Skiing in the Alps?

[john70t]

It's a bucket list idea, and will probably stay that way, but I'm having some fun researching it.

Factors:
1). Country: France, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, or Slovenia.
One website had most of the 'good ones' around the Geneva area.

2). Expense and bang for buck: Refer to 1). above.
Currency exchange rates for the Euro are probably the same but it goes farther some places with everything else. Some resorts also charge ~$20-30 for each gondola ride to the top so I read.

3). Location: Near airport with travel to lodging and or nearby towns is a plus.
Obviously there are hostels and B&Bs and FRBO in towns. Hotels on the internet look to be $200-600 per night which would make a big difference over time.

Combining it with other possible ventures would make sense, just in case there is no snow or too much snow on some of those days. Being near a bike rental would be a plus for the warmer days.

I would lean towards a train or public bus transportation whenever possible if just for the experience and relaxation, but renting a car at a major airport also makes sense for round trips and flexibility.

Driving a rental around Nice, France was not a problem and I did not even have to get an international driver's license which was kind of surprising. The rental company took care of everything within ten minutes or so. Easy as pie. (Btw, do not coast 'out-of-gear' with a packed full Opel down a curvy fast mountain 2-lane road, because the engine will shut off and the power steering will turn into a useless brick, while a large truck pops out from a sharp corner turn halfway across your lane.)

4). Snow: There are quite a few complaints about lack of it while encountering nothing but rocks...but still paying full price for tickets.
That is a deal breaker obviously and not a very good vacation. I was looking at the sat maps which still retain snow during the summer but that may be misleading. I'm guessing the northern side and the high center glaciers have cooler temperatures throughout the year.

5). Busy times of year: That affects the experience, but since good snow pack is essential it is probably not avoidable.

[wdfifteen]

Always wanted to do that. Hope you can make your dream come true.

[red-beard]

My ski club had a trip in Dec 1999 for New Years 2000.

Fantastic trip. The issue with the exchange rate is not Eruos, but Swiss Francs. Look at the exchange rate and the costs.

We went to Interlaken. You can access so many mountains from Interlaken. And if you do the trail right, you can do the Inferno run, which is about 8000 feet of altitude drop from Schilthorn to Lauderbrunnen, throough Murren.

It was made famous in James Bond "On Her Majesties Secret Service".

https://www.inferno-muerren.ch/en/facts-and-figures/race-course

You can also take a train to the "Top Of Europe".

And if skiing gets boring, you can take a train over to Milan, Italy.

You can fly into Zurich and then take the train to Interlaken

[cassisrot]

Did St Anton and St Christoph a number of years ago. One of the best times in my life. Worth every cent and it isn't cheap but it is a lifetime experience.

[berettafan]

visited italy and switzerland summer of 19. it was recommended by someone here to visit Wengen in Switzerland. i know they have skiing but can't speak to the quality vs other places. it was, and my family agrees, the most incredible place we've ever been. and this was after visiting st peters in rome and watching an opera in verona on that trip. in fact it was special enough that i feel ashamed that i can't recall who it was that recommended it. just amazing. interlaken is a beautiful area as well as all the countryside around the lake there. gives some scale to the mountain towns like wengen.

[berettafan]

oh and i am still in shock over the cost of food in Switzerland. particularly given the general lack of quality vs virtually any food establishment in Italy. bring your wallet.

[Alansglide]

Was a ski tour guide at St Anton/ St Christoph in 1980 for a year. Some of the steepest best skiing in all of Europe. Well worth doing.

[LWJ]

Was in Chamonix many years ago in the summer. There must be a less steep way down than the gondola's path. Damn. That was STEEP.

[Bill Douglas]

Everything in life is on hold - coronavirus.

[Mike Andrew]

Have done two trips to Austria. Innsbruck is well set up for getting to & from ski areas via bus. Train to St. Anton is also an option if not interested in a longish bus ride.
First trip was good other than a lot of ice patches, especially at Axamer Lizum. St. Anton and Stubai Glacier were teats. Fresh took care of the ice patches about day 3.

2nd trip was later in the season and everything but St. Anton and Stubai were closed. Snow sucked and it was PACKED. Lots of pushing and shoving in lift lines and people pushing over your tips in line to get ahead.

A good bucket list check off, for sure. Glad I did it. That said, I likely won't do it again as the snow here in North America is much better IMHO and there are a lot of options if you want to find good snow and a mountain that fits your style and ability level.

If you decide on the Innsbruck area be sure to visit Lady O for some men's ballet

[tevake]

Originally Posted by berettafan

visited italy and switzerland summer of 19. it was recommended by someone here to visit Wengen in Switzerland. i know they have skiing but can't speak to the quality vs other places. it was, and my family agrees, the most incredible place we've ever been. and this was after visiting st peters in rome and watching an opera in verona on that trip. in fact it was special enough that i feel ashamed that i can't recall who it was that recommended it. just amazing. interlaken is a beautiful area as well as all the countryside around the lake there. gives some scale to the mountain towns like wengen.

