Where are people thinking of this year?

cormee · 12-08-2015 9:37am

maddness wrote: »

122 days...

Close to double digits!

DoraDelite · 12-08-2015 11:49am

130!

cormee · 12-08-2015 1:21pm

DoraDelite wrote: »

130!

At this stage, you and Madness need to be scouring Blue Tomato and Sportspursuit,for stuff you don't actually need.

maddness · 12-08-2015 1:25pm

I have way too much ski gear that I don't need. Fancy a new jacket mind you.

AlternateID · 12-08-2015 2:04pm

maddness wrote: »

I have way too much ski gear that I don't need. Fancy a new jacket mind you.

I have 4 and 3 snowboards and 3 helmets now.

I've banned myself from buying more kit.

lbj666 · 26-08-2015 11:04am

Guys once again i have aspirations of doing the board bum thing for a 2-3 months after the new year, although once again reality will bite and it will probably never happen. France is most likely.
Aside from finding a bed that a season worker has left after from going home early.
Are there any other hostels around France that are suitable for long stays apart from the loft in Bourg St. Maurice and Chardons in Tignes?

Puibo · 18-09-2015 12:59pm

Has anybody took the plunge and booked anything recently!

prunudo · 18-09-2015 1:07pm

Puibo wrote: »

Has anybody took the plunge and booked anything recently!

Yeah, just yesterday, 6 of us heading off to Mayrhofen in early February. We got a good deal I feel but I've noticed the prices creeping up over the last couple of years.

Puibo · 18-09-2015 2:42pm

jvan wrote:

Yeah, just yesterday, 6 of us heading off to Mayrhofen in early February. We got a good deal I feel but I've noticed the prices creeping up over the last couple of years.

Who did you book with, or did you go diy? Heading to mayrhofen myself in feb too!

prunudo · 18-09-2015 2:53pm

Puibo wrote: »

Who did you book with, or did you go diy? Heading to mayrhofen myself in feb too!

Booked with Crystal, I find Mayrhofen is a bit of a pig to DIY to, if there were direct flights from dublin to Innsbruck it be so much easier.
We were looking at other Austrian options but most of the other resorts were a minimum €1200

maddness · 18-09-2015 5:49pm

Booked flights to Geneva mid December for four days, will wait till last minute and see where the snow is before booking accommodation.
Booked a week in Mayorhofen in March, can't wait never been but heard lots of positive reviews.

Eurovisionmad · 20-09-2015 11:49pm

Going from the 19th-24th (Better not run into trouble getting home) of December to Pas De La Casa in Andorra again, little bit worried about snow (wasn't great last year around then, but the year before there was plenty snow!) but you can't beat Andorra for price (especially for students), tax-free alcohol & the nightlife, under 100 days to go and all!!!

People can be a bit snobby about Andorra in comparison to the Alps but I found it absolutely fantastic, really great variety of slopes!

prunudo · 21-09-2015 1:21pm

Eurovisionmad wrote: »

Going from the 19th-24th (Better not run into trouble getting home) of December to Pas De La Casa in Andorra again, little bit worried about snow (wasn't great last year around then, but the year before there was plenty snow!) but you can't beat Andorra for price (especially for students), tax-free alcohol & the nightlife, under 100 days to go and all!!!

People can be a bit snobby about Andorra in comparison to the Alps but I found it absolutely fantastic, really great variety of slopes!

I had a bad experience with Andorra back in 2007 with a serious lack of snow. Wouldn't mind going back but I've always been reluctant, 16c and tshirt weather in the middle of January has left me nervous. Think I'd only book last minute if I went again.

Eurovisionmad · 21-09-2015 6:00pm

jvan wrote: »

I had a bad experience with Andorra back in 2007 with a serious lack of snow. Wouldn't mind going back but I've always been reluctant, 16c and tshirt weather in the middle of January has left me nervous. Think I'd only book last minute if I went again.

