Snowboarding Holiday Advice

[kirkster]

I'm planning on taking my gf away snowboarding at christmas / new year.

Any suggestions as to where to go would be greatly appreciated.

Not too far away from england, europe pref, and cheap but good facilities one with a 1/2 pipe would be ideal for me :) as I want to see what a snow one is like after using skateboard / bmx ones for quite a lot of my youth.

We're both beginners, her more so than me as I've done some boarding on dry slopes, but not for a very long time so good learning slopes etc would be great

Cheers,

Kirky :thumbs:

[kyle cook]

Courchevel 1850 is exellent lots of celebs go there.Ive been 3 times. :thumbs:

[sunnybono]

flims/laax in switzerland -good for beginners, loads of halfpipes, and sometimes an ok park
mayherhofen in austria -very good boarding, amazing park, v good night life)
verbier - good free riding, not so sure about beginners

i would go for mayerhofen as i know the park is good, snow is normal very good at that time of year, and its pretty cheap to fly to. and if you do you will end up spending all your money in scotland yard pub :D

[Ben A]

check out this:

http://www.tignesexpress.co.uk/

you can't get much cheaper for supposedly one of the best places to snowboard. if you don't mind sitting on a bus that is :wack: - or you could drive :)

[dj_C]

I've been to Flaine, Chamonix, Val D'Isere, Hintertux and Courmayeur in Europe.
Flaine - not much nightlife, but a really nice little resort. Cheap and good for learners.
Chamonix - an unusual resort, since you have to drive to the bottom lifts every day. Very spread out, and much more of a town than most resorts. Very good slopes, but not so good for a mixed-ability group.
Val D'Isere - a huge resort, with links into Tignes, so plenty of slopes. Not the cheapest, but a lovely town, with plenty of nightlife and other stuff to do. Loads for beginners, and not all at resort level, which is good. Very snow-sure, and with a glacier as well.
Hintertux - I prefer the french resorts to Austria, but this was cheap. Slopes are ok, but were limited by bad weather when I went. Night life is very 'bavarian'.
Courmayeur - did a day trip to this italian resort from Chamonix, and really liked it. Not a huge expanse of slopes, but the snow was really light and fluffy, there were some lovely tree runs, and some pretty varied terrain for the size of the resort. Quite cheap, and the food on the hill was good, and cheap.

Hope this helps. Check out www.goneboarding.co.uk for more reviews/info/advice, or just give me a shout. Iglu are a good web-based travel agent for boarding hols.

Cheers

dj

[muttley]

one of my fav resorts is Pra Loup (France) over 50 kilometres of slopes, a bit evxpensive, but normally excellent conditions :thumbs:
Oh just to add use skis not boards, as they cut the snow up badly :D :wack:

[ken0311]

i was going to say Heavenly at Tahoe but i guess that's too far for you then....tis very nice indeed! :nod:

[--Lorien--]

I enjoyed myself in Sol, Austria earlier in the year! First time ever on the slopes and I loved it. I'm going back for two weeks next year hopefully! :)

[dj_C]

ken0311 - got any more info on Heavenly? I am going there for my honeymoon in January.... Don't suppose you stayed at Caesar's in SLT? :D

[ken0311]

ken0311 - got any more info on Heavenly? I am going there for my honeymoon in January.... Don't suppose you stayed at Caesar's in SLT? :D


brilliant!!! heavenly is amazing and it will be good fun too! i stayed at the marriot heavenly resort (Marriot Grand Residence Club, a time share exchange) and the place there is really really fantastic! nice rooms, service etc and it is situated in the heavenly village! if i remember correctly it was only a few hundred metres from the CA - NV border.

i arrived in Reno, NV and rented a vehicle (a Chevy Blazer!!! nice 4x4....trust me, you need a 4x4 and some chains too!!!!! just in case!!!) and drove from Reno to Lake Tahoe. The journey itself wasn't too bad, ice on the roads...the usual! Power drifting....very easy! :cool:

more info on the resort itself www.skiheavenly.com

i rented skis and snowboards and the snow was packed powder and on some pistes, it was just 'diamond dust'!!!!

all very good fun!!! :nod: :thumbs:

[dj_C]

Cheers Ken. We are renting a Jeep Grand Cherokee from San Francisco, and driving up from there to SOuth Lake Tahoe where we will stay at Caesar's. Really looking forward to it - can't believe the other half agreed to go snowboarding for our honeymoon! Thought I would be stuck, bored on a beach somewhere for sure! :D

Only problem with getting married is the cost - means I can't afford any new mods... :annoyed:

[AshmanS13]

Went to Andorra a few years back... Its great there :nod: good nightlife and loads of slopes to choose from depending on skill level... Got half pipes too :nod:

and those mogul things for skiers :wack: their not funny on a snowboard :(

[kirkster]

Cheers Ken. We are renting a Jeep Grand Cherokee from San Francisco

When I was out there I used these guys to hire the car

http://www.yescarhire.com/

Really good mate :thumbs:

[Aitch]

I was going to recommend Canada - stay in Banff and you have a choice of three resorts in the surrounding area. Although it is a little far from England admittedly.

In France the Morzine Avoriaz area is good - you can ski across the border into Switzerland :thumbs:

[Actual_Ben_Taylor]

Went snowboarding for the first time in Andorra and it was ideal. Cheap, great for beginners and it had a halfpipe and snowboard park

[pukkaSILVIA]

morzine in france is very good

[ken0311]

nice one djc, yeah the drive from san franisco should be good. in fact after the ski holiday, we drove from lake tahoe to san francisco. went by donner pass (i think)...wanted to stop by for a quick ski about but the time didn't allow for it.....sucks... while you are there, about half hour away there is another ski resort (towards the west south of lake tahoe) called sierra at tahoe...that's quite good as well...also, if i'm not wrong...just west of lake tahoe there is sqaw valley...which also gives excellent ski conditions! take the time to drive around the lake and see the scenery and especially try if you can, take one of those country roads into the forest...with the snow and the silence....nothing beats it!! :D:D:D i hope you enjoy your honeymoon!!! enjoy!

[archenemy.co.uk]

Go to my Studio in Chamonix Mont Blanc :D

If you're looking for cheap don't go at Xmas or new year, they are by far the most expensive times

I've booked up some guys for a season this year but Xmas and new year are still mine to rent and they're going at 750 euros a piece :eek: pricey I know but I need to pay the bills :D , although thats for 4 people for a week. Regular weeks would be 450 euros.

Chamonixs probably a bad choice for a beginner, although it does have excellent comunications with free buses running round the valley. Its spread over a large area but you have 5 ski domains to chose from :thumbs: Its getting a snow park this year, and excellent apres ski / bars etc

Have you thought about staying in Bourg St Maurice and riding in Les Arc? thats cheap because you stay in a town and get the funicular train to the slopes in the morning. They have a park there too and my brother in law, who's a rider and teaches too, had a couple of seasons there as its cheapy :D

[nutter]

andora [Soldeu] has good half-pipes and crazy night clubs or if you like peace and quiet and no annoying spainish .look @
la thuile in italy is dam good you san ski over to france ,but snow might be light in new year etc.
good luck

[Ale]

I´ll say Åre (Sweden). Just because you´ll get swedish blondes as a bonus. (the slopes are good too)