Europe or North America

[ski220]

For those of you that have skied both sides of the pond; which do you prefer for the skiing, European resorts or North American resorts?

Me? For snow quality I'll take North America.

 

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

I have never skied in Europe..but the Rockies are more user-friendly..If money was no object..I would stil ski the Rockies the most but I need to get my ass to Europe as well..I don't feel like I would ski as comfortably with gaping cornices and the lack of avie control..

 

[jerryg]

I have never skied in Europe..but the Rockies are more user-friendly...

If you've never skied in Europe, how can such a claim be made? 8)

 

[Geoff]

North America wins for snow quality & quantity. North America wins for having trees on flat light days. North America wins for having orderly lift lines. In all other aspects, it's Europe hands-down. During a good snow period when the sun is out and when it's not a holiday period, I'll take Europe any time.

 

[ComeBackMudPuddles]

North America wins for snow quality & quantity. North America wins for having trees on flat light days. North America wins for having orderly lift lines. In all other aspects, it's Europe hands-down. During a good snow period when the sun is out and when it's not a holiday period, I'll take Europe any time.

this is fair, but i think the discrepancy in snow quality isn't that great. sure, you have less chance to have an epic light powder day in europe, but, it's not like they happen all the time out west, either (maybe excepting utah, i guess).

maybe i'm just used to euro liftlines, but i don't see the problem. just stay a little aggressive and you move with the crowds. let people walk all over you, and they will, but, then, that goes for the rest of life, too.

the trees point? sure, that's true, glades are not a big thing in europe, but, on all other days, being above treeline in the alps just can't be matched. i grew up skiing in the northeast in the 80s and 90s, when glade skiing wasn't such a phenomenon, so i'm not always looking out for a trip through the woods.

then there's also the off-piste skiing to consider, which it undisputably better in europe. to be clear, i'm not talking about lift-served slightly out-of-bounds stuff, i'm talking about ski touring for the afternoon with mile-high vertical to be expected.

then there's the on-mountain food, apres-ski, restaurants, nightlife.

and don't forget that the prices are cheaper, too....you don't often see daily lift tix above 40 euros (even at $1.50/euro, that's only $60 for a day ticket to the best resorts).

so, in the end, for me, it's europe by an avalanche. just make sure to avoid the major school holidays when you go, and you're golden.

lastly, i'm assuming this poll is more after a comparison between skiing europe and the west, and not "north america", including the northeast. i simply would not believe anyone that would rather ski mount snow, stowe or whiteface over chamonix, val d'isere or st. anton.

 

[whiteface valmas]

having skiied at both sides, they are different and both are amazing
North America:
trees(there are basically no trees in europe especially hardwood glades)
snow quality
europe:
very long lift lines on peak days(30 m +)
ability to ski from one valley and village to the other.
alot of varied lifts(trams,underground cable cars, alot of 6 and 8 person chairs)
wide open bowl skiing.
sometimes alot of sun and thus very bad snow quality depending of day)
big dumps.
i cannot choose either one because they are both very good

 

[RISkier]

I've only skied in UT in the Rockies and have been to Austria twice. Crowds in UT were considerably lighter and snow quality was better. I certainly think you have a better chance for fresh powder out West, especially in UT. From a pure skiing perspective I'd say Ut was better. The Alps tend to get most of their snow in a few large storms. While Alta, Snowbird, etc. are very picturesque, the Austrian Alps are absolutely stunning (and I always read that places like Zermatt, the Jungfrau region, and the Dolomites in Italy are even more stunning). Folks talk about disorganized lift lines in Europe. There aren't lifties organizing lines but folks just kind of keep shuttling in. You need to be assertive and keep moving but I've never seen any pushing, shoving or rudeness. At least not where we've been in Austria. Indeed, I say almost everyone we've encountered were polite and friendly. I see much more nastiness at some of the NE resorts I've visited. A trip to Europe offers a chance to experience a different culture as well as skiing.

 

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

If you've never skied in Europe, how can such a claim be made? 8)

Due to the logistics of travel involved and the language barrior..

 

[dmc]

I dig Asia...

thinking about Kazakhstan next year. i hear it's cheap!

 

[Geoff]

and don't forget that the prices are cheaper, too....you don't often see daily lift tix above 40 euros (even at $1.50/euro, that's only $60 for a day ticket to the best resorts).

