What do you think about skiing in Europe?

D

daylmitche

Member
I just want to know what everyone thinks about traveling all the way to Europe to ski. The Alps seem pretty epic but its hard to beat what we have here at home. What do you think? Worth it?
 
Im from Europe and i can tell you stay the hell in america where you got all those sick parks with endless jib and kicker lines.... our parks are nothing compared to yours.
 
our parks aren't as good as the ones in the US, but i think lift acessed Backcountry is way better over here. plus the scenery of the mtns is amazing
 
The scenery is way nicer in europe! In europe the slopes are made around the mountain, not like in america where they cut down trees to make slopes. Parks are wayyyyyyyyyyy better though in america. In europe we have really easy access to back country though. We don't really have people taking thier sleds/ski-doos up the mountain. The powder is pretty nice here though, of course its not like in alaska, but its decent. I know all of this, cause i live in Switzerland.
Peace
 
Switzerland is where it's at. Most parks do suck around europe but slackcountry and backcountry is AMAZING.

I live in switzerland. Went to whistler last season cause all i heard was awesome but was utterly disapointed. IMO.
 
I live in Chamonix but have spent a decent amount of time in Mammoth and Whistler. For a one off holiday I think North America might take it, more reliable deep snow in Utah areas and West Canada seems awesome. Europe is easier to get into the wilderness I think though, places like Chamonix you have ridiculous access to huge amounts of terrain. The parks are better in North America but there are spots in Europe stepping it up, not becoming huge parks but on quality shaping. If you're coming all this way look into India, more expensive flights but co cheap there, quiet and awesome 'Japan like' snow.
 
The slopes in general in europe are steeper for sure... just steeper mountain in general, in america most mountains are quite "rounded" i guess,

America/canada has a better chance of good conditions than europe, but an awesome day in the alps is amazing!

bigger and better parks in america for sure.

the ski areas are far prettier and attractive compared to american resorts... loads more culture and stuff

Depends on what you want from a trip really.... park - stay in america, varying terrain and culture come to europe!! yay!

 
Some of the resorts in "ze" alps are huge - like 3-400 km of interchanging slopes. You can go for days and not ride the same spot, and the partying in some of the spots like St. Anton in Austria or Val Thorens in france is off the hook. If you are looking for park go to Scandinavia – even the smallest resort in Norway seem to have a park and a bunch of rats. Just look at the amount of talent from Norway.
 
for scenery and classic "ski ambiance" nothing really beats the alps man...campy american resort towns (like Lionshead in Vail) have been trying to copy the look/feel of alpine ski towns for years, but they dont even come close to the real thing.

as far as skiing, it can be hit or miss. they generally dont have the same kinda snowfall we have here in the states. if you catch it on a good week it's suuuuuuuper fun, but in general it tends to be kinda icy and bad seasons are way more common over there than in the US.

honestly, if saas fee or kitzbuhel or any of those places had the kind of terrain and snowfall you find at a mountain like jackson hole, there would be no question that the alps are the place to be...as is, however, ill take the USA just for better overall snow and whatnot. but everyone should take a euro ski trip at least once just to see what it's all about.

also, i drove through the alps in summer for the first time with my dad last year and it was soooooooooo so so so awesome...definitely recommend it for a summer trip. everything was cheap and not very crowded during the offseason, and with all the mountains covered in grass it's one of the most beautiful trips you'll ever take.
 
i dont know what somne of the other people are talking about, i moved out here cause the us army a year ago. and sure the us has amazing parks like breck and pc and stuff. but out here is like skiing at windells all the time, my favorite place so far is laax in switzerland. they have 3 parks, easy, med and hard. and they have a bag jump that needs no waiver like they would need in the states. if you need a place to stay i got 2 bedrooms in stuttgart germany.
 
I like skiing in Europe, iv not skied in north america yet. Places like the three valleys/tignes/val in France have hundreds of lifts and terrain all linked together, with alot more vert compared to most of north america. The backcountry terrain is easily accessible straight off the lifts in most areas of France/Austria/Switzerland.
There is usually reliable snow above 2000m from mid November through until late early june. Then there are the resorts with glaciers that offer year round skiing, zermatt , tignes, kaprun, sass fee to name a few.
The parks in Europe are getting better, every time i go back to Europe you can see that resorts are investing more into their parks. The park at val disere last season was good.
Iv just moved to Canada so im looking forward to seeing what the Canada has to offer compared to Europe.
 
The scenery, amount of powder and backcountry are much better in the Alps.

Whilst the parks and downright drunkeness are better in the US.

