International (Europe/Japan/Southern Hemisphere) Europe 2019/2020: Who, when, where?

[Pat AKA mustski]

Swiss Air definitely flies them free. I have no idea why Lufthansa charges so much. It’s pretty ludicrous that Club Med uses them to arrange travel to an “all inclusive” ski resort!

Holy sh*t! Pardon my French.
Note to self: When taking a trip to NA, leave my own skis at home and find a decent rental pair.
Are these baggage fare for skis normal on intercontinental flights?

Or come to the Tahoe area and demo the pug ski fleet!

 

[Choucas]

For those traveling from the US on Swiss, keep in mind that there is the option of checking your bags at the airport and having them delivered directly to your resort's train station. No baggage claim in Zurich and no schlepping bags/skis on and off trains/buses. There is a charge, but it's reasonable, somehow $40 per bag sticks in my head. Check it out. You have to get green tags for your bags and fill them out in advance. The bags get there by 6:00PM on the day you land. Your hotel guys will go to the station with you and pick them up. It only works for Swiss resorts. There's a lengthy list of the resorts that offer this service. Google Swiss fly/rail to track down the details. Super Swiss reliable. Only failed me once, but that was when a landslide took out the track into Zermatt. They helied the bags in a day later.

 

[DanishRider]

Question for my European friends. I am debating renting skis instead of bringing my own. Swiss Air charges quite a bit to transport skis so renting might be a more cost effective and easier plan. I usually ski in California and mostly travel to Western resorts. I ski between a 90 and 98 waisted ski.
I am looking at European rentals - would you recommend something with a 70's waist or would something mid 80's be okay? I will stay mostly on groomers, but may venture off piste a bit if my ski class wants to go.

I was under the impression that Swiss accepted skis for free - they most have changed that. If you have any special request for skis, then just let them know and book in advance, and they will be ready when you arrive. I alway go with something around 90 mm waist, and are perfectly happy... will allow me to ski anything. Groomers only, and you should go sub 85 cm If touring with a guide, you can rent some +100 plenty of places for the day

 

[DanishRider]

Apparently the actual flight is with their partner, Lufthansa, and there is a charge of $287 each way for a single ski bag. That's a boatload of money. It's confusing though because it also says:

"Information about carriage:
In addition to your free baggage allowance, you may carry one set of skiing equipment free of charge on your Lufthansa flight with the exception of flights to/from the USA, Mexico and Central America (Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama). You will be charged the price stated above for any additional skiing equipment.

On the Economy Class Light fare, free transport of skiing equipment instead of a booked item of baggage or in addition to a booked item of baggage is not included and the above-listed charges will apply.

The weight of skiing equipment must be within the weight restrictions for the respective travel class."

I am guessing the charge is because I am flying from the USA? We'll be renting skis for sure. We're just going to keep a positive attitude and look at it as a great way to travel light and try out some new skis.

Have you checked if being a Star Alliance member will help you here? I am a Lufthansa Star Alliance member, and i get skis onboard for free - Maybe worth checking out, since it is free to join the club

 

[DanishRider]

What time of year are you intending on going? If February I would avoid France because of crowds. If after the second week in March it would be a great time for the high north facing French resorts like Les Arcs, Tignes, Val Thorens and the like. That said Ischgl in Austria would normally be superb that time of year too.
In my view the best time to visit Europe is the second half of January to the second week of February. That way it’s not essential to be in a high ski area. And crowds are modest too.

Disclaimer: I am no fan of the Dolomites but have plenty of friends loving them - Austria and France are my faves !
In my experience, Ischgl always ski good, even when others don't. 90% above 2000 meters secure that, but also means that way less than 90% of the area have trees, so can be hard hard to find something to ski for low vis. +1 for sbooker - The north facing areas north of the main alpine ridge, will have the best chance of great snow, but that doesn't mean that the south can get lucky too ;-) Also note that east=less altitude needed, since the climate is colder

 

[James]

Why are you switching width skis from what you normally ski?

Last time I took skis was on TAP airlines and I think it was €100 each way. Maybe 2 yrs ago. Schlepping them in trains to Chamonix, Verbier, and Geneva was a pain. Pair of slalom ski, fat pair plus tuning stuff and vlothes. It was heavy, Right at the max.

Worst rentals ever in Switzetland though thst was topped last year by Cham. So bad I had to go pay to rent another pair or waste half a day. At least I wasn’t up on the Vallée Blanche.

 

[Pat AKA mustski]

Why are you switching width skis from what you normally ski?

