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Mayrhofen, Austria - January 1998 Saas fee, Switzerland - March 1998 Val Thorens, France - January 2000Chamonix Valley, France - January & March 2000 and 2001Zermatt, Switzerland - April 2000Sauze d'oulx, Italy - January 2001
January 1998 Overview Pleasant town in the southern Tyrol. Skiing mainly suited to beginners and intermediates. Skiing Some skiing to suit all levels, although advanced skiers will get bored quickly. Beginners areas are OK but many of the runs are narrow. The real problem at Mayrhofen is that the skiing is above the town and accessible only by a gondola. Although recently improved, this gets very busy during peak times and waiting an hour to get up is no joke! I recommend making an early or late start and staying on the mountain until the last lifts leave. I also recommend leaving your skis and boots at the shop at the top of the gondola, rather than lugging them around everywhere. Ski School The ski school in is OK with plenty of English speaking tutors and reasonable sized groups. Ski Pass We paid about £90 for a one-week pass. Apres Ski Extremely lively. Lot’s of British skiers at this resort. Some of the bars, such as the Scotland Yard got packed full all night. The Hotel Strasse was the best for live entertainment. Food Some nice mountain huts with a good atmosphere. Food was nothing special, although some of the sausages, particularly the CurryWorst, were excellent. We stayed at the Hotel Rose, which I recommend for both it’s accommodation and it’s excellent restaurant and bar. Transport Transfer time between Salzburg and Mayrhofen is about 3.5 hours. Shorter transfers of about 1 hour are available from Innsbruck airport. Useful Link : Mayrhofen Home Page (TOP)
Saas Fee, Switzerland March 1998 Overview Beautiful town high in the Swiss Alps. Traffic free except for electric buggies – all cars have to park at the edge of the village. Quite compact with fantastic views. Skiing Ideal for late season skiing. This resort is very high – over 3000 M at the top - which makes for great conditions in March / April. The skiing is best suited to the beginners/intermediates with some huge wide pistes. Plenty for the advanced skier too. Ski School I didn’t check the ski school out, although private lessons worked out at about £25 for two hours. Didn’t appear to be many English-speaking tutors. Ski Pass Approx. £20 per day. Apres Ski Lots of small bars and restaurants. Food Nothing special – best to stick to your hotel restaurant. There is one big steak house that is very popular and we failed to get into, as it was always fully booked. Accommodation We stayed at the Hotel Michabel, which was very nice and cost approximately £80 per night for a double. Cheaper options were available and there is a good booking office near to the car park. Transport We drove from Geneva, which took about four hours. Useful Link : Saas Fee Net (TOP)
February 1999 Overview A huge Ski Area with plenty for all levels. The town of Selva is very pleasant with enough apres-ski to keep most happy (although this isn’t much of a late night party all-hours place). Nice setting in the dramatic Dolomite mountains. Part of the Sella Ronda ski circuit. Skiing Bags of skiing to suit all levels. Some of the long red runs are particularly good and there’s lots of cruising for those who like that sort of thing. Nursery slopes are good – fairly central but a bit of an uphill trek from the resort centre. Lots of stuff for advanced skiers including the famous mens downhill at St Christina. The only real "pain" at Selva is the walks between lifts in the village. No queuing problems with lifts or gondolas, although the Dantichepes gondola gets busy with people on the Sella Ronda circuit. Ski School The ski school in Selva was very good with plenty of English speaking tutors and reasonable sized groups. Private tuition is good value too for groups of two to four. Ski school hours are 10:00 to 13:00 Mon-Thu and 10:00 - 16:00 on Friday. Ski Pass Dolomiti SuperSki pass is 291,000 lire - worked out only about £8 more than the local pass. Apres Ski Apres ski was very lively in the Luisl Keller - plenty of German and Italian singing and dancing straight off the slopes. The Bula Bar and Kronastube bars were both excellent in the evening and the Dali Disco was busy most nights and