Should i go to Austria.

BTP Snowman wrote:calm down calm down.

Thanks for all your views on strudelville, been a real help.

As i said we are going to fly into Turin in January, the family is pretty thrilled as we normally ski in france and are looking for change but i am not so sure.
Looking at the map of resorts i see there are a few french places just over the line: Montegenvre and Serre Chavalier (spelling?).
Anyone been here much?
Montgenevre looks pretty good with links to Italy but SC looks a bit naff. And thats france! I say naff coz there are villages spread out and i read online that the runs are dead easy and attract beginners and offer free passes coz they know its pants. I dont want 2 go to crap places coz the group wouldn't forgive me.....yep its group! My mates wanna go to., not sure how the mrs will go for that, but they have nippers too so its all gravy. How the hell did i find myself sorting out a group, im screwed.

I've skied both, a week at Montgenevre and a day at Serre Chevalier loved both. Montgenevre is on the main road between France and Italy, if anything it feels more Italian than French. It's too long ago to comment on the skiing, I think it was only my second or third week on snow so didn't find the terrain limiting! I expect the lift system is much better now? So links to the rest of the Milky Way have improved? I'd happily go back. The one thing I remember about the town was the amount of live music, every other bar had a live band playing, I've not found any resort like it since.

Just a flying visit to SC, can't comment on the town as we were bussed in and out. But the skiing was superb, far larger area than I had imagined and nicely varied to.

What do you want from a resort for your group, maybe I can suggest somewhere?

I really do find some of these posts amazing & to be honest nonsensical IMO.

Here we have skiers who have never been to a country, let alone the numerous resorts with all the variables involved Saying they wouldn't go there & recommending others to avoid it as well :roll:

I have skied :

1 resort in the Spanish pyrenees.
2 resorts in Andorra.
3 resorts in Italy.
2 resorts in Switzerland.
2 resorts in France.
1 resort in BC
1 resort in montana.
6 resorts in Austria.
1 resort in Bulgaria.
Also in some resorts adjoining areas ie Morzine/avoriaz.

I feel I would only be able to post my experiences in these resorts & have no say in areas
I've not been to & even then the snow conditions could sway your opinion on a resort in a good or bad way.

So would it not be better to research a countrys/resorts & study the piste map to see what suits you rather than condemn or big up countries & resorts you have no personal knowledge of ?
Members will always have differing experiences when in a resort, buses like sardines, big queues, bad food & so on, others in the same resort say the opposite but at least its based on their experiences & not on unqualified opinions.

IMO you would be well advised to ask about a resort rather than a country as that is where you would be, I asked about Chamonix & not France in general as I'm skiing in a resort & the rest of France is irrelevant for the info I require & only from those who have been to that resort.

There are way too many negative posts on resorts & countries given by members who have no first hand knowledge of either which could put off others from going to them.

brooksy wrote:
IMO you would be well advised to ask about a resort rather than a country as that is where you would be, I asked about Chamonix & not France in general as I'm skiing in a resort & the rest of France is irrelevant for the info I require & only from those who have been to that resort.

Agree................except for Bulgaria, i hear its all shocking there.

Snapzzz wrote:

brooksy wrote:
IMO you would be well advised to ask about a resort rather than a country as that is where you would be, I asked about Chamonix & not France in general as I'm skiing in a resort & the rest of France is irrelevant for the info I require & only from those who have been to that resort.

Agree................except for Bulgaria, i hear its all shocking there.

I wholeheartedly agree, on both slagging off places you havent been to, and also on what I have heard first hand from people who have been to Bulgaria.

Brooksy - I do a lot of research on places i havent been to, mainly reviews others have done, online guides and books like WTSS, study piste maps, etc etc. Thats why I have skied the places I have skied as they have all been specifically selected, and also why I havent been to others because I dont fancy them based on what ive heard or read.
I value greatly other peoples thoughts on places theyve been to and many reviews posted on here are superb and massively helpful. I like to share my own experiences so others might find them useful. I have had many PMs from people asking specific questions about places I have been to, then later on after they have been thanking me for the stuff I sent them saying it made a big difference to their trip. Not bigging myself up, but its that kind of sharing of experiences that make this place what it is for me.

In the same way, hearing what makes resorts not so good is also useful, reasons not to go for example.

I am guilty of saying negative things about Bulgaria, where i have not been, but have been told in no uncertainty by people I know what they thought it was like, so worth sharing those findings second hand to save some people from possibly having a negative experience perhaps? Plenty of posters on this forum have said similarly negative things about Bulgaria, so at least I seem to be barking up the right tree.

Anyway, this isnt about Bulgaria.

And you are absolutely right to shoot down in flames those who slag off countries, areas, towns, etc without having been to them.

Bulgaria aside, the places I am qualified to speak about from personal experience I have done so on this forum, honestly, and not always to everyones agreement or liking, but thats the beauty of it all that we all like different things.

As for this thread, it strikes me now that deliberate provocation and antagonism have been used by the OP by slating Austria in the same sentence as asking what its like, then moving on to slating Serre Che later on. No coincidence a number of us on here have been to both Serre Che and Austria perhaps?

I suggest the OP visits Austria and shares his/her findings with us afterwards. However, it seems they are now going to Italy without much of a clue as to where precisely they want to go apart from Turin to fly in to, so we wont find out for a while.
I can happily provide detailed reviews on Sauze, Champoluc and Serre Che as I have done before on here, all of which are short transfers from Turin.

As for the "free lift pass" thing, thats only certain weeks in Serre Che booking accommodation direct with the tourist authority, and you have to get there yourself, but I did it last year with free flights into Lyon courtesy of Avios Airmiles so it can be done very cheaply, and yes Snapzz - early March is probably as good a time as any to be there to benefit from these deals.

Dont go to Ellmau or Scheffau. Go to St Anton as it is ace

There we go, personal experience on resorts in Austria!

I'm not a big fan of Turin airport if that's any help... I'll get my coat.

Yellow card to Icy! Easily converted to a Red card! One of my ultra-best New Year visits was to an old farmhouse above Scheffau. We showed them how to play curling, and they showed us how to play Eisstockschiesen.

The farm family will remain friends forever. Scheffau is a good entry into the Schiwelt. So much so, I wrecked my good reputation for ski planning by ripping the group across towards Kitzbuhel, and running out of time to get back!

Have also stayed in Ellmau, really good.

Have also stayed at the Gansleit in Soell. The old Hausfrau made me strip off my ski stuff in the street, (yes, it was covered n thick mud, but that is another story)

Conversely, while many folk rave about St Anton, I thought the runs were badly planned, resulting in 4.00pm chaos. I was pleased to see that a number of ski journalists agreed with that. There are better places to stay in the Arlberg. OTOH, I made a good friend in the pubs where the locals go.

Dave, the problem with st Anton isn't badly planned runs, it's the lack of alternative routes off the mountain. Pretty much the same as most other resorts in all honesty.

I wonder if iceman would be more specific and tell us what's wrong with ellmau and scheffau?