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Fly to ski

Videos I found of Bad Kleinkirchheim show it to definitely be a place I don’t want to go skiing. They seem to have made a slope on every ridge, with steep drops either side, even sticking snow machines in the middle of it. Gerlitzen looks way better though, with decent wide runs. That’s from Klagenfurt LOWK.

The best ski option I have found so far is Cervinia, and it is very accessible by flying to Aosta LIMW.

The above have reasonable transport which is relevant if not going for a full week i.e. the cheap shuttles are usually not available (AFAICT).

Then you have Madonna di Campiglio, from Bolzano LIPB or Trento LIDT (the latter is schengen only) but €200+ each way for a taxi.

Of course the good skiers have many more options e.g. Zell am See, St Johann, etc.

Right now and through Feb there is very little accommodation available.

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

Peter wrote:

I won’t be doing Tignes. It is 2-3hrs’ drive from any usable airport. I’ve just spoken to a ski crazy guy who has just been there and apparently there were massive queues for everything. I normally get up at 6am so I am at the start of the queue, but that is not possible at Tignes where the queues start early.

Tignes is an easy 2 hours from Grenoble-Isere, less if you drive fast. The first half of the drive is good motorway and you can really put your foot down. The second half is a winding mountain road and yes, is a bit slow in a coach or minibus, but reasonably quick in a car. In any case the scenery is breathtaking and it’s not a drive I could ever describe as mind-numbing. Hiring a car is also much cheaper than private transfers, wherever you go.

I don’t think Tignes/Val d’Isere is busier with bigger queues than anywhere else. Like everywhere it will be busiest during the February school holidays, and when I went in January it was pretty quiet. First lifts are usually 0830 (getting earlier later in the season) and there are rarely many people around at this time – the Brits have usually drunk too much the night before. The snow coverage is excellent and the lift infrastructure, after significant investment in the last few years, is second-to-none. High capacity and high speed lifts really do away with the queues.

I still recommend it!

EGLM & EGTN

I am going to initially try Gerlitzen.

Klagenfurt LOWK info

There are also some very cheap airline flights EGKK-LOWK.

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

Well I wont be able to go now till at least the 2nd week of March. But I will go. Now that Im doing better the weather was perfect for flying and skiing what an opportunity missed!! Oh well, look forward and not back.

KHTO, LHTL

Why all the angst – just fly to Sion in Switzerland! It has more days of sunshine than anywhere else in Switzerland, and for that matter probably anywhere in the Alps. The airport is relatively low (1,400 ft so no issues with snow on runway or cold starts).

No handling fee for under 2t or so. Fees are not too bad and there are LOTS (ie dozens) of resorts within reach, from the very fancy such as Zermatt and Verbier, to the mid tier such as Crans Montana, to the down home local such as Ovronnaz, St Luc or Veysonnaz. Veysonnaz (from where I am writing this) is literally 20 mins straight up the hill from Sion Airport. I come here by plane 5 or 6 times very winter.

Fantastic public transport options from Sion Railway Station (1.5 km from airport) – search cff.ch . It will show how to use trains, buses and funiculars to get anywhere.

Upper Harford private strip UK, near EGBJ, United Kingdom

I know… We discussed Sion here not long ago. I can’t remember why that one didn’t happen. Maybe the year went by really fast? Probably was forgotten. I will review it all. And maybe we can do a mini meet-up there. My current plan is for end Feb and then one more in later March.

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

Peter wrote:

although the transit time is probably not that different
The A48 highway through Grenoble is being redone, so transit through Grenoble in any direction is a pain in the neck, with daily and lengthy trafic jams.
ESMK, Sweden

I am informed that the very last half-term school holiday in Austria is the weekend of 22/23 Feb.

And that in Italy the the schools are closed 26 and the 27 Feb (Wed and Thurs) so a lot of people take the kids away from school that whole week.

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

Finally, after so many recommendations here over the years, I am looking at Sion LSGS, and Crans Montana

Can anyone compare Crans Montana (which is nearly all reds) with Cervinia (where I can do most of the reds)? One thing these have in common is a near total lack of accommodation for less than 1k per night

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

Well Peter, I really can’t recommend Crans Montana for skiing at all. Switzerland has many lovely ski-areas, but Crans-Montana is on my personal blacklist. They closed down several lifts and slopes due “cost reductions” or “profit optimizations” and the atmosphere is not so nice either. If you fly to Sion, please take a look at 4 Vallées or Val d’Anniviers. Both lovely ski-areas: If you like it big, go for 4 Vallées (Veysonnaz is directly above Sion, with views on the runway), if you like it authentic and “real Swiss”, go for Grimentz or Saint-Luc. Another lovely and very authentic and quiet ski-area is Lauchernalp, on the German-speaking part of Valais, but it is pretty small and difficult slopes. Portes du Soleil is also not so far from Sion, but you can go to the French-side from Annemasse (LFLI) as well, or land at Bex (LSGB).

Last Edited by Frans at 23 Feb 01:12
Switzerland
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