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“Where Should I Go For A Last-Minute Ski Holiday?”

By Sean Newsom | on November 28, 2013 | 2 Comments
Classic Where to Ski Where To Ski
"Where Should I Go For A Last-Minute Ski Holiday?" | Welove2ski

St Anton in Austria. Photo: © TVB St. Anton am Arlberg

One of our readers books his ski holidays at the last minute in January, and likes the buzz of British-run chalet hotels. Lately, he’s been focusing Courchevel and Vaujany – but he fancies a change. He asks, “What other resorts should be on my radar when looking for a last-minute ski holiday?”

This is what he wants from his holiday

*Plenty of pistes – some of the them steep. “I used to ski off-piste a lot, but my knees are no long up to it. So I’m getting my kicks on black-rated pistes instead,” he says.
*Doorstep skiing – each morning he wants to get up and go without having to catch a bus or hike for fifteen minutes in his ski boots.
*Good mountain restaurants.
*Discounted prices when he books at the last minute in January.
*The conviviality of a British-run chalet-hotel.

This is what he doesn’t want

*Lift queues.
*Overcrowded pistes.
*Après-ski bars right outside his bedroom window.
 


 

Here’s what we suggest

1. Tignes: okay, so the architecture is an acquired taste…

"Where Should I Go For A Last-Minute Ski Holiday?" | Welove2ski

Photo: © welove2ski.com

…and some of the food is nasty…

"Where Should I Go For A Last-Minute Ski Holiday?" | Welove2ski

Photo: © welove2ski.com

…but just look at the ski area.

"Where Should I Go For A Last-Minute Ski Holiday?" | Welove2ski

Photo: © andyparant.com

No really, look.

"Where Should I Go For A Last-Minute Ski Holiday?" | Welove2ski

This is Val d’Isere, which provides the other half of the Espace Killy ski area. Photo: © OT Val d’Isere

There’s steep skiing…

"Where Should I Go For A Last-Minute Ski Holiday?" | Welove2ski

The famous “Face” piste, above Val d’Isere. Photo: Val d’Isere/Facebook

…sweet skiing…

"Where Should I Go For A Last-Minute Ski Holiday?" | Welove2ski

The mellower slopes to the west of Tignes. Photo: © welove2ski.com

…good food, if you know your restaurants…

"Where Should I Go For A Last-Minute Ski Holiday?" | Welove2ski

Lunch at Le Signal, above Le Fornet – at the eastern end of Val d’Isere. Photo: © welove2ski.com

…and a brand new chalet-hotel.

"Where Should I Go For A Last-Minute Ski Holiday?" | Welove2ski

The chalet-hotel Rosset. Photo: © skitotal.com

Just remember to pray for good weather before you go…

"Where Should I Go For A Last-Minute Ski Holiday?" | Welove2ski

If a storm socks in you’ll be skiing by sense of smell. Photo: © welove2ski.com

The high-altitude resort of Tignes shares its ski area  with neighbouring Val d’Isere. Called the Espace Killy, it covers a mouth-watering stretch of mountains, with everything from cruisey blues to white-knuckle off-piste on the menu.

 


 

There are some classic blacks here too – which is what our reader is really after. Yes, most of them are immediately above Val d’Isere rather than Tignes: but we think Tignes will work better for his last-minute ski holiday for a number of reasons.

  1. Val’s steep runs – notably the Face, Foret and the Rhone-Alpes –  are a bit of nightmare at 4pm. That’s when most people staying in Val d’Isere ski them – on the way back home, having gone over to Tignes in the middle of the day. It’s much better to be working in the opposite direction: ski them mid-morning, when they’re quieter, the snow’s in better nick, and you’re feeling stronger, and then wind down in the afternoon on the mellower pistes above Tignes.
  2. There’s a new chalet-hotel in Tignes this season, the Rosset, run by tour operator Ski Total. It’s a hop and a skip from key lifts and pistes and it’s likely to be discounted in January – because it usually takes a season or two for new properties to bed down with the skiing public.
  3. In stark contrast to Val d’Isere, the après-ski in Tignes is muted, to put it mildly. So our reader won’t be woken by 3am choruses of “I kissed a girl ” under his bedroom window.
  4. Although most of the best food is served on Val d’Isere’s side of the Espace Killy there are a couple of great restaurants at Tignes-le-Lac – l’Arbina, which is virtually next door to Ski Total’s chalet-hotel, and Lo Soli, at the top of the Chaudannes chairlift.

2.St Anton: it may be famous for its big off-piste descents…

"Where Should I Go For A Last-Minute Ski Holiday?" | Welove2ski

Photo: © TVB St. Anton am Arlberg

…and full throttle nightlife…

Where to Party in St Anton | Welove2sk

The Mooserwirt. Photo: © MooserWirt.at

…but it’s also home to some cracking blacks…

"Where Should I Go For A Last-Minute Ski Holiday?" | Welove2ski

The Kandahar. Photo: © TVB St. Anton am Arlberg

…and there’s lots of intermediate-friendly skiing in Lech, next door.

Lech Zurs, Austria | Welove2ski

Photo: © OT Lech-Zurs/Peter Mathis

Plus – this season – you’ll be able to ski in Warth-Schrocken, too.

"Where Should I Go For A Last-Minute Ski Holiday?" | Welove2ski

Photo: © warth-schroecken.at/kpa.at/alexkaiser

There’s a British chalet-hotel in the middle of town…

"Where Should I Go For A Last-Minute Ski Holiday?" | Welove2ski

The chalet-hotel Rosanna. Photo: © markwarner.co.uk

…and whilst the mountain food is mostly hearty rather than fancy…

"Where Should I Go For A Last-Minute Ski Holiday?" | Welove2ski

Photo: © welove2ski.com

…you will find gastronomic restaurants on the slopes.