In fairness it's fairly snow sure most times, freak events do occur I suppose!

stevire · 22-09-2015 9:20am

Thinking of Kaprun this year, prices are reasonable, altitude is decent, boasts good freeride terrain, near a glacier. Apres ski sounds a bit quiet however.

Anyone been? Would you recommend it?

lbj666 · 22-09-2015 9:47am

stevire wrote: »

Thinking of Kaprun this year, prices are reasonable, altitude is decent, boasts good freeride terrain, near a glacier. Apres ski sounds a bit quiet however.

Anyone been? Would you recommend it?

Was never in the town but it seems like it would be pretty quiet , the main cable car station is a bit out of the town too. The terrain is very good but i doubt theres is enough to keep ya going for the week.

Zell am Zee up the road to stay is a lot nicer to stay and more apres (although not crazy). Similarly there isn't enough in Zell for the week.

Both towns are linked with a free bus and on the same pass.

Edit: if you are stuck you can do a day trip to somewhere like saalbach too which is one of the ski passes you can get.

DoraDelite · 22-09-2015 2:11pm

I think I'm losing the run of myself...just booked a second week back to back in Chamonix over xmas/new year to add to my credit card bill! I need to stay off this forum before I go bankrupt

Decided to try the UCPA for the second week, going to give the off-piste course a go.

cormee · 23-09-2015 10:51am

stevire wrote: »

Thinking of Kaprun this year, prices are reasonable, altitude is decent, boasts good freeride terrain, near a glacier. Apres ski sounds a bit quiet however.

Anyone been? Would you recommend it?

I only passed through Kaprun on the way to the glacier, and it really doesn't look like the wildest place, it's a fair bit away from the main lift to the glacier, so there is that separation. There is/was one of those igloo/tent things at the bottom of the slopes, before you get the lift down, that got a bit crazy at the end of the day.

If I was you I'd go, next door, to Zell am See and get the bus to Kaprun as needed, it's a fairly short journey. The town is a lot quainter and closer to the slopes and the apres ski scene is better - If you board/ski the whole way back to town (recommended) there are a few pubs on the slopes back down that have pretty crazy apres, and there are some pubs in the town that get crazy later at night.

fannymagee · 28-09-2015 8:40pm

stevire wrote: »

Thinking of Kaprun this year, prices are reasonable, altitude is decent, boasts good freeride terrain, near a glacier. Apres ski sounds a bit quiet however.

Anyone been? Would you recommend it?

When are you thinking of going? If it's out of normal season fair enough, but be prepared for pretty boring nightlife ;-)

cormee · 29-09-2015 11:09am

OK, change of plans, I'm not going to St. Anton, just booked Val Thorens for 23rd Jan.

I've mixed feelings about the town of VT - actually I don't, it's a dump - but it's in a great ski area so I'm looking forward to revisiting a lot of my favourite slopes in a few months time!

Timmaay · 29-09-2015 11:41am

cormee wrote: »

OK, change of plans, I'm not going to St. Anton, just booked Val Thorens for 23rd Jan.

I've mixed feelings about the town of VT - actually I don't, it's a dump - but it's in a great ski area so I'm looking forward to revisiting a lot of my favourite slopes in a few months time!

Chopping and changing here also ha, looks like we'll go to Chamonix instead of VT now. Have afew beginners who want to keep the budget down, and the UCPA in Chamonix have some very cheap 5day packages. I was doing my homework on St Anton yday, it seemed very expensive, accommodation especially, more alike Swiss prices than Austrian! On VT also I think I'd rather wait until a late season ski trip to go there, it's abit too high up for the cold Jan weather.

cormee · 29-09-2015 12:05pm

Timmaay wrote: »

Chopping and changing here also ha, looks like we'll go to Chamonix instead of VT now. Have afew beginners who want to keep the budget down, and the UCPA in Chamonix have some very cheap 5day packages. I was doing my homework on St Anton yday, it seemed very expensive, accommodation especially, more alike Swiss prices than Austrian! On VT also I think I'd rather wait until a late season ski trip to go there, it's abit too high up for the cold Jan weather.