Europe are more laid back and appreciate their alcohol but still get drunk.

Most of the older Europeans seem to enjoy the groomers more than the powder, so it's easy to find fresh powder in bounds, however the ski patrol aren't as good.

It would be better to go to a non- touristy spot for powder, or a touristy place for less powder but more fun, bigger parties.

I prefer the US over Europe for people, but Europe of the US for powder.
 
always been a dream of mine to hit chamonix, maybe it was just the earlier warren miller movies, i dunno, but its up on my list. if you have the money why wouldnt you go to europe if not just for the experience. that or chile
 
apres ski in europe is unparalleled. half way up the mountain, music blarring (like sick electro, not crappy chart music), everyone on tables dancing and drinking and then having to somehow ski back down. good times.
 
I have skied in the alps for 15 years (Verbier, Zermatt and Avoriaz) and if i had to sum it up in a few words i would say... ITS AWSOME!!

Frequent pow days and easy pow access.

Massive ski areas (e.g. Portes du Soleil... you could never ski it all in a week).

Good vibe in most resorts

Only downer is its reallly expensive, i had a friend who did a ski instructer course in Whistler a few years back and by what he said it seems europe is way more expensive to eat plus a lift pass can cost 60 euros per day.

I would love to hit up the US so i know what its like for myself, from all the edits it looks like many of your parks are amazing.

 
Laax in Switzerland, Les 2 Alpes and Mayrhofen are all sick if you're into park riding. There is also some super sick backcountry if you know where to look. I'm not sure how this competes with what you guys have in America though. I'd deffs recommend Europe though.
 
Disclaimer: I'm Swiss, spent 2 years in the US (CA), though, and have visited most of the Alps and the major US ski resorts. My home resort is...guess what...Laax. :D

Wrote this one couple years ago, updated it and hope it's still accurate:

Region: the Alps are big, but infrastructure and resorts are concentrated. Thus, you can do all your travelling with public transportation and definately don't need a car.

Many resorts are cross border, meaning you can spend the morning in Italy and switch to Switzerland for the afternoon.

Towns: most are "typically European", but there's a big difference from country to country or even region to region. Austria has lots of mass tourism (while keeping the charm), Switzerland has really rustic houses and scenery, France has some ugly as f*** concrete resorts. Accomodation can be very inexpensive, but if you're out for the 5***** palace, no problem. ^^ If you have a tight budget, I really suggest you go for farm holidays. Most towns have people running a farm while offering rooms and breakfast. It can't get any more authentic and cozy, the food is, for American standards (sorry folks! :D), excellent, and you can get away with 15-20€/night+breakfast.

Food in general is really good and, if you want to cook on your own, groceries are very inexpensive. Definately try traditional food, Swiss chocolate, raclettes, Austrian sausages, French wines and whatever else comes your way.

Resorts: big resorts have lots of families, beginners, old and young people...so slopes are almost always more crowded. Skiing is a very popular sport over here, so it might feel like extreme mass tourism, especially if you get in one of this many high speed chairlifts. Then again, many resorts have most of their slopes above the timerline, so they're sometimes more than 100m wide. Very open space compared to American tree runs, which, of course, can get very nightmarish in bad weather. While snow conditions are not always perfect and there are more and more resorts relying on snow makers, the vertical drop must, for Americans, seem ridiculously big. Normal ski resorts have at least 3000ft vertical drop, top resorts go up to 7000ft. Even if you're a park rat or powderhound, try to appreciate the slopes from time to time and do the "Talabfahrt", the valley run, which often features starting in a place of snow and rocks at 9000ft and ending in the middle of the alpine town at 3000ft.

People: very international. Some from the alpine states (Austria, Italy, Switzerland, France), at any time of the year at least 50% Germans, occasionaly loads of Dutch, English, Russians, Polish. Characters, for this reason, are mixed, but all in all very mellow, laid back people. Then again, much more upfront/frank than English speaking people. If you do something wrong, somebody will point it out. :D As you might have heard, being rude has a complete different connotation here. People seem harsh and unfriendly and it is quite true that American hospitality is outstanding and probably untouched, but it's all a matter of perspective. At least nobody over here will wish you "a nice day" if he doesn't mean it or ask you "how you're doing" if he doesn't want to know. ^^

