First Time Skiing - Where to Go

I am looking to go skiing over next X-mas/New Year; I have never skied before and it is something I want to do at least once in my life.

We are looking for somewhere where there will be almost guaranteed snow at that time of year and suitable for beginners. We would prefer to go somewhere in Europe but would be willing to head to USA/Canada if we got it at a decent price.

I have already been on the internet checking out prices but it appears that prices for next winter have not been released yet. I appreciate that this is probably one of the most expensive times of the year to go skiing but due to restricted holidays etc, it is either then or not at all.

All suggestions would be greatly appreciated

Christmas is pretty early on in the skiing season and you can be very lucky and have great snow cover by then, or things could go the other way. If you wait until November to book you will know at that stage what resorts are getting a good start. I believe the brochures only start their ski holidays on the first travel date that will include Christmas Day in the week, probably because there have been some years that many resorts were still green well into December.

You will read much about how many snow-making machines a resort has, but it doesn't matter a damn if the temperature is too high for them to work! Given that Christmas week is so expensive for skiing (& New Years even more), it would be awful to end up somewhere without decent snow cover, especially for your first ski holiday.

Here's an article from 2001 that illustrates what happens when the snow is late. Christmas snow in [broken link removed] was very thin on the ground, it was into January before things improved. However, the last 2 years have been very good.

But if you must book this early in the year I would recommend going as high as you can, probably on a glacier. Or you could book somewhere like Norway but I believe it's very expensive, and bound to be even more so at Christmas.

Austria is supposed to be great place to go for Christmas atmosphere. Should you go to France be warned that apartment sizes are tiny.
A good resource for ski information is www.wtss.co.uk

It very much depends what you are looking for and what age group you are in .

If apres ski and food are big motivators, you can't beat Livingno.
Its good on price too and rpetty snow sure.

Its disadvantage is the 5 hour transfer from the airport (Bergamo)

If apres ski is not a big issue, then I think the small resort of Ste Foy in the Tarentaise Valley is fantastic.

The accommadation is new and attractive.
The bunny slopes have carpet lifts and there is a great green run from the top of the first lift. You don't need a ski pass to use the carpet lifts and the lessons and ski passes are much cheaper than other resorts in the area. (€20 from 12noon on)

Le Monal Hotel in the actual Ste Foy Village is lovely, although just a two star...the restaurant and bar are lively by french standards and very nice.
There is a shuttle bus up to the station.

ski resorts

I would also recommend Livigno. It is wonderful for beginners. If you decide to go there i have the name of a fantastic ski instructor. From my experience you would be better off to get one instructor for your group/family. It works out around the same, or less exp than ski school, and you get much better instruction. I also have details about where to hire skis etc if you decide to arrange this yourself.

If you run the search option in this forum there are many previous threads on ski-ing.

Thanks for the replies, going by what people are saying it sounds like it will be a very expensive time of the year to go and that snow will be less abundant.

I may have to rethink and leave it for another year or two when we may be able to take the time off in January/February.

andorra

go to andorra, good starter destination, cheap flights, do it yourself booking accomodation.

not as good as austria but great craic and cheap and cheeful

As a first timer don't do Canada or US - too much time and money involved for something you wont get full value for - you're going to spend a lot of time on the baby slopes - save the big trips for when you'll appreciate it.

I would avoid Andorra for Christmas/New Year break, it gets far too busy with beginner skiiers leading to overcrowded beginner slopes and snow tends to arrive a bit later in the season there.

Consider flying to Grenoble or Chambrey and travelling to one of the higher French resorts like Alp D'Uez, Les Arcs, Val Thorens. You can book accom online via local French estate agents, accom won't be too lux but you should be able to get it close to the slopes.

Have a look at the website ' ifyouski', it provides a lot of info about all the ski resorts.

It's a great holiday, I'd thoroughly recommend it.

priscilla said:

Consider flying to Grenoble or Chambrey and travelling to one of the higher French resorts like Alp D'Uez, Les Arcs, Val Thorens. You can book accom online via local French estate agents, accom won't be too lux but you should be able to get it close to the slopes.

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I would never recommend Les Arcs for beginners. Its fantastic for intermediate or advanced but really terrible for beginners.

Redchariot, I would buy the Where to Ski & Snowboard Guide. This really is a fantastic book, published yearly. For my money, Courchevel 1850 is hard to beat for beginners (and as an all-round resort) - plenty of wide open slopes, great ski lifts, restaurants etc. High altitude, great snow cover, north facing slopes. Short transfer from Lyon, Chambery or Geneva.

No connection but have bought 3 guides over the last 8-10 years. I also get the monthly (Daily Mail) ski magazines from Easons or any good bookstore.

As another poster has said, check out www.wtss.co.uk.

+1 on Livigno for beginners, -1 on the bus transfer (5hrs)