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#1
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Advice required for beginner
Hi,
As a beginner to skiing I was hoping some of you out there might be able to give me some advice on the choice of resort. I'm planning to go skiing in early April (3rd to 10th) with a friend who is also a beginner. We were looking for a resort in France that would be good for learning but not cost a fortune - don't see the point in paying 200 Euro for a week's ski pass if we never leave the green runs! Unfortunately, early April is the only time we can go so I reckon we'll have to go pretty high to be sure of snow. So far looked at Les Deux Alpes and Bonneval-sur-Arc with a preference for the latter as it seems more of a typical village and is less expensive. Thanks in advance for any help, Frank |
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#2
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Advice required for beginner
"Frank" wrote in message ... Hi, As a beginner to skiing I was hoping some of you out there might be able to give me some advice on the choice of resort. I'm planning to go skiing in early April (3rd to 10th) with a friend who is also a beginner. We were looking for a resort in France that would be good for learning but not cost a fortune - don't see the point in paying 200 Euro for a week's ski pass if we never leave the green runs! Unfortunately, early April is the only time we can go so I reckon we'll have to go pretty high to be sure of snow. So far looked at Les Deux Alpes and Bonneval-sur-Arc with a preference for the latter as it seems more of a typical village and is less expensive. Thanks in advance for any help, Frank Can't help much on resorts, but do check out the learn-to-ski packages with the travel companies. They usually offer all-inclusive "Learn to Ski" deals (ski hire, tuition and restricted area ski-pass) at reduced cost. It maybe that you have to buy a ski-pass for the last couple of days - for more extensive skiing - but that should still be local pass only and so won't be too expensive. Think Val Thorens had a such an offer a few years ago and that has a glacier and should be high enough to ensure snow. -- Paul Schofield Time flies like an arrow Fruit flies like a banana |
#3
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Advice required for beginner
"Frank" wrote in
: Hi, As a beginner to skiing I was hoping some of you out there might be able to give me some advice on the choice of resort. I'm planning to go skiing in early April (3rd to 10th) with a friend who is also a beginner. We were looking for a resort in France that would be good for learning but not cost a fortune I'd seriously consider Andorra for beginners. |
#4
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Advice required for beginner
Greg Hilton wrote:
"Frank" wrote in : Hi, As a beginner to skiing I was hoping some of you out there might be able to give me some advice on the choice of resort. I'm planning to go skiing in early April (3rd to 10th) with a friend who is also a beginner. We were looking for a resort in France that would be good for learning but not cost a fortune I'd seriously consider Andorra for beginners. So would I, It's cheap and there's plenty of suitable terrain. -- Chris *:-) Downhill Good, Uphill BAD! www.suffolkvikings.org.uk |
#5
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Advice required for beginner
Hi,
There is *no* need to book now - wait until mid-March. An advantage of learning in April is that it's warmer, and as you will not be moving so much it makes life more pleasant. I'm not suggesting you come to Laax but resorts with higher runs will generally have a good snow cover above 2,200m so you will find something good. Wait and take advice from the group nearer the date, hotels will be empty. -- Simon Brown www.hb9drv.ch "Frank" wrote in message ... Hi, As a beginner to skiing I was hoping some of you out there might be able to give me some advice on the choice of resort. I'm planning to go skiing in early April (3rd to 10th) with a friend who is also a beginner. We were looking for a resort in France that would be good for learning but not cost a fortune - don't see the point in paying 200 Euro for a week's ski pass if we never leave the green runs! Unfortunately, early April is the only time we can go so I reckon we'll have to go pretty high to be sure of snow. So far looked at Les Deux Alpes and Bonneval-sur-Arc with a preference for the latter as it seems more of a typical village and is less expensive. Thanks in advance for any help, Frank |
#6
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Advice required for beginner
Think Val Thorens had a such an offer a few years ago and that has a glacier
and should be high enough to ensure snow. As well as height 2300m - 3200m Val Thorens also has quite a number of easy runs. Michael Chare |
#7
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Advice required for beginner
