Euro Recomendations

In January I'll be leaving the states to live in France for five months to do an independent study abroad program, so I'm gonna have a ton of time on my hands. Any suggestions of mountains that I should hit up while I'm over there?...obviously the big ones, Cham, Verbier, Zermatt, but I'm wondering what some good smaller resorts are. I'm going to be living in Chambery, which is south of Lyon and Chamonix. I'm also going to be traveling, so any resorts in Spain, Switzerland, Italy, Austria, Germany and obviously France are fair game. Suggestions as to other (non-skiing) places I should go (I'm doing an independent study in Photography) are more than welcome as well.

Steer clear of La Grave and Serre Chevalier. Those places suck. No women, no snow, no fun. Plus they're expensive as hell. Chamonix is where it's at!!! Oh and Livigno Italy is rad for extremo terrain.

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Originally Posted by hop

Steer clear of La Grave and Serre Chevalier. Those places suck. No women, no snow, no fun. Plus they're expensive as hell.

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Do not click the link in my sig.

Again? OK:
Grenoble, Vizille, Bourg D'Oisans, St. Christophe, Col Galibier, Col du Lauteret, Parc des Ecrins, Monetier les Bains, Parc Queyras, Vars/Risoul, Puy St. Vincent, Col du Montgenevre, Claviere, Bardoneccia, Val Frejus, Mont Cenis, Bonneval-sur-Arc.

Annecy, Geneva, Beaune, Massif Central, the upper Dordogne, Avignon Provence.

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Originally Posted by truth

Do not click the link in my sig.

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edit: nevermind.

http://www.bmskier.com/front.gif

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Originally Posted by hop

Don't click here either.

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Clearly you didn't.

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Originally Posted by Storm11

.....I'm going to be living in Chambery, which is south of Lyon and Chamonix. I'm also going to be traveling, so any resorts in Spain, Switzerland, Italy, Austria, Germany and obviously France are fair game. Suggestions as to other (non-skiing) places I should go (I'm doing an independent study in Photography) are more than welcome as well.

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I think you can find great skiing and terrain almost anywhere in the Alpes from Briancon north to PDS. And, westward into Austria.

- Living in Geneve, we make our ski decisions on snowfall and weather (high or low fog, wind, etc.). We also ski what I would call 2nd or 3rd tier ski stations (not resorts) where you find small lines, less infrastructure, and laid-back but dedicated skiers/boarders. Places like Les Croset, Champoussin, Champex, Super St Bernard, Leysin offer great terrain mix, cheaper tickets, easy in-out, etc.

- if you got skins and like bc, bring them!!! Ski randonnee and out-of-bounds are 2 of the things I found refreshing here vs the States. No "exit-only-from-marked-gates" rules here. Exit wherever you please. Duck the ropes. Kill yourself, it is your adventure. Also, you will find an extensive hut/refuge system to support touring/randonee.

- Visit the Swiss back-country villages to see their architecture. You cannot go wrong with working out of Sembrancher or Orsieres, in Valais and driving up Val Ferret, Val de Bagnes, and Val Entremont. You will pass through some towns that time has forgotten and see some amazing examples of wood framing and stonework still in use today. Plenty of great skinning opportunities in each of these 3 valleys.

- For glitz and a look at Eurotrash (and I am not a fan and stay clear) visit Gstaad, Verbier, Crans Montana, St Moritz... I am certain I forgot a dozen other resorts! Can someone help me out here? :rolleyes:

- Italy. Plan a 2 week trip in the late Spring to Toscany (Volterra, Sienna, Florence, plus dozens of other little hill towns). And Umbria, if you have the time, too. For me, it was an eye opener and the wine & food is great! You can find plenty of fair priced lodging at any Agriturismo (b&b) and ask them where to get a great meal at a fair price.

- Anywhere along the Italian Riviera to Marseille, FR will provide stunning views of water, cliffs, beaches, great seafood, ...but be sure to avoid high season...like Easter. Always, always go off-season to the Cote d'Azur.

Have a great time. If you get bored I can run you around the 3 valleys I mentioned...if you got skins.
litt

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Originally Posted by Lostinthetrees

I think you can find great skiing and terrain almost anywhere in the Alpes from Briancon north to PDS. And, westward into Austria.

- Living in Geneve, we make our ski decisions on snowfall and weather (high or low fog, wind, etc.). We also ski what I would call 2nd or 3rd tier ski stations (not resorts) where you find small lines, less infrastructure, and laid-back but dedicated skiers/boarders. Places like Les Croset, Champoussin, Champex, Super St Bernard, Leysin offer great terrain mix, cheaper tickets, easy in-out, etc.

- if you got skins and like bc, bring them!!! Ski randonnee and out-of-bounds are 2 of the things I found refreshing here vs the States. No "exit-only-from-marked-gates" rules here. Exit wherever you please. Duck the ropes. Kill yourself, it is your adventure. Also, you will find an extensive hut/refuge system to support touring/randonee.

- Visit the Swiss back-country villages to see their architecture. You cannot go wrong with working out of Sembrancher or Orsieres, in Valais and driving up Val Ferret, Val de Bagnes, and Val Entremont. You will pass through some towns that time has forgotten and see some amazing examples of wood framing and stonework still in use today. Plenty of great skinning opportunities in each of these 3 valleys.