played a good selection of music. Food Excellent choice, quality and value. The best in the Alps both on and off the mountain. A good sit down meal in the evening would be around 20,000 - 40,000 lire per head, including wine (£7.50 - £15). Lunching was a delight with a decent sized plate of pasta no more than 10,000 lire (£3.70). A large beer in a bar/restaurant was between 5,000 and 8,000 lire (£1.80 and £2.50). I recommend the Hotel Friena at the base of the Campinoi for a good sit down lunch (the Grostl is superb and huge), The Hotel Alaska on the Danterchepes side is very good but very busy between 1:00 and 2:00, and there is a superb Tea room near to the Hotel Alaska (can't remember the name but it's a yellow building just down the slope a bit!). Transport Transfer time between Verona and Selva is about 2.5 hours. Ski bus between Sleva and Ortesi is about 15 mins and buses run approximately every 10 mins. Misc Equipment and clothing prices were very reasonable - especially boots and skis. Have fun in this wonderful resort. I'll certainly be back for more! Useful Link : Dolomites On-line (TOP)
January 2000 OverviewAnother huge Ski Area with plenty for all levels. Linked with Meribel, Courchevel and les Menuires, there is more skiing than you can throw a stick at ! Located at around 2300m, this is the highest resort in Europe. Skiing High altitude and treeless, although those who hanker after tree-lined runs can pop down to Meribel. Some very long runs and most are well suited to the intermediate skiier who like wide open long cruising. Lots of skiing at all levels, although perhaps a lack of black runs for those who want the big adrenaline rush. Some really nice mountain huts for lunch and the odd Vin Chaud. Ski School Average, with ski school available 9-12 and afternoons. About 770 FF for five days of school or 380 FF for a two hour private esson. Ski Pass 120,00 Francs for six days, covering the entire Three valleys. Cheaper, local passes are also available for slightly less & you can upgrade to the 3 valleys pass on a daily basis if you want. Apres Ski Good, is you like small, noisy, smoky bars. Beer is expensive – over 300 FF per pint (400 up the mountain). Mainly Dutch / British crowd. Bloopers is the best for "straight off the slopes" happy-hour if you don’t mind being packed in with lively Dutch folk. The "Frog and Roastbeef" and "Viking Bar" are pretty good in the evening. Food Not bad. Le Galubet café at the top of the central drag-lift is excellent for lunch – the best place we could find – with fantastic food and good table service. El Gringo is good for Tex-Mex food. Expect to pay around £6 for a bowl of pasta, £11 for a main course in the evening and £3-£4 for a beer. Transport Transfer time between Lyon and Val Thorens is about 3.5 hours. The railhead is at Moutiers, which serves the Eurostar and connection to Chamberay and Albertville for other connections. Buses to Moutiers run daily, and should be booked a couple of days in advance. If you miss the last bus back to Val Thorens from meribel , BEWARE ! It will take over and hour and around 600 FF in a taxi to get back !! (cheaper to stay in Meribel for the night and ski back next day!!). Misc Equipment hire plentiful and generally good quality. Be prepared for the odd nosebleed, shortness of breath and trouble sleeping on your first night or two, due to the high altitude. USEFUL LINK : Val Thorens Official Site.(TOP)
Argentiere, FranceJanuary and March 2000Overview Small village, just up the valley from Chamonix. Part of the Mont Blanc Ski area. Awesome setting amongst the highest peaks in the Alps. Skiing Unlinked skiing covered by the ChamSki pass, with areas to suit all abilities. In Argentiere , the main ski area is "Le Grand Montets". Cable car/ chair access from the village up the mountain to a variety of mainly Hard Blue, Red and Black runs. Some are groomed, some are not, and the off-piste possibilities are huge. Easy skiing available at La Flegere, and wide open blues/reds to be found at Le Tour. Skiing from the Agui du Midi (over 3800 M) available with a guide. Queues are not a problem, but it is considerably busier at weekends. Generally quiet slopes in January, busy in February and early March. Le Grand Montets tends to be the busiest area. Le Flegere gets the earliest sun, but can get bad in the afternoon if