Where should I do my Europe camp?

[mista]

If you don't mind hoards of excruciating toffs. I know you've done 2 seasons there and all but the bizillions of braying British gapers put me right off when I went.

I was to be a Brit

Yeah, there are a couple of bars that I avoid...

[Mrs Roo]

You were Blowjobface to be a Brit? Wow, lemme buy you a drink! Garcon.....

And I've been using that emoticon for years to signify embarrassment. Oh dear, what other inappropriate blunders have I made. How

[powder11]

If you don't mind hoards of excruciating toffs. I know you've done 2 seasons there and all but the bizillions of braying British gapers put me right off when I went.

I was to be a Brit

man do those hooligans ever like to fight when they booze. is brawling considered a british national drinking game?

[Mrs Roo]

man do those hooligans ever like to fight when they booze. is brawling considered a british national drinking game?

Most British towns/cities are a battlefield on a Saturday night (though less so in London, I think). All those people getting hit over the head keeps me in work.

[gforce]

La Grave is a great place for a camp...but takes awhile to finally get there even by Euro standards.

[mista]

We are all crazy. When I go out I enjoy nothing more than beating the crap out of people.

[Hicks]

This thread

http://tetongravity.com/forums/showthread.php?t=35049

contains the most recent suggestions.

[Lok]

yeah, please add me to a list of very interested parties as long as the dates work out.

Me too.

I don't get to go very often, but I do have buddies that spend every winter in the Alps. A large portion of the best pics and stories are from places in the Engadin area in southeast Switzerland (St. Moritz, Diavolezza and Silvaplana). Everyone knows about St. Moritz, but the other two are "lesser known" destinations with pretty impressive terrain (Diavolezza in particular) and a lot of snow. I think you can get a pass that covers all three.

Last year, around new years, I travelled around Austria with a friend from Sweden. We spent almost two weeks at smaller destinations that get a lot of snow but not much attention (from anyone). Sharing this kind of information over the internet is considered a big nono these days... so... I don't know how mobile such a camp would be. If mobile at all? None of the places were big enough to keep the two of us busy for a whole week. I'll cough up the names if you want.

Diavolezza:


Silvaplana:

[powder11]

Most British towns/cities are a battlefield on a Saturday night (though less so in London, I think). All those people getting hit over the head keeps me in work.

a few years back in Cham, a few buddies and I hit one of the pubs frequented by brits. things started out jovial enough, the booze was flowing and us yanks felt warm fuzzies from the whole lot. as closing neared, warm fuzzies turned into fists of furry. we hightailed it out of there when they started throwing chairs and bottles. when we showed up to ski (bumped and bruised) a few hours later, our french guide, in between fits of laughter asked us if we had been out drinking with "the brits". lesson learned the hard way.

[subtle plague]

1. La grave. (i only read half of it because im eager to answer. so if tehre are any reasonsagainst it i aopologize)
you know why.
snow is an issue sometimes but it is very high and you'll find some. problem: too many people who are too good. not as bad as in cham but it is a concern. unless you tour, everything will get tracked reeeaally fast.(just watch the vid on their website)

2. engelberg. huuuge possibilities and untracked snow for days lift served ( despite of the swedes(man ive never seen so many) and many freeriding tourists/locals) and BC /touring possibilities are awesome.


Im glad my baptist missionary preaching concerning the krip has found its way into fertile soil , but the krippenstein is not a reliable candidate. you cannot plan a camp there unless it is spontanious or you want to tour up to the glacier area(serious routes there too)

glacier steep route:


from inside



when it dumps it goes off for sure. but some warm days and everything goes bad really fast. it just lacks elevation. my photos don't work because im hosting my vid on the site right now. but the pictures are hereKrippenstein pics
80% of my video was filmed there klick me for pow
and here is one of the krip pics. the rest is in the link above
krippenstein east face.

If there is snow it rocks....

edit:and im more than interested !

[str8line]

The La Grave slopes are quiet with a capital Q. Zero crowds, no gapers (except for me). Plenty of rustic charm, cheap accomodation, TWO pubs. Can't think of a better place.

