Saankt Anton or Chamonix

Idbatterim

been to meribel, kitzbuhel, kirchberg, thinking of trying st anton or Chamonix, has anyone been to both and would you have a preference?

Fattes

Idbatterim wrote: »

been to meribel, kitzbuhel, kirchberg, thinking of trying st anton or Chamonix, has anyone been to both and would you have a preference?

Prefer St Anton, but you have to do both at least once. Anton is one resort and you can link into Lech too. Massive party town after the skiing is done and some spectacular terrain, the ski school do a powder club on a Saturday and for a nominal fee you can ski with a guide for the day €10-20. Excellent lift infrastructure, and very Austrian.

Chamonix is 6 resort stretched from Les Hoches to le tour in the Chamonix valley all linked by bus with Chamonix at the centre. The premier area is Grand montes and is above the village of Agientierre. Each area is different

Chamonix is more expensive, and it takes a good 45 minutes between les Houches and Le tour. St Anton has expensive accommodation but lift passes and booze.

You won't go wrong with either to be honest

stevire

Fattes wrote: »

the ski school do a powder club on a Saturday and for a nominal fee you can ski with a guide for the day €10-20.

Don't mean to hijack/derail the thread, but is it only Saturdays they do the powder club? Would they do the club during the week if there was a big dump? Our group are hiring a guide for Tues and Thurs so if conditions were better another day would deffo join up with the powder club.

Idbatterim

thanks for the detailed response Fattes, probably leaning towards St Anton now, will do Chamonix early 2016. Flights cheaper to Memmingen, than Geneva, tranfer roughly the same, accommodation in Chamonix significantly cheaper though. Doing the final figures now.

St Anton has expensive accommodation but lift passes and booze.

I take it you meant to say, cheaper lift passes and booze?

Fattes

Yeah Sorry, Accommodation in Anton will be more expensive but the general prices will be better.

stevire; as far as I know it only runs on Sat, it is a loss leader for the ski school to get people to book with them and the guide office later in the week.

a148pro

Fattes wrote: »

you have to do both at least once

This is the best advice, both of these resorts are rated highly in the skiing world and while they have their flaws should be tried at least once by every serious skier who can make it there.

I've been to St Anton three times, Cham prob more. St Anton is prob the best all round ski resort in the world, great for people who want to ski off piste (loads of little gullies and backseite descents around the area, you'll need a guide to do them safely) but also great for people who rate their booze as highly as their skiing on a trip. Apres ski has to be seen to be believed. So if you have a varied group some who like their non skiing things and others their skiing its a good combo. Wellness in St Anton highly recommended. Can be very hard to get accommodation in the town for less than a full week.

Chamonix is the spiritual home of ski mountaineering, if not mountaineering in general, and all things extreme. The scenery is stunning and the off piste potential is tremendous, albeit both resorts are meccas for off piste skiers so whenever there's fresh snow it gets tracked out immediately. I don't know anywhere that has quite the allure or history of Chamonix and the atmosphere as a result, but for most of us the descents are only to look at. The scenery is fantastic and they put lifts where you would only dream of.

Chamonix has a shorter commute of a little over an hour from Geneva. St Anton can actually be reached by train right into the resort, though the times don't suit the irish flights. Chamonix is easier to get accommodation in on a nightly basis.

Interestingly neither are particularly good for pistes. In Chamonix the best skiing (mostly off piste) is in the adjacent resort of Argentiere (there are some good and dramatic pistes in Brevant - Flegere though). In St Anton the pistes aren't great at all, but they are great in neighbouring Zurs. Both have very pleasant towns to walk around and have good restaurants, particularly Chamonix.

You won't go wrong. Enjoy them both. Many times if possible!

a148pro

Incidentally I used to spend ages mulling over which resort to go to in a given year, but I've reached a zen like peace with myself with the following thought - I've prob about 80 ski trips left in me, so I'll get round to them all sooner or later. Find which one works this year, in terms of flight times or who's going with you and of you go. You'll get to the rest soon enough.

