• For more information on how to avoid pop-up ads and still support SkiTalk click HERE.

Rod9301

Making fresh tracks
Skier
Joined
Jan 11, 2016
Posts
2,443
That I am sure depends a lot. Europe and North America are big places, within each continent there are different times of the year, different locations, different levels of service. Makes it hard to say one is cheaper than the other. I think to say that, you'd have to be pretty specific. That said, in my experience it is roughly on the same order of magnitude, and the larger number of lodging options means that you can probably find something cheaper in Europe.


It could be worse because, compared to the Rockie Mountain areas in North America, The Northwestern Alps are slightly warmer and get more ocean storms with higher humidity and might have less north facing slopes.
That's one way to look at it.
I personally prefer a Maritime snow pack to the Continental one, like in Colorado.

But Europe is big, you get different climates, from Maritime in they Pyrenees to Continental in Austria.
 

Christy

Putting on skis
Skier
Joined
Nov 28, 2017
Posts
75
Location
Seattle, WA
This is an off-piste course that my brother and I did in Italy last year.


This is from another off-piste course I did in St. Anton 5 years ago.


The thing that you have to keep in mind about races is that they're mostly done at low elevations, often on south-facing slopes. And, a lot of them are early or late in the season, which doesn't help the snow conditions. But even in the same ski area in the same week as a race where you're seeing a lot of brown, there are usually other parts of the area with much better conditions.

For example, race week in Val d'Isere is usually the second week of December, and it's on a face that gets a lot of sun and has quite a bit of exposed rock. So watching on TV, it's easy to think the skiing looks poor. But, there is so much terrain in the area that is higher in elevation and more sheltered from the wind and/or sun, which leads to much better conditions.

I've skied in Val d'Isere several times, and I can't remember the last time I skied down any part of the face that the men's races are held, because the conditions usually aren't enjoyable there. And I usually don't spend a lot of time around La Daille, which is where the women's races are run. Pretty much every other part of the mountain has better conditions than those two areas.


That's helpful, thanks. I wasn't judging only by early or late season races, but I didn't realize the races tended to be held in low elevation and south facing locations.
 
Thread Starter
TS
Slim

Slim

Making fresh tracks
Skier
SkiTalk Supporter
Joined
Oct 2, 2017
Posts
2,971
Location
Duluth, MN
@Jacob, Gressoney (Monterosa ski) sounds like a great destination! Some of the highest mountains of the Alps around, but also some tree lined valleys, great offpiste options as seen in your video and Italian food.
Just made it high on my list.
 

Jacob

Out on the slopes
Skier
Joined
Oct 13, 2017
Posts
777
Location
Maui
That's helpful, thanks. I wasn't judging only by early or late season races, but I didn't realize the races tended to be held in low elevation and south facing locations.

It's all about the fans. The finish area needs to be easily accessible, which means it has to be at one of the lowest points in the area, and fans prefer being in the sun.

With the vertical and acreage of European ski areas, unless there's a fresh dump, light cloud cover, and low temps all over the mountain, there's almost always terrain with better conditions than the slopes used for races.
 

Jacob

Out on the slopes
Skier
Joined
Oct 13, 2017
Posts
777
Location
Maui
@Jacob, Gressoney (Monterosa ski) sounds like a great destination! Some of the highest mountains of the Alps around, but also some tree lined valleys, great offpiste options as seen in your video and Italian food.
Just made it high on my list.

If you plan on spending most of your time off piste, then the layout of the Monterosa area is great. But if you plan on staying on piste most of the time, it's a bit limited. In that case, the Milky Way area would be better.
 
Thread Starter
TS
Slim

Slim

Making fresh tracks
Skier
SkiTalk Supporter
Joined
Oct 2, 2017
Posts
2,971
Location
Duluth, MN
If you plan on spending most of your time off piste, then the layout of the Monterosa area is great. But if you plan on staying on piste most of the time, it's a bit limited. In that case, the Milky Way area would be better.
OK, thanks for the tip. Yes, Since it would be a 2 family trip, most of the time would have to on-piste. I would certainly get a guide/ski school etc to go off-piste too, but between finances and wanting some pure family time, that won’t be all the time.

Having said that though, it also means we are not skiing 70km in a day either. So while I would like the option of making a short tour, and of skiing different valleys and views on different days, it doesn’t have to link hundreds of km of piste on on snow. Skiing one side of a valley on day nad the other the next would be ok too. Does that change your advice?

Did you like Via Lattea (Milky Way)? I read several reviews that complained about (unexpectedly) closed lifts and poor connections, making it hard to get around.

