Which ski resort??

It seems a bit unfair to dismiss Verbier. I like it a lot, but I stay in the linked village of La Tzoumaz (www.latzoumaz.ch), costing about £600/week in the high season for a 2-bedroom apartment, sleeping 4 comfortably. Off-piste and heli-sking is good. The trouble with Nendaz and Thyon is that they're too far from the main Verbier slopes, to my mind, so I'd recommend Verbier itself, or La Tzoumaz. I wouldn't go in the Euro school holidays (check the dates out at the www.eurydice.org website, which lists who is away when). Realistically, I don't see you spending precious time driving out from what is a pretty big ski area, although you might make a trip to Chamonix if you wanted to 'do' it. I'd leave car tours until the summer, and do a walking/ MTB /touring trip to the Alps then. But really, it depends a lot on what you're after and I'm biased, as I liked the area so much I bought an apartment in the 4 Valleys (when things were a lot cheaper!). I've skied around Lake Tahoe, Vail and Mammoth and of course, the snow is tremendous: I loved the space and efficient queuing but it was expensive and rather binary - either very easy or very difficult, with not a lot in-between. I've done the Trois Valees and absolutely hated the terrible queues and discourteous French - I would never return to France to ski. The nicest atmosphere I've seen was at the Italian resorts, and if I had younger kids that's probably where I'd opt for, even if the skiing wasn't 5*. If you do come to the Alps you will have to accept the risk of poor snow compared to the Rockies.

If you are coming across the pond to ski Europe, you need somewhere that is visually stunning as well as providing what you are looking for, as posted in the first post of this thread.
We cant dictate the weather, so its going to be something of a gamble, so lets suggest generally higher up or somewhere with its own micro climate. A range of pistes to suit all abilities, and possible ski in/out.

Sounds to me like it has to be somewhere in the Dolomites, around the Sella Ronda maybe, somewhere like Arabba or Selva (although I know the weather can be a little hit and miss).

The previous poster made what is IMO a valid comment about the discourteous French and the horrendous queues of the 3 valleys, but for somewhere a little less French, Serre Chevalier could be exactly what you are looking for.

Its interesting that there seems to be such an obsession with Switzerland without actually taking into consideration whats on offer there. I loved Verbier, but I am confortable on that terrain, whereas its not ideal for beginners at all, and can be expensive. Zermatt is on my hitlist, and Saas Fe looks a decent shout too. Davos and Klosters are also places I intend to ski before long, as does Laax/Flims. But Austria also has loads of great ski areas, and the same kind of traditional feel to most of it too, so I would suggest giving that some consideration. The likes of Bad Gastein, for example, would be ideal IMO.

Winter must be approaching as I've started looking at J2Ski again!

I am a confirmed fan of Swiss ski-ing but I'm not sure that you can replicate the US experience in Switzerland - or too many other places in Europe for that matter!

I very much like Saas Fee, but it's not the most convenient resort in the world and it does close down quite often due to stormy weather with not much alternative.

Engelberg is another favourite but lacks Alpine charm and the ski-ing again is not terribly convenient.

How about another of my faves, Arosa? Easy to get to from Zurich by train, small-ish ski area (lots of runs served off a few lifts so quite American in that way!), attractive village but with mainly good quality hotel accommodation.

Tony_H wrote:
.... but for somewhere a little less French, Serre Chevalier could be exactly what you are looking for.

I bet Luc Alphand will be over the moon to read that comment.

jonesj71 wrote:

Tony_H wrote:
.... but for somewhere a little less French, Serre Chevalier could be exactly what you are looking for.

I bet Luc Alphand will be over the moon to read that comment.

That's not really fair, Luc Alphand will have actually been to Serre Chevalier so he's got an unfair advantage )

Tony_H wrote:discourteous French and the horrendous queues of the 3 valleys, but for somewhere a little less French, Serre Chevalier

Gotta call you on that one Tony. You've obviously had a bad experience in France but that's nonsense, sorry.

Serre Chevalier would be high on my list of proper "French" resorts; not least because a high proportion of those who ski there are locals from Briancon and the surrounding villages. IME, the more "French" a resort is (i.e. has actual French people living, working and skiing there), the better it is - so long as you don't expect everyone to parlez anglais of course.

3V has some great skiing but much of it's now part of Surrey, not France.

But back to the original question... good resorts for a family coming over from the States.

Some good suggestions so far and I'd throw Les Arcs into the mix too; huge ski area, easy to reach other ski resorts if you wish and a wide variety of villages and accommodation to suit just about every budget. For ski in/out quality accommodation, if a little lacking in authenticity, Arc 1950 is probably hard to beat. Good snow record too.

I would like to suggest Adelboden in the Bernese Oberland, picture book scenery and excellent skiing under good snow conditions. Not ski in-out but the gondolas leave right from the village center. The runs are gentle and well groomed. It does not have the international flair of the other resorts like Zermatt, Verbier, Saas Fee etc. The clientele is predominantly Swiss, German, Dutch. Here is a link for the area:
http://www.adelboden.ch/en/welcome.cfm

The OP starter is comming over the pond so snow must be guaranteed.
the highest place to ski is Zermatt and there are already slopes open.

But the thing is for what the starter wants I think ARRABA is best with the sella ronda. But take in account that snow conditions can be bad or even worse that there is now snow at all.

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For a nice view of the Zermatt Area download the KMZ file for Google Earth
http://3d-ski-maps.blogspot.com/2008/10/download-3d-ski-trials-here-for-google.html
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