"Where Should I Go For A Last-Minute Ski Holiday?" | Welove2ski

The Verwallstube. Photo: © Arlberger Bergbahnen AG

(And if you go in January, you’ll miss the worst of the crowds, too.)

"Where Should I Go For A Last-Minute Ski Holiday?" | Welove2ski

Photo: © welove2ski.com

St Anton’s chief glory is its lift-serviced off-piste. But if you like a challenging piste or two – as our reader does – you should put it on your hit-list. January is a great time to ski it: because at busier times of the season it’s pretty hectic, and the key runs back to the resort can be choked with skiers.

Above the satellite villages of Stuben and St Christoph, you’ll also find several long intermediate-friendly pistes – but in nothing like the same quantity as in Tignes (or the Three Valleys). So it’s good to know your lift pass also gives you access to the more laid-back skiing of Lech, and Warth-Schrocken nearby. The latter, by the way, is the snowiest resort in the Alps, with an average snowfall of 11m. This season, for the first time, it’s being linked to Lech by a gondola.

Another reason why St Anton fits the bill is that it’s well-stocked with chalets and chalet-hotels run by British tour operators. Mark Warner’s chalet-hotel Rosanna is the obvious choice: it’s slap-bang in the middle of town and close to the key lifts – though our reader will need a room facing the railway station (ie away from the resort’s main, pedestrianised street) if he wants to avoid the sound of St Anton’s legendary nightlife. (He shouldn’t expect too much from the decor in the public rooms, either – here, you’re paying principally for the location.)

He should also check out VIP’s more upmarket chalet-hotel, the Montjola – which is quieter, but also more expensive. It’s up the hill at Oberdorf, a few minutes’ walk from the middle of town. Inghams also has a chalet-hotel – the Alpenheim – in the suburb of Nasserein: it’s a ten-minute walk from the centre of town, but has its own gondola up the mountain. It’s worth keeping an eye on it during the hunt for last-minute ski holiday discounts.

3. Madonna di Campiglio: home to some stunning scenery…

"Where Should I Go For A Last-Minute Ski Holiday?" | Welove2ski

Photo: © Madonna di Campiglio Pinzolo Val Rendena Tourist Board

…superb and reasonably-priced mountain food…

"Where Should I Go For A Last-Minute Ski Holiday?" | Welove2ski

Lunch at Rifugio Doss del Sabion Photo: © welove2ski.com

…and some of the best steep, tree-lined pistes we know.

"Where Should I Go For A Last-Minute Ski Holiday?" | Welove2ski

The Amazzonia piste (no. 6 on the ski map). Photo: © welove2ski.com

Including this one…

Dolomitica, Madonna di Campiglio Ski Map

The 3455m-long Dolomitica Star descent from the top of the Doss del Sablon to Tulot, near the town of Pinzolo. Photo: © A.p.T Madonna di Campiglio

There are no chalet-hotels, but this place is popular with British skiers…

"Where Should I Go For A Last-Minute Ski Holiday?" | Welove2ski

The three-star Alpen Hotel Vidi. Photo: © hotelvidi.it

…and there’s a British ski-hosting programme, too.

South-East Leads Ski Industry Back to Growth | Welove2ski

Photo: © crystalski.co.uk

Madonna di Campiglio is not a big destination for British skiers like Tignes or St Anton, and it’s not packed with Brit-friendly chalets and chalet-hotels. But in many respects it’s going to suit our reader very well for a January trip. Hidden away deep in the Italian Alps, on the edge of the Brenta Dolomites, it’s a spectacular place to ski, and and is home to several sumptuous black-rated pistes.

We’ve even got a special feature about them – The Madonna di Campiglio Ski Map Cheat Sheet.

And because it’s in Italy, you’ll good and inexpensive mountain food all over the place. The best example is above Pinzolo, at the far end of the gondola that links its ski area with Madonna’s. Here, at the Rifugio Doss del Sabion you’ll get delicious things like taglioni with smoked ricotta, tomatoes and porcini mushrooms for 2/3rds of the price of dry and depressing poulet frites in a French self-service. Meanwhile, above Madonna itself, the Chalet Fiat has a more gastronomic atmosphere and is the place to go for the kind of lunch that lasts most of the afternoon.

Admittedly, there isn’t as much skiing here as you’ll find in our other suggested resorts. But with 60 lifts and 150km of pistes the ski area isn’t exactly small either. And it has the distinct advantage of being set largely below the treeline, so visibility is good on cloudy days. What’s more, if our reader books with British tour operator Crystal he’ll get its social skiing service thrown into the mix – so he can meet other Brits skiing in the resort to add to the sense of variety.

Need any help with your ski-holiday conundrums? Then email us at editor@welove2ski.com. And don’t forget to check out our Where to Ski section for more ideas.

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Author Description

Sean Newsom

As well as founding Welove2ski in June 2007, Sean has written about skiing and snowboarding in the British press for 28 years. For the last 20 of them, he’s also been the ski travel editor at The Sunday Times.

2 Responses to ““Where Should I Go For A Last-Minute Ski Holiday?””

  1. Avatar

    August 6, 2013

    welove2ski Reply

    A reader wants steep pistes, good food and a chalet-hotel for a January ski trip. Here are our 3 recommendations: https://t.co/tlnuBowLIN

  2. Avatar

    August 6, 2013

    colletts Reply

    @welove2ski A reader wants steep pistes and a chalet-hotel for a January ski trip. https://t.co/g2oPKoV64P @colletts reccommend the Dolomites

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