Do any of the Italian area do “skiroutes” or other ungroomed but avalanche controlled options? That is my current aim, since it would allow us to get of the groomed, without a guide, extending our options for fun, ungroomed skiing.

Les Quatre Vallees is high on my list for that reason.
 

Jacob

Out on the slopes
Skier
Joined
Oct 13, 2017
Posts
777
Location
Maui
OK, thanks for the tip. Yes, Since it would be a 2 family trip, most of the time would have to on-piste. I would certainly get a guide/ski school etc to go off-piste too, but between finances and wanting some pure family time, that won’t be all the time.

Having said that though, it also means we are not skiing 70km in a day either. So while I would like the option of making a short tour, and of skiing different valleys and views on different days, it doesn’t have to link hundreds of km of piste on on snow. Skiing one side of a valley on day nad the other the next would be ok too. Does that change your advice?

Did you like Via Lattea (Milky Way)? I read several reviews that complained about (unexpectedly) closed lifts and poor connections, making it hard to get around.

Do any of the Italian area do “skiroutes” or other ungroomed but avalanche controlled options? That is my current aim, since it would allow us to get of the groomed, without a guide, extending our options for fun, ungroomed skiing.

Les Quatre Vallees is high on my list for that reason.

There were some confusing lift closures mainly in Sestriere, but they were always on terrain we could get to another way. But, they did leave my brother and me scratching our heads at times.

The connections between resorts in the Milky Way weren't any worse than other places I've been to. If you want to get all the way to Montgenevre from Sestriere, it takes quite a while because of the distance. But it's no worse than, for example, going from St. Anton to Warth-Schroecken.

If you're going outside the European school holidays, then you'd probably enjoy Sestriere more than the towns in the Monterosa area. Those towns are quite small and quiet, so there's not a huge amount to do or see off the slopes. Also, the pistes are a lot more varied in the Milky Way, which the families might enjoy more. The Monterosa area has a lot of red and not much blue or black.

There aren't a lot of ski routes, but there's a lot of terrain just below the lifts or to the sides of the piste that are usually safe to ski, especially in the upper parts of the Sauze d'Oulx side. My brother and I also found a good amount of tree skiing in Sestriere and Sauze d'Oulx. We didn't bother getting a guide while we were there, because it wasn't too busy and we were getting good snow in the easy-access terrain.

Another area that you might want to put on your list is Arosa-Lenzerheide. Both towns are easy to get to from Zurich, and the area has a lot of fun easy-access off-piste terrain mixed with pistes that are good for beginners and intermediates. If I were in your shoes, that might actually be my #1 pick.
 

BS Slarver

Making fresh tracks
Skier
Joined
Nov 20, 2015
Posts
1,526
Location
Biggest skiing in America
Been to Italy and done the Dolomites.
Australia,a cool little tour from Muhlbach to Maria Alm but hands down the best for us was the Switzerland trip to Engleburg.
Take the train from Zurich, 1.5 hrs, you can’t miss your stop, it’s the end of the line.
The town has everything and was the most economical of all our euro adventures and was the easiest to navigate and access without a vehicle.
Tickets + guide + off piste touring < western tickets. The same goes for the airfare, lodging and food, the cultural experience of all three, just amazing.
 
Thread Starter
TS
Slim

Slim

Making fresh tracks
Skier
SkiTalk Supporter
Joined
Oct 2, 2017
Posts
2,971
Location
Duluth, MN
Been to Italy and done the Dolomites.
Australia,a cool little tour from Muhlbach to Maria Alm but hands down the best for us was the Switzerland trip to Engleburg.
Take the train from Zurich, 1.5 hrs, you can’t miss your stop, it’s the end of the line.
The town has everything and was the most economical of all our euro adventures and was the easiest to navigate and access without a vehicle.
Tickets + guide + off piste touring < western tickets. The same goes for the airfare, lodging and food, the cultural experience of all three, just amazing.

Surprised to hear about Engleberg price, usually Switzerland is expensive.
 