Last time I took skis was on TAP airlines and I think it was €100 each way. Maybe 2 yrs ago. Schlepping them in trains to Chamonix, Verbier, and Geneva was a pain. Pair of slalom ski, fat pair plus tuning stuff and vlothes. It was heavy, Right at the max.

Worst rentals ever in Switzetland though thst was topped last year by Cham. So bad I had to go pay to rent another pair or waste half a day. At least I wasn’t up on the Vallée Blanche.

I couldn't find rentals -for women- in the 90-98 range and the unisex skis were all too long for me. Now that we are planning to ship, I’ll bring my Volkl 90eights because they are super versatile.

 

[Pat AKA mustski]

Have you checked if being a Star Alliance member will help you here? I am a Lufthansa Star Alliance member, and i get skis onboard for free - Maybe worth checking out, since it is free to join the club

Lufthansa transports skis for free within Europe but charges for skis originating in the US.

 

[DanishRider]

I couldn't find rentals -for women- in the 90-98 range and the unisex skis were all too long for me. Now that we are planning to ship, I’ll bring my Volkl 90eights because they are super versatile.

Some years ago, i actually shipped my skis to the hotel via DHL - it worked out cheaper

 

[Bolder]

I'll be in STubai and Sölden for demos in November; Valloire (FR) for Christmas; Canazei (IT, Dolomites) Jan 25-Feb 1st. After that, it remains unplanned, destination-wise at least. Will be following good snow.

Shh. Don't tell anyone about Valloire. It's awful, horribly ugly town, no good restaurants, and the views are terrible.
Have you been there before? I assume so. We did Christmas week there in 2017 and were blessed with buckets of snow and fun sidecountry.

I think we're doing the Dolomites again this year. My wife has thrown in the towel on alpine skiing after ripping up a ligament in her finger last year that didn't heal correctly. So we'e thinking Val Gardena for the Monte Pana / Alpe di Siusi XC trails, and the Vallunga. I'm not 100 percent stoked about it but it's not that easy to find a station that combines groomers, off piste and at least 75km of XC trails...

 

[DanishRider]

Shh. Don't tell anyone about Valloire. It's awful, horribly ugly town, no good restaurants, and the views are terrible.
Have you been there before? I assume so. We did Christmas week there in 2017 and were blessed with buckets of snow and fun sidecountry.

I think we're doing the Dolomites again this year. My wife has thrown in the towel on alpine skiing after ripping up a ligament in her finger last year that didn't heal correctly. So we'e thinking Val Gardena for the Monte Pana / Alpe di Siusi XC trails, and the Vallunga. I'm not 100 percent stoked about it but it's not that easy to find a station that combines groomers, off piste and at least 75km of XC trails...

Yes Valloire suck ;-) Never any good offpiste near the pistes, and everything get skied out within a couple of hours after a snowfall - Stay away and let us have it to ourself ;-)

 

[DanishRider]

Meribel confirmed for week 3 - If anybody should be in the area

 

[James]

Meribel confirmed for week 3 - If anybody should be in the area

No one here knows what “week 3” is. The third week of the year? I see you use the DOT Tire date of manufacture system.

0316 means 3rd week of 2016.

 

[DanishRider]

No one here knows what “week 3” is. The third week of the year? I see you use the DOT Tire date of manufacture system.

0316 means 3rd week of 2016.

View attachment 80724

Hahahaha - sorry for that, but you are correct, i do use the tire production date system ;-)

 

[Cheizz]

Week numbers are quite common to use in Europe...

 

[James]

Week numbers are quite common to use in Europe...

So your calendars have week numbers? Up to 7 is easy, once your into March though?
Good to know you guys are skilled at reading tires!

 

[dbostedo]

^^^
Are the weeks Sunday through Saturday? And which dates form week 1, 2020?

 

[fatbob]

Re Lufthansa fees sound weird. I flew rtn to DEN last year on Luft and took a coffin bag as my standard hold bag allowance. Are you sure you hadn't purchased some odd hand baggage only basic fare?

Boots in cabin roll on. 2 pair of skis and clothes in roller coffin. Job done. No fees. Ballgown, tap shoes and hair dryer left at home.

 

[Pat AKA mustski]

Re Lufthansa fees sound weird. I flew rtn to DEN last year on Luft and took a coffin bag as my standard hold bag allowance. Are you sure you hadn't purchased some odd hand baggage only basic fare?

Boots in cabin roll on. 2 pair of skis and clothes in roller coffin. Job done. No fees. Ballgown, tap shoes and hair dryer left at home.

Club Med booked it for me. I am sure - includes standard baggage, carry on, and personal item. Sports equipment is extra. I talked to customer service and they double checked it.

 

[fatbob]

Just take your ski bag as your hold bag and use a coffin. Problem solved.