- For glitz and a look at Eurotrash (and I am not a fan and stay clear) visit Gstaad, Verbier, Crans Montana, St Moritz... I am certain I forgot a dozen other resorts! Can someone help me out here? :rolleyes:

- Italy. Plan a 2 week trip in the late Spring to Toscany (Volterra, Sienna, Florence, plus dozens of other little hill towns). And Umbria, if you have the time, too. For me, it was an eye opener and the wine & food is great! You can find plenty of fair priced lodging at any Agriturismo (b&b) and ask them where to get a great meal at a fair price.

- Anywhere along the Italian Riviera to Marseille, FR will provide stunning views of water, cliffs, beaches, great seafood, ...but be sure to avoid high season...like Easter. Always, always go off-season to the Cote d'Azur.

Have a great time. If you get bored I can run you around the 3 valleys I mentioned...if you got skins.
litt

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Cool, thanx man. I do have a full touring set up, so hopefully I'll get to do some BC while I'm over there (if I can find enough $$$ for a new beacon). I'm actually doing a week long photo workshop in Venice in March, so I'll stop by Florence/Tuscany on my way back. I'll shoot you a PM when I'm over there and maybe do some touring.

Check out St Foy Tarentaise, I don't remember where it is, but it's near one of the big resorts in the French Alps (I think it's either near l'espace killy or les trois vallees.) Anyways, it's a tiny little resort, 3 lifts and 1 t-bar, but it has major vertical under the top lift, if I remember correctly off piste directly under the lift is 45 degrees plus. I hit it on a powder day about 4 years back, and it was one of the most amazing powder days of my life. From what I've heard, it's never busy, and there's a good family run restaurant on the hill (you can't miss it, it's at the top of the first lift and the bottom of the second). have fun, european skiing is incredible (oh yeah, and do the vallee blanche on a powder day...you won't regret it, it's the most gorgeous 20km run ever, and if you have a good guide you can get some good steeps too).

I was really surprised by Andermatt, Switzerland. Awesome terrain and not too much off-piste skier traffic.

I was also thinking about trying to go to Krasanya Polyansya (sp?) in Russia, but after seeing what happened to the TGR crew in Soul Purpose, I'm questioning whether or not it's worth the risk...

another fantastic thing I ran into in europe is 99% of skiiers there only ski a weekend or two a year...and they never go off piste. Ever. Even at major resorts we were getting fresh tracks under the lifts all day. We decided not to take skis over there since we were only going to be there a week, and we just rented, turned out to be a great idea (wierd). You can rent top end euro brand skis for regular prices (take your own boots though, obviously) and pay about 2 euros for insurance, which means you can pretty much destroy the skis and not have to worry about it. Most of the places don't even check the bases when you turn them in, they assume you didn't go off piste. Maybe they've caught on to people doing this by now, but hopefully not. I need to go back....

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Originally Posted by Storm11

I'm going to be living in Chambery, which is south of Lyon and Chamonix.

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Well it is actually east of Lyon. Chamb (la ville des elephants sans cul) is also, quite possibly, one of the most boring towns in the planet. Lucky that there is good skiing. La Feclaz is one of the nearest resorts but off-piste is a bit limited. There are some excellent tiny resorts in the Chartreuse which is close to where I live however one of the best off-piste areas is the Seven Lakes, this is a photo to wet your appetite. It is probably closest proper resort to Chamb.

http://mapage.noos.fr/pistehors/imag.../septlaux1.jpg

Cham is just behind the ridgeline.

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Originally Posted by skimoore

in europe they never go off piste. Ever.

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In America they make crass sweeping generalisations. Always.

The best advice on this thread I think is: "look at the forecast". The distances are so small in the alps anyway, so you can make a decision about where to spend your weekend on friday afternoon. If you are going to live in south france, Alagna and LaGrave seems like your most interesting weekend destinations. Don't forget SerreChevalier for world class three skiing, and tons of other places near by.

If you want look further away you definitely need to check out Engelberg. It is one of the most snow secure places in the alps towards the end of February, as it gets the northernly storms right in its face. 1200 vertical meters pure off-piste on the legendary Laub side is an absolute must. Andermatt is near by, and gets even more snow as it receives snow from south, east and north. But the terrain is not as interesting in my view.

Apart from that I think St.Anton is well worth a visit. The possibilities there are among (if not the) best in the alps, as you can ski Stuben, Rendl, Zurs and Lech in addition to the "normal" stanton areas. Chamo is a must for its grand terrain, but I would recommend touring there.

All and all you are going to have a blast. But I do not envy you, no I do not envy, not envy, not envy, envy, ENVY!

LUCKY BASTARD!!!!!!!

I am sure you already read all the neverending threads on where to go and what to do in Europe.....
anyway, when you're here, just drop some PM to LITT, mullet, hop, gliss, spamh etc etc (including of course myself) to have more day-to-day insight on what to do and where to go

lots of good addresses here. I'll add mine :

http://www.les7laux.com/hiver/

Don't get there. Ever. Especially with crazy locals (drop a pm when you're close, we'll take you up here...). 40mn from Grenoble Centre.