Exactly! That's what this thread was for: https://www.skitalk.com/threads/effective-resort-advice-in-europe.27932/There is wide variation in places, and you kind of need to know what you want or what’s important.
Exactly! That's what this thread was for: https://www.skitalk.com/threads/effective-resort-advice-in-europe.27932/There is wide variation in places, and you kind of need to know what you want or what’s important.
stopFresh home-made pappardelle al ragù di cervo for € 10....
Proactively greeting a shop or service worker with a cheery " Bonjour!" or equivalent goes a long way along with basic requests in the language. They have more respect for people who try even if they then respond in fluent English IME (as they wish to avoid listening to more of my linguistic butchery).IME, locals start off as being a little suspicious until you prove you are not an ugly American. Then it’s totally fine. But if you are having brief interactions, it can come across as rudeness because you haven’t had time to earn trust/respect/whatever it is. YMMV.
It's different for the Alps.Didn’t work for “Should an Intermediate skier go West?” In which after 60pgs of info the guy goes to Steamboat and doesn’t see the point. Whiteface, NY was as good.
Then there was the Cham experience where “If I was at Squaw…” was the constant theme of how it’s better there.
There is wide variation in places, and you kind of need to know what you want or what’s important. Not all places are quaint or pretty. Cham is not, but the mountains can be spectacular. Les Deux Alpes for example, (the place where a drunken 29yr old Brit hurled himself out a gondola this year), is kind of the Killington of the Alps. Built in the forties. You can go down a gondola and get to some old town charm.
I suspect that @SBrown is thinking that the skiers with the wrong attitude are the first ones who should go.
Or maybe that's just what I'm thinking.
Wake up and smell your parochialism. That sort of thing.
Anyway, on-hill coffee and pastry are enough for me to get on that plane.
Totally.Does that make sense?
Where was that?when this is in front of you:
Shhhh. Mumm's the word.Where was that?
Brévent, I believe.Where was that?
No matter where you go, there is the risk of bad snow, wether Colorado, Tahoe, France, whatever.Yes and no. The mind has to be at least a little bit open. The differences must be seen positively, not negatively. If food isn't a big deal to you, that part might be a waste. (Quelle horreur!) You can't be one of those people worrying that something is better somewhere else; don't check the snow report at home and think you are missing out on a foot of Champagne Powder™ when this is in front of you:
Even on my previous trips, where I skied only three or four days each, I got a powder day every time in Europe. This one, it snowed 1 inch in 1 month. Not kidding. The weather was spectacular, we just rolled with it, ate outside every single day, and enjoyed everything else. I had two runs of corn one day, but otherwise breakable crust was the softest snow condition I encountered. I still loved it.*
I guess it comes down to being ok at traveling, and being interested in how the ski thing goes in a place where it is more ingrained in the collective psyche than it is North America. Does that make sense?
*the trip, not the snow
Good one.Shhhh. Mumm's the word.
Of course, but if you have traveled halfway across the world to go skiing, it can feel different than if you are just a state away.No matter where you go, there is the risk of bad snow, wether Colorado, Tahoe, France, whatever.
LOLAfter this day, I went to the guide office and asked if they had something a little less…uh without ropes? “How about Italy?”
No it doesn't. Both feel disappointing.Of course, but if you have traveled halfway across the world to go skiing, it can feel different than if you are just a state away.
I am curious as to why American skiers would travel all the way to Europe, skiing-wise. You can select multiple options.
I would definitely go for the food and wine. Most of the food in and around the ski hills here is bad and expensive. There are a few gems here and there though. Still. Nothing compares to Europe in that regard.For me it is the vast terrain, history & culture. I am not much of a foodie but it is certainly an added bonus!