Last hot tip of the 2009 Ski Season:

Samnaun has optimal ski conditions (for early May) and plenty of the
white stuff on the ground.

Was in the village today, spoke with a couple of the business owners.
The impression they left was, the ski conditions are really good! The only
down side is, the lifts are only open through Sunday the 3rd of May.

So, hurry to Samnaun and enjoy!

which ski resort in switzerland would you consider to be the most modern? by this i mean for example large number of chair-lifts/gondolas instead of T-BARS , easy access to all lifts, etc.

i read an article saying that large number of ski resorts in switzerland are old-fashioned with lots of T-BARS still