Thread Starter
TS
Slim

Slim

Making fresh tracks
Skier
SkiTalk Supporter
Joined
Oct 2, 2017
Posts
2,971
Location
Duluth, MN
@Jacob , I’ll tell you what we are looking for:

We would like to enjoy the things the Alps offer that we don’t get (much) in the USA:
  • Quaint villages and on-mountain huts
  • Alpine views and terrain
  • The ability to travel around an area on skis (on-piste, lift), seeing different villages or valleys.
  • Good, local food
  • Any other unique, different experiences would be a plus: railways, tunnels(on skis or up to the top), etc

  • Unfortunately will be going during European school break in February, unfortunately, Dutch law doesn’t let kids get out of school at other times.
  • No beginner terrain needed. I am not sure what level my friend’s kids ski at, but beginners they are not. My kids ski quite well. None of us need or want super steep terrain, and we certainly avoid anything with mandatory air or steep couloirs, but other than that, we can ski most terrain in control. Red pistes would be great, with perhaps a bunch of blacks added in.
  • Mostly we like ungroomed terrain though: Moguls, powder, soft snow, trees, because of this, “skiroutes” are a plus.
  • We don’t care about nightlife
  • we don’t need the very biggest amount of pistes
  • Because we would be booking wel in advance, a high, snow sure area would be required.
  • At the same time, having access to trees in case of bad visibility is really useful.
Thanks for all the help people!
 
Last edited:

Goran M.

Getting off the lift
Inactive
Joined
Nov 21, 2015
Posts
456
This year we decided to go on a ski Easter/Spring Break vacation.
Traveling from ORD. We will use CapitalOne points to redeem cost of airfare. Cost of tickets were about the same or in some case cheaper (few hundred $ less) than flying to either one of the places on our list.
Family of 4 (2 adults 2 kids)
March 24-April 3 (10 nights, 8 day ski tickets)
1 Adult and 1 Child have Mountain Collective and it is reflected in the price (Mammoth and Snowmass)

Our choices and costs (costs include rental car, ski in/out or walking distance to lifts accommodation in self catered condo/apartment and lift tickets).

Cost:

Whistler 60% (40% cheaper than Snowmass)
Mammoth: 65% (35% cheaper than Snowmass)
Snowmass: 100% (Expensive)
Alps : 40% (60% cheaper than Snowmass)


I rounded up percentages but you get the idea ...

After very short discussion we decided to go to Europe ...

As per "quaint villages", tunnels, trains, vistas, food, ski safari and valleys one place comes to mind - Val Gardena/Dolomites !!!

Problem with Dolomites is that it is not very snow reliable for planning far ahead but top notch snow making and piste management so you will be skiing no matter what.
 

Jacob

Out on the slopes
Skier
Joined
Oct 13, 2017
Posts
777
Location
Maui
@Jacob , I’ll tell you what we are looking for:

We would like to enjoy the things the Alps offer that we don’t get (much) in the USA:
  • Quaint villages and on-mountain huts
  • Alpine views and terrain
  • The ability to travel around an area on skis (on-piste, lift), seeing different villages or valleys.
  • Good, local food
  • Any other unique, different experiences would be a plus: railways, tunnels(on skis or up to the top), etc

  • Unfortunately will be going during European school break in February, unfortunately, Dutch law doesn’t let kids get out of school at other times.
  • No beginner terrain needed. I am not sure what level my friend’s kids ski at, but beginners they are not. My kids ski quite well. None of us need or want super steep terrain, and we certainly avoid anything with mandatory air or steep couloirs, but other than that, we can ski most terrain in control. Red pistes would be great, with perhaps a bunch of blacks added in.
  • Mostly we like ungroomed terrain though: Moguls, powder, soft snow, trees, because of this, “skiroutes” are a plus.
  • We don’t care about nightlife
  • we don’t need the very biggest amount of pistes
  • Because we would be booking wel in advance, a high, snow sure area would be required.
  • At the same time, having access to trees in case of bad visibility is really useful.
Thanks for all the help people!

This is a difficult combination to work with.

For the February peak, I would suggest Italian places like Monterosa to avoid crowds and the high accommodation prices that accompany them. But, they don't have the itineraries that you're looking for, and although there is some safe off-piste terrain, there's also some riskier terrain mixed in with it. So it's one of those places where you have to use some judgement in a lot of places.

Arosa-Lenzerheide has more of the terrain you're looking for, but they'll be a bit busier at that time of year, and the towns aren't as quaint as Champoluc and Gressoney.

The French and western Swiss resorts will be slammed because of the combination of French, British, and Dutch schools being off. The Austrian resorts will most likely be busy because of the German schools being out as well.

I'm not sure you'll be able to find a place that checks all of the boxes without also being pretty crowded during the school holidays.
 
Thread Starter
TS
Slim

Slim

Making fresh tracks
Skier
SkiTalk Supporter
Joined
Oct 2, 2017
Posts
2,971
Location
Duluth, MN
Thanks for the help!
... western Swiss resorts will be slammed because of the combination of French, British, and Dutch schools being off. The Austrian resorts will most likely be busy because of the German schools being out as well.
But Dutch, German, Swissair and French and British will only be 1/3 of the country.
Are you British? Do you know what percentage of Britain has that week 9 off? Unfortunately in Holland, it is the biggest part.

