Where in France is good for 1st time Skier?

[cadmonshum]

Hi Bros/Sis,

We have been ski in Japan for many years and planning to go to France for the 1st time, any recommendations for the ski area, Ski in/Out Hotel which is easy to reach from HK, or from London?

Thanks:)
Cadmon

[Mike]

Geneva is the city you want to fly to, it is certainly easy to reach from London.

There are many ski resorts within 3 hours drive from Geneva - Trois Vallees, Val d'isere/Tignes, Les Arcs, Flaine, Chamonix, etc. etc. They are have excellent skiing terrain.

Do a search and go through the postings in this forum under the appropriate section. Ask any specific question you have afterwards.

When are you going?

[kevin au]

I had been to Trois Vallees & Chamonix a while back. There have vast variety of pistes for you to pick from, or even backcountry or Heli ski. It depends on your level of skill. The better the skier you are, the more you can enjoy these breath taking mountain. Don't forget to go up the the resturant at A'gullie Du Medi for a cup of coffee and ski down from the glacier, if you go to Chamonix.

Do you have any recommandations for ski resorts in Japan? Since, you've been skiing there for quite a few times. Is Nesiko have good snow fall and trails for beginner to intermediate skiier?

[saikee]

Avoid mid term break, beginning of Feb to 1st week in Mar, if skiing in France.

If you prefer less crowd in this period try Italy, Switzerland and Austria.

France offers more ski-in ski-out options and have bigger linked resorts. Quality wise isn't its strong point.

[Mike]

Avoid mid term break, beginning of Feb to 1st week in Mar, if skiing in France.


If one is flying out from UK, avoid the week of 13th Feb 2010 - British mid-term break. :p

[esky]

I've been to Hotel Courcheneige at Courcheval 1850 of Trois Vallees which is a hotel next to a ski run. Due to its altitude, view from the hotel is quite spectacular. Web site : www.courcheneige.com (http://www.courcheneige.com)

Happy skiing!

[August]

I am going to France (Val D lsere) to ski with my friends and family in coming Easter holiday. You're welcomed to join us and you may send me PM.

[Mike]

To be honest, for 1st time skier, where you go skiing hardly makes any difference at all because you won't be exploring all the runs. It is better to go somewhere which is picturesque, easy access, with plenty of apres activities and shops. So you can enjoy both on and off the snow. ;)

[Will]

We just finished our 6th day of skiing at Portes du Soleil, which is a skiing resort on the border of Switzerland and France. We stayed in a town on the Swiss side called Champery. Great skiing for the past 5 days except today, which is snowing heavily.

As Saikee mentioned, it is more crowded on the French side now due to their school holiday. The Swiss side is much less crowded. If you really want to stay on the French side, I suggest Avoriaz or Morzine, both are beautiful towns and quite central to Portes du Soleil so you can reach all the other towns quite easily.

[Will]

Just attached 2 photos for your reference.

IMG_5699 is the town of Avoriaz.
058 is the town of Morzine.

[saikee]

I don't think scenery is a priority for the 1st timers but Avoriaz (of PDS) and Flaine (of Grand Massif which is the next door neighbour to Avoriaz/Les Gets) are commonly referred to as the ugliest skiing resorts in the Alps.

That sentiment is based on the massive tower blocks built for no other reason than accommodating the skiers. It is a factory production line for ski-in and ski-out but has next to nothing of the Alpine traditional rustic charm.

Avoriaz is better than Flaine as it doesn't have the bare concrete buildings. However many tower block buildings in Avoriaz are timber cladded and they look horribly wrong after the weather has taken its toll.

HK visitors are used to high rise tower blocks as they are fact of life in HK but most European visitors prefer tradional 2-stoey chalet type as seen in Morzine/Les Gets. In fact outside France the massive tower block arrangement as seen in Avoriaz isn't permitted anywhere.

Take the Swiss side of PDS for example the Swiss believe in keeping the tradional buildings, not expanding their resorts excessively, no need in upgrading the chairlifts (hence plenty of drag lifts there) or widening the road so that their skiing resorts remain attractive both in summer and winter and not altering for the commercial gain from the skiing industry.

Each country has its skiing industry. The French goes out its way to attract overseas visitors. Since the Alps is far away from the rest of the country the French tend to go skiing during holiday times only and hence the massive influx during the mid term breaks. The Swiss and the Austrian have mountains everwhere and so they ski in weekends whenever possible. They do not need mega size resorts which can turn into ghost villeages in the summer.