it’s hot. Le Tour gets afternoon sun and is a bit colder. If the main ski area is not so good, the skiing down the "back" is good towards Les Esserts. Get to the lifts early in peak season (8:00) or be prepared to queue for some time. The car parks at all lift stations are ram packed after 9:30. Ski Pass 1090 Francs for a week for the Chamski pass. 589 Francs for a 3 day Chamski pass. The week long pass includes a free journey on the Aguille du Midi cable car, which takes you to the highest point – over 3800M. Skiing from here & the top of the Grand Montets was available for expereinced skiers with a guide only. The ski bus is frequent and runs up and down the valley to all the necessary stops. There is also a train which runs to each town along the valley, and there’s a night bus to/from Chamonix. Apres Ski Some nice little bars in Argentiere. Le Stone Bar and The Yeti – at each and of the town – are friendly, cheaper places & a good option to catch up on Eurosport. The Office bar is the lively place, with imported English beers and good food. Plenty of other bars dotted around. Food Excellent. We ate at most of the places, and the food was good. Le Flambee and Le Dahu are good for French/Swiss type food. The Office bar is good for Mexican/Burgers/Pasta, whilst the other places serve a variety of meat/vege/pizza dishes. The Creamerie – which is away from the village, hidden in the woods, is a superb and very rustic place to eat, as is the Refuge, which is on the mountain overlooking the Argentiere glacier. Book in advance at weekends. Transport Good bus and train links from Chamonix, although the airport bus to Geneva (1.5 hours) only runs four or five times a day and gets packed. Coming from Geneva a hire car may be a better option. Misc Good quality equipment for hire/sale at both Stamos Sports and Marylou Sports in Argentiere. Good local cheese and salami to be bougth in town too – I recommend Les Seracs. (TOP)
Small town in the Swiss Alps on the Italian border. Beautiful location right under the magnificent Matterhorn Skiing There are two main ski areas. I only skied the Klein-Matterhorn area, next to the Matterhorn itself. This is a large ski area with some very long runs. Lifts are a combination of cable cars and gondolas, with some T-bars. The skiing is mainly reds with some blues and the occasional black. The highest lift goes to just under 4000 m, which provides spectacular views and some fantastic high-altitude skiing. This ski area suits those who like long runs and big wide slopes. It is easy to ski over into Cervinia, in Italy. Ski Pass Ski pass work out at around SFR63 per day – about UK£22, for a pass to cover the Klein Matterhorn area and Cervina. Zermatt only passes are also available. Passes for the entire Zermatt and Cervina area are a three day minimum. Half day passes for afternoons only. Apres Ski Lots of nice little bars line the run down to the village, and some of the moutain huts are quite lively. Back in town there is a cluster of bars in the centre, and a night club or two. Pkenty to keep even the most dedicated apres-skier going! Food Not bad. Eating at the hotels is usually best value, taking advantage of the four/five course evening deals they offer. Some fats food places around. Whilst skiing, the food is OK, but I prefered to ski over into Cervina for a better value, big Italian lunch ! Accommodation Not cheap, but the standard is good. We stayed at the Hotel Alpenblick. A good little hotel close to the lifts. It’s very friendly and cost us around SFR220 per night (about UK£90) for a room with balcony and Matterhorn view, buffet breakfast and good evening meal. The food was nice and hotel facilities good. Transport Zermatt is car free. Cars have to be left at Tasch, and then you can either get a taxi or train up to Zermatt. Taxi Freddy offers a good service – about SFR7 per person transport up to Zermatt, plus SFR5 per day parking. Once in Zermatt transport is by electric buggy or horse drawn cart. Misc Prices are pretty high, but not unreasonable. Plenty of cash machines in town. Useful Link : Zermatt Home Page (TOP)