At today's exchange rate, day tickets are indeed around $60.00 at the major resorts. Of course, that's also what you pay at Snowbird. Lift ticket prices aren't really a fair way of judging expense of the trip. You have to consider transportation, lodging, and food. You can trivially get to Salt Lake City for $400.00. No way you're going to get to Geneva, Zurich, or Munich for that price. An airport bus transfer to a resort in Europe ain't cheap. Geneva to Tignes is around 100 euros. It's basically the same price gouging you get going from Denver to Vail.

I've spent a crap load of time in Europe. Lodging is really expensive. Food is really expensive. With an apples & apples comparison, food is 2x what you pay in the US. Sure, the quality is usually better but you still have to spend the money unless you're going to exist on pizza for the duration of your trip. The only way to control your costs in Europe is to go with a group where your airfare, airport transfer, lodging, meals, and lift ticket are all bundled at group rates. Of course, the same is true in the US but the discount for hooking up with a ski club trip in Europe is much better than what happens in North America. If you book everything yourself in Europe and you want to do better than a hostel, you get slaughered.

 

[Geoff]

the trees point? sure, that's true, glades are not a big thing in europe, but, on all other days, being above treeline in the alps just can't be matched. i grew up skiing in the northeast in the 80s and 90s, when glade skiing wasn't such a phenomenon, so i'm not always looking out for a trip through the woods.

I'm not talking about glades skiing. I'm talking about dealing with whiteouts above the tree line. I've had lots of days in Europe where the only good skiing surface was up above the tree line and it was socked in. You're basically stuck chasing the bamboo on the marked pistes and even that is skiing by brail since you have virtually no contrast. Unlike South America and New Zealand where you have virtually no trees at all, most European resorts do have some trees but they tend to be at low elevation where they don't get much snow since the tree line starts much lower than in North America. If you're shelling out big dollars on a ski trip, it's a pretty big deal if you get shut out for the majority of your trip.

That's why I qualified my preference. In good snow and sunny weather, I'll take Europe hands down. Your odds of a good surface are far better in the North American west. You don't get shut out at most of the North American resorts where the majority of the resort has trees.

 

[ski220]

lastly, i'm assuming this poll is more after a comparison between skiing europe and the west, and not "north america", including the northeast. i simply would not believe anyone that would rather ski mount snow, stowe or whiteface over chamonix, val d'isere or st. anton.

Actually I started this thread/poll after reading your St Anton trip report where Deadhead said he'd rather ski Europe over out west even though it seems like he has never been out west and to Europe when he was 9 years old.

I dig Asia...

thinking about Kazakhstan next year. i hear it's cheap!

Included 'Other' with you and your mind blowing trip report from Kashmir in mind.

 

[abc]

You can trivially get to Salt Lake City for $400.00. No way you're going to get to Geneva, Zurich, or Munich for that price. .

How did you reach that conclusion???

I've been to Europe the last 3 years. Not even once did I pay more than $400 for flights. I've flown to Geneva for $350, which is the cheapest. Zurich can be reached routinely for around $400, direct flight of ~6 hrs from JFK. Flights to SLC takes about 5 1/2!

Another advantage, since the flight happens overnight, you gain an extra day of skiing on arrival day.

An airport bus transfer to a resort in Europe ain't cheap. Geneva to Tignes is around 100 euros. It's basically the same price gouging you get going from Denver to Vail.

Why do you choose the more expensive options? There're lots of cheaper options. Round trip train travel from Zurich to all Swiss resorts are ~$125. That's half the cost of transfer from Denver to Vail. Though the same is true if you ski Utah, the transfer from airport to resort in Utah is much cheaper than the Colorado resorts. Not to mention the snow is better too.

I've spent a crap load of time in Europe. Lodging is really expensive. Food is really expensive. With an apples & apples comparison, food is 2x what you pay in the US. .

If you indeed "spent a crap load of time in Europe" and paying so much for lodging and food, you're either living like a king or just being taken advantage of.

If you book everything yourself in Europe and you want to do better than a hostel, you get slaughered.

I did 3 of my 4 trips DIY, it came out cheaper than going to the Rockies. The one group trip was so inexpensive I'd better not mention the price. And that was during the years when exchange rates were not so "friendly". In today's exchange rate, it'd be foolish NOT to go!

Still, for just skiing, I prefer the Rockies. Utah to be exact. Snow quantity and quality is much better. And inbound avi control allows free roaming!

But for a more rounded "ski vacation", I like Europe better. The food is better, the scenary is stunning, the villages charming. You can ski from one village to another, or even from one country to another! And if you pick your resorts right, you have powder all to yourself, since the europeans don't care for off-piste as much as Americans do.

 

[highpeaksdrifter]

I've only been to Europe one and liked it alot. I'm not spell checking the names.

