Skiing in Swiss Alps?

argyle409

argyle409

Active member
So I'm heading off to the Swiss Alps in 3 weeks for a week, staying at a friends house who live in Champex-Lac, Switzerland. I have never been skiing over seas or even the west coast, so this is big thing for me. I'm wondering if anyones has ever been to the Alps and how did they like it, also what to bring i have all my normal ski clothes but is it much colder over there then East Coast Vermont?

Thanks
 
my parents went there and they got too much snow to ski 7 days of skiing turned into 3. also they don't understand how to wait in lines so expect a giant cluster fuck and people walking and skiing over your gear. have fun man
 
Well I'm gonna be skiing w/e mountain is in Champex-Lac, and from what I heard its small but has some long trails and a half pipe.....I just wanna ski and have fun and if there a is a park then great, never done backcountry and don't think the alps is the place to learn haha
Also quick question about goggles I have these dragon goggles and well the brown lenses tend to only work in good conditions and the silver mirrored in sunny or night.....for w/e skiing there is in the alps would I need a better lenses
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I lived there last season.

It's warmer than EC/Vermont in my experience. I haven't been to Vermont but skied a lot on the EC and spent seasons in Quebec, Ontario and Nova Scotia.

Just bring your normal lense, whatever one you want. It's not like they have some sort of super special sun or something. Either pair of goggles will be fine.

The snow is really good this season in the alps, and you'll probably have a really good time. The snow is unpredictable, just like anywhere else.

Lift lines work the same way they do anywhere. They know how to line up. But German tourists might try to snake the line. You're going to have to buy a ski card to use the lifts, which you charge with lift tickets and keep in your jacket. It's going to be about 5 or 10 francs. You can just buy them at the ticket office.

Eat Rosti potatoes and Swiss yogurt.

If you've never been skiing outside of the EC, it's going to be a bit different. They don't really have marked trails the same way you do at home. Don't go off piste in areas you don't know alone, go with some locals.

Don't ski in the half pipe or park too much. Ski the mountain. It's goddamn Switzerland.
 
Reaaaally depends on altitude of mountain and how wind protected it is. It's not uncommon to get -20°C winds at 3,000m peaks with winds of 50-70km/h on bad days. But I guess thats the same for across the pond.

There are no out of bounds in Europe, so study the piste map, study it well. If you go off-piste, make sure you know what you're doing as you don't have the nanny-type oversight you tend to have in N. America.

Other then that... erm.. people will step on your skis, its inevitable, try not to flip out when that happens. Eating at the mountains will be pretty costly, so it's worth taking up packed lunch if moneys a bit of an issue aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand enjoy!
 
Tons of people spoke english when i went, but i was in gssatd . I have an amazing time, great skiing to to much snow but it had a nice cover and it was sunny for 7 days straight ( late febuary)was skiing all over. Was really sick meeting all different people the town had good nightlife and a ton of girls. You will have a great time and like maxiumsushi said dont go off pitse if you dont know.
 
i ski in switz most winters and it's really not that different to skiing elsewhere, just bring what you usually ski in, liftlines aren't that bad unless it's school holidays

like everyone else said don't go off piste unless you have someone with you who knows their way around, there have been quite a few slips lately
 
Wow, you're gonna have an awesome time, i just got back from a trip in the french alps and i've skiied loads in the swiss alps before too. Whoever said it's colder than EC... they're wrong, i've skied for a season in Quebec and it was WAY colder than the alps. You'll only need a shell jacket/pants and base layers/tshirt, maybe a hoodie or fleece for slightly colder days. It won't go below -10 degrees while you're there.
 
oh and another thing, the alps just had insane snow fall, i got 3ft in a week over in courchevel and skiied pow three days out of 6. also be prepared for stupid prices, like the guy above said, so find a super market and make sandwiches for lunch.
 
hi there!

i live in switzerland and locked up the resort for u!

it's really small 2 and a half lifts, and a few pists! (never heard of it before)

looks like u can go for some offpist and tree runs, can't really have a park there! (but i'm not sure) but u will get boored after 3 days skiing there i think

but actually the place is pretty close to a whole bunch of biig resorts with big parks

-verbier

-chamonix

and some others

so if u have the chance to go to visit one of those big ones, that's a good idea!

else take a shovel with u to build some BC jumps in champex, else u will be bored second half of the week!

have fun anyway!

peez
 
I skied in Zermatt, Switzerland for about a month over spring break a couple years back an had a fucking sweet time. the runs are very very long, an when I went it was very sunny and nice every day.
 
I spent three months there two seasons ago and it was fucking sick. They didn't have too much snow that year, but it was still amazing. I think when I was there there were abnormally high temperature, like we could walk into town in shorts. So I mean from what i experienced it's not much different from skiing out west, the weather is variable. The piste though is sick, the runs are super long and you'll never run out of places to explore. You're gonna have a sick time. Have fun.
 
thanks for the info I tried to look it up but all I ever got was the weather for the area, haha....

I think we will be going every other day to verbier
 
how are chair lifts and the lines?

like how long is an average wait in one?

is it organized like the us or just a cluster fuck of people pushing to get in?

do you bring your skis in with you in a cable car/gondala?

whens avalanche season?

 
1. In a small resort lines won't be bad. If you are going in three weeks school half-term holidays should have finished, so even in the larger resorts like Verbier the lines should be ok.
2. It depends on the lift...and time of day.. and day of the week.. and weather..
3. Depends again, if its really busy, e.g. half term, it'l be a scrum at the lifts, but generally its not too bad. I didn't ride for two weeks during school holidays last year as it was too busy, but again, i think you should be ok in three weeks.
4. Most gondolas have ski rack outside, most cable cars you bring your skis inside. Same as anywhere.
5. Like anywhere, avalanches can happen at anytime, don't go off-piste unless you know what you are doing. Europe is a lot steeper and more unpredictable than Vermont. Take a guide.
Why are you so interested in the lifts dude? You should be asking questions about the amazing riding you are about to experience, its a world away from what you will have been used to! Have a good one!
 
I've actally never encountered lift lines in europe that take more than 2 minutes to get through. and I've been to some pretty major resports in italy, switzerland and austria. I just came back from austria and it was fucking sick. loads of powder and the kind of tree skiing you see in the massive and really fun big mountain.
there were also some OK parks. not the biggest but they had smooth large jumps (just two though).
and you fuckin have to get off the piste, especially if there are good conditions. it's not that vital to have local information, just be careful, spot lines and cool places to ski from the chairliift gondola and take a look at the piste map to check where the big cliffs you don't wanna ski off of are. also your friend probably knows the area well so just follow him around.
the lighting is really bright. my friend didn't bring dark enough lenses so he got a headache. I and my other friend used fire iridum and where fine. so if you have something comparable to that you should be fine, but you should also bring a pair of clearer lenses for the overcast days
 
hi there,

Champex-lac is, if you have good snow conditions, an absolute blast. huge tree runs and really not many people. it is also super close to verbier (if that is your thing) or La Fouly and Super St Bernard (great freeride resort). hope you have a good time and feel free to pm me if you want more info
 
You are not gonna need a lot of clothing compared to the east coast, first of all it is spring so the temps prolly will be at the coldest 15 degrees. Last year I was in Switzerland in march and it was in the 20s for two straight weeks for the highs and lows in the teens. But it never hurts to bring an extra layer or two. Just put it in a backpack and stash it at the resort. People don't steal shit there, I lived there for a year and we routinely just tossed our packs next to the lift building and had cameras and money in them.
 
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