[Closed] Ski resorts for beginners

whistler - seriously - every mountain is navigateable from top to bottom on easy [green/blue] runs 🙂

I've only been skiing once, and went to Canazei in the Dolomites. It was great, and there seemed to be plenty of runs suitable for novices. It's on the Sella Ronda, so if you feel like being more adventurous there's loads to go at 🙂

Whistler can be expensive if you're a first timer. I would recommend sticking to Europe, to be honest.

Late season? Well, it depends on the resort really. I was in Serre Chevalier in mid-March last season. There was enough snow up high, bu skiing back to the village would have been impossible for a beginner (Green runs were all washed out below the treeline)

This is a really good place to start - http://www.wheretoskiandsnowboard.com/features/top-tips-for-beginner-trips/

I'd also recommend booking a package if you're beginning. Getting everything from one place is a lot easier if you don't really know what you want/need. Crystal or Neilson would be my tip for that.

I went snowboarding for the first time a few years ago to Neustift in Austria and snowboarded on the Stubai glacier.

It was excellent and there seemed plenty to choose from in terms of difficulty of slope.

We stayed here:

http://www.schoenherrhaus.at/winter/en/wohnen/appartements.html

There are regular buses up to the glacier, but we had a hire car which made it a bit more convenient.

Whistler can be expensive if you're a first timer. I would recommend sticking to Europe, to be honest.

Agreed. It's a great resort - but a lot of money and travel for the limited use a beginner will get from it.

La Rosiere in France is really nice and has lots of easier slopes.

Anywhere in France, all the big resorts have buckets of motorway-style blue runs that are fantastic for newbies.

Or, as someone has said, Canazei in Italy. I went there with my newbie GF and she loved it. Cheaper than France too, and a nice town.

Most resorts cater for inexperienced skiiers. Its normally the case IME that the majority of resorts have Green and Blue routes but lack difficult technical slopes so its the better skiers that have to look hardest.
France is good as the snow tends to be very good and ice and lack of snow on lower slopes are the most difficult for learners. I learned in Montgenevere and conditions were poor which made it difficult on the learner slopes but going to Les Arcs the following year I was skiing much more difficult slopes faster simply because the conditions were so much better.

Avoid France unless you want to be flattened by a Frenchman - to be fair, there are exceptions, and as you are a beginner they is the chance to consider small resorts and avoid the popular large linked resorts. You simply don't need massive extent when starting out. Small resorts are quieter and cheaper.

Probably the nicest place I went to early on was La Thule in Italy, which has a link to La Rosierre in France. Most runs are very moderate, the snow is usually nice, and it only got busier on the weekend when the residents of Torino arrived. Don't know what the quality of instruction is like though.

Would also recommend the 'relatively' cheaper La Thuile (link to La Rosiere) for a beginner all in one package.

Hope you have a good trip wherever you go 🙂

You'll find the accident record in France is no worse or better than its neighbours, especially if you present the data per 100 000 skier days. The biggest cause of mortality is avalanches which mainly concern ski mountaineers and riders (both boarders and skiers). My local resort has a protected area for beginners away from the main runs. If you are worried about being run into but some fat incompetant that learned to ski in his twenties avoid resorts frequented by... .

As someone said above you won't go too far wrong since most resorts have plenty for beginners to go at. However I would avoid Les Deux Alpes; the mountain gets steeper as you get closer to the village, so you end up on the harder runs at the end of the day. Not ideal for beginners. Alpe D'Huez on the other hand will give you plenty to go at all within easy reach of the village. Ditto for many/most of the La Plagne resorts, any of the Trois Vallees resorts, Flaine, Avoriaz...so many to name really. Personally I prefer the "ski-to-your-door" convenience of the purpose built French resorts, but of the Italian ones Cervinia is worth a look and my folks always rave about the Sella Ronda area mentioned above.

The key point is if you are thinking of going late season you should go high. I usually go Jan/Feb time but the few times I have been in mid-March things are generally starting to get a bit slushy if not patchy. That should be your main decider...

Bit harsh on stilltortoise there, Edukator! 😉

lol

My ski apprenticeship was spent in my ickle kiddie walking boots strapped to some tiny plastic skis, following my Dad down whatever he went down and wiping the blood off my nose whenever I fell. Not far to fall when you're a little nipper.