Chamonix is a quite unusual choice if you have beginners!

Damn right about the temperature in VT in January. I'll be heading down lower to Menuires, St. Martin, Meribel etc. I reckon.

Timmaay · 29-09-2015 1:11pm

cormee wrote: »

Chamonix is a quite unusual choice if you have beginners!

why so?

fannymagee · 29-09-2015 1:15pm

Timmaay wrote: »

why so?

They pronounce it wrong.

cormee · 29-09-2015 1:25pm

Timmaay wrote: »

why so?

It would be for more advanced skiers/snowboarders, for most of the ski areas you'll need to take a 30 minute bus journey, then when you do get here there really aren't any/many greens or easy blues. So that might discourage a lot of learners.

There is one area that's supposed to be for learning that's on the edge of the town itself, but I've never seen it, so it might be grand.

I'm not saying it's a bad choice, but there are a lot of other resorts I'd suggest for beginners, before Chamonix, if I was asked.

cormee · 29-09-2015 1:27pm

fannymagee wrote: »

They pronounce it wrong.

I might be guilty of that too, what's the correct way?

Timmaay · 29-09-2015 1:43pm

cormee wrote: »

I might be guilty of that too, what's the correct way?

sham-o-nee?

cormee · 29-09-2015 1:46pm

Timmaay wrote: »

sham-o-nee?

Yeah, that's the way I say it.

Timmaay · 29-09-2015 1:55pm

cormee wrote: »

It would be for more advanced skiers/snowboarders, for most of the ski areas you'll need to take a 30 minute bus journey, then when you do get here there really aren't any/many greens or easy blues. So that might discourage a lot of learners.

There is one area that's supposed to be for learning that's on the edge of the town itself, but I've never seen it, so it might be grand.

I'm not saying it's a bad choice, but there are a lot of other resorts I'd suggest for beginners, before Chamonix, if I was asked.

Point taken. My 1st time skiing I did lessons 1st few mornings, and met up with the rest of our group some afternoons, me and another beginner got turfed down a hard enough blue 1st afternoon by them haha, we weren't long getting up to speed in fairness, or well enough that we weren't totally off the pace. Think it was reds by day 3 and blacks day 4 ha. I'd hope this group of beginners would be able for something similar ha. Just reading up about Chamonix, might not be a bad idea to hire a car to avoid 30mins back and forward bus trips? Hiring a car works out similar to transfers when split across 5people.

cormee · 29-09-2015 2:40pm

Timmaay wrote: »

Point taken. My 1st time skiing I did lessons 1st few mornings, and met up with the rest of our group some afternoons, me and another beginner got turfed down a hard enough blue 1st afternoon by them haha, we weren't long getting up to speed in fairness, or well enough that we weren't totally off the pace. Think it was reds by day 3 and blacks day 4 ha. I'd hope this group of beginners would be able for something similar ha. Just reading up about Chamonix, might not be a bad idea to hire a car to avoid 30mins back and forward bus trips? Hiring a car works out similar to transfers when split across 5people.

Yep, car hire probably wouldn't be a bad idea, the bus service is absolutely awful. You can easily be waiting 30-45 mins + for a bus and then when you do get one they are jammers for the entire 30 minute trip. That's bad enough in the morning, but in the evening, when you're sore, damp and wrecked it's a lot worse.

fannymagee · 29-09-2015 3:24pm

cormee wrote: »

Yep, car hire probably wouldn't be a bad idea, the bus service is absolutely awful. You can easily be waiting 30-45 mins + for a bus and then when you do get one they are jammers for the entire 30 minute trip. That's bad enough in the morning, but in the evening, when you're sore, damp and wrecked it's a lot worse.

