Spring skiing: Best alpine resorts?

"Brian McIlwrath" wrote in message
...
| " " wrote:
| :
| : This year I was in Les Arcs about mid-MARCH and it was so
enormously sunny
| : and hot it looked like April would be totally hopeless - the
weather then
| : swing right around, new snow arrived and it was (I gather) very
good.
|
| : I can confirm that the last week in March 2005 was good in Les Arcs.
|
| Whereas at the end of probably the preceeding week when I was there
(13th
| to 20th March) it had got so hot and very sunny that the snow was
visibly
| melting - even though I was staying pretty low at Vallandry the chalet
staff
| had heard that the WHOLE resort was planning to close two weeks early
on
| 9th April unless it improved!
|
| Just shows how much luck plays a part in late March/April skiing!

The resort (Les Arcs) has never closed that early. Skiing was great
right through April, and although the lower part of the Les Arcs domain
was closed for the last week of April (leaving just Arcs 2000 open) it
could easily have remained partly open. Plenty of runs were practicable.
The closure was more to do with the politics of certain big lift
companies than own multiple domains around the Alps. They pick and
choose which ones to keep open, that way they can cut down on costs by
concentrating the smaller number of holidaymakers in those resorts they
choose to promote and losing employees in the others.

Pete
www.mysnowsports.com

"Ace" wrote in message
...

Others have mentioned the 'high' resorts, and my personal preference
_from them_ would be Tignes, but that would be second choice overall,
with Flaine riding high at the top of my list. I've skied late season
there in each of the last six seasons, sometimes doing a repping stint
of up to three weeks, and have never been disappointed.

Seconded!! Both Flaine and Tignes are excellent April choices. My first
experience of Flaine was not getting there at all a mid-April weekend, due
to too much snow on the road and a poorly equipped car - the powder in the
trees in Les Carroz, where the car had given up grip, was superb. That was
20 years ago!

Flaine is undoubtedly the best place in Haute Savoie for April snow, along
with Grands Montets, and offers plenty of skiing for all levels. Grands
Montets is my choice for a day's skiing with mates, but I wouldn't take my
kids there for a week! [BTW I'm not sure that I would rate Gers better than
the whole GM off-piste domain!]

Tignes is also superb and perhaps better suited to a mixed ability family
group, due to the sheer variety of skiing available. Val d'Isere would also
be a good base if part of the family is more into shopping than skiing
IYSWIM.

--

I went to Avoriaz 2nd April, warmsunny weather, snow below1500 was not
great but good skiing up high with most links to the Swiss resorts were
open.
Had new snow on the 5th day and heavy snow on the way home.
A local shop owner commented that there was always great snow up to the
close on May1st!

Slightly OT but Easter skiing in the French Pyrenees was good as well (and
q-less !)

Enjoy


--
John Owens
www.goodviews.co.uk
Fax +44 1509 890822
"p.k." wrote in message
...
John Elgy wrote:

Most of the high ski resorts offer good skiing at that time of year.
We have had good April skiing in: Courcheval, La Plagne, Les
Menuires, Les Arcs, Val D'Isere, Verbier and Zermat. The skiing has
been OK in Whistler and doable in Banff. Kitzbuel was a bit thin. All
these are good resorts for intermediates. Sun burn is a serious
problem in April, so be careful.

John

Thanks for the reassurance..... I'm getting the picture that the "End of
the
skiing season in the British brochures" is more to do with the "British"
than the end of anything!

We are looking at club med in Val d'Isere - having geared ourselves up to
pay February Prices April @ Val looks a bargain!

pk