Switzerland/Italy/Austria Summer Carving

[justk]

We are going to be in Switzerland/Italy/Austria from July 5th - July 17th and are looking to make some turns, hike, and mtn bike.

Right now we are looking at the Matterhorn Valley, definitely the Dolomites, finding a place to carve in Austria and making a stop in Liechstenstein.

How's the snow over there right now at the summer resorts?

Does anyone have any recommendations on where to go / places to stay?

Anyone want to show us around your neck of the woods? :)

Thanks!

[dantheman0177]

A friend of mine has just invited me over for a weekend riding at Saas Fee in Switzerland. It's apparently on a glacier, so will be fun but slushy by midday.

I can HIGHLY recommend the Dolomites. We were there for NYE and it was awesome. The only thing I would say against it is that the runs are a little narrow, having been originally cut for skiers. But otherwise it's great. There is a little village called Campitello which is a very nice place to be based and reasonably affordable (by European standards).

[scrutton]

Hintertux Austria. It's on the glacier. I spent a week there one summer about 20 years ago. They have a lot of ski-gate training going on there, or at least did back then. At that time, based on what I could find out it seemed to have the biggest amount of area for glaciel skiing. We even found a beat up half pipe.

Good times. Bring a pair of shorts for a mandatory photo shoot.

Oh ya, and some goretex gloves. You'll need em to keep the water out from your hands.

Paul

[MEC]

I have a little experience with Switzerland... Glacier 3000 is open in the summer, I believe. You can base yourself out of either Les Diablarets (if you're on a budget) or Gstaad (if you're rich!). Diablarets is at the base of the mountain upon which the glacier sits, and is more convenient. Actually, now that I think of it, the glacier might not be open for snow activities until September, but if you are in the area, go up and ride the monster roller coaster at the top. It's absolutely ridiculous. The area is a hiking paradise too. Here's a link:

http://www.glacier3000.ch/en/Summer/Activities/Overview/

You could also look into Les 2 Alpes, which is home to quite a few summer ski/board camps. I have not been there, but the freestyle guys that I have coached with in Diablarets base their camp there in the summer. The park looks incredible, if you're inclined to get jumpy and jibby.

Have a great trip, I'm jealous! :)

[negedeng]

Hintertux in Austria should be open. http://www.hintertuxergletscher.at/en/home/0/home.html

The glacier in Soelden also in Austria is closed during summer.

I think Saas Fee in Switzerland should be open too, but I am not sure.

[Menno]

The largest summer skiing area is on the Swiss-Italian border: Zermatt (CH) and Cervinia (It).

Height difference (in summer !!!!) is 1000 metres.

Highest lift is also the highest in Europe: 3899 metres.

In normal summers the bottom part (from 3300 downwards) is closed from mid-summer. But this summer is not normal: 2009 had record snowfalls.

The nice thing is: you don't have to stay in Zermatt (really really expensive) in order to go there. You can also access the area from Cervinia, Italy (same skipass).

The Aosta Valley (where Cervinia is) is a heaven for outdoor activities. In addition to this, it is far less run-over by tourists than Zermatt. No hordes of Japanese here.

The glaciers of Tignes and Les 2 Alpes (both France) are very good too.

Glacier 3000 is only suited to people who don't need gradient and/or height difference: langlauf + freestylers.

In Austria, Soelden and Hintertux come to mind. Been at both glaciers in summer. Soelden disadvantage is you have to drive up to the glacier (an back) every day. But the Tiefenbach is a beautiful slope.

Hintertux disadvantage is that the lower part of the area (Tuxer Ferner Hang, the slope directly above the Tuxer Ferner Haus (hut) closes down early in summer due to lack of snow. You then only have 350-400 metres height difference.

So when you go to Austria: when the TFH (Tuxerferner Hang) is still open at Hintertux, then go there. When it is closed, go to Soelden.

BTW; there is no snow and no summer skiing in the Dolomites.

There is a small glacier at Schnalstal / Val Senales, but that is really not worth going there.

[JK moscraciun]

+1 go for ZERMATT!!!!

+ 1 for staying in Cervinia IT

and since you are there MUST!!!! go up(with cablecar;-) to visit Mont Blanc

check out some pics from last summer!

[philw]

Personally I prefer to stay in Zermatt, having ridden the glacier there from both sides in Summer. Cervinia... well, you can stay anywhere else on that side of course, but the best views and food are in Zermatt, IMHO. The riding isn't that brilliant, but it's big and fast. As usual you need to do something else in the afternoons.

Tignes is a different sort of place, but the glacier is the most interesting in a good year, with bumps and stuff.

[Menno]

I like the Aosta valley far better than Valais (the province where Zermatt is) for non-skiing activities.

-Nature is more beautiful (walking etc) and less spoiled by tourism.

-Eating is the best you can get in the Alps.

-Much more authentic (except Cervinia itself ofcourse).

-Prices are 30-50% lower than in Zermatt

I've been in both resorts (C and Z), Z in summer and C in winter.

Really depends what you want. If nonskiing activities are important, and you want to stay more than 2-3 days, then Aosta valley is much better imo.

[bigdyno]

I have spent time in Zermatt two winters in a row, plan to be back next year. Here is a link to their webcams:

http://www.zermatt.ch/en/page.cfm/service/webcams

If you stay in the Hostel in Zermatt (it's a relatively new building) it is fairly cheap and includes two meals a day. They have a section on the mountain that is closed in the winter to save the snow for the summer season. It's awesome runs and a beautiful valley.