where’s best ? my girlfriend has been with me to chamonix but struggled on the blues. any where with mellow , wide blues?

Lol cham. Was certainly a deathtrap for the easy stuff when I was there very ski grades…

Don’t blues tend to have flat bits? They’re what I hate. The ones where you stop an have to walk out and the ones where you can’t tell which way is down and catch an edge resulting in a face plant.

Head for Italy. Generally much more mellow. Passo Tonale is probably my favourite beginner resort but there’s plenty of options. Better snow in the west at the moment.

Mayfhofen has some big wide pistes and the Ahorn area which is a very wide blue and quiet.

Geilo in Norway. While she’s riding the blues you can go and mess about in the park.

Recommending where I’ve been, Obergurgl has plenty of blues along with some not too difficult reds to graduate to.
Livigno also has lots of low blues along the valley that would offer some variety.

French “blues” are a bit of a lottery IME (for “beginners” or those who just want to cruise all day). Sometimes they’ll just flow gently, then chuck a steepish bit followed by a long flattish run out. Resorts want to show as many blues as possible on their piste maps as that’s what attracts most skiers.

I haven’t skied lots of different resorts, but from what I remember, Zell in Austria had a lot of easy blues – it’s where I fell in love with boarding (again, having tried it a few years previously in Montgenevre) – because I could cruise easy blues, putting in lots of big turns with plenty of room.

Of course, how easy a resort’s blues are will depend a lot on snow conditions. An icy blue will still be a tough one to board for anyone starting out, especially on a rental board with dodgy edges.

My girlfriend liked Val Thorens, though she went as a complete noob. Deux Alpes was good according to her but Tignes had too many flat bits. Best we’ve been to so far for her level has been Zell am See – we got loads of powder last year so I had a great time blasting through the trees in the off piste while she cruised around, but the park wasn’t up to much so I might have got a bit bored if there hadn’t been the powder. Going back this year so will probably find out then!

I’ve only ever been skiing for a week but there was loads to do for beginners in Grand Massif – we stayed in Morillon but it’s really easy access to Samoens and Lez Carroz.

The ZigZag ski school over in Samoens were excellent, dragged us straight from the greens on to the red as the blues were icy that day, they’ve had a load more snow since then though so apparently much better now.

For me I found;

Ruka, Findland
Are, Sweden
Risoul, Tignes and Meribel in France.

all have plenty of Blues/Greens and a few tame reds. Second the recommendations for Zell and Passo Tonale.

Resorts need a blue run down from each sector on their plan des pistes so people feel the whole resort is open to them. Some can be a bit challenging.

A week or so ago we were deskinning when someone skied over to ask where the blue went. They’re both blue I replied, that way is steep and icy, and the alternative is the border cross. She kept asking about an easy blue by name and took some persuading that the top part of that piste is red and the border was the easiest way back down on that day.

Le Tour at the top end of the Chamonix valley is good for beginners.

Grand massif, as above has some good beginner bits especially Morillon as said above.

I’ve been going to the Pyrenees for the last few years and Andorra, Gradvalira Soldue/El Tarter sections and Val Nord Arinsal, were nice and simple but still fun for the more advanced and they have some good parks.

Baquiera on the Spanish side of the Pyrenees was nice as well, lots of wide easy slopes.

You really can’t go wrong with Tignes/Val d’Isere. Loads of nice, wide, rolling blues. Avoid Les Arcs – I went with a few beginners once and they hated it – lots of narrow and flat sections linking stuff together.

Compared with Chamonix, Tignes or maybe even There Valleys (Val Thorens/Meribel/Courcheval) is beginners heaven, but with plenty of advanced stuff too.

I’d echo what ebennet said up there. Zell Am See was pretty good for easy blues, and up the road Saalbach/Hinterglemm is also pretty accessible.

My mate just got back from snowboarding in Lebanon.. pistes look just as you requested if you fancy something a bit different!

Flaine? It’s been a few years, but I seem to remember that having a lot of wide-open blue pistes. I seem to remember La Plagne being a good call for big, wide pistes too.

Avoid Les Deux Alpes at all costs. The descents back down to the village are either steep or flat-as-a-pancake roads.

Cheers

Cheers

I was going to mention Flaine, not the prettiest of places but some nice skiing. Good links over to Les Carroz and Samoens.

Passo Tonale is probably my favourite beginner resort but there’s plenty of options.

Another vote for Tonale, I used to take groups over back in my ski repping days. My other half much preferred it to the likes of the 3 Valleys etc, nice quiet wide pistes but still plenty to keep more experienced snowboarders entertained.

I was going to mention Flaine, not the prettiest of places but some nice skiing. Good links over to Les Carroz and Samoens.

My first ski holiday ever was at Flaine, lots of wide easy blues.

What wasn’t good then and even worse for a snowboarder is the Cascades route over to Salvagny. The top was flat and a lot of work with the ski-poles. The bottom was narrow icy cat-track through the forest.

I’d lost the will to live by the end.

Would second Obergurgl – quiet resort, never queued for a lift all week and lots of blue runs and some easy reds.

Solden down the valley has lovely blues on the glacier too which are v high up and thus good snow.

(Solden got some good blacks too if you want to sneak off!)

A couple of smaller places I went to years ago which were very pleasant, Valmorel and Valfrejus.

I’ll also second Hinterglemm for big long wide open pistes also Servaus-Fiss-Ladis had a nice selection of blue pistes where the slope was even with not many flat sections or steep ones which is the nicest to kearn on. A lot of resorts blue pistes tend to be connceting pistes which are effectively fire roads which are fine and dandy for beginner skiers but horrible for snowboarders.

Avoid Les Deux Alpes at all costs. The descents back down to the village are either steep or flat-as-a-pancake roads.

That’s not true anymore, they carved a blue run down to the station a few years ago. The signal run there would be the perfect example of a wide blue with a consistant pitch.

Plusses for
Valmorel, which is more or less blue over the whole mountain, including St François (the only flat bit is the col de la madeleine)
And Meribel, the Saulire side is big cruisy blue central

“I seem to remember La Plagne being a good call for big, wide pistes too”

La Plagne has the widest of wide & the flattest of flat blues – never crashed so much 👿 👿

Give me steep and icy any day

Andorra is good for easy boarding.