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And another, this time in Italian, but beautiful photos. http://www.skiforum.it/skiforum/viewtopic.php?t=12561

To make you grin even more, here's a report (in German, but lots of photos) about a trip to Valle D'Aosta. Aosta valley is the region in which Brieul-Cervinia is located. It's not the only good skiing are in that region. There's also Monterosa ski; 180 km of slopes spread over 3 valleys (all interlinked). And there's La Thuile which has 140 km of slopes together with it's French neighbor La Rosiere. Then there's Courmayeur (at the foot of Mt Blanc, Europe's highest mountain). And finally there's a number of smaller, local area's (30-50 km of slopes). All of this in a valley region only 80 km's long.

December is still early season in Europe. And early season is very tricky here. Can be good, but most often the snow comes late. Well, when staying in Italy... Best match for your demands is Breuil-Cervinia. It's almost all above treeline. Most snowsure resort of Italy (and one of the best of Europe). Cervinia is on 2050 metres height, one of the highest in Europe. And lifts go up to 3500 metres (Italian pass); resp. 3900 metres (combined pass with Zermatt). Yes - Cervinia shares it's area with Zermatt. This 3900 is the highest lift-served point in Europe. Everything above 3000 is glacier area. It's perfect for carving. Miles and miles of extremely wide "autobahns". There are 2 especially long ones. The Ventina, a red one. Goes from 3500 to 2050 metres in 1 go. Length about 12 kilometres. The other one is from 3900 to Valtournenche. All lift served. 2300 (!!!) vertical metres and 22 kilometres in length. This is the longest prepared piste in the world. But chance is that lower part of this piste is still not open in December. Accessability. There's a train (I believe part of the track is highspeed) until Chatillon, in the valley down about 20 km's from Cervinia. From there, there's a regular shuttlebus. Prices of accomodation are very reasonable. Much much much less expensive than Zermatt. More attractive than most Swiss, French and Austrian resorts.

Found this site via www.skipass.com forum http://www.mpride.net/index.php?sL=pro&sA=xrace183#

One advice: don't do that. It's really a waste of money and time to fly all the way from the US to Europe, just be find yourself on overcrowded slopes and standing in long liftlines. The difference between peak and offpeak season is much much more pronounced in Europa than it is in the US. If you want to go to Europe, either go last week january/first february; or even better go second half of march.

Well, you can do what you want to promote a certain area, but you need to remain fair. If you google for just 5 minutes on Zakopane, you will find the truth about skiing / boarding there. And that is hor-ri-ble waiting lines for the cable car, about 2 hours (!!!) is no exception at all. http://www.goski.com/resorts/plzakopane/resort_welcome.html?cntry_or_state=find&rorc=poland&from=state&bc=RIR "If you want to know what it feels like to wait in line Q'ing for 3-5hours to get on a rustic, archaic and well passed its time cablecar (built circa 1937), with a capacity of 30 people every 12 mins to take you to the summit, then go to Zakopane and take the (State owned, maintained and managed) cablecar at Kuznice to Kasprowe Wierch."

Here's a report from someone who was in Cervinia last week. Unfortunately for you in Dutch (suppose you can't read that), but lots of photos. http://www.prikpagina.nl/read.php?f=97&i=146870&t=146870 Conclusions • Mooi gebied, maar (Cervinia kant) niet super uitdagend voor gevorderde skiërs. Wij vinden een beetje cruisen wel lekker, dus wij misten de uitdaging niet. We hebben geen verstand van snowboarden, maar aan de Italiaanse kant zag je weinig boarders. Waarschijnlijk vanwege de vele blauwe pistes. Nice area, but not extremely challenging for advanced skiers. • Pittig geprijsde skipas, skihuur juist goedkoop. Skipass (combipass Zermatt-Cervinia, smaller Cervinia pass also available) pricey for European standards; ski rental attractively priced. • Het dorp Cervinia is niet echt mooi om te zien, maar wel voldoende mogelijkheden voor lekkere diners. Cervinia is not the prettiest village, but lots of possibilities for good dining. • Eten kan je goed in Cervinia en op de pistes, maar er ontstaat wel snel chaos in restaurants als het maar enigszins druk wordt. Good food quality on the slopes in Cervinia, but it can become a bit chaotic once a bit more people are around. • Catering is helaas niet spectaculair goedkoop. Catering not very cheap (whatever than may mean). • Toiletten aan Italiaanse kant zijn erg slecht, aan de Zwitserse kant zijn ze vaak prima. Toilets on Italian side bad; on Swiss side often OK. • Het Zermat gebied vonden we wat druk, er zijn dan vooral lange wachttijden bij de grote gondels. Zermatt are was quite busy; especially long waiting times for the big cable cars.

