Anybody heard of a "cheap" deal to ski USA?

bandit wrote:I'm surprised you've not visited Chamonix by now Wickers, you being a Francophile and all ) I've not visited any other ski resort where a single mountain totally dominates a town. It is Mont Blanc after all :D

I have been to Chamonix but in the summer where I found the place to be stunning,but I really do not fancy skiing there, As for being a Francophile I suppose I am if you compare it to a francophobe
:wink:
Provence at the end of the week :thumbup:

Bandit has a point!
Europe has;
-variety
-class and lots of mix from all sorts of countries ( some will say "competition" )
-great food
-unique cultural context
-price/ski ratio
-quality skiing (varied types of skiing groomed, piste, hike, tele etc,,)

However some skiers want to "cross the pond",,for a different flavor !
If you do so,,,,plan ahead, read a lot, ask many questions and please come for at least two weeks.

My point about the "packaged deals" is illustrated with the following story.

10 males decided to go for a windsurfing 2 week holiday. We could have gone on a "packaged" resort holiday with "guarded" holiday complex which looks the same in every country! Meeting the same tourists, with same buffet, etc,,,,

We rented a huge house in a small village and hired a women to prepare meals for us! We just windsurfed all day! Had a small boy bring us beer from the village every 3 hours! The adventures we had in this village were unique. The friendships we established with locals were ever lasting. The great surfing we did was not in a walled area, with machine gunned guards and life guards telling where you must surf ,,how you must surf!
We even were invited to a local wedding and sang to the bride !

Yes not for everyone, but if you want to "taste" real authentic skiing there are ways in Europe and in America. Often they are cheaper that packaged deals!

Bandit I know you went to Whistler several years ago,,but if you had asked me then,,I would have told you about a ski resort called Massif which is unique. Has longer trails with a view that would take your breath away! You would have stayed in a local "auberge" and eaten local food which to this day you would have spoken about!
No one in Europe knows about this place,,,,but soon you will since the owner of Cirque de Soliel just bought it and it will rival Tremblant in skiing and in class! A hidden jewel you missed Bandit!

That is what I look for when I ski! Those unpolished jewels that marketing has not yet revealed to general public!

Again this is not for everyone,,,it is the gypsy in me that makes me explore such ski centers! Tony it is up to you to decide.

Enjoy the search !!! ( that is half of the fun)

Thanks guys for your replys, since I posted this question I have been looking for a "deal" to the US and CA but nothing seemed to come up due to the school dates for my 7 year old daughter. Have Skied Sunshine village and Lake Lou quite a few times and really really enjoyed it (apart from the bus ride to and from Banff.)

However.... I put it down to my final three..... and I have made my decision......Amazingly I have booked Chamonix for mid Dec as have never been there before.

Hope the snow will come.

TP

What dates are you in Chamonix? I might be around )

Tony i think you have made the right decision. I have been to a number of Canadian resorts and yes i have loved each one (For different reasons) i would never do a 7 day trip to them again. I was completely shattered due to jet lag.

I have never been to Chamonix but it is most deffiantly on my 'hit' list. Hope you have a great holiday.

On a side note i just checked the Tignes webcams and they have had a nice covering over night :)

I have been watching web cams constantly, I think all of us ski nutters watch webcams from September onwards :D and this time last year I was actually booked for Tignes in Dec which was fab and had lots of snow BUT Chamonix is on just over 1000m so being 800 m lower than tignes it rained over night.

I hope the freeze point lowers soon so it starts snowing :lol:

I've been skiing in the US and loved it every time. The base is always massive, grooming excellent, queuing is polite and efficient and pistes uncrowded. Relatively, on-piste eating is cheaper then the Alps. Hotels I've stayed in have a ski concierge who stores and waxes your skis overnight and there's a wider choice of accomodation.

BUT equipment hire, passes and accomodation are relatively expensive. There's always the worry of being sued after an accident. And pistes can be binary - either wide open intermediate or impossible double-diamond, with less of the difficult reds/easier blacks that you get in the Alps. And I don't think that I will ever understand why their chairlifts lack restraining bars, given the American preoccupation with safety.

However, I've only skied in the USA because I was already there on a business trip or training and able to tack skiing onto the end. I wouldn't endure the long-haul flight plus transfer (e.g. Lake Tahoe is fantastic, but it's an 11-hour flight to San Francisco then a 5 hour drive) - and definitely not for just a week's skiing.

If you have youngsters along, then I'd echo the post that said the Italians are very child-friendly. All three of our children learned in Livigno and the instructors were great. Switzerland instruction was also good, but obviously, the trip was more expensive than Italy.