We stayed in Cormyier in Italy. The town is a post card of what you would imagine an Alpine town would look like in Europe a hundred years ago, just beautiful. The Itilians where very nice and it was cool to be immersed in the culture. Out of bounds options where fun, but overall I was really disappointed with the terrain options. Kinda like the Stratton of Europe.

Fortunately we where able to ski Verbier in Switzerland, and also skied the Valley Blanc from the Italian side into Chominoux in France. The size of those places are amazing, so many terrain options, I would have much perferred to spend most of my time in either of those places.

I'm glad I skied in Europe, unless a friend of mine is putting a trip together there I probably won't go back. I like skiing in Western North America and there are lots of places here I have not skied yet.

 

[2Planker]

Nothing like staying Chamonix , where your Pass covers 6 places that add up to more terrain than the top 20 resorts in NE combined. Yes you have to hop the town bus, which is skeir friendly and included w/ your pass.

On hill dining is fantastic, and cheap ! Food + BEER is awesome. At the end of the day you ski right into town and hit the bars....

Terrain is MUCH more varied, and nothing in the US compares to the Euro Off Piste areas. Where else can you ski one run that is 15Km long ???

Don't get me wrong, there are great places here, but after skiing 55 resorts around the globe..... Nothing compares to the Alps !

 

[Geoff]

Terrain is MUCH more varied, and nothing in the US compares to the Euro Off Piste areas. Where else can you ski one run that is 15Km long ???

What about Juggernaught at Killington?

The best thing about Europe is how few people depart the marked & groomed pistes. In North America, things track out very quickly at the major resorts. The only place I've found that doesn't is Monarch. The Texans ski like the Europeans and tend to stick to the flat groomers. In Europe, it's expansive enough that you can find plenty of untracked well after a storm. South America is even better but the skiers per acre there is far lower there than anywhere else I've ever been.

 

[gladerider]

- Power condition > the rockies
- Overall experience > the alps hands down

Bottomline > the rockies. pow condition is more important to me than other factors. The rockies, hands down

 

[skidmarks]

That's a question I ask myself all the time.
You can't beat the snow quality out west, however the Euro thing is lots of fun.

I would say for a true vacation you can't beat a trip to the Alps. Trips to Austria are a great value and airfare to Munich isn't much more than to SLC or Denver. White out days can be a big problem since there isn't much below tree line skiing available but the food, beer, culture, history, scenery and beer more than makes up for it in my book. Being able to ski huge vertical and from town to town is very cool too.

Heavy Snow in Austria

 

[billski]

That's a question I ask myself all the time.
You can't beat the snow quality out west, however the Euro thing is lots of fun.

I would say for a true vacation you can't beat a trip to the Alps. Trips to Austria are a great value and airfare to Munich isn't much more than to SLC or Denver. White out days can be a big problem since there isn't much below tree line skiing available but the food, beer, culture, history, scenery and beer more than makes up for it in my book. Being able to ski huge vertical and from town to town is very cool too.

Heavy Snow in Austria

Yeah but "heavy snow" does not come all that often in the Alps. I spent 2 weeks skiing in St Anton, Lech, Zurs, St. Christoph and Kitzbuhel . I've also skied a number of times in West US and you all know about East US. Weather-wise, the alps can be just as good/bad as the east. They don't have the base altitude West US has. I experienced drought in Kitzbuhel along with icy slopes, but then I also experienced 2 feet of powder at St. Anton.

All I can say is that they are different. I don't think any one is "better" so I'm not voting. Ditto what everyone says about Europe. It's simply cool to be able to ski right down into the village streets - a real village, not a made-up one and hit the restaurants, pubs and nightlife. You can literally ski to the slope end and wait for the town bus to arrive and take you away. Because the alps was civilized much earlier than the US, the culture and buildings give an entirely different experience.

The things I don't like about skiing in Europe
- Maddening crowds and a free-for all called a lift line
- Smog visible throughout the alps
- Half the population smokes incessantly and you can't escape it (don't take the tram or you're sure to get lung cancer!)
- Everyone is always on "holiday". There are no light days. People come and stay for weeks.
- You can't get a chair in the mid-mountain lodge after 10AM. They ski their brains out for 2 hours, then grab a stein of beer, position a chair on the deck and pass out for the remainder of the day.

 

[skidmarks]

"Heavy Snow" Sorry that was only the caption for that picture from Zurs. I've been very lucky with new snow on all of my trips to Europe. I normaly go in March so I've never hit feather light snow like you get at Alta but it's still real good.