Gordy, when are you planning to do this (I feel myself getting wife of the year award when I bag Roo a place for his birthday).
Don't forget to bring your driving gloves

I'm thinking either the week of Jan. 28-Feb. 4 or Feb. 18-25. I know that February is the holiday season but I've almost always traveled to Europe in late January-early March and as long as you are first on the lifts there is no problem with getting tons of skiing.

Of course the driving gloves will be in my carry on. Actually there was an ice track near Briancon(I think) that we rallied several years ago in some kart type things. Good stuff.

[str8line]

There's some great input here. I knew the maggots were good for some Euro-insight. Anyone got anything to add?

A brief summary:

Buster, all excellent suggestions. I like the idea of Briancon as a base with the option of heading over to La Grave for some days. Excellent tree skiing(muy importante), good town with a really cool walled city, nice variety of terrain, and the incredible mountains and ambience of La Grave.

Lok, I also like the idea of the Eastern Switzerland base. Somewhere near Davos, or a bit further, St. Moritz with all of its ski areas and the Engadin Valley at your disposal(I dig Diavolezza); Massive terrain options, statistically good snow, Swiss precision in everything, extreme sledding(Schlittenbahnen) , easy access from Zurich, Swiss Franc exchange.

Another suggestion I like(Brewski, Schindlerpiste) is St. Anton/Lech/Zurs. Big steep terrain, lots of snow, nice Tyrolean ambience, great beer and sausages, and lots of schnapps! Access from Munich(hello Hofbrauhaus/Bitburger Pils!) or Zurich.

Subtle Plague, the Titlis is tits! I love Engelberg. It's got terrain, snow, it's glaciated, easy access from Zurich, Lucerne nearby for a great swiss city with lots to see, do and eat. Also, Andermatt for a day trip.

I'm a bit surprised only a few mentioned Verbier and none Champery(Portes Du Soleil-220 lifts!). Massive terrain, good tree skiing(Champery), easy access from Geneva, Chamonix a short drive, amazing views and the beautiful Lake Geneva and cities of Lausanne and Montreaux nearby.

This is a tough call. Should I just base it on nearby strip clubs?

[irul&ublo]

This is a tough call. Should I just base it on nearby strip clubs?

Check with Punani.

[hop]

another vote for Serre Chevalier/La Grave. I´ll even volunteer to go as a pack mule/troubador/Scandalnavian girl liason.

[Buster Highmen]

I dunno. I spent a lot of francs in Monetier-les-Bains in "greater" Briancon in a basement joint that served grill duck breast, cheap litres of red wine and a small serving staff of superb cleavage.

Nearby hotels: Hotel L'Europe, Hotel Alliey.

[shmerham]

Str8, do you have a very rough idea of what this is going to cost?

[mista]

I'd just warn you that the snow was apparently awfull in Serre Che for the majority of last season.

[str8line]

Str8, do you have a very rough idea of what this is going to cost?

I haven't even started to check prices, etc., but roughly $2000-2800.00 with lodging, lift tickets, some meals, our coaches and local guides.

[hop]

not apparently... actually. But then again, every place has their off years and it´s quite hard to predict where is going to be good so far in advance.

Low snow makes all the lines in LG that much more extremo.

[greg]

I'm a bit surprised only a few mentioned Verbier and none Champery(Portes Du Soleil-220 lifts!). Massive terrain, good tree skiing(Champery), easy access from Geneva, Chamonix a short drive, amazing views and the beautiful Lake Geneva and cities of Lausanne and Montreaux nearby.

altough i like the skiing in verbier a lot, i didn't chime in because i consider the lift access to be a real pain in the ass for good bc skiing. it just takes forever to get back up after a run, since you always have to take several lifts and it just takes forever. standing more than half of the day in a lift line would drive me insane cause I'ld rather be skiing with you. (verbier is one of the driest regions of switzerland. not only during summer. one reason more to prefer chamonix, as you will read below.. )

porte de soleil is huge, but for the most part not very interesting. also its not very assured of snow. (it's too low) altough in that case you'ld have fairly quick access to verbier chamonix and diableret. (but lausanne and those little winery villages between lausanne and montreux are definetly an argument for champery. but you are not going to see the lake while skiing except you traverse to the really boring parts of porte du soleil.)