For the February peak, I would suggest Italian places like Monterosa to avoid crowds and the high accommodation prices that accompany them. But, they don't have the itineraries that you're looking for.
Compared to Switzerland, I would expect Italy to be much cheaper, which could then be put towards hiring a guide, so that might offset the lack of skiroutes/itineraries.

Arosa was described as quiet on a ski resort website.

Other recommendations have been 4 Vallees(Verbier) and Ski Arlberg (Lech/ St. Ankton), any comments from people here?
 
Last edited:

Bigtinnie

Formerly 'sbooker' in another world.
Skier
Joined
Aug 20, 2016
Posts
221
Location
Brisbane Australia
This year we decided to go on a ski Easter/Spring Break vacation.
Traveling from ORD. We will use CapitalOne points to redeem cost of airfare. Cost of tickets were about the same or in some case cheaper (few hundred $ less) than flying to either one of the places on our list.
Family of 4 (2 adults 2 kids)
March 24-April 3 (10 nights, 8 day ski tickets)
1 Adult and 1 Child have Mountain Collective and it is reflected in the price (Mammoth and Snowmass)

Our choices and costs (costs include rental car, ski in/out or walking distance to lifts accommodation in self catered condo/apartment and lift tickets).

Cost:

Whistler 60% (40% cheaper than Snowmass)
Mammoth: 65% (35% cheaper than Snowmass)
Snowmass: 100% (Expensive)
Alps : 40% (60% cheaper than Snowmass)


I rounded up percentages but you get the idea ...

After very short discussion we decided to go to Europe ...

As per "quaint villages", tunnels, trains, vistas, food, ski safari and valleys one place comes to mind - Val Gardena/Dolomites !!!

Problem with Dolomites is that it is not very snow reliable for planning far ahead but top notch snow making and piste management so you will be skiing no matter what.

Interesting.
We're planning a trip from Australia to Europe this coming winter. We have made the trek to Canada or USA for the last 4 years. We've always been on the Mountain Collective.
We've found that Europe is much much more expensive for most things - accomodation, car rental, flights from Oz. I guess some of this is attributable to the exchange rate. I expect I'll find out that eating and drinking will be more expensive in Europe. I suppose the extra cost can be justified when considering the 'different' feel of the holiday/culture and the fact that if you want to check out, for example, Munich beer halls and Roman relics. We can't do that in the States.
I will be absolutely blown away if we enjoy the Euro holiday more than those we've had in North America. I don't think a family can have more fun than we've had touring around some great landscapes, interesting cities and iconic ski hills. I'll be able to deliver a full Euro/America comparison in about 10 months.
 

Rod9301

Making fresh tracks
Skier
Joined
Jan 11, 2016
Posts
2,443
Interesting.
We're planning a trip from Australia to Europe this coming winter. We have made the trek to Canada or USA for the last 4 years. We've always been on the Mountain Collective.
We've found that Europe is much much more expensive for most things - accomodation, car rental, flights from Oz. I guess some of this is attributable to the exchange rate. I expect I'll find out that eating and drinking will be more expensive in Europe. I suppose the extra cost can be justified when considering the 'different' feel of the holiday/culture and the fact that if you want to check out, for example, Munich beer halls and Roman relics. We can't do that in the States.
I will be absolutely blown away if we enjoy the Euro holiday more than those we've had in North America. I don't think a family can have more fun than we've had touring around some great landscapes, interesting cities and iconic ski hills. I'll be able to deliver a full Euro/America comparison in about 10 months.
I find the opposite. Restaurants, hotels, lift tickets, rentals, much cheaper in Europe than in the us
 

Jacob

Out on the slopes
Skier
Joined
Oct 13, 2017
Posts
777
Location
Maui
Thanks for the help!

But Dutch, German, Swissair and French and British will only be 1/3 of the country.
Are you British? Do you know what percentage of Britain has that week 9 off? Unfortunately in Holland, it is the biggest part.


Compared to Switzerland, I would expect Italy to be much cheaper, which could then be put towards hiring a guide, so that might offset the lack of skiroutes/itineraries.

Arosa was described as quiet on a ski resort website.

Other recommendations have been 4 Vallees(Verbier) and Ski Arlberg (Lech/ St. Ankton), any comments from people here?

