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“Snowboarding in Europe” is pretty much synonymous with “blue skies and great snow”; the only difficult part about planning a trip to the European slopes is deciding where to go. There are many factors to take into consideration when making this decision, including whether to hire a car or book a transfer; is the resort family friendly; nightlife/après ski; self-catered or catered and much more. Hopefully by the time you’ve narrowed down the mitigating factors you’ll be left with few resorts from which to choose.
Here’s a quick comparison of two of my holidays:
Chamonix:
9 people
Hired a van
Self-catering chalet
Less than one hour from Geneva airport
Arabba, Dolomites:
4 people
Airport transfer (coach)
Self-catering condo
3+ hours from airport
The biggest downside for me in regard to Chamonix is that the mountains are not interconnected. Each day we would decide which area we wanted to ride, which wasn’t easy with nine people of varying levels, and then we would pack up the van and head to the chosen peak.
I suppose we made our own error in getting one vehicle for nine people because everyone was on a different schedule. Some people wanted to be on the hill for first chair, while others were having croissants and coffee at 10am and still hadn’t made it to the slopes yet.
This leads me to the second downside of Chamonix which is that there doesn’t appear to be much slope-side lodging. I saw very little evidence of ski-in, ski-out accessibility. The cost of slope-side accommodations likely would not have been in our budget; however this would have solved the issue of at least getting a first run in while everyone else was still wiping sleep from their eyes. To resolve this, a couple of us got very familiar with the bus system.
On the plus side, Chamonix is a lovely village with plenty of activities for all ages. After riding for six days in a row my husband and I were looking for a break from the hill. We filled our day with a fun fondue lunch at Le Monchu followed by a couple hours at the Chamonix Sud bowling alley and game arcade. Next we decided to walk back to our lodge along a footpath that went through the woods and past some lovely scenery. We even got to greet some horses and their owners along the way all the while snapping photos of our great day. For après ski, there is the fantastic Micro Brasserie where you can stop in for a pitcher of beer and some light nibbles or stuff yourself on nachos like I did, YUM! We also enjoyed a great Italian meal at Casa Valerio on our last night – delizioso!
In contrast, we didn’t have a car in Arabba because our lodging was slope side. Each morning we would simply walk across the street, strap on our boards and ride down to the lift to begin the day. In the Dolomites, the skiing and riding is seemingly endless as so many peaks and villages are all interconnected. Each day we would take one chairlift after another with our eyes constantly on the lookout for good-looking runs or fresh powder. In fact, we never really paid much attention to where we were until the late afternoon when we would have to make our way back to the condo. Every village has cute restaurants and pubs and there is also plenty of slope side dining. Don’t forget to partake in the daily afternoon tradition of gluhwein or mulled wine.
There are two grocery stores in the small village of Arabba. We did a shop upon arrival and cooked for ourselves most nights. There were two nights that we went out dinner; one night we went out for a gorgeous Italian meal and the second was for fantastic mixed grill platters. Both restaurants were walking distance from our condo, albeit downhill, so we had a nice little workout walking uphill after dinner which helped settle our food.
There are a couple pubs in Arabba, one of which we visited and had some tasty pizzas. All in all however, there is very little happening in this sleepy village and we spent most nights playing cards or watching a movie on the laptop, which isn’t a bad thing after a full day on the hill.
Ideally, I’d like a combination of these two ski area, with the most important aspect being able to get to multiple peaks or areas without having to get off your board. A little night life is good for the post-hill pitcher of beer and nibbles before heading back to the lodge for a shower and to prepare for dinner. Also, any town with a bowling alley is all right by me. In the end, I’m glad to have visited both places and that we had lots of snow and great riding each time, which really is what matters most.
Once you\’ve got your trip booked, don\’t forget a www.wonga.com/homepage.aspx” target=”_blank” title=”Short term loan”>short term loan from Wonga to help with the cost of those pricey lift tickets.
See you on the slopes!
About the Author:
Wonga offers short term loans online in the UK, 24/7.
Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – Snowboarding In Europe: Chamonix Vs. Dolomites
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