Fattes

[quote="a148pro;92533007. St Anton is prob the best all round ski resort in the world, ![/quote]

Excellent post but Verbier is the answer to the best resort in the world! Nothing compares to the 4 Valleys, terrain, piste and party!

Dr Nic

San anton when you include lech and the white circle is absolutely phenomenal... Been there twice and going for a third time in january. Cant wait... Its actually sick how big it is. Havent been to chamonix

a148pro

Fattes wrote: »

Excellent post but Verbier is the answer to the best resort in the world! Nothing compares to the 4 Valleys, terrain, piste and party!

It's on that list I speak of! Along with niesko!

fmlarnapairce

Idbatterim wrote: »

been to meribel, kitzbuhel, kirchberg, thinking of trying st anton or Chamonix, has anyone been to both and would you have a preference?

have been to st anton twice, and while it was brilliant both times, we weren't overly lucky with the weather. even thought we weren't lucky, i'd highly recommend it.
I've never been to chamonix but from what i've heard you really have to be at the top of your game to get the most out of it, so I've always been putting it off until I get better. I'd say do St anton first, save cham for when you're an expert! or you might be now, in which case do it!

Fattes

fmlarnapairce wrote: »

I've never been to chamonix but from what i've heard you really have to be at the top of your game to get the most out of it, t!

Not really, it is like any other resort with tons of terrain, but to get the most you need a guide and these days to get fresh snow and away from crowded areas you need to tour. So add anywhere from €600- 1,500 for a week between, guides, kit and others.

Also it's lift pass is pricey, it's lift system is ancient! Upgrade of a number of lifts in areas, under way and soon.

Also unless the conditions are good, it's limited (like my home resort). And it's busy! Gets tracked out instantly and even remote areas you are likely to see plenty of others!! That said I had a day like this once, there. This was the result of a 60 min tour!

fmlarnapairce

Fattes wrote: »

Not really, it is like any other resort with tons of terrain, but to get the most you need a guide and these days to get fresh snow and away from crowded areas you need to tour. So add anywhere from €600- 1,500 for a week between, guides, kit and others.

Also it's lift pass is pricey, it's lift system is ancient! Upgrade of a number of lifts in areas, under way and soon.

Also unless the conditions are good, it's limited (like my home resort). And it's busy! Gets tracked out instantly and even remote areas you are likely to see plenty of others!! That said I had a day like this once, there. This was the result of a 60 min tour!

i'll leave it until I win the lotto so!

Fattes

fmlarnapairce wrote: »

i'll leave it until I win the lotto so!

Scrimping with a guide is going to be at least €500 for a week and then extras like Valle Blanche, touring kit etc of you want to get the full experience!

But when the conditions are right it's so worth it

fmlarnapairce

Fattes wrote: »

Scrimping with a guide is going to be at least €500 for a week and then extras like Valle Blanche, touring kit etc of you want to get the full experience!

But when the conditions are right it's so worth it

It's definitely a place I want to do right, so when I go I'd look at a weeklong touring course or something similar. I see that they run a lot of those type of touring week long classes in verbier as well, but seems cheaper in chamonix

Road-Hog

I've Been to St anton 3 times and would rate it highly, apart from having to bus it to lech and zurs, however apparently they are in process of linking them soon with a series of gondalas which will really add to the resort. I'm not a great off piste fan so can't comment on st anton much in this regard but for an intermediate skier who enjoys cruising around on blues and reds and odd black, there is lots in St anton to occupy one for a wk. not as expensive as France or Switzerland but still pricey enough. Mid day main courses being €12 to 15 up the mountain and beers in the €5 / pint range Night life and après reasonable enough but last time I was there (2013 in mid feb) was very quite which surprised us all. Never been to chamonix but anywhere that you need a lot of busses to get around puts me off straight away, they eat too much into your day and if you get the timing wrong you can end up needing a taxi to get back to resort in the evening. Zermatt for me would be one one of my all time favourite places. Village and views (Matterhorn) are something special long transfer and the prices though are its down side.