Euro advice

[plugboots]

I emailed a couple buds to see if they knew.

[grrrr]

Buster, have you been to Val d'Anniviers? I'm trying to decide where to tag a couple of days onto a few days in Zermatt. Presently evaluating Saas Fee or Val (probably St. Luc). Other options in the general area?

You might think about the Italian side, and go around to Champuloc/Alagna. Less expensive and the food is better. As always, leaving it open to go where the snow is can be wise. Downside is that it's only easy to get to from Zermatt if you can carry all your gear and ski over to Italy.

Saas Fee is on my list, unfortunately the snow has not been good there either time I was in Zermatt.

[Buster Highmen]

Last year was the year to do the Monte Rosa Alagna/Gressoney/Champoluc.
It's a pain to get to but an absolute classic.

If it's stormy and good snow, just stay and ski there.
If it's sunny and nice, do the tour de Monte Rosa: Alagna->heli to Lyskamm->8 k vert down into Zermatt->Kleine Matterhorn->Cervinia t-bar->traverse around the SW side of the Monte Rosa->5 k vert down into Champoluc->4k lifst up to Gressoney ridge->5k dowen into Gressoney->5 k lifts up to Alagna ridge->5k down into Alagna.

Here's a killer resource for investigating Yurpeein ski areas: http://www.bergfex.com

[Greydon Clark]

This thread is making my mind spin with possibilities. In mid-February I’m meeting friends for a week in Andermatt. After that, the plan is to go to Chamonix for the week, but I’m open to other options/variations.

Thoughts on skiing in the Pyrenees? I'm flying out of Barcelona.

[Big Lepowski]

If they have a winter like last then it would be a good idea.

[Buster Highmen]

In mid-February I’m meeting friends for a week in Andermatt. After that, the plan is to go to Chamonix for the week, but I’m open to other options/variations.

If La Grave has snow, skip Cham and do a week in LG or a few days in LG then drive over the Col du Lauteret, ski Serre Chevalier for a couple of days out of Monetier Les Bains, then just check out the East end of the Milky Way before you leave by driving down through Briancon, up over the Col de Montgenevre and spend the day riding lifts in France and skiing the draws down into Italy Take a left off the top of L'Aigle chair.)
Or you could wnd your way over to the Queyras and ski Ceillac and Abries for a couple of days before stopping off at Puy St. Vincent for a day before rolling down to Vars/Risoul (Peynier side has some great terrain skiers right) and then down to Les Orres and so on.

[Dexter Rutecki]

So this is shaping up for me, but I still have a question that even some locals (well, nearby locals) couldn't give me a definitive answer to: if I'm booking a place in Briançon, do I have to worry about doing it early (like now) for around 3/20? I think I don't due to no France vacations scheduled then and a lot of housing there, but I'm not 100% sure. I'd like to wait as a hedge against terrible snow so we could base ourselves elsewhere if that area really gets skunked.

[powtario]

No French holidays = no problem, especially if you are set on snow instead of destination.

(I think)

[Dexter Rutecki]

Thanks, I think so too, but I'm hoping for a little more confirmation. Pretty sure worst case is I might have to spend a bit more than would've otherwise (if I wait and it gets tight), but it would be nice to not worry about it at all--or just know that the better option is book further in advance.

Should I go all in on the 'wait to book' strategy and not even make the call until a few days before when I can look at any storms shaping up and know exactly what previous snowfall/snow base measurements are?

[powtario]

Swallow that lump in your throat and don't think till you get there. An extra 50-100 quid a night will be a rounding error after taking the entire family to yurp.

[Mr. Mike]

is it feasible to ski from Zermatt to Champuloc/Alagana and back? If yes, how difficult is the skiing? I think I could sell the wife on that plan if we only had to carry enough stuff to cover us for a couple of nights in Italy and could leave the balance to pick up in Zermatt on the way back, and if we were comfortable she could ski it. In fact, I could probably carry all of the stuff for both of us for a couple of nights.

[AmmergauerTele]

1 Euro equals
1.13 US Dollar

Get psyched. When I was there last year it was 1 to 1.25.

[abraham]

Yepyep. I'm eyeing that. Unfortunately the place I'm most likely to ski is in Switzerland....

[Meathelmet]

is it feasible to ski from Zermatt to Champuloc/Alagana and back? If yes, how difficult is the skiing? I think I could sell the wife on that plan if we only had to carry enough stuff to cover us for a couple of nights in Italy and could leave the balance to pick up in Zermatt on the way back, and if we were comfortable she could ski it. In fact, I could probably carry all of the stuff for both of us for a couple of nights.

No.

If you are planning to do it with your own planning and powered by glucosamine alone.

It is doable if you have a local guide but otherwise forget it. This season has been weird and if you plan doing the retour from paso di lyskamm
towards zermatt it has to be a absolute horrorshow atm. In the springtime it could be different but..but. Going from top lift of gressoney (pt.indren lift) to ps.lyskamm (4000m) is relatively straightforward, from 2-5 hours depending how fit/aclimatized you are and if there are no major crevasses at that time. But from there on you are on a really major, 10km long glacier that is really dodgy in the swiss end.

If you are planning to do the staright retour : zer-cerv-champ-gress-alagna and back, it is basically only slopes except the cerv-champ-cerv part.
Relatively easy skiing but the route is high mountain area, off the path that can be dodgy with the route finding and snow conditions, you
are on your own 100%. And coming back from champoluc you have to skin up that bit as well.
So unless you are accustomed doing some high alpine traverses in the rockies and are solid mountain peeps, forget it.

[powtario]

Yepyep. I'm eyeing that. Unfortunately the place I'm most likely to ski is in Switzerland....

But at least everyone is equally fucked in that regard.

[Mr. Mike]

No.

If you are planning to do it with your own planning and powered by glucosamine alone.

It is doable if you have a local guide but otherwise forget it. This season has been weird and if you plan doing the retour from paso di lyskamm
towards zermatt it has to be a absolute horrorshow atm. In the springtime it could be different but..but. Going from top lift of gressoney (pt.indren lift) to ps.lyskamm (4000m) is relatively straightforward, from 2-5 hours depending how fit/aclimatized you are and if there are no major crevasses at that time. But from there on you are on a really major, 10km long glacier that is really dodgy in the swiss end.

If you are planning to do the staright retour : zer-cerv-champ-gress-alagna and back, it is basically only slopes except the cerv-champ-cerv part.
Relatively easy skiing but the route is high mountain area, off the path that can be dodgy with the route finding and snow conditions, you
are on your own 100%. And coming back from champoluc you have to skin up that bit as well.
So unless you are accustomed doing some high alpine traverses in the rockies and are solid mountain peeps, forget it.

Thanks. Great feedback and confirms this is miles over my head, never mind my wife's.

[cipherpunks]

Could You please elaborate a little bit more on weirdness of this season?

[subtle plague]

strange snowpack. very deadly in parts of the valais mountainranges, the north, large parts of austria etc. etc. only the snowiest regions in the south are fairly stable deep instability wise. normal fresh snow dangers exist on top of that.

plus the snowpack is below average in many parts of the alps.