Not even safe in the hotel

[abc]

Just another reason why I've sworn off Europe...Theres enough skiing to be done right here..with better conditions..

Nobody flies all the way to Europe for their conditions, which is not that much better than the northeast. There's far better condition in the Rockies.

You go to Europe because of the terrain! It's that kind of scary terrain that attracts the hardcore experts. Even if you don't ski it, the dramatic big faces are what makes good pictures to show you buddies back home! You don't get that stunning scenery in Vail...

Or, you go to Europe because you want to combine skiing with good food, good scenery and the price is right (from the big gateway airport in the east, Europe is about the same price as Utah)

 

[crank]

Or huge vertical drops more than double what you can find anywhere this side of the Atlantic and 3x what you can find here in the northeast.

 

[abc]

Yeah, or the ability to ski from one valley to another valley and have lunch at a totally different village etc.

No one in their right mind goes to Chinese restaurant for their steak, or Mexican restaurant for noodles.

 

[rtjcbrown]

More like 300.

Damn typo! Should have read 219

 

[fbrissette]

Nobody flies all the way to Europe for their conditions, which is not that much better than the northeast.

????? Conditions not much better than in the northeast ????? have you ever skied in Europe ? You can ski year round in dozens of locations. Snow totals at higher altitude rival those we have out West. Comparing skiing in the Alps to the Northeast is non-sense. The stations 'Les trois vallées' has probably more skiable acres than the entire North-east.

 

[abc]

have you ever skied in Europe ?

Yes, I typically goes every other year. So I've seen the different conditions throughout the season.

. The stations 'Les trois vallées' has probably more skiable acres than the entire North-east.

Acres of skiable terrain isn't the same as good condition! You've completely missed my point.

You go for vertical, aka size. Or miles of pistes. But NOT condition!!!

The Alps is mostly above treeline. So the surface can be wind scored just as badly as in the northeast. Whiteout are almost guaranteed at least a day or two in any one week trip.

You can luck out with good condition, just like you can get lucky with hitting a powder day in Stowe. But consistent good condition it does NOT offer. At least not the level of the Rockies, which has no language barrier (and bland food).

 

[kingslug]

I used to ski Europe because it is vastly different from anything here. The vertical is insane..the food is mostly great and its just..different. My last trip though..well we where in the wrong place at the wrong time. And..they clearly did not like Americans. Things have changed over the years.. But thats just my experience in limited areas.

 

[elks]

I'll always remember one winter vacation growing up in Europe. For several years I went to Flaine (French Alps) for winter break. One year, there were devastating avalanches hitting the resort all week. So much so that the chapel was turned into a morgue. One avalanche also hit one of the apartment buildings during the week. After that incident we were asked to all sleep in the front living room and away from the windows adjacent to the mountain side. That was also my first and only (knock on wood) personal brush with an avalanche, which came crashing into the base of the resort. Luckily what hit us was just a gigantic cloud of powder and the heavy snow/debris had stopped a little higher.

Amazing I ever went back skiing after that experience.

 

[rtjcbrown]

I used to ski Europe because it is vastly different from anything here. The vertical is insane..the food is mostly great and its just..different. My last trip though..well we where in the wrong place at the wrong time. And..they clearly did not like Americans. Things have changed over the years.. But thats just my experience in limited areas.

Details please. It could save someone some grief

 

[kingslug]

Solden Austria...crowded..flat..avoid...
I would go back to Zermatt Switzerland though..that was the best Europe trip.....7 days of pow...

 

[fbrissette]

Yes, I typically goes every other year. So I've seen the different conditions throughout the season.


Acres of skiable terrain isn't the same as good condition! You've completely missed my point.

You go for vertical, aka size. Or miles of pistes. But NOT condition!!!

The Alps is mostly above treeline. So the surface can be wind scored just as badly as in the northeast. Whiteout are almost guaranteed at least a day or two in any one week trip.

You can luck out with good condition, just like you can get lucky with hitting a powder day in Stowe. But consistent good condition it does NOT offer. At least not the level of the Rockies, which has no language barrier (and bland food).

I understood your original point. I've skied in Europe extensively and have never ever seen conditions anywhere close to what we've experienced this past weekend in New England. The upper Alps get three times the amount of snow New England gets and this alone disprove your point.

The Rockies (at least in Canada) are definitely no better than Europe conditions. I would agree that Utah, Colorado and central BC in particular have more consistent conditions than the Alps but let's face it, ski conditions in NE generally suck compared to out West and the upper Alps. I insist on upper Alps because that's where you get more consistent conditions. Lower down in the valley, you are more likely to experience rain and shittier conditions. But that's the result of having 5000' + vertical.

 

[jimk]

Or huge vertical drops more than double what you can find anywhere this side of the Atlantic and 3x what you can find here in the northeast.

Are you still planning that hut to hut touring trip to the Alps? Trip report afterwards please!

Every avid skier MUST get to the Alps at some point in their lives. Just pick a major and reasonably high elevation resort and go in the heart of the ski season and you should be good. The scenery blows away everything I've seen at 80 ski areas in North America. The food and on-hill vibe is different and good. There is some really cool cultural stuff to see and enjoy, especially if you can fit in a day or two of non-ski days at interesting cities near the mtns like Salzburg, Luzern, Innsbruck, Interlaken, etc. I suppose you have to go with the attitude that exploration and discovery is more important than total vertical feet skied, but you can get tons of vert too if you want. Some ski resorts have Vegas style nightlife. The lift infrastructure was fantastic and modern at all the places I went to in Austria. They had RFID ski passes way before the US, yet you might spend the night in a five hundred year old guesthaus (updated with all modern conveniences). I really want to go back, but have family connections steering me to ski the Rockies these days.