Ooh I can't wait for those evenings!! Even the miserable ones are worth it

Timmaay · 29-09-2015 6:54pm

cormee wrote: »

Yep, car hire probably wouldn't be a bad idea, the bus service is absolutely awful. You can easily be waiting 30-45 mins + for a bus and then when you do get one they are jammers for the entire 30 minute trip. That's bad enough in the morning, but in the evening, when you're sore, damp and wrecked it's a lot worse.

ouch, fook that, I've obviously been spoilt my previous trips, which were ski in ski out ha. Surely 1st week of Jan (from the 2nd on) would be a quiet enough week?

a148pro · 29-09-2015 10:52pm

Timmaay wrote: »

sham-o-nee?

The real cnuts just say "cham"....

Bus journey isn't quite 30 mins - more like 15 mins from Chamonix town to Argentiere or Le Tour which are the best journeys worth making. I actually prefer getting the bus than all the faff with parking, throwing skis in and out, getting boots and meeting up with others, but that's prob just my impatience.

Le Tour is pretty good for beginners, a few nice gentle slopes (albeit no trees on those if its flat light).

There's also some great tree lined runs and off piste off the back of Le Tour down to Valllorcine, only discovered it recently after about five previous trips there

a148pro · 29-09-2015 10:54pm

Timmaay wrote: »

ouch, fook that, I've obviously been spoilt my previous trips, which were ski in ski out ha. Surely 1st week of Jan (from the 2nd on) would be a quiet enough week?

Usually quiet that week in France alright, although a mate warned me that when its quiet they might step down the bus service!

cormee · 30-09-2015 9:50am

a148pro wrote: »

The real cnuts just say "cham"....

Bus journey isn't quite 30 mins - more like 15 mins from Chamonix town to Argentiere or Le Tour which are the best journeys worth making. I actually prefer getting the bus than all the faff with parking, throwing skis in and out, getting boots and meeting up with others, but that's prob just my impatience.

Le Tour is pretty good for beginners, a few nice gentle slopes (albeit no trees on those if its flat light).

There's also some great tree lined runs and off piste off the back of Le Tour down to Valllorcine, only discovered it recently after about five previous trips there

I never made it in 15 minutes to Le Tour! Most definitely a half-hour trip in my experience, and according to http://www.chamonix.net/sites/default/files/Attachments/guide-horaires-houches-tour-2015.pdf it's just under a half hour trip. The buses being jammers doesn't help much either.

Argentiere is 10 minutes closer, yep.

cormee · 30-09-2015 9:55am

Timmaay wrote: »

ouch, fook that, I've obviously been spoilt my previous trips, which were ski in ski out ha. Surely 1st week of Jan (from the 2nd on) would be a quiet enough week?

Chamonix most definitely isn't a ski in/out experience, the closest ski area is Brevent, which is walkable, up a long hill, from the town, but you'll cover it in an afternoon (it's a great option for your first day if you fly Aer Lingus - because the early arrival means you can be on the slopes by 2:30pm) . There are plenty of great things about it though, the skiing/boarding are exceptional and the town itself is lovely.

a148pro · 30-09-2015 1:16pm

Yeah its deeply inconvenient, particularly if in big group. The worst is when its been snowing heavily and some areas are closed, you get up early, head to Grand Montets looking forward to a few deep powder runs, lifts closed, you hear Les Houches is open and trek up and when you get there and get parked you then hear Grand Montets has opened and lace it back only to find its closed again or there's a one hour queue!

Can be incredibly frustrating and trading on its reputation a lot, but great scenery, incredible lifts, nice town and easy transfer make up for it.

lbj666 · 30-09-2015 3:20pm

a148pro wrote: »

Yeah its deeply inconvenient, particularly if in big group. The worst is when its been snowing heavily and some areas are closed, you get up early, head to Grand Montets looking forward to a few deep powder runs, lifts closed, you hear Les Houches is open and trek up and when you get there and get parked you then hear Grand Montets has opened and lace it back only to find its closed again or there's a one hour queue!

