Ski-ing at Christmas in Europe
Discussion
I've always been to either Wengen or Saas Fe, both in switzerland. Wengen is a very pretty village, quite small but with a fantastic aspect on a ledge about 800 metres above the floor of the lauterbrunnen valley.
The village is at 1600 metres or so. You can get the train to kleine scheidegg (right under the north face of the eiger,) at 2 and a bit thousand metres where there are some nice pistes... or you can get the gondola from wengen up to mannlichen where there are even more pistes, some really nice. There is some really nice off piste skiing/boarding at kleine scheidegg I think.
We normally stay at the hotel bellevue in Wengen... service is, er, a bit strange in an unfriendly comedy "fawlty towers" way... the food is excellent though. Its quite a quiet hotel... Wengen doesn't have that much nightlife really.
The other place I've been at christmas is Saas Fe. Saas Fe is much bigger than Wengen and quite a lot livelier. Its really quite high up so is fairly sure of snow. A few years back at christmas it seemed to be about the only place in the swiss alps with decent snow. It snowed every night and was sunny every day. There is a greater variety of slopes at Saas Fe and a slighter bigger ski area. There is also a dedicated sledge run
which I recommend you try (there are some at wengen too but they are also footpaths so you can't be quite as banzai). There is catch netting to stop you shooting off the side of the mountain I used it several times.
I think wengen is prettier/quiter and saas fe is livlier... Both have loads of skiing for intermediates and some slopes for begginners too, not that much to challenge the expert I think (though you could try the lauberhorn world cup downhill course at wengen)
Hope that was helpful I haven't been anywhere else in Europe at christmas time... Generally I like madonna di campiglio a lot but that is probably a better bet for snow a bit later in the year
The village is at 1600 metres or so. You can get the train to kleine scheidegg (right under the north face of the eiger,) at 2 and a bit thousand metres where there are some nice pistes... or you can get the gondola from wengen up to mannlichen where there are even more pistes, some really nice. There is some really nice off piste skiing/boarding at kleine scheidegg I think.
We normally stay at the hotel bellevue in Wengen... service is, er, a bit strange in an unfriendly comedy "fawlty towers" way... the food is excellent though. Its quite a quiet hotel... Wengen doesn't have that much nightlife really.
The other place I've been at christmas is Saas Fe. Saas Fe is much bigger than Wengen and quite a lot livelier. Its really quite high up so is fairly sure of snow. A few years back at christmas it seemed to be about the only place in the swiss alps with decent snow. It snowed every night and was sunny every day. There is a greater variety of slopes at Saas Fe and a slighter bigger ski area. There is also a dedicated sledge run
which I recommend you try (there are some at wengen too but they are also footpaths so you can't be quite as banzai). There is catch netting to stop you shooting off the side of the mountain I used it several times. I think wengen is prettier/quiter and saas fe is livlier... Both have loads of skiing for intermediates and some slopes for begginners too, not that much to challenge the expert I think (though you could try the lauberhorn world cup downhill course at wengen
) Hope that was helpful
I haven't been anywhere else in Europe at christmas time... Generally I like madonna di campiglio a lot but that is probably a better bet for snow a bit later in the year I nearly agree with D_Mike, but I'd suggest the other side of the Lauterbrunnen valley, Muerren.
It's a small village a mile up on a cliff edge with some great skiing. Stay at the Hotel Eiger. If you get a valley side room, you wake up to an astounding panorama of the Eiger, Jungfrau and Moench.
The top of the mountain is the Schilthorn where Blofeld had his base in OHMSS. The run down continues into the Kanonenrohr (gunbarrel), a great, quick black.
It's a small village a mile up on a cliff edge with some great skiing. Stay at the Hotel Eiger. If you get a valley side room, you wake up to an astounding panorama of the Eiger, Jungfrau and Moench.
The top of the mountain is the Schilthorn where Blofeld had his base in OHMSS. The run down continues into the Kanonenrohr (gunbarrel), a great, quick black.
puggit said:
Anywhere in the high Alps should suit you fine.
Bulgaria is NOT good for snow at this time - very hit or miss.
puggit just a thought - was that you in the sky blue s2000 heading towards Reading coming out of bracknell today?
Couldnt get close enough to see a PH sticker - but s2000's seem pretty thin on the ground in berks...
Favourite Christmas time areas are probably St Moritz or St Anton. Both are high and pretty snow-sure, and they've both got fantastic slopes. Would suggest St Moritz is the better equipped for the huge number of Christmas visitors, not least because it's far enough away from a big city to avoid weekend trippers.
Zermatt's pretty spectactular, Arosa's nice and high and probably marginally less famous than the others, keeping the crowds down a *bit*. Somewhere relatively unknown in the UK is Flims/Laax, in the east of Switzerland. Great lifts, plenty of runs to explore, but not as snow-sure as the others.
Of course, these are all Swiss resorts (cept St Anton) and as such are about 25% more expensive than the other alpine countries. Virtually any of the big French resorts will have snow, and most of the population of England in them over Xmas too. If you like that sorta thing.
If you really want to research this, there's the excellent "Where to Ski and Snowboard". I've not bought it for years, but when I used to care (when I lived in Switzerland), it was a standard present for a few years.
Any other info or ideas, there's usually something buried deep in the recesses of my memory.
Zermatt's pretty spectactular, Arosa's nice and high and probably marginally less famous than the others, keeping the crowds down a *bit*. Somewhere relatively unknown in the UK is Flims/Laax, in the east of Switzerland. Great lifts, plenty of runs to explore, but not as snow-sure as the others.
Of course, these are all Swiss resorts (cept St Anton) and as such are about 25% more expensive than the other alpine countries. Virtually any of the big French resorts will have snow, and most of the population of England in them over Xmas too. If you like that sorta thing.
If you really want to research this, there's the excellent "Where to Ski and Snowboard". I've not bought it for years, but when I used to care (when I lived in Switzerland), it was a standard present for a few years.
Any other info or ideas, there's usually something buried deep in the recesses of my memory.
Zod said:
I nearly agree with D_Mike, but I'd suggest the other side of the Lauterbrunnen valley, Muerren.
It's a small village a mile up on a cliff edge with some great skiing. Stay at the Hotel Eiger. If you get a valley side room, you wake up to an astounding panorama of the Eiger, Jungfrau and Moench.
The top of the mountain is the Schilthorn where Blofeld had his base in OHMSS. The run down continues into the Kanonenrohr (gunbarrel), a great, quick black.
A few times i've been over to Murren for the day and skiing there is fun too
the village is always in the shade though, surely? It'd be nice to have that view to wake up with but the one along the valley is also very nice
philthy said:
Anywhere in the high Alps should suit you fine.
Bulgaria is NOT good for snow at this time - very hit or miss.
Agree with puggit, Bulgarias snow record around christmas is sketchy.
Great if you leave it a week or three though.
Phil
And Austria can be a bit ropey early in the season too.
Most high French and Swiss resorts should be a good bet.
Val D'Isere (1800m) or Tignes (2100m) are renowned for being some of the most "Snow Sure" resorts in the Alps due to the height and the fact that they are at the end of the valley - The resorts are joined to make L'Espace Killy which includes the Grand Motte Glacier wish stands at over 3500m and has snow for year round skiing. I spent a season there a couple of years ago and Val D'Isere in Christmas is great!!
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