignes Val Claret is the best of the tignes villages and cheaper than Val D'Isere - again...immense ski area complete with glacier.

In Switzlerand - Saas Fee is ok...nice village. But the pistes are a bit limited and can get crowded...there are only a couple of lifts to get you to the top of the 3600m peak. Zermatt has amazing skiing and even more astonishing prices. The views of the matterhorn are fantastic. A neat trick is to stay on the Italian side in Cervinia...which is lively and cheap....but enables you to ski over the border into Switzerland.

Alp D'Huez - has a bit of everything. Great piste skiing, nicely laid out resort in terms of easy to get around and to lifts (even if it is not picturebox prettY)
- and loads to do in the evening. And you can take a chopper for €75 euro over to Les2Alpes.....they drop you on the piste....ski for the day and then the heliciptoer will pick you up at the end of the day and take you back! Made a nice change for a day

 

[DarrenFreemansPerm]

Forget Stowe, -30 and too easy, US overrated (they all want to ski Europe) all hills, few spectacular mountains..forget Tignes too ugly, Val D'Isere best in World all round & has a Dicks (T) Bar thrown in

Such a shame Dicks T-Bar is utter gash

 

[DarrenFreemansPerm]

[MENTION=13296]mccraque[/MENTION] you sound like you've done a couple of seasons, which resorts have you done?

 

[Lethargic]

First week of jan could be risky for decent snow cover, are you looking for the skiing or apreski or a mix? For pure skiing you cannot beat France but the nightlife can be pretty dull. Are you looking for thrill seeking blacks or leisurely motorway skiing. For each there are different options but I would avoid Austria and eastern Europe in early Jan

 

[mccraque]

[MENTION=13296]mccraque[/MENTION] you sound like you've done a couple of seasons, which resorts have you done?

Did the whole of last season in St Anton - but usually manage to get away for about a month a year

 

[nick]

I would recommed Montgenevre on the french italian border which is very quiet and cheep but exelent facilities very high up alomost 2000 meters at resorts and up to 400km of run if link with milky way but there is 150+ km of runs for the resort itself. very good place overall with lots of ennglish speaking staff

 

[wehatepalace]

Zell am see or Kaprun in Austria.

I've been to Zell a few times now and love the place, normally stay at the grand, right on the lake.
The only thing I would say is that the skiing isn't very challenging, although there is some great off piste to be found, my wife took a great video of me in knee high fresh powder underneath the lift she was on, my friends who went away to les gets in France the same week were skiing in mud !!!!

 

[Lord Bamber]

Les Menuires is great - nice and high, so skiing is great later in the season than most. It's part of the 3 Valleys - a huge system of runs...supposedly the biggest in the world. Val Thorens is just up the road but Les Menuires is about half the price. I know it's in France, but you can't beat the 3 Valleys.

Would defo recommend, been a couple of times, 3 valleys is just great skiing.

I would normally recommend Tignes and Val (Espace Killy) however it is far from cheap. The southern Alps is better suited for cheaper trips. Try looking at Alpe d'Huez or Les 2 Alpes

DFP knows his stuff

Appreciate you want to try somewhere else apart from France but at that time of year, given the quality, why bother.

 

[DarrenFreemansPerm]

If I could just add, if anybody does go to Les 2 Alpes and you head to Smithy's (tavern), the head chef and restaurant manager are Brighton fans, also the bar manager (should he return) at the Secret is Brighton through and through

 

[Captain Sensible]

Definately......Most Definately Bettmeralp, Valais, Switzerland

Familienferien - Aletschgletscher - Bettmeralp - Aletsch Arena - Wallis - Schweiz


Skiing right next to the Aletsch Glacier, surrounded by 4000meter peaks, amazing!

 

[DarrenFreemansPerm]

Did the whole of last season in St Anton - but usually manage to get away for about a month a year

Ah fair do's. You tempted to do another,it's addictive?! I set off in 2000 to do 1 season in Tignes, Ended up doing 1xTignes 4xVal d'Isere, 1xValloire, 3x Les 2 Alpes, including spending time living in meribel, les menuires, Alpe d'Huez, La Rosiere, Serre Chevalier, Crest Voland, Notre Dame du Bellecombe and Courchevel to name a few

 

[Lord Bamber]

I would say dont go to La Thuile Italy, not a great place.

 

[PHCgull]

anyone recommending switzerland on this thread has clearly not taken a look at the currency market recently. For one swiss franc you can now buy a three bedroomed house on dyke road