European Adventure Awaits - Where to go for a month?

Hey Jim and Welcome !

Firstly i must say how very jealous i am of you ! Iv always wanted to be a ski bum :D ! Im sure you will have a amazing time.

Never the less somewhere you should visit for sure - if possible, is Chamonix, great place and I'm sure you will find many veteran ski bums there who will gladly enlighten you with some knowledge on living out of your back pocket, which should be handy in your case

All the best mate...And be sure to make a blog about this if you can, i would be very interested in reading about your time and experiences whilst traveling.

Id also look into as many last min catered chalet deals as you can, this could help you decide where to go and stay, if your already in the area and dont require a flight you should pick up some very good deals, and you will also meet new people who you might be able to ski/board with.

Besides blindly googling catered chalet deals, anybody have any advice? It seems like most of the sites bundle airfare from the UK.
Any sites with good or bad reputations I should know about?
Typically, how is the food at these chalets? Perhaps half board would be better price and food wise.

Chamonix may have worked its way onto my itinerary. It seems to be popular around here...

La Grave looks killer. Literally! Maybe after a couple weeks I will be up to it. The skierslodge.com seems like a decent deal as well.

Thanks everybody.
Jim

Lucky Boy.....don't forget the South Tyrol, Val Gardena, Arraba etc. The Sella Ronda (Dolomiti Superski Area) is meant to be spectacular scenery and although its a treck to get to it is Italy so prices tend to be a bit cheaper than France.
Have a look in the book Skiing Europe by Footprint...it pretty much covers all of europes ski resorts giving a reasonably unbiased view as it is written by skiers. Whatever you do ENJOY

BigSkyJim wrote:

Id also look into as many last min catered chalet deals as you can, this could help you decide where to go and stay, if your already in the area and dont require a flight you should pick up some very good deals, and you will also meet new people who you might be able to ski/board with.

Besides blindly googling catered chalet deals, anybody have any advice? It seems like most of the sites bundle airfare from the UK.
Any sites with good or bad reputations I should know about?
Typically, how is the food at these chalets? Perhaps half board would be better price and food wise.

Chamonix may have worked its way onto my itinerary. It seems to be popular around here...

La Grave looks killer. Literally! Maybe after a couple weeks I will be up to it. The skierslodge.com seems like a decent deal as well.

Thanks everybody.
Jim

Have a look at these people they are all independent chalet owners .....
http://www.chaletgroup.com/

For Jim, and anyone else planning a (rail) trip to the slopes this winter, this might come in handy :- Alpine / Ski Rail Map

Hi,

I posted on the forum about a month long ski trip and you replied. I am now unable to do everything I had hoped and can only get some many snow days.

The next trip for me is a mixed chalet and friend accomodation week to the Espace Killy. If you are looking for cheap catered accommodation I would recommend the chardons in Tignes BUT its cheap for a reason so don't expect much.

I will be at the Chardons 29-01-11 to 02-02-11 and then in Val D'Isere until the evening of 05-02-11. If you are coming that week we could do some ski action, I will be skiing with one friend part time but you could join and she knows everyone in Val as she works there!

Get back to me if you want more info on my plans or the Chardons: membershipsrp@googlemail.com

I also know somewhere in Tignes that would do a months catered accommodation for £1250 if you are interested. One of the biggest costs in that area is the food so if you can get catered accomodation cheap (ish) I suggest you do it!

Whatever you get up to I wish you good luck and powder!

Rob

Hello everybody,
Ready or not, I leave tomorrow for Paris. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little nervous. My first stop in the Alps will be Les Arcs. Perhaps a bit hastily, I booked a small apartment at Les Arcs 1800 along with a ski pass for a total of about $600 USD. Not too bad for a week. Just have to worry about eating. The very next day I finally heard back from multiple chalet bookers wanting my business with some good deals. Oh well...
During my searching for deals, I came across the snowball pass.
http://www.snowballpass.com/
Has anybody had any luck with this discount card? It seems like it can save you some cash, so I took a chance and bought it. The people who run the operations seem like nice people as well.
After Les Arc, my itinerary is still open, but perhaps Alp D'Huez or Chamonix.
Well, if anybody comes across a screaming deal and you need one more person, let me know and maybe we can meet up.
Thanks,
Jim

Here is where I ended up (spending a week at each):
Les Arcs
Chamonix (with one day in Courmayeur, Italy)
St. Anton
Lermoos, Austria (Zugspitzarena).

The only fresh snow I had the whole time I was snowboarding in Europe was the one centimeter it snowed one day during my first week in Les Arcs. It was brilliant blue skies for most of the four weeks, which was a little disappointing as I didn't get to experience any off-piste 'boarding.
I was able to travel from each resort by train. I bought my train pass here in the states, so I didn't have to worry about buying tickets on the continent, but I don't think it worked out financially. Short trips aren't that expensive and you end up wasting a day on the pass. Also, I learned the hard way: Buy the best snowboard/ski bag you can afford! With wheels!
When I return one day, I think I will spend at least one week in Italy and Switzerland each. Zermatt beckons!