Hello
My family are holders of Ikon ski passes and are looking at planning a euro ski trip for Feb/March. We have skied in Chamonix before (as well as extensively in the US) but wasnt sure how Kitzbuhel, Dolomit SuperSki, Garmish, and Zermatt compare to ski resorts in the western US. Tentatively we plan to get around via train. Previously we had our European-delivery SUV, but would consider renting a car if easier to get around in than train/bus. Any thoughts or suggestions?
Hi,
I have never been to Western USA ski resorts.
But I can comment on the specifics of the ski resorts you list:
- Garmisch can be skipped. It is anything but snow-sure, and does not have the same breadth of terrain as the others. Plus, it will be very time-consuming to reach.
- Zermatt is typically excellent in late Feb / March. The terrain is overall best suited to advanced skiers with some serious steeps and huge verticals; it is also very extensive. The landscape is incredible. A great plus is that it has a lot of secured but unmaintained and unpatrolled itineraries which are really a great experience (if you don't mind moguls, unless you just had a snowfall). It is the favorite ski resort among those I have been to.
- Dolomiti Superski is totally different, but also excellent. Snowfall there is erratic, so the focus is more on splendidly groomed runs. Not much challenge for advanced skiers usually, but the scenery is otherworldly, the food is exceptional, and accommodation standards are high. I liked it, but it is very far from Paris and there are plenty of great places that are easier to reach for me. In my opinion, the best bases are Selva or Arabba. Corvara and San Cassiano are also nice resorts but the immediate terrain is very mellow.
- I have never been to Kitzbühel and have no opinion.
As for travelling: these places are FAR apart by train. A car, ideally rented in Switzerland, Germany or Austria to have winter tires (in Italy the rules are complicated...), will be more convenient but exposes you to delays if it snows when you have to change locations.
It was a long time ago, but as I recall Kitzbuhel, the slopes were a short walking distance from the rail station.
sorry I can't help, but for those of us who haven't been able to ski for 50 years (and when I did it was at Tremblant in Quebec), what is an Ikon ski pass?
@Nigel, Ikon Pass is a multi-area ski pass in the US. Designed to compete with Vail Resorts Epic Pass. When Vail bought up a large number of resorts, they began to offer passes interchangeable with all their resorts, plus a few European resorts. Everybody else had to band together with their own pass (Ikon Pass) to compete. People who buy one (about $1000 early), tend to only ski at resorts covered by their pass.
Correct. Ikon pass is a season ski pass covering a large group of resorts such as Squaw Valley (now Palisades Tahoe), Alta/Snowbird, Deer Valley, a bunch in Colorado, Taos, Zermatt, Mammoth Mountain, Niseko in Japan, etc. Being based near the Lake Tahoe ski resorts and within driving distance to Utah, it gives us a wide variety of resorts to chose from. My family skis almost weekly during the ski season so it pays off for us.
Our family skis in Park City Utah usually twice a year, and our daughter goes to college in Colorado, so the Epic Pass is our pass of choice. :-) My husband and I just spent five fantastic days in the Lauterbrunnen / Grindelwald area and are interested in coming back to ski in the region sometime (Epic pass doesn’t cover). If anyone has any opinions on how the skiing is in the jungfrau region I would be very interested.
@jbmckinney12, Skiing under the Jungfrau is very good, especially from Kleine Scheidegg down, either on the Wengen side (Lauberhorn Downhill course), or the Grindelwald side. The blue run hugging the Eiger can be very icy on the lower end when snow cover is thin.
To the original question, you've already skied Chamonix, so you know the character of the Alps is quite a bit different than western US. balso's comments are spot on.
Zermatt is a world-class high mountain resort that is car free. Scale dwarf's anything in the US. Elevation is 5280 feet (mile high town). Three separate interconnected areas with up to 7000 ft of vertical, plus the ability to ski into Italy with another huge ski area (Cervinia).
Selva di Gardena, my favorite and also recommended by balso is also high at 5150 feet elevation. This is great for scenery and ski-touring. You can ski the "Sella Ronda", a 25 mile circuit around the Sella Massif, skiing village to village and end up back where you started. You can do it clockwise or counter-claockwise.
Kitzbuehel is a lower elevation at 2500 ft, so a little less snow-sure, but good snow-making. Interconnected with other surrounding ski areas.
Distances by train are about 8 3/4 hours Zermatt to Kitzbuehel. 3 1/2 hours Kitzbuehel to Bolzano, then a 1 hour bus ride to Selva. Bolzano to Zermatt is 7 1/4 hours.
If you wanted to rent a car, I would fly to Milan and rent there, then drive to Zermatt, then Kitzbuehel, then Selva, then return the car at Milan. Don't forget to purchase a Swiss vignette (toll sticker) and attach it when you enter Switzerland and the same for Austria.
for others considering driving early or earlier in the year or over Christmas who need a Swiss Vignette, it is worth knowing that a Swiss Vignette is valid for 14 months: all 12 months of the calendar year plus the previous December and the following January. That can be handy if you are over Christmas and New Year.