Overview Part of the Milky Way (Via Lattea) ski area, which covers quite a large area Skiing Excellent - if the snow is good. We had great conditions (best for over 20 Ski School Not sure - but reports were fairly good. However, I would not recommend this Ski Pass Very good value. Between 80 and 100 quid for a week, depending on time of Apres Ski Excellent. Plenty of British style pubs such as the "New Scotch Bar" and Food Excellent! Mountain huts and restaurants are plentiful and the food Accommodation Mainly people on packages, but a few hotel rooms around for those wanting to travel independantly. Transport You can't beat it! Only just over an hour from Turin airport. Misc Equipment hire plentiful and generally good quality. The Mily Way (skiing not chocolate!) website. (TOP)
March 2001 Overview A small town with a large ski area – linked to La Rossiere in France. La Thuile is located in the Aosta Valley near to Cormayeur and the closed Mont Blanc Tunnel. Skiing I really enjoyed the skiing at La Thuile – but then the conditions were superb with huge amounts of snow everywhere. However – LA Thuile in general has a great snow record. Most of the runs are blues or easy reds, but there are some challenging reds and some very challenging blacks back down to the village. Most of the runs are wide and open – ideal for beginners. Off Piste there are plenty of possibilities – especially for those like me who like to venture off – but not too far away from the safety of the well groomed piste! The trip over to La Rossiere is worth doing, but is a bit tiresome on the huge French drag life coming back. The runs in La Rossiere are similar but the reds do offer a bit more challenge in general. Overall – a great place for anyone and especially good for mixed ability groups or those with kids. The lift system is very good and queues – even at weekends – were minimal or non-existent. Ski Pass Very good value. The local LaThuile/La Rossiere pass works out at around 54000 lire (£18) per day or 260000 lire (£85) for 6 days. I opted for the Aosta Valley pass, which allows skiing in most of the resorts (including Cormayeur and Pila) in the Aosta Valley. This worked out at 300000 lire (£99) for 6 days. Worth the extra if you fancy touring around – or in our case we couldn’t ski one day at La Thuile due to too much snow and wind, so we just headed down to Pila and skied all day. Apres Ski Fairly quiet. La Thuile is more suited to families, couples and small groups, so Apres Ski is fairly quiet. There are enough bars to keep you occupied though. I particularly liked the little "La Bricolette" run by a biker called Pepe. Very friendly and LARGE measures! The one thing that La Thuile lacks is a nice bar to pile into after the days skiing has been done. Food Excellent! Enough places to eat somewhere different every night and a good supermarket for those who want to do their own. La Bricole serves excellent meats and wine and is very atmospheric. La Grotta and Lo Creton did the best pizzas and pasta.
Accommodation The huge Planibel complex dominates La Thuile – but it is less of an eyesore than I had imagined. We stayed at the quiet Hotel Entreves, which was very good at around £20 per person per night B&B. Transport About two hours from Turin – mostly along good highways. Misc The old town across the river is quite nice and well worth a wander around. Useful Link : The Official La Thuile Website. (TOP)
March 2001 Overview Small ski resort linked to the town of Aosta. Skiing I only skied at Pila for one day and was surprised at how much I enjoyed it. The lift system is pretty good and the skiing was quite varied. Mostly Red runs with a few blues and blacks, varying from wide cruises to narrow more-challenging slopes. A nice mixture of open and tree lined runs. You can drive to Pila and park in the car park outside (Pila is traffic free), but we parked in Aosta and got the cable car up (which took about 20 mins and is part of the ski pass). Ski Pass Part of the Aosta Valley pass, or a day ticket was 49000 lira (£16). Apres Ski Didn’t stay around, but it appeared to be pretty quiet. Only a smattering of apartments, a couple of bars and an ice rink. Food The mountain refuges at Pila were excellent, offering really good food at very reasonable prices. I found that the atmosphere and hospitality in these places was fantastic. Very friendly!
Did not stay – but the Holiday Inn at Aosta was near to the cable car. Transport Less than two hours from Turin – along good highways. Useful Link : Official Pila Website. (TOP) |
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