Can be incredibly frustrating and trading on its reputation a lot, but great scenery, incredible lifts, nice town and easy transfer make up for it.

Am i right in saying there was a direct train from geneva to cham and it be up again soon . Was this throught the airport?

Mr.Plough · 01-10-2015 8:53am

Thinking of going to Snowboxx in March, price seems too good to be true. Is anyone going to this, or has anyone been before?

lbj666 · 01-10-2015 11:04am

Mr.Plough wrote: »

Thinking of going to Snowboxx in March, price seems too good to be true. Is anyone going to this, or has anyone been before?

Never been but , looking at the prices its what you'd normally get there for a week in avoriaz in march but the festival is thrown in for free. No doubt the doubt they make that money back behind the bar

Expect the apartments to be pokey though.

That party in Aquariaz does sound cool .

a148pro · 01-10-2015 12:33pm

lbj666 wrote: »

Am i right in saying there was a direct train from geneva to cham and it be up again soon . Was this throught the airport?

Dont think so. There is certainly a train station there but I think it took a while to get there by train from Geneva and required changes. Think an airport transfer can be gotten for as little as 25 - 35 euro each way though, very busy route. Can be done in about an hour too.

mollybird · 02-10-2015 7:22pm

we heading to meribel in france. first time going snowboarding and no idea what to expect when we get there. seriously looking forward to it

Timmaay · 02-10-2015 9:43pm

mollybird wrote: »

we heading to meribel in france. first time going snowboarding and no idea what to expect when we get there. seriously looking forward to it

going to do a day or so boarding next trip if I can also, will have the impact shorts and anti inflammatories packed defo!

cormee · 03-10-2015 12:02pm

mollybird wrote: »

we heading to meribel in france. first time going snowboarding and no idea what to expect when we get there. seriously looking forward to it

Meribel is lovely, it's below the treeline so it's very scenic, the slopes are well groomed, it's an all round nice spot, you'll enjoy it.

Timmaay · 04-10-2015 7:55am

Chamonix with the ucpa booked 2nd of Jan, woohoo, can't wait!

a148pro · 04-10-2015 10:49am

cormee wrote: »

Meribel is lovely, it's below the treeline so it's very scenic, the slopes are well groomed, it's an all round nice spot, you'll enjoy it.

Best piste skiing in the world in the 3v s imo. Total crack cocaine hard lining skiing. Give me more. MORE I TELL YOU MORE! And they do!

cormee · 05-10-2015 2:34pm

a148pro wrote: »

Best piste skiing in the world in the 3v s imo. Total crack cocaine hard lining skiing. Give me more. MORE I TELL YOU MORE! And they do!

Yep, and I'll be there in 109 days

barry181091 · 06-10-2015 1:12pm

lbj666 wrote: »

Never been but , looking at the prices its what you'd normally get there for a week in avoriaz in march but the festival is thrown in for free. No doubt the doubt they make that money back behind the bar Expect the apartments to be pokey though.

That party in Aquariaz does sound cool .

This looks really good actually. As long as you do it the Irish way and be well ''stocked'' going over

Can't really find reviews for the place though

Edit: Found out a bit more. Festival has only been running for 5 years although they expect 4000 people this year (Resort can take up to 8000). This Avoriaz resort looks really good too.

Tommy Crowne · 13-10-2015 1:13pm

Well, that's Flaine booked for late January. Never been before but looks pretty sweet.
The countdown begins.

Timmaay · 13-10-2015 4:55pm

Just been annoying myself looking at skyscanner, Still loads of either very early or late season seats with Swissair return to Geneva for as low as 67euros. Could sneak in a very very cheap long ski weekend (or well 5days), the UCPA do a nice few early and late season packages to the higher up resorts like Val Thorens/VDI. Likes of 500e all in would easily cover it. Probably cheaper than a long weekend in some European city which I was thinking off initially!

Where are people thinking of this year?

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