I'm American, but I live in Britain. As far as I know, pretty much the entire country will be off the week of the 18th, but it's worth double-checking yourself. Fortunately, most British people are unaware of the existence of ski resorts outside of France. So France really should be avoided during that half-term week (I find it better for early and late season trips).

At that time of year, the real factor when it comes to pricing is the popularity of the resort. A busy Italian resort might end up costing you more than a quieter Swiss resort, because the accommodation prices might be raised quite a lot for the busy period. That said, the 4 Vallees is not a quiet area. If you are looking for accommodation there, I'd recommend Veysonnaz. It's probably your best bet for lower prices.

Arosa used to be quiet until they built the link with Lenzerheide a couple of years ago. Now, it's part of a large interconnected ski area, and it's getting more and more popular with families from German-speaking areas. It's fairly quiet in January and March, and I'm sure it's still nowhere near as crowded as the big French resorts in February, but it probably won't be as quiet as the Monterosa area.

St. Anton is usually my go-to recommendation for first-timers from North America, because it has the best combination of everything. It's not the best in any one particular aspect except maybe annual snowfall (especially in Lech and Warth-Schroecken), but it's really good at everything: nice looking town, relatively frequent snow, good terrain with a combination of some reasonably high stuff and slopes below tree line, convenient location, good food, good facilities. The one thing I'm not sure about is the crowds at peak time. I suspect it can get pretty busy in mid-February, because it's a really well-known place that is easy to get to for a lot of people.
 
Last edited:
Thread Starter
TS
Slim

Slim

Making fresh tracks
Skier
SkiTalk Supporter
Joined
Oct 2, 2017
Posts
2,971
Location
Duluth, MN
Hopefully I'm pleasantly surprised.
Exchange rate will always influence relative price, I’ll disregard that for now.
I have found Austria and Italy in particular to be cheaper than the US for eating out and maybe for accommodation, but that does depend on what you are looking at.
2 summers ago, in Austria we spent 8 eur/per person at a mid mountain hut for lunch. Including good beer, capuchino, good artisan meat and fresh bread sandwiches, and deserts. There is no way that I can have all that for that kind of price in the US, in a tourist spot, especially when you realize that you still need to add tax and tip to the listed prices in the US.

Small guesthouses in Austria are also well priced, as are dinner included hotels for a week long stay.

Car rental, especially a larger size vehicle, is probably more expensive in Europe (never done it) and gas and road tolls/tunnels for sure costs more.

Ski rentals I have seen were less too.

Ski school and guides are WAY less.

Switserland is probably much more expensive, especially for groceries.
 

Swede

Making fresh tracks
Skier
Joined
Jan 29, 2016
Posts
2,390
Location
Sweden
I'm a European who have lived in the US (MN for a couple of years! Went past Duluth on our way to Lutsen every other weekend). Sauze D'Oulx for you my friend. Surprisingly empty on weekdays even in Feb. Great tree skiing next to the pists. Great groomers and a huge system. Fantastic on mountain restaurants. Super easy transfer from Turin. Can be a liitle risky with snow outside the groomers. And there are a couple bottle neck lifts in the system, but as I said, you can find very quite areas. Sestriere not as nice as Sauze. You can stay in a reffugio on the slope or just next to a lift in the village. Wouldn't bother with Pragelato or the other "villages". Haven't been in Montgenevre (french part) but it has its following. Some great skiing over that side.
Monte Rosa (Alagna & Gressoney ... punta indren) has perhaps better off piste, pretty good groomers there too but not as meticolously kept as in Via Lattea and other places. A tad more advanced skiing. The villages are a little duller inmo.

EDIT. Also want to add ... trees ... Via Lattea has larch (sp?) which grows higher up than pines. So a place like Via Lattea is less white out sensitive compared to e.g. high alpine resort like e.g. Val Thorens.
 
Last edited:

Jacob

Out on the slopes
Skier
Joined
Oct 13, 2017
Posts
777
Location
Maui
If Sauze d'Oulx and Sestriere are quiet during the school holidays, then I can recommend them as well. I was there back on the first full week of February this year, which was just before the big holiday rush, and the crowds weren't bad. But, I've never been there during the UK, French, and Dutch holiday weeks.

Sauze d'Oulx is more convenient for the whole ski area. But if prices are better in Sestriere, then you can get to Sauze d'Oulx with one lift ride. There's a lot of good off-piste terrain in both sections and in Mont Genevre, but it takes a long time to get to MG. There are a lot of slow lifts on that side of the area, so set off early.
 

Sponsor

Staff online

Top