Is that the price for the best resort from that German magazine? The only resorts to which they take a serious look, are the ones that are not too far from Muenchen and German-speaking. BTW: depends on what you are looking for. Ischgl is very very busy, also busy on the slopes. If you don't like the turbulent apres-ski for which Ischgl is renowned, you can always go to Samnaun. I've been there, and at least it has some mountain atmosphere. Plus it's tax-free! Not only alcohol, but also sport-gear much cheaper than elswhere. Looking at snowdepths right now, Ischgl is not so snowsure BTW: only 5 cm in the valley and 130 on the upper slopes. Compare that to Cervinia: 130 till 340 cm...

If you have the choice, go second half of march. That's the best time of year in Europe. Snowdepth is at its maximum. Longer days with lifts open till 17:00. Mid-february till mid-march is the peak holiday season. Prices of appartments are 2-3 times higher than outside that period. Moreover: lift queues are very bad. And slopes are packed. For some strange reason the first half of winter in Europe is always less good than in the US. The end of season in Europe is later though. In Val Thorens and Tignes (both France) the season lasts till the first week op may (including). http://www.cervinia.it/default_eng.aspx

Keine ursache ;) If price is an issue, then go to Cervinia. The slopes are the same, the skipass price is the same, but there's 3 important differences: 1) Hotel prices about half of those of Zermatt. 2) Cervinia is south-facing, a big bonus in the early season. 3) The food.... Cervinia is in the Valle d'Aosta region. I've been there a few times. The food is (simplified description) a crossover between the french and the italian cuisine. But the rations are those of a mountain region. Have been to all the regions in the alps, and valdostan food is the best...

The first and second photo above I don't recognize. The second photo above is the Furggsattel lift on Zermatt side, departs from Trockener Steg. It's a 6-seater with the pylons built into the ice of the glacier! Here's a report with lots of photos from Zermatt and Cervinia. http://www.alpinforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=19420 Slopes above Cervinia http://www.funiculaire.de/alpinforum/Sais06/ZerCer/Zerm35.jpg Cervinia: talking about enough room on the slopes... http://www.funiculaire.de/alpinforum/Sais06/ZerCer/Zerm72.jpg What are those specs on the slope???

Hi Shred, I can only second Istvan's opinion. But I'm from Europe too, so that's no wonder. Better believe the locals. My opinions below are based on my personal experience; not on hearsay. For Austria I can second Soelden and Hintertux. Between those 2, Hintertux is my favorite. Less crowded, better snow, nicer village. Especially the black slalom run on Gefrorene Wandspitze is fantastic. http://www.alpinforum.com/forum/download.php?id=33662 For Italy: Livigno is great but a bit hard to get to. Cervinia I already mentioned. La Thuile, in the same region, very good too. And extremely quiet on the slopes. http://www.extremecarving.com/forum/files/la_thuile_193.jpg For Switzerland, Zermatt is way better than Saas Fee. Saas Fee is really overpriced and overrated, especially when you consider the size of the area. Plus bad liftlines, especially when snow is scarce in other resorts. To make it easier for you, here's a direct link to 3 discussions about favorite carving resorts in Europe: http://www.extremecarving.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1706 (in english) http://www.extremecarving.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=991 (in german) http://www.alpinforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=13358 (in german)

I'm from Europe and have been to most larger resorts and some smaller too. Have been in Obergurgl. Same area as Hochgurgl. Next to Soelden, but very much upmarket resort. Very much overpriced, especially when you consider it's just a medium-sized area. Same goes to Arosa: very expensive for such a small area. Slope-wise nothing special. Laax-Flims-Falera is good sized, but is also entirely south-facing. After a good dump it can be good. But snow quality deteriorates quickly. Generally speaking, investment in infrastructure (lifts, snow cannons) in Switzerland is way behind Austria and France. There are exceptions however: Zermatt. Zermatt is one of the pearls of Europe. Very expensive (both accomodation and lift tickets) but worth every single penny, especially compared to resorts like Orbergurgl. Then there's France of course. Although 3 Valleys (Val Thorens etc) is better known, I like Tignes better. Quality of the slopes, fast uplift (2 subways); slopes in all directions. It's not without cause that you see way more fanatical skiers and snowboarders here.

Can dutch people answer this too? eff-zwigh

Hi Richard, Make sure to put your initiative on the european hardbooter forum. I already put it on extremecarving for you http://www.extremecarving.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2356 But there are still some other sites

I've been to Obergurgl too, and to Soelden as well. Nice thing about Soelden is they have a shop that sells (and stocks!!!) Virus boards (sport Rimml if I remember correctly). The Gurgl resorts are nice, but exclusivity comes at a (hefty) price. If you're going to Tyrol, I would recommend Hintertux. Their glacier is steepest, and consistently so. Plus the quality of grooming is excellent.

