No.2 Posted February 8, 2006 Report Share Posted February 8, 2006 Any thoughts on carve friendly resorts in Europe. We'll be there during Feb 23 - March 10. Probably go in the week after the 6th (end of school holidays). Looking for intermediate wide dry groomers with out too many crowds just good clean hard booters :) I've had a look at http://www.alpinecarving.com/resorts.html#europe and this thread http://www.bomberonline.com/VBulletin/showthread.php?t=6943 Zinal might be a touch too steep for me (?) Tignes Maybe? Really like the sound of the smaller Austrian slopes like Sölden and Kaprun. Oh Yeah and I'm only taking my boots so I need to be able to hire/demo/maybe buy some nice alpine boards. Any tips, tricks and recomendations? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nils Posted February 8, 2006 Report Share Posted February 8, 2006 by far the most carver friendly places are Sölden and other austrian places... yo u will be able to rent alpine gear there etc... In france its almost impossible, and in Switzerland also rare! Nils Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slinkygnu Posted February 8, 2006 Report Share Posted February 8, 2006 I was in Val D'Isere last week. Only saw about 6 other people on hard-boots there. No shops in Val had any hard-boot kit at all (I was even told by some guy to try the museum). Tignes was the same. UK holiday season finishes on the 25th of February, French ones end on the 15th February, so the slopes should be less busy after the 25th. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nils Posted February 8, 2006 Report Share Posted February 8, 2006 Not right: french holidays are up to the 3d of march ! ( only paris school zones are over on the 15th) march is basically holiday free, and then april gets back at it again! Nils Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kamran Posted February 8, 2006 Report Share Posted February 8, 2006 I was in Val D'Isere last week. Only saw about 6 other people on hard-boots there. No shops in Val had any hard-boot kit at all (I was even told by some guy to try the museum). Tignes was the same. I'm shocked. I used to go to those resorts (mostly Tignes and Val Thorens) in 98, 99 and 2000 and hardbooters were all over the place. what happened to them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
No.2 Posted February 8, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 8, 2006 Cheers Guys. Looks like Austria it is. Shame to here about france and Switzerland?! Any Runs, People, Shops, Events, Pubs ect. to look out for? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skwalleur Posted February 8, 2006 Report Share Posted February 8, 2006 Agree, Sölden is a great place to be to be able to try out equipment etc. Got my Stratus Pros there three months ago - great with advice and fitting in the shops. Edit: Also, you might want to check out Flims in Switzerland. That is the place in the world I know that is really dedicated into attracting snowboarders. The even have ski maps with outlined areas attractive for differend kinds of boardriding; carving, backcountry and park. They also have (Board) Riders Palace, a really cool place to stay at (featured in the Hotel Guide Hip Hotels). On one of my visits I rented factory primes and Skwals from the "regular" shop. Indeed well stocked. Check out www.flims.ch and discover the "Alpine arena". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Menno Posted February 8, 2006 Report Share Posted February 8, 2006 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 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
No.2 Posted February 9, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 9, 2006 Holly Molly Menno! Thank you so much! Schladming it is I unless all my french friends are religious about staying in France ;) In which case the Pyrenees Occidentales eh? Awsome. Can't wait to try out some REAL alpine boards :) Thanks again guys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roman Posted February 13, 2006 Report Share Posted February 13, 2006 and a 'secret' from me; right after sölden you find 'hochgurgl-obergurgl'. i was last week for the 5th time there. excellent steep slopes, fresh every morning, less crowd than every where else i know so far. and, please don't tell any one...:rolleyes: gimme a call when you're in reach of switzerland! maybe i can steel some time to take a ride with you guys! roman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Menno Posted February 13, 2006 Report Share Posted February 13, 2006 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
No.2 Posted February 14, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 14, 2006 Hey thanks heeps guys. I'll probably have the most fun on moderate slopes in a town where they are hard boot mad. Now I had my heart set on Schladming esp because of the Bluetomato shop and the possibility of demoing and maybe buying a REAL carving board. How ever I've just recieved a lovely email from an old friend. "I am very happy to hear from you again. We would be very, very happy, if you would visit us here in Munich. You are invited to stay as long as you want to. I don't want to interfere your travel iternary, but I have to mention that there are many things to do around Munich. You can reach the mountains after a 45 min drive. The really big ski resorts are about 1.30 hour drive. Some ski resorts close to Munich: Christlum: http://www.bergfex.com/christlum/?lang=en Brauneck: http://www.bergfex.com/brauneck-lenggries/?lang=en Kühtal: http://www.bergfex.com/kuehtai/ Some big resorts (there are a few more): http://www.bergfex.com/brixen/?lang=en http://www.bergfex.com/gerlos/?lang=en http://www.bergfex.com/hochzillertal/?lang=en" So what do you reckon guys any of those slopes kind to hard booters?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
No.2 Posted March 3, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 3, 2006 We went to Schladming. The snow was great, the runs are beautifully groomed and we had an absolute ball. However no one in Bluetomato rides hard boots any more! What is happening to the world! I ended up buying a 168 Sliberfpile at a not too flash 400 Euro as they were all out of 172s. All in all I was not impressed with them. A far cry from the service that they gave me when I bought my Raichler 325s from them only a few years back. One of the staff even said that he thought that all Carvers were so old that he suspected that they had all dropped dead. Any way we are looking for another resort to try. Menno mentioned the eastern pyrenees as an alternative but it seems to be awfully expensive to stay in Andorra. Any other sugestion for nice wide open runs in that area? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malymis Posted March 3, 2006 Report Share Posted March 3, 2006 I think austria is your best bet. I like italy/dolomites a lot, awsome open trails stable suny weather, and In Arabba they have the best groomed steeps i have ever done. But when i broke my f2 in half it was difficult to find replacement i had to drive over an hour to find store with hard boards. Time is up for hardboots. We wiil have to stock up for rest of our lifes. Most of italians have very little skiing skills so sometimes easy slopes can be crowded with penguins. Beside it is extremly beautifull and food is awsome. good luck ________ Volcano vaporizers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
No.2 Posted March 4, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 4, 2006 Cheers malymis. I hope you are wrong about the need to stock pile but something tells me you may be right.. in Eurpoe anyway. Thinking about the P.O. again and wondering which town to stay in and which field is the best for carving. Pas de la Casa, Grau Roig, Soldeu, El Tarter, Canillo, Encamp, ? Any thoughts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skwalleur Posted March 22, 2006 Report Share Posted March 22, 2006 Also, S:t Moritz is obviously a good place to lay some turns: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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