NPR

Looking forward to a week in Les Menuires end of Feb.

First time in years we'll go for full 3 Vallees passes as for the last decade we limited ourselves to Val Thorens passes only due to the kids' skiing lessons. But the young witch and her older brothers now board down black slopes no bother so we'll be able to revisit old favourites like Mont Vallon, which is an absolute favourite slope of mine.

TheFrog wrote: ↑Wed Jan 11, 2023 12:59 pm Any tips on skiing in the US?

Prices here are almost prohibitive and outside the Rocky Mountains, it is hills skiing.

I can only speak for the areas I have visited.

Between Denver and Vail there are loads of good ski areas in driving distance. Arapahoe Basin, Keystone, Breckenridge, Loveland etc. Some are places you visit for the day rather than staying there. Breckenridge is a pretty good base. Highest ski lift at Breck is over 12,500ft.

Snow conditions are generally more reliable than Europe. It's further south but a lot higher. Piste conditions are generally very good.

Best skiing I ever had was as Wolf Creek which is really remote. The car park is at 9600ft and it's about 45 mins from the nearest one horse town - Pagosa Springs. It was about an 8 hour drive from Denver.

Dinsdale Piranha wrote: ↑Wed Jan 11, 2023 3:04 pm

TheFrog wrote: ↑Wed Jan 11, 2023 12:59 pm Any tips on skiing in the US?

Prices here are almost prohibitive and outside the Rocky Mountains, it is hills skiing.

I can only speak for the areas I have visited.

Between Denver and Vail there are loads of good ski areas in driving distance. Arapahoe Basin, Keystone, Breckenridge, Loveland etc. Some are places you visit for the day rather than staying there. Breckenridge is a pretty good base. Highest ski lift at Breck is over 12,500ft.

Snow conditions are generally more reliable than Europe. It's further south but a lot higher. Piste conditions are generally very good.

Best skiing I ever had was as Wolf Creek which is really remote. The car park is at 9600ft and it's about 45 mins from the nearest one horse town - Pagosa Springs. It was about an 8 hour drive from Denver.

Thanks

As we live on the East Coast, I was thinking about staying.
It's funny because, in Europe, you tend to book a ski holiday for a full week. But I see the systems in the US are geared toward 2 days, at most 4 days packages... shows that people usually don't stay long. May be linked to reduced number of holidays as well.

I spent ten days in Breckenridge many moons ago. It was fantastic. A new dump of powder practically every morning, clear blue skies, the town itself looked like an old Western set - perfect.

It wan't too expensive from what I can remember, certainly a lot cheaper than some of the other resorts nearby, like Aspen.

You do catch your breath a fair bit because of the altitude.

Tichtheid wrote: ↑Wed Jan 11, 2023 3:26 pm I spent ten days in Breckenridge many moons ago. It was fantastic. A new dump of powder practically every morning, clear blue skies, the town itself looked like an old Western set - perfect.

It wan't too expensive from what I can remember, certainly a lot cheaper than some of the other resorts nearby, like Aspen.

You do catch your breath a fair bit because of the altitude.

I had 10 days in Breckenridge too and loved it. The town had a bit of character unlike most US and Canadian ski areas I've been to. Spent a day skiing in Vail and in Beaver Creek and both were easy to drive to and good fun too.

When we got to Breckenridge we were advised, because of the altitude, to drink lots of fluid, avoid alcohol and use lots of sunscreen - of course as a well travelled know all Scot who had been on many ski trips across Europe I ignored all the advice and got pissed the first night then managed to burn my face on the second! By day 3 with stinking hangovers and a badly peeling face I began feeling the altitude but luckily a few bars etc have O2 on tap if required. By end of trip I had acclimatised. On day in Vail we were approached by couple of guys who offered to carry our skis from the car park to the lifts - again my Scottish know-how kicked in and I refused their help suspecting they would run off with skis leaving us stuck in our ski boots unable to chase. How was I to know they were hired by resort to help skiers? Pesky helpful Americans! I would recommend Brekenridge as a base but don't expect the charm and scenery of many European resorts nor a great variety of food and drink.

PS Just heard this afternoon from my son who is currently in Les Deux Alps who says it has beens snowing and powder is waist deep! Good news for anyone travelling soon, as long as temps don't rise again.

Got 2 days of skying in the Jura (1200m) rained most of the day today should be a bit better next week.

We are most likely heading back tomorrow as it is unlikely there will be much to ski on tomorrow.

In Les Arcs this week, and conditions aren't too bad at all (had been fearing the worst before we arrived). It's snowed quite a bit since we arrived, so the pistes are improving, especially lower down. It could do with being a bit colder though, the snow falling at Valandry was pretty wet. However the problem is visibility (except for yesterday, which was fantastic). With the fog it's like skiing in Scotland (except the snow is much better, the pistes are longer, the chairlifts are modern etc etc).

Tichtheid wrote: ↑Wed Jan 11, 2023 3:26 pm I spent ten days in Breckenridge many moons ago. It was fantastic. A new dump of powder practically every morning, clear blue skies, the town itself looked like an old Western set - perfect.

It wan't too expensive from what I can remember, certainly a lot cheaper than some of the other resorts nearby, like Aspen.