Hi there, I just came back from a long weekend in Austria. I always was a big fan of french resorts, but now would recommend the place where Iwent: Schaldming. The french alps have the greatest resorts on earth. Unfortunately, they are hit hard by what seems to be a climate-change. The western parts of the alps have been hit by extreme snow drought for at least 4 years in a row now. They have received less than 60% of normal precipitation. At this moment snow conditions in the french alps are nothing short of catastrophic. Cause of this is the position of the big "Acores" high pressure system. In recent winters it has moved up north and east from it's normal position. The whole winter long France is just east of the centre of high pressure. This means cloudless skies for weeks on end. And at the same time, there is a semi-constant NW stream of cold moist air that hits the northern slopes of the eastern alps. The results: enormous quantities of snow in Austria, especially on those mountain ranges that are open towards the north. I was very positively surprised by the resort I went to: Schladming. Ski-area website: www.4berge.at or www.planai.at Resort website: www.schladming.at The positive points: -4 mountains next to each other, all interconnected over snow (175 km slopes) -Almost all slopes north-facing -Virtually all slopes have artificial snow - and they use it a lot!!! -Unbelievable quality of grooming (for european standards) especially on the middle 2 mountains -Nice slope gradient -Very good value-for-money, considerably less expensive than the renowned resorts -Less than 1 hour from Salzburg airport, about 2 from Muenchen -Plus a nice bonus: blue tomato headquarters is in Schladming! www.bluetomato.at There is 1 notable exception to the snow drought in the west: the PO (Pyrenees Occidentales, eastern pyrenees). They have had massive snowfalls the last weeks, and conditions are excellent. The best known area is called "Grand Valira". They are expanding and modernizing their area with an incredible speed. They have installed multiple new super-modern lifts each year, for at least 5-6 years on end now. More than 250 km of slopes. http://www.grandvalira.com

What are the special characteristics of Zylon? How does it compare to compare to carbon, kevlar, dyneema etc Stiffness-to-weight ratio (carbon...)??? Impact resistance (kevlar)??? OR???

http://www.skihorizon.com/GB/GS/EnBref.asp?L=137

Take any GPS with which you can download your tracklog from GSP onto your computer. You can then analyse your tracks with GPSAR www.gpsactionreplay.com I have the Geko201 and it works just perfect.

Take a look at the resort reviews at www.alpinforum.com They have a template for resort reports that everyone uses over there. For example this report. http://www.alpinforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=13664 For those who don't speak German, the fixed topics in the header are: Resort, date from-to Transport towards and from the resort Weather Temperature Snow height Snow quality Open lifts Closed lifts Open slopes Closed slopes Lift most often used Lift least often used Waiting times at lifts Positive points Negative points Overall verdict The number of items about lifts etc is a bit much for my taste. But that's because this is a site for skilift freaks.

Goltes procarve feedback http://www.extremecarving.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1394

Your best chance is to try here: http://www.extremecarving.com/forum/viewforum.php?f That said, here's some recommendations. It really depends on where your family is located. You're vrey lucky with your timing, as january is off-season so you don't need to book ahead. You can pick the resort with the best conditions at the latest moment. You only need to choose the region where you want to go because you have to book a flight. I have been in most of the resorts in Europe, bigger and smaller. The best are: -3 Vallees (Fr; (Grenoble or Lyon airport) -Tignes (Fr; (idem) -Alpe d'Huez (Fr; Grenoble airport) -Zinal (CH; Geneva airport) -Ischgl (Aut; Innsbruck airport) -Soelden (Aut; idem) -Cervinia (It; Turin or Milan airport) My personal favorite would be Tignes. the area is about the same size as 3 vallees, but the atmosphere is much more sportive. Especially in valtho, you will find too much persons with too much money, and too little taste.

www.carver.cc for instance these http://www.carver.cc/photos/cc_galleries/s1_640_480/three_tracks.jpg http://www.carver.cc/photos/cc_galleries/s1_640_480/frozen_backside.jpg and of course www.extremecarving.com In any of their Opus movies, you will see lots of shots where they come blasting by, where you can almost feel their edge cut the snow. You can see it very clearly anyway. Opus 4 is the best.

That is a misunderstanding that keeps coming back again and again. When you look at some of the videos on extremecarving, you can see that they were not shot on hero-snow. Much of it is on hardpack. Off course, it's easier to learn it on hero-snow. But once you get the grip, you can do it on most snowtypes. Blue ice is not the favorite snowtype for EC-ing, but not for bombing down the slope either....