Meribel and Courchevel, France - March 31-April 6

[gladerider]

Originally Posted by ComeBackMudPuddles

It's pretty impressive how almost all the lifts are high-speed quads or six-packs, with the occassional gondola and tram thrown in. You can really cover a LOT of ground and move around the Three Valleys pretty easily.

One thing for sure, though, is that, if possible, I'd avoid the French school holiday weeks. I've heard it's a ZOO in the mountains during those weeks (despite all the impressive lift infrastructure).

yeah and the RFID system totally helps IMHO. it was a breeze to go through some areas that were crowded with the RFID lift cards.

[gladerider]

Originally Posted by ComeBackMudPuddles

GSS, considering your trip reports always detail what you eat and drink, I bet you'd be down with Euro skiing. There's a pretty good "quality of life" aspect to skiing in Europe that's missing from places like Jackson Hole (that's no diss of JH, just a comment that skiing in the Alps is different).

i second that. although it can get pricier, there are ways to workaround them if you are willing to deal with some inconveniences which seems to be fine with you based on what i read from your trip reports. for example, unlike US resorts many euro resort base areas are built with much more amenities. you can get up in the morning and go to a bakery to pick up a bread for quick breakfast. stop by a cafe to slurp down a cup of espresso. there are gazillion cafes. stop by any bases and easily find a place selling a fresh sandwich for a few bucks with soft drinks. after all day of skiing, you can stop by any cafes to gulp down a couple of pints (sometimes you got to be selective because i've seen some cafes charging 10+ euros for a pint) then, you can stop by a supermarket and pick up a few things for dinner at home. often you will have to pay when you are sitting down to get served. otherwise, you can find enough to feed yourself at reasonable prices.

one more thing, most europeans that i met are not crazy about how many runs they have in a day as some i've seen here in the states. they get couple of runs and stop by slope side cafes to relax out in the sun for a while to enjoy the mountain. i think they definitely have a different skiing culture.