I can't tell you how happy I was to see that you enjoyed the Interlaken and Louredbrunin area of Switzerland. I'm allways caution to recomend such a special place as Wengen. So was relieved to hear that it was a good visit for you and your family to enjoy.
We have been going there for quite a few times over the years. And always find new places and wonders to enjoy. Yep the prices are eye watering , sort of like getting a meal at Diseny land. But the overall experence is so worth it.

Having lived on the north shore of Kauai, makes for a demanding eye for beauty in traveling. The north shore is the beach and mountain equivalent of Wengen for the beach lovers.

Cheers Richard

[john70t]

Innsbruck looks to be just a simple sleepy little town stuck in a mountain valley, but I tend to use Insbruck or Geneva as the starting points in FSX flight sim (with photoscenery). West to the Rhine/Rhone/Danube starting point near Basel, or east to Vienna/Budapest, or south to Bolzano. The Alps are just beautiful. I once took a helicopter tour in Kauai which was sensational and probably got me hooked on the game.

That Lady O oh good lord I'm going to need a HELOC. Perhaps sleepy was the incorrect word to use but I like the balance the town seems to have despite being a major visitor destination. Santorini was beautiful but geared towards high end touristas and felt a bit too glittery and meat market. Not sure how to describe it. Monaco was smaller and much more high end but did not feel that way. Naxos was wonderful and the working locals were all friendly but couldn't care less who you were.

The Swiss food-price thing looks like a downside to any skiing trip (no pun intended). I do like to enjoy local cuisine when on travel.
Thanks for the replies.

(ugh..got automatically logged out again and would have lost all the typing if it wasn't saved)

[Rick Lee]

Innsbruck is a beautiful town. And that whole area is great. There are a lot of cool ski areas in Austria that aren't famous among the non-locals. Check out Radtsadt and Bad Hofgastein. And back north of Innsbruck in Germany is Garmisch-Partenkirchen. Lots of Porsche stuff in that part of the world too - Ruf in Pfaffenhausen and the original factory in Gmünd.

[Rikao4]

went pretty much every winter wk-end while stationed in Germany...
Wengen, Steinplatte, Garmish, Madonna Campilligo Ita) and on it went..
as cost and distance was minimal..
and then did the Hintertux in the Summer for glacier runs...
which sits above Zell am See..
stunning area and a fellow bird resides there..
you can roll by the Porsche residence....

[red-beard]

Edit: Grindewald



Interlaken, waiting for the train (Matt's holding my snowboard)



More (EDIT) Grindewald - Beth and the couple that got engaged on the trip. I forgot their names, and I worked with them!!! They ended up divorced later as she was cheating on him with one of their tenants.





More Beth



Beth with the sun behind her



Your Humble narrator



Tearing up the powder with my board



New Years 2000



Top of Shilthorn (more pictures of that later)

[red-beard]

I think near Wengen



We were too hungover to really ski on New Years Day. We went to the top of Europe (Junfraujoch) to see the glacial caves, etc.





Skiing around Murren



The Sign says "No Control at end of Day" - We were the "Out of Control" ski club, so that sign seemed really funny to us.





Back up to Schilthorn. This is where we ended up doing the Inferno run, not knowing it was that!





Here I am at the Top of Shilthorn. In one of the James Bond movies, this is the evil lair. (On her Majesties Secret Service)

[john70t]

'You Humble narrator' looks like it is ready to topple over the screen at any moment. The sheer magnitude of it..
Fantastic pics. More pls!

[Nickshu]

We've done it. We stayed outside of Aosta, Italy on the other side of the Mont Blanc tunnel, it was much cheaper than staying in Chamonix. We skiied several areas including Courmayeur, Verbier, and Breuil-Cervinia (with the lunch trip over to Zermatt and back). Great times. Skiing is skiing, but compared to the USA the runs are more wide open, trails and boundaries are less marked, and many places you take a cable car up to the base of the ski area from parking in the valley below.

We also did a trip to the Dolomites in Italy/Austria. That was fun but I would not recommend, more like east coast skiing vs. rocky mountain skiing in the USA.

[Mike Andrew]

The signage in Austria was great. First I noticed was a photo of a soon to be crash and, " pants were meant to be pissed in".
2nd, up a few towers was a guy on a bike upside down captioned, " Leap before you look". Definitely caught my eye and I remember them years later

[tevake]

Great pics James, looked like you have had great ski trips to some of the most beautiful areas.

Did I say great pics!

Cheers Richard