 

[crank]

Are you still planning that hut to hut touring trip to the Alps? Trip report afterwards please!

We are trying to! We had a date all set for the Ortler Ski Traverse in Italy's Trol region, but just got word yesterday that as we are the only ones signed up for that week we may have to pay a premium for just 2 of us or move to the following week. Problem is we both have commitments the following week. Hoping the guiding company can work something out. We paid a 25% deposit but can get a full refund as late as 1/30 so decisions must be made soon!

I just read that they have found 10 survivors of the avalanche so far. Still at 4 bodies I think. Hoping they find a lot more survivors.

 

[elks]

Nobody flies all the way to Europe for their conditions, which is not that much better than the northeast. There's far better condition in the Rockies.

Having grown-up and learned to ski in the French Alps and Pyrenees, and having skied the NorthEast for close to 20 years now, I have to disagree. A bad snow year in Val Thorens or Val d'Isère is going to kick most good years in the NorthEast. And one big difference is the mostly consistent decent skiing weather. There's a reason why the biggest ski area in France (well, France & Switzerland) is called Les Portes Du Soleil: The Doors to the Sun! When I think NE, I think the Doors to your Next Frostbite!

 

[abc]

I understood your original point. I've skied in Europe extensively and have never ever seen conditions anywhere close to what we've experienced this past weekend in New England. The upper Alps get three times the amount of snow New England gets and this alone disprove your point.

OK, so we're pretty much in agreement. We're talking about the same snow, only a difference perspective of glass being half full vs half empty.

We live in the northeast so we have to deal with the condition here throughout the entire season. But when we go out west or east (Europe) we typically go during the period of time when there's reasonable chance of good condition. So we don't necessarily see their worst. So in that sense, just about any ski destination has "better" conditions than the northeast. (or if they don't, we wouldn't be calling them "ski destinations")

One of my ski in the Alps was when I happened to be having a meeting in Europe. I didn't get to pick the timing. It was relatively early in the season. Condition was really not any better than the northeast. Hard packs resembling ice and all that. Huge crowd waiting for the tram, pushing and shoving. Some of us ended up NOT skiing and took the train into the nearby city for some sightseeing! So yes, the Alps can suck too! But then, half a meter of snow fell one night, suddenly the groomers turned into carpet of hero snow! For a couple hours anyway, before the wind blew the new snow away and the upper mountain runs turned back to being kitchen tile again!

Yes, the Alps can have fantastic conditions, probably more frequent than the northeast has good snow. But for most people who are traveling to Europe to ski, average doesn't mean much.

 

[abc]

When I think NE, I think the Doors to your Next Frostbite!

that maybe true. although the one time I was in austria, it was freaking cold!

"Schnaps" (sp?, liquor laden tea) helps enormously in fighting the cold though

 

[Zermatt]

Solden Austria...crowded..flat..avoid...
I would go back to Zermatt Switzerland though..that was the best Europe trip.....7 days of pow...

I'll be there in 3 weeks but probably the last year. Skiing in Zermatt has been ok this year but very little snow since a major dump in November. Thank god for good snowmaking and glaciers. All the recent big snows have missed Zermatt.

Agree with others though, don't go for the snow quality. It's everything else, like a skiing fairy tale. Getting there and lodging are expensive. Skiing itself and ski school for kids is quite cheap.

Even so, max pass would cover all local skiing and a few trips out west for the price of a week in Zermatt. Then again, I could change my mind again after a week in Zermatt.

Back to the avalanche, been pulling out survivors today. Good news.

 

[dlague]

Having grown-up and learned to ski in the French Alps and Pyrenees, and having skied the NorthEast for close to 20 years now, I have to disagree. A bad snow year in Val Thorens or Val d'Isère is going to kick most good years in the NorthEast. And one big difference is the mostly consistent decent skiing weather. There's a reason why the biggest ski area in France (well, France & Switzerland) is called Les Portes Du Soleil: The Doors to the Sun! When I think NE, I think the Doors to your Next Frostbite!

I was lucky to ski the Alps while in the military. Even skied competitively - was not that great but placed 26th out of 180 skiers at the 7th Corps competition that involved a slalom, GS and 10 k cross country race. It was at Garmicsh. Also skied at a ski area near Innsbruck. My exposure was limited though. Would like to experience others. Our son also served in Germany and he took my advice and skied in 5 different countries in the Alps.

Sent from my SM-G930P using AlpineZone mobile app

 

[JimG.]

Not sure they have found any additional human survivors but these 3 puppies were pulled from the debris today:

http://www.msn.com/en-us/video/anim...avalanche-in-italy/vi-AAm9spt?ocid=spartandhp

They are adorable; there are air pockets so it is possible more survivors will be found. What a disaster.

 

[yeggous]

I'm headed to the Dolomites and Tyrolia for ten days in March. I've never skied Europe so I am beyond excited.


Sent from my iPhone using AlpineZone mobile app