I was an EXPERT by my twenties I'm telling you, an EXPERT 🙂

Depend when you are planning on going. But i would recommend going to Tignes/Val d'isere. It is a huge resort with heaps of runs for beginners as well as steeper more technical runs. It is at high altitude, meaning that i you plan on going later in the season there should still be plenty of snow as well. Would you be driving out or flying? It is just 4 hours from Geneva so not too bad distance wise at the other end either.

Passo Tonale in italy is apretty good resort for complete beginners, as the name suggests it's in a mountain pass so the slopes nearest town are quite shallow and they get steeper as you get further away. Bit limited for those who are a bit more confident though

When my sister in law leart to ski her requirements were:
Ski in, ski out - When you're tired at the end of the day you don't want to have to get onto a crowd bus or walk for 20 mins
Be "pretty" - because it makes a difference to overall impressions
Blue/green slopes that are low - For some reason she got spooked on runs higher in the mountain even though she skied harder ones int he valley
Nice bars and restaurants just off the piste - A break for a vin chaud or a hot choc is always nice
Good food and wine in the evening - There is nothing better after a tiring day on the slopes than a vat of tartiflette and a bottle of red.

Take this info to snowheads.com and see what they suggest. We liked Ruka in Finland as a beginners destination but it was very cold. It also felt like a winter holiday with skiing rather than a full blown ski holiday which may well appeal.

Tignes, Meribel, Les Arcs, La Plagne, Flaine, would spring to mind.

Andorra (maybe pas de la casa) is good for beginners, but any experienced folks in your group may get a little bored.

Last year I went skiing for the first time - Kreischberg in Austria. Small resort so ideal for groups of mixed ability who want to split up and meet up at lunchtime, nice open and wide blue runs, fairly quiet, not too high up so it was mild and sunny with perfect visibility and as a bonus the beer was cheap.

At risk of being considered a ski-pleb I'll add a +1 to Tignes. The first lift is free so you won't need to buy a pass for the first day (or two), there's a free bus if you can't handle the blues to get between the sectors, you can have a go at X-C skiing on the lake and there's a swimming pool for the end of the day.

Montgenevre in France RIGHT on the border with Italy , went 2 yrs running and love it there (The missus loves the wider runs down from the top on one side as they're not steep and bloody wide!)
An average of 300 days of sunshine and great snow too, very quiet little village and has the best pizza restaurant bar none ...
You can ski in and out of Italy really easily but some runs are a little bit more techy over that way .
http://www.go-montgenevre.com/?gclid=CMSf0tPIw60CFYEmtAod-kAKBg

I do get midly amused that when someon asks for a resort for beginners, the expensive mega resorts crop up time after time. Just cos *you* went there and liked it, doesn't mean it's suitable for anyone asking about ski resorts. Don't get me wrong I love the Espace Killy, but a beginner doesn't need 200km of pistes and a €200+ lift pass

Perhpas because the "mega resorts" have something for everyone (including non-skiers) and do their best for beginners in the hope they'll be faithful clients in the future. Once you've got confident enough on the free beginner's lift you can buy the Tignes lift pass rather than the Espace Killy one. It's the same price as my local resort which has about 1/10th of the pistes, requires a lift to get to the beginners area and has an "opération ville morte" every evening.

The "mega-resorts" were built in the most suitable places, simple as.

Both La Rosiere and Montgenevre are ski in, ski out and neither are very crowded, also both very high (circa 1800m) so good for snow.

nbt look at the OP, already doing lessons and looking to go in late March/early April. It is understandable to reccommend a big snowsure area with a good lift system. In my experience beginners who are interested in other sports tend to progress quite quickly and enjoy being able to take big motorway pistes around the larger areas - skiing over to another village etc. Yes there are lots of nice smaller areas around but there is a reason the big ones are popular - they are good.

[i]Don't get me wrong I love the Espace Killy, but a beginner doesn't need 200km of pistes and a €200+ lift pass [/i]

Fair point, but you don't usually have to buy the 'big' pass, you can normally get a resort one. And the bigger (especially French) resorts often allow you, even as a beginner, to ski at the top of the mountains, rather than being 'stuck' next to the resort/village, as can happen with smaller places.

Tignes, Meribel, Les Arcs, La Plagne, Flaine

These are near the top of my list for places for beginners to avoid Sorry to be controversial!

Thanks for all the suggestions, they're much appreciated. I've got a better idea of where to start now. Ideally I'd like a resort with linked runs, but I don't want to bite off more than I can chew - I'm not the best at knowing my limitations.

