Not sure if I’ve put this out before on this forum but if there’s a high forecast over France/Switzerland for a few days my favourite destination is Sion. You have a choice of some superb ski areas but the easiest one with public transport is probably Crans Montana – train to Sierre and then funicular or bus up to the resort and bus to lifts. We spent several years going there with the children as it’s very family friendly and has some good easy runs as well as more challenging stuff when you fancy it. As its south facing it’s a generally lovely experience.
Then let me also remind the newcomers of Zell am See LOWZ again. Advantages are: Easily accessible airfield, IFR alternate Salzburg may be an option, close proximity of the ski lifts to the airfield (900 meters or so). The skiing is nice, although Peter might add it’s not 100% beginners friendly. My girlfriend learned to ski there last year though with a private instructor and though still struggling somewhat, she is doing quite alright and the instructor knew exactly the good parts to go for initial training, so that should not stop people from going there.
Zell am See LOWZ
Good news is they recently extended the runway. For our PA46 this made the difference and now the airport is much more usable. We passed next to the ski place by bike but with ski shoes I fear it is a bit far to walk from the airport. Also Zell seems to suffer a bit from fog in the valley. In the winter we wanted to go there several times but every time the webcam showed fog so we went to LSZS instead which had sun.
The sheer length of this thread shows how many people would like to fly to ski, but so few seem to manage it.
Does anyone have the latest on the parking situation at Sion LSGS?
It is quite near Zermatt. In fact one airline was setting up to do Sion-Gatwick, which would transform the present ~4hr transit times, but they appear to have gone bust.
I certainly intend to have a go at Bolzano → Madonna this winter, so maybe somebody might be interested…
BTW @patrick, the other day I had some comms with a ski instructor who was absolutely adamant that Zell is great for beginners and that he often takes them there. It just shows there are as many opinions as people you ask 
I thought one had to be a fairly competent skier to get enough out of it.
Peter wrote:
I certainly intend to have a go at Bolzano → Madonna this winter, so maybe somebody might be interested…
I’ll be flying to Trento LIDT mid-January. Also going to Madonna.
Peter wrote:
BTW @patrick, the other day I had some comms with a ski instructor who was absolutely adamant that Zell is great for beginners and that he often takes them there. It just shows there are as many opinions as people you ask I thought one had to be a fairly competent skier to get enough out of it.
Yes, I think it’s very subjective!
My girlfriend’s instructor took her to a blue slope (when they finished with the “baby” slope), where he had a pretty exact track figured out for her to avoid the “bad” parts (which, as an average skier, you don’t even notice). This worked very well for her and the learning curve was quite good, but still, she wouldn’t do the same slope without the instructor later on and with me only because she needed to follow that precise track. It’ll have to wait until the next skiing vacation to make her go on her own, I think! All that is fair – it’s much, much harder to learn this as an adult in contrast to when we were all younger…
I’ll be flying to Trento LIDT mid-January. Also going to Madonna.
That might work out very well Madonna is such a beautiful place – the best I’ve been to in my 10 trips so far.
Looking at the webcams, there is probably enough snow there already.
it’s much, much harder to learn this as an adult in contrast to when we were all younger…
Indeed, but also much depends on the conditions. When I went to Zell last time, the surface was so hard one could push the pole into it only about 10mm. That isn’t so good for a beginner, because you slide really fast down any slope.
With 11 ski destinations in the bag, I can now report that Zermatt is the last place I would go for blue runs The train trip from Lausanne or Sion is pretty good but not worth it for skiing. Very scenic but, except for the Matterhorn, no more than e.g. the Dolomites.
Madonna is the top one, for skiing at that level.
Ok just checked into your recommendation of Madonna
Looks good. How was it from your perspective? It looks like there are enough challenging slopes.
http://www.powderhounds.com/Europe/Italy/Madonna-di-Campiglio.aspx
How far is it from the airport and what type of transport to the slopes or nearby hotel?
I plan on at least checking out Zell am See now that the runway has been extended. The trouble as I sit here in Munich is that for the past week since Ive been here there has been 1 possibly 2 good VFR days. For this week it looks like the forecast has snow and rain for an entire week. Going to either place is out of the question. Even though Bolzano has an approach it looked intimidating without a turbocharged airplane. For Zell am See I would do a day rip from EDMA. While for Balzano Id be leaving from BP Hungary. In either case it has to be a spur of the moment decision which makes it difficult to get a hotel at Madonna. Whats your take on the situation?