Another fact not generally known to overseas visitors is that all the Alpine countries of France, Italy, Swiss, Germany and Asutria have a huge number of very small skiing facilities dotted around the Alps. Such a very small facility typically has no more than a few lifts, say between 3 to 6, but is the place where the local learn how to ski because it is a lot cheaper and quieter. Overseas visitors visit large resorts operated by the Tour Operators who aim to provide a wide coverage of skiing skill. Thus for beginners going to a crowded large resort is an disadvantage becasue they can't benefit from the large number of chairlifts/runs but have to put up with the crowd.

I am not discuraging HK beginners coming to Europe to learn skiing however selecting a large French resort during school holiday time can have the disadvantages listed above.

[mwtse]

Well, please notice that the starter of the thread is NOT a first time skier:

We have been ski in Japan for many years and planning to go to France for the 1st time

[WaiWai]

Hi Cadmon,

Have you come up your decision yet? 3 vallees - either Courcheval, val D'isere & Val Thoren would be fun and Tinges as well. There are many green & blue pistes and you can ski there without any problem.

:)

[carver_hk-ski]

try st. gervais. good food, eropean onsen, easy run and not that many people. I love the atmosphere of the ski town in particular. besides if u happen to pregress fast enough u can easily ski le grand mon te. :)

[laiccp]

why not try Megeve, a resort just above St. Gervais, one hour by shuttle from Geneva? Sunny Megeve, with its vast ski area, is excellent for beginners to advance skiers. Good food and many good restaurants. Been there 3 times and always want to go back. Suggest to rent an apartment (more economical) but family-run hotels such as Au Coin du Feu is also very nice. Only setback is it's not a ski-in-ski-out resort like Courchevel 1850.

Peter

[Mike]

why not try Megeve, a resort just above St. Gervais, one hour by shuttle from Geneva? Sunny Megeve, with its vast ski area, is excellent for beginners to advance skiers. Good food and many good restaurants. Been there 3 times and always want to go back. Suggest to rent an apartment (more economical) but family-run hotels such as Au Coin du Feu is also very nice. Only setback is it's not a ski-in-ski-out resort like Courchevel 1850.

Peter

Megeve is nice, very chic. :)

[saikee]

Megeve and St Gervais are the same resort called Domain Evasion. The snow is not known to be steady. It is sold as a classic skiing place.

In one year when I was still running a static caravan in Chamonix I skied one day in perfect snow and the next day we went back to ski in ponds of water. We then drove futher afield to 3 Vallees. Since then I haven't stopped.

Behind St Gervais there is an excellent resort called Les Contamines which is a better skiing place because most people go to St Gervais. It is at the valley end so the snow is better kept.

[laiccp]

Megeve and St Gervais are the same resort called Domain Evasion. The snow is not known to be steady. It is sold as a classic skiing place.

In one year when I was still running a static caravan in Chamonix I skied one day in perfect snow and the next day we went back to ski in ponds of water. We then drove futher afield to 3 Vallees. Since then I haven't stopped.

Behind St Gervais there is an excellent resort called Les Contamines which is a better skiing place because most people go to St Gervais. It is at the valley end so the snow is better kept.

I've never skied in Les Contamines but it seems to be a vast ski area? I've stayed in Courcheval 1850 twice. The ski areas are so extensive that I could not cover Val Thorens during the 6 days of skiing.

[Mike]

Megeve and St Gervais are the same resort called Domain Evasion. The snow is not known to be steady. It is sold as a classic skiing place.

In one year when I was still running a static caravan in Chamonix I skied one day in perfect snow and the next day we went back to ski in ponds of water. We then drove futher afield to 3 Vallees. Since then I haven't stopped.

Behind St Gervais there is an excellent resort called Les Contamines which is a better skiing place because most people go to St Gervais. It is at the valley end so the snow is better kept.

Saikee, you are right, Megeve can be a bit thin on snow due to its low altitude. Nevertheless, the village is charming. :)

[saikee]

laiccp (http://www.hkssa.net/member.php?u=2746),

I would say a skier/boarder needs to be comfortable with the red runs in order to be able to explore reasonably "fully" any mega resort in the Alps.

For the 3V it is a lot better to access Courchevel, Meribel, Val Thorens each one on a separate day and ideally at different points (say if possible driving to Les Menuires or Val Thorens to ski the last valley).

Mike,

Megeve differs very little from any Swiss, Italian or Austria village. It is regarded charming in France mainly relative to the on-resort ugly high rise apartment blocks dominating the French resorts elsewhere. Megeve is close to Switzerland so it will be rustic if not over developed and commercialised, say like its next door neighbour La Clusaz further up the road near Le Flumet. Skiers go to the large modern resorts for convenience and those prefer traditional setting selects the classic resorts which Megeve advertises itself as such. In good snow condition Megeve is great but that doesn't happen for long and skiers need to catch it in the right time.

[laiccp]

saikee,
I totally agree with you that a skier has to be comfortable wih red runs to enjoy skiing in Europe.