I'm hoping to get a lot more time in on the indoor slope and I seem to making progress with every visit. I know there's no substitute for the real thing but I'm hoping it will stand me in good stead and prevent me having to waste time on the really basic stuff.

Do the slopes generally get more difficult to negotiate later in the season, or is it just a case of having a shorter run?

Only been to andora, (soldeu) but cant recommend it enough. at the time it was the best value for money destination.
We had lessons which made the holiday, met loads of people & all the instructors were in bands, singing every night so was never stuck for entertainment.
If we go again we will have lessons again at a higher level.
Best holiday we've had!

Has anyone been to any of the Eastern European resorts in Romania, Bulgaria, Poland etc?

If you can think of any objective criteria why a beginner should avoid that list go ahead, Buzz. I've never been to Flaine but can't think of any reason a beginner should avoid the others.

Objuective criteria might include:

button lifts, old generation chairs or those daft bar things they still have in some small resorts.

Long queues on easy runs which you still have in some small resorts with slow lifts.

No "tapis" ( conveyor belts) for kids.

No easy way down into the resort. True of Val and parts of Chamonix but not those on Shandy's list.

Requirement to buy a full pass to use beginner lifts (Tignes and Val are free).

Reosrts have been closing still nearly fully open as Spring snow has been good quality and plentiful in recent years, unlike early season snow. My local resort always opened in November 20 years back but now relies on artificial snow to open for Christmas.

I've never been to Flaine but can't think of any reason a beginner should avoid the others.

Went to flaine last February with the wife. She started the week as a nervous beginner and ended the week boarding icy reds.

They have a lot of snowmaking which helped massively the week I was there. Gondolas from the village to the top of the mountain which was nice and easy ish blues all the way down.

Not much else to do there though...

Forgot to mention that a bit of nightlife wouldn't go amiss 😉

Don't go to Flaine then.

Flaine is also hideously ugly.

My tip would be Serre Chevalier. Mainly because I love it myself! But, really good beginner slopes, especially in Villeneuve (Serre Che is a string of little villages along a valley). Also in Villeneuve is the best ski school you will ever find - http://www.ski-school-connections.co.uk/

Nightlife in Serre Che isn't bangin' phatt choonz and wikkid skiffle and bass, blud, but more some great bars (Loud as you like at La Grotte or the Station) and some more refined bars (great Piano bar in Chantemerle)

Pretty tree lined skiing, plenty of snow-cannons when it's a bit warmer and, 300 days of bluebird sunshine a year! 8)

Les gets

Tignes, Meribel, Les Arcs, La Plagne, Flaine

These are near the top of my list for places for beginners to avoid Sorry to be controversial!

Why? They're all snow-sure, good lift systems, loads of wide-open pistes, good kids facilities and ski-schools, plenty of ski-in-ski-out accommodation.

If nightlife is a factor then probably Meribel or Tignes. Deux Alpes isn't quite as good a beginners resort but does have good nightlife. Val has good nightlife but the beginner-friendly skiing is slightly less accessible to beginners than Tignes.

I would steer clear of the pyrenees at the moment, especially if you're a beginner. Veer off the pista and you'll be skiing down the grass.

I would say Flaine is o.k for beginners, there are a couple of free poma lifts in the village.
However Passo Tonale or Folgarida, both in Italy would be suitable, they have fantastic pizza palours too.

One thing, please remember the rules of the piste, for safety, don't stand in the middle, or under the brow of a hill and always look before setting off. I actually told our Chalet guide off (in a nice way of course) for stopping our group bang in the middle of a 3 way piste.

March can be hit and miss for snow in the alps, icy mornings, turning into spring slush by lunch time is quite common, but with a few lessons, it's easy to learn how to ski all kinds of terrain and conditions.

Having fun is the main thing.

There's snow Cani', but it's somewhat hard off-piste. Three Spanish skiers died over the weekend having fallen over and gathered speed before sliding into woodland and hitting trees. I gave up, tiptoed back down and watched telly.

"chalet guide"

#tuts and phones "inspection de travail"

Why? They're all snow-sure, good lift systems, loads of wide-open pistes, good kids facilities and ski-schools, plenty of ski-in-ski-out accommodation.

Because they are:

* very very busy which personally I find intimidating, even dangerous, and I'm not a beginner
* rip off prices
* expensive lift passes which a beginner will not get good use out of
* lacking any character

Ouch Edukator, where was that? Ski week with school at La Molina week after next, i'm crossing everything for snow. Webcams are showing narrow white strips snaking down the hills.