"Simon Brown" wrote in message ... Hi, There is *no* need to book now - wait until mid-March. An advantage of learning in April is that it's warmer, and as you will not be moving so much it makes life more pleasant. I completely agree. By then you will know what kind of season it has been and how low you can still find snow. One possible resort is Les Contamines - even though it is not very high, its proximity to Mont Blanc gives it good snow cover well into the spring - though the snow will be, well, spring snow - not the easiest to learn in. Also, Flaine would be a good choice. A little more expensive, but less so than the big Tarentaise resorts - especially if you buy only a Flaine (rather than Grand Massif) pass. You can always ski there until late April, with the advantage that some of the nicest blue pistes accessible to (near-) beginners are at the top of the resort, with good packed snow even in April |
#8
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Advice required for beginner
"Frank" wrote in message ... Hi, As a beginner to skiing I was hoping some of you out there might be able to give me some advice on the choice of resort. I'm planning to go skiing in early April (3rd to 10th) with a friend who is also a beginner. We were looking for a resort in France that would be good for learning but not cost a fortune - don't see the point in paying 200 Euro for a week's ski pass if we never leave the green runs! Unfortunately, early April is the only time we can go so I reckon we'll have to go pretty high to be sure of snow. So far looked at Les Deux Alpes and Bonneval-sur-Arc with a preference for the latter as it seems more of a typical village and is less expensive. Thanks in advance for any help, Frank Hi Just to make a few points about your query which have not been covered elsewhere. In my experience at the beginning of April you do not usually have to head ultra high to get decent snow, having north facing slopes is just as important plus a reasonable snow record for the resort. With regards to Bonneval I have only skied there for a day so do not know it well. It is very attractive and having high slopes should have decent snow at this time. The main drawback if you are a beginner is that I do not know of any British tour operators that go there. This could mean that there would be no other English speaking beginners, leaving the lessons largely conducted in French even if the instrutor does speak English. If you speak good French ignore this point and look forward to going to a very attractive resort. Les Deux Alpes has excellent high skiing but as you say the lift pass is fairly pricey as a result for the high lifts. The beginners slopes at the bottom of the lift system are west facing and will deteriorate through the day in the sun at this time of the year. The other main drawback IMO are the queues which can be pretty bad to get up the mountain. I have not been at Easter but I would have thought that they are worse than usual at this time of the year. The village is not a beauty though the views up the mountain are good. On the up side the snow at the top of the mountain should be excellent and you can be guaranteed English speaking instruction. To add in another suggestion for a French resort Montgenevre has an attractive ski area, plenty of easy skiing, North facing slopes starting at 1800m. The lift pass for the Montgenevre area only as opposed to the full Voie Lattee is reasonable. I have visited it on day trips several times in April and have always found good skiing without much queuing, there is a fair English speaking trade so instruction should not be a problem. As has been pointed out many times before in this NG having a few lessons on a dry slope before you go will speed up your learning and probably inrease the enjoyment of your holiday. Hope this helps Bob |
#9
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Advice required for beginner
"Simon Brown" wrote in message ... Hi, There is *no* need to book now - wait until mid-March. An advantage of learning in April is that it's warmer, and as you will not be moving so much it makes life more pleasant. I'm not suggesting you come to Laax but resorts with higher runs will generally have a good snow cover above 2,200m so you will find something good. Wait and take advice from the group nearer the date, hotels will be empty. -- Simon Brown www.hb9drv.ch These dates are the Easter holidays I don't know what the hotels will be like in Laax but in some of the highest French resorts many of the hotels will be booked already, quieter resorts should be OK but flights will go up in price neareer to booking. Bob |
#10
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Advice required for beginner
Good point about flights, guess I'm spoilt living less than 1km from the
main gondola stations :-) Easter Friday is April 9th, I was under the opinion it was two weeks later. Very mild here, the wildlife is most confused, as am I ;-) -- Simon Brown www.hb9drv.ch "Bob C" wrote in message ... These dates are the Easter holidays I don't know what the hotels will be like in Laax but in some of the highest French resorts many of the hotels will be booked already, quieter resorts should be OK but flights will go up in price neareer to booking. |
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