Definately many party people around. In resorts with heavy park scene (like Laax), it's similar to the US. In major Austrian resorts, it's something completely different. It involves thousands of people dancing in lodges, pubs, umbrella bars to a mix of dancy charts music, evergreens and, most of all, German drinking songs. Definately matter of taste. Notice that all of this refers to the activities directly after skiing. Most (young) Europeans get drunk right after skiing, then eat, relax, and get out at 11pm again to party until late at night...again getting drunk. Regarding this, discos and normal pubs for nightlife are found everywhere. Drinking, however, is part of cultural life, so pretty much all people know their limits. It's a good advice not to overdo it, as you'll probably be the only one. :D

Parks: more and more resorts have them, and they're getting better. Some are really good and can be compared with top US/CAN ones. Naturally, I have to recommend Laax. One beginners park with jiblines, one slopestyle and one monsterpipe + pro park. They host both Orage Freeski Open and Burton European Open, so the scene is very present and the level of skiers/snowboarders here is high. But all in all, if you're a park rat, stay at home. Nothing here that the big parks in the US don't have. Except for the beautiful scenery surrounding the park. So if you're up for an epic photoshoot and want to have glaciers instead of trees in the background, then it's a different thing.

Off: can be extremely steep and rocky and therefore also very dangerous. Compare it to a slightly smaller form of Alaska. ^^ Definately not to be compared with most Rocky resorts in terms of danger. Remember where Shane McConkey died. Starts with "D", ends with "olomites". Snow can be very good, but you definately need some fresh snow to really appreciate it. In the Rockies, you surely find more days in the year which provide perfect conditions. Then again, you get way more bluebird days here than in North America. The southern side of the Alps claims to have up to 300 days of sunshine a year.

Slackcountry in Europe is enormous. Just always watch out for gapers, as a lot of intermediate and beginners go off-bounds without knowing what they're doing. As with the slopes, slackcountry can get really crowded. Be early.

Snow: starts falling as early as in September. There can be bad periods, though. Most ski resorts offer "snow guarantee" thanks to their snowmakers from December to April. If you want powder, though, go to the glaciers. And while there can be heavy snowfalls in November or December, it's sometimes February or even March when the big loads are coming and you'll have more than 3 meters to ski on. Snow quality is good, but not as dry and fluffy as this famous "champagne powder" that travel agencys in Europe advertise for trips to the Rockies. ^^

So if you prefer pillowlines and fluffy backcountry slashing, again, stay at home. If you want to ride the faces of big ass mountains, including cliffs, ridges, shutes and so on, come to Yurop. :D

Language: As long as you're not staying in said farm and have world war II veterans as your hosts, you WILL get along with English. Everybody speaks it at least on a basic level and signs are either self explanatory or written in multiple languages, English always being one of them. However, people will really appreciate it if you show off your 10 words of German/French/Italian. All Europeans are totally happy and astonished if an American decides to learn their language. :D Trust me, "ein Bier bitte" or "ou est la toilette, s'il vous plait?" will give you props. ;) It also helps fighting the stupid stereotype that Americans are dumb and ignorant, which is a quite popular stereotype over here. ^^

So yeah, come over here and go for it.

Have a nice season!
 
ok so unarguably austria, france and swiss are awesome.. how does sweden fit in?

Any powder there?

Any worthy backcountry to hit up?
 
Its got a deeper and more popular ski culture then it does in a america for sure. There are generations and generations of people living in the alps that are skiers. Europe really seems like its the heart and soul of skiing.
 
i think skiing in europe is totally awesome.huge areas of terrain for all levels.people really don't give a f_ck what you do. you can build wherever; city/mountain.snowmobiles are pretty much nonexistent, so what you build stays mostly untracked.they party longer and harder then we do....maybe aspen parties just as hard.driving fast is sketchy, but i pretty much floor my rental wherever i go.9 million lifetimes and you wouldn't ski even close to it all.BRING A BEACON AND SHOVEL!
 
Party is harder in Europe

Pow areas are also better imo

also driving as fast as you want is pretty cool

BUT our terrain parks still suck ...
 
Spot on buddy, good read...

And your part about partying is 100% true; You start the party usually late afternoon, still on the slopes at one of the bars up there before the last run (sketchy one) then goes the "après ski" in town, usually still wearing your ski boots in one of the "typical european mountain pub"... Meaning lots of wood, small place, everybody knows eachother, every body goes crazy, and lots, lots, lots of beer and jagermeister everywhere. That goes around until 6 7pm usually.

After the apres ski, you go home, rest a bit, eat some, chill some and you would go out again around 10 11pm to start the night in some bar before a club until 4 or 5am.

Here is the Apres Ski in Verbier. Keep in mind, it's about 5 4 pm on a weekday, sun's still outside.... : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qI6qDSQOVDA

embed won't work.

 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top