[url= http://www.lexpress.fr/actualites/1/societe/pyrenees-orientales-deux-skieurs-espagnols-tues-hors-piste-une-blessee_1069330.html ]Formiguères, only two died, one survived.[/url]

Another vote for Alpe d'Huez. There really are quite a large number of green runs in the bowl close to town. Means you get a bit of variation.

That said I found on my first week that I struggled to move beyond the greens as there seemed to be a big jump in the difficulty of the blue runs.

Would love to go back now so I could laugh in the face of the runs that I found more difficult in my first week 😆

Someone suggested that Les Deux Alpes wasn't appropriate for beginners. I agree that expecting a beginner to get down the flat but narrow demoiselles run or the black valentin or diable runs back to town is a bit too much. But there's no reason why they couldn't download on a lift. The runs close to town are very gentle, cretes is very gentle, as are the runs on the glacier (although it can be chilly!), so there's still plenty for a beginner to ski.

* expensive lift passes which a beginner will not get good use out of

I learnt in Les Menuires. It was a while back now but don't they have very good deals for complete beginners to try to get you hooked? Pretty sure my lift pass was free/heavily discounted with my first week of lessons.

I took the kids to La Clusaz, very small, not masses of runs but nice and easy in resort, a couple of restaurants and not intimidating in any way (oh & the TDF goes over the brow fairly often)

Oh LDA, those front slopes were quite steep. Was skiing there with a couple of guys (one became the editor of a well known MTB mag) & the other one fell about 5m from the top of the artificial slope. He made it all the way down - about 1km on his face, skiis left well behind.
We had to give him lots and lots of beer to stop him shaking as he thought he was going to die while heading for a small clump of trees in the middle of the slope.

Another reccomendation for Montgenevre. Was fantastic when I was learning to Snowboard and great once I knew how to do it as well. Very good mix of different graded runs and the town itself is really nice. Quiet too outside of the french/italian holidays.

Would reccomend Go-Montgenevre as the holiday company (as was reccomended earlier). Superb service and great prices. You get a discount on the lift pass as well!

Gee-jay, I'm guessing that was Valentin, it's quite steep to get over the edge at the very top, can get scrapped and icy easily. Also tends to be packed, having to feed your way at the end of the day through masses of UCPA and Club Med groups is no fun!

Our instructor (Charlotte "Easiski" Swift) got quite angry at one group out with a UCPA instructor when she guided us down once 😆

That was it, we just referred to it as "the artificial"

Easier than the ones at Venosc end but a bit cheeky right at the top - which is when & where he lost it.

As you say end of the day was a nightmare when everybody was piling down to resort.

Now about the bottle of potcheen I found in the bottom of the freezer at Mikes bar when doing the end of season clean 🙂

I would go Saas Fee myself, it is high up so gets a lot of snow - I went late season having never skied before a couple of years back and it was fab. Had me skiing parallel within the day, so I think that is a pretty good ski school too!

I also like June Lake where I learned to Snowboard - very quiet, but getting there is a bit of a bind!

Personally, I like Austria and Italy best.
For beginners, I think it would be hard to beat [url= http://www.kronplatz.com/en/ski-region/ski-mountain-kronplatz/ ]Kronplatz[/url]
It has massive modern uplift capacity, predominantly gondolas.
There are allegedly some T-bars somewhere but I've never had to use one yet.
The resort centres on a domed mountaintop offering all grades of runs from a central point which makes it easy for groups to split-up to ski whatever they want, then to regroup at the top.
Been about 6 times as a big group of 5 or 6 families and we've always been happy with how well they manage their snow.
... and give me Italian food and German beer over that overpriced French garbage any day 😀

Our instructor (Charlotte "Easiski" Swift) got quite angry at one group out

Second Montgenevre for beginners.

Consider Sainte Foy as it is nice and quiet, easy to regroup, hard to get lost and there's loads to progress to.

[url= http://www.whiteroomchalet.com ]Call Stevo if you do[/url]

Les Menuires aka la manure. Vying ffor the most charmless ski resort in the Alps. 😀

Just back from Grand Bornand / La Clusaz. I'm a pretty beginner-ish skier (been twice many years ago, then to Tignes a couple of years back) and I really rate this place. Much quieter than Tignes (which makes a big difference when you're skiing that much slower than the better skiers) and way more slopes that are accessible to relative beginners. I left Tignes feeling like I was ok with many blues but some scaring me.