but I'ld personally still prefer chamonix or argentiere by far. the lift access is magnificent (as you probably know ) and you can go to verbier, la clusaz, champery, avoriaz.. and geneva airport is almost as international as zurich. (it's a little more than a one hour drive)

I'ld also take a closer look at le valais. with zermatt, zinal, grand montana, lötschental, saas fee. all within an hour drive from brig. although I don't know that region to well..

as you might know: zermatt and saas fee are carfree. so it's always a little hazzle to get into and out of.

ooh forgot, lagrave would still be my first choice.

[mista]

not apparently... actually. But then again, every place has their off years and it´s quite hard to predict where is going to be good so far in advance.

Low snow makes all the lines in LG that much more extremo.

There are a couple of places youcan go where you can guarantee that if the snow is shit there then it is shit everywhere else I know serre che definitely isn't one of these places.

Dont know the first thin about LG but If they are close by I'm guessing it is similar. Coming from Scotland I go to France to avoid rock hopping...

[str8line]

altough i like the skiing in verbier a lot, i didn't chime in because i consider the lift access to be a real pain in the ass for good bc skiing. it just takes forever to get back up after a run, since you always have to take several lifts and it just takes forever. standing more than half of the day in a lift line would drive me insane cause I'ld rather be skiing with you. (verbier is one of the driest regions of switzerland. not only during summer. one reason more to prefer chamonix, as you will read below.. )

porte de soleil is huge, but for the most part not very interesting. also its not very assured of snow. (it's too low) altough in that case you'ld have fairly quick access to verbier chamonix and diableret. (but lausanne and those little winery villages between lausanne and montreux are definetly an argument for champery. but you are not going to see the lake while skiing except you traverse to the really boring parts of porte du soleil.)

but I'ld personally still prefer chamonix or argentiere by far. the lift access is magnificent (as you probably know ) and you can go to verbier, la clusaz, champery, avoriaz.. and geneva airport is almost as international as zurich. (it's a little more than a one hour drive)

I'ld also take a closer look at le valais. with zermatt, zinal, grand montana, lötschental, saas fee. all within an hour drive from brig. although I don't know that region to well..

as you might know: zermatt and saas fee are carfree. so it's always a little hazzle to get into and out of.

ooh forgot, lagrave would still be my first choice.

Good stuff. Thanks Greg.

Zermatt is the coolest town-but a hassle to get to and from and lacks in steeps. Zinal is really cool with great terrain but is too small to base out of. Like you I'm not familiar with the rest of the region.

[Arty50]

Anyone got anything to add?

Yes. No vacation days and no money makes Arty go...

[Buster Highmen]

Fringe suggestion: make the camp a tour. Get a bus and hit a bunch of places. More potential hassles and more potential payoffs.

[str8line]

Fringe suggestion: make the camp a tour. Get a bus and hit a bunch of places. More potential hassles and more potential payoffs.

I love that style, Buster. I checked into a 10 person van and it is super spendy. Also a 10 person van won't cut it for 12 people and gear. 2 or 3 Passat wagons(for about the same price) might work but the logistics could be a nightmare. I'm thinking 10 people max for the camp plus 2 coaches and a local guide.

What would really be cool is to wait until 1 month before the camp and then announce the destination based on snow AND get a big ass van(Ford Econoline 15 passenger like) for day trips, dinners, etc. I think that is wishful thinking though.

I think the closest to a true tour that would be logistically feasible would something like a pimpin chalet or a cool hotel near Briancon, and a 15 passenger van to hit Serre Chev, La Grave, and maybe even Courchevel. No packing and unpacking except for ski gear, and sleeping in the same bed every night.

We could do the same type of thing in and near the Engadin Valley(Lenzerheide, Diavolezza, Davos).

I've never been in Europe without a car and I think we might miss out on some oppurtunities without our own transportation.