You do catch your breath a fair bit because of the altitude.

That's a good tip, thanks

Got back from Les Arcs today after a pretty good week.

However, Chambery airport is an absolute disaster! It's been a few years since flying through there and I don't remember it being quite so awful. Far too many flights taking off close to each other, and security just can't cope with the number of people. A shame to end the trip with such a stressful experience, next year I will actively seek to book a trip via a different airport. Which is a pity as it cuts the transfer times compared with Geneva for the likes of 3V, Tignes, Val D'Isere, Alpe D'Huez etc.

Would not recommend!

S/Lt_Phillips wrote: ↑Sat Jan 14, 2023 10:17 pm Got back from Les Arcs today after a pretty good week.

However, Chambery airport is an absolute disaster! It's been a few years since flying through there and I don't remember it being quite so awful. Far too many flights taking off close to each other, and security just can't cope with the number of people. A shame to end the trip with such a stressful experience, next year I will actively seek to book a trip via a different airport. Which is a pity as it cuts the transfer times compared with Geneva for the likes of 3V, Tignes, Val D'Isere, Alpe D'Huez etc.

Would not recommend!

My kids must have been there at the same time and possibly on same flight! Said the same, complete clusterfuck queued for over 2 hours from drop off to getting on flight and it took off late. No opportunity for a coffee or even a toilet visit. It's a shame as I always liked going via there, it was a bit better than the ski shed in Geneva.

dpedin wrote: ↑Sun Jan 15, 2023 11:00 am

S/Lt_Phillips wrote: ↑Sat Jan 14, 2023 10:17 pm Got back from Les Arcs today after a pretty good week.

However, Chambery airport is an absolute disaster! It's been a few years since flying through there and I don't remember it being quite so awful. Far too many flights taking off close to each other, and security just can't cope with the number of people. A shame to end the trip with such a stressful experience, next year I will actively seek to book a trip via a different airport. Which is a pity as it cuts the transfer times compared with Geneva for the likes of 3V, Tignes, Val D'Isere, Alpe D'Huez etc.

Would not recommend!

My kids must have been there at the same time and possibly on same flight! Said the same, complete clusterfuck queued for over 2 hours from drop off to getting on flight and it took off late. No opportunity for a coffee or even a toilet visit. It's a shame as I always liked going via there, it was a bit better than the ski shed in Geneva.

Sounds right, we were late taking off back to Edinburgh. Hope your kids had a good week skiing though!

S/Lt_Phillips wrote: ↑Sun Jan 15, 2023 11:23 am

dpedin wrote: ↑Sun Jan 15, 2023 11:00 am

S/Lt_Phillips wrote: ↑Sat Jan 14, 2023 10:17 pm Got back from Les Arcs today after a pretty good week.

However, Chambery airport is an absolute disaster! It's been a few years since flying through there and I don't remember it being quite so awful. Far too many flights taking off close to each other, and security just can't cope with the number of people. A shame to end the trip with such a stressful experience, next year I will actively seek to book a trip via a different airport. Which is a pity as it cuts the transfer times compared with Geneva for the likes of 3V, Tignes, Val D'Isere, Alpe D'Huez etc.

Would not recommend!

My kids must have been there at the same time and possibly on same flight! Said the same, complete clusterfuck queued for over 2 hours from drop off to getting on flight and it took off late. No opportunity for a coffee or even a toilet visit. It's a shame as I always liked going via there, it was a bit better than the ski shed in Geneva.

Sounds right, we were late taking off back to Edinburgh. Hope your kids had a good week skiing though!

Chambery was pretty great when we used it ~5 years ago. But have to say it was a stunning day so we just sat out on the grass until our flight was called. Inside the terminal was a bit mental. I blame it on the Edinburgh and Manchester flights that were taking off ~30 minutes before our Glasgow one. Obviously our flight queue was as well-behaved as any to the Weeg.

S/Lt_Phillips wrote: ↑Sun Jan 15, 2023 11:23 am

dpedin wrote: ↑Sun Jan 15, 2023 11:00 am

S/Lt_Phillips wrote: ↑Sat Jan 14, 2023 10:17 pm Got back from Les Arcs today after a pretty good week.

However, Chambery airport is an absolute disaster! It's been a few years since flying through there and I don't remember it being quite so awful. Far too many flights taking off close to each other, and security just can't cope with the number of people. A shame to end the trip with such a stressful experience, next year I will actively seek to book a trip via a different airport. Which is a pity as it cuts the transfer times compared with Geneva for the likes of 3V, Tignes, Val D'Isere, Alpe D'Huez etc.

Would not recommend!

My kids must have been there at the same time and possibly on same flight! Said the same, complete clusterfuck queued for over 2 hours from drop off to getting on flight and it took off late. No opportunity for a coffee or even a toilet visit. It's a shame as I always liked going via there, it was a bit better than the ski shed in Geneva.

Sounds right, we were late taking off back to Edinburgh. Hope your kids had a good week skiing though!

Yeh they had a good time - they were in Les Deux Alpes so high enough for plenty snow plus it snowed during the week. Complaining of sore legs so must have been ok!