This year (aided by a couple of years of MTBing which makes things look less steep and doesn't half help your legs!) by the end of the holiday I was cruising down every blue happily and attacking every red I tried and making it down inelegantly but successfully. We had a big dump of snow overnight mid-week so had the fun of doing some unpisted reds in deep powder as well as the usual mix of pisted snow/ice combinations. We went with [url= http://www.skiweekender.com ]skiweekender[/url] (but for a week) - flew out Monday lunchtime, flew back Monday evening, got almost seven whole days of skiing in (skied down a long red to the bus to finish at 1430 on the final day). Very efficient operation, very reasonable prices (boot/ski hire onsite, lift pass and transfers included). Overall a much better choice for the beginner than the usual high alpine suspects.

I learned in Levignio and LaPlagne, the latter is the best IMHO. Glacier to below the tree line skiing on easy blues, a vast area to explore when you are still a novice. Whats not to like?

Another vote for Montegenevre - quite pretty for a French resort and the ability to ski over to Italy for lunch adds to the appeal.

My second skiing holiday was at Courmayeur in Italy - quite trendy, and need a gondola from the town to the slopes but has some lovely slopes and quite a few forested bits which many of the French resorts lack. Also has lots of lovely places to stop for a mid-morning coffee or choclat.

CGGuru, we did a couple of holidays with the kids there and it was very good. People seem not to want to go to the top of mountains when they start (I guess a feeling that mountains are steeper at the top) At Le Clusaz you park in a col and ski straight from the car or hotel if you staying there. You can see where you will be learning and certainly my kids enjoyed it

I'd say Pila in Italy. But you're much better off staying down the gondola in Aosta if you want some night life 🙂 .

****, I'm going to the lakes

I went skiing for the first time on my honeymoon although like the OP, I learnt to ski on a dry slope beforehand. We went to Breckenridge in the US. It was a brilliant resort as a beginner as it has a massive range of slopes to choose (from very green to proper hardcore techy stuff) from so you can progress at your own pace plus, with the benefit of having skiing in France after, I realised that one of the biggest advantages was that there was no ice. As a beginner that was a major benefit - ice really saps your confidence. Also, there are other resorts nearby too for variety (we went to Keystone and Vail too)

The slopes are much quieter than Europe too - especially on weekdays - which is a bonus for a learner. Oh and it's noticeable that people are more friendly and there are typically guides on slope all day to help guide you or suggest which slopes to try. Basically, it's a lot more civilized 🙂

Cost-wise, it is a bit more expensive than Europe to book but when you add in all the costs of things that you'll spend once there like ski hire, lift pass and your day to day restaurant/bar/etc I reckon it worked out pretty much the same overall so next time we go skiing, it'll be in the US or Canada where you can guarantee (near as dammit) excellent conditions.

It's not so much a question or where you should go but where and when you should NOT go. Any third-generation (purpose built) resort will be fine for a beginner because they have to cater for kids. Just don't go in high season or school holidays because you will pay through the nose and be knocked over on the slopes by over-excited yobs then kept awake at night by rampaging pissheads out in the street.

I'm off to Pila in 2 weeks. I'm a second year boarder aka novice. I'll report on its beginner credentials in three weeks 🙂

clubber - agree with everything you say ^^.

I do wish the French would take notice as to how to treat customers in Ski resorts.
The restaurants on the mountain are mostly owned by families, who need to move with the times and provide free facilities (paying to spend a penny, when you've paid a fortune for food and drink really gets my goat).

We had wonderful hospitality in Austria a few weeks ago.

Canada/North America, has free tap water, tissues, guiding, etc. All these little extras add up to and enjoyable experience on the slopes.

I liked Igls in Austria as a beginner, loads to do apart from Skiing with Innsbruck a 20 minute scenic tram ride down the mountain

Even get the chance to try out a four man Bob on the Olympic track, two paying guests in the middle. Go up to the top of the Bergisel ski jump and never take the piss out of Eddie the Eagle again

Even an alpine zoo in Innsbruck, short transfer time from the airport which is terrifying landing in a blizzard as we once did when you see its location in daylight.

I learnt at levi in lapland. excellent ski school, not overly busy and quite a few other things to do. snow always guaranteed as you are in the artic circle! booze is expensive, but everything else is reasonable. have been to austria few times since, but much prefer lapland and the quality of the instructors. and the twenty minute airport to resort transfer is fab