What ifyou can't stand chair lifts, able cars, etc?!

Advice please; my wife is a raw beginner (I'm a little better but still really a beginner) and would like to ski but has a phobia about cablecars and chair lifts and anything that dangles you at a height! I'd really appreciate any recommendations for resorts that could give her decent skiing but have a bus or tram or something connected to the ground to get you to the top. We've heard that Ellmau, Val D and Tignes have trains of various sorts. Are there any others anyone could suggest, especially those that take you to beginner-type runs as a train to a black run wouldn't help!?Many thanks.

Your options are not as limited as they once were, but you will need to do a bit of research I think.

I wouldn't recommend the Val d'Isere (Funival) runs for a complete beginner. The Funival does give access to a couple of runs marked as Greens but the grading is barmy - last time I was there, the steep (for a Green) top section of the first "Green" had moguls on it - and you have to get a chair back to near the top of the Funival (and then walk uphill some).

Tigne's funicular takes you to the Grande Motte glacier; in good snow the Blues at the top would be ok for a learner and are served with drag lifts (nasty T-bar things, but they are attached to the ground!). You can take the funicular down again (or a Red - there might be a Blue descent too).

Other places with funiculars include Cairngorm (think there's a Green and Blue down to the mid-station), Zermatt and Kaprun (don't know either of those resorts myself).

Of course, the easy answer will be for you and your wife to become super-fit ski-tourer types; just strap the skins to you skis and you can walk up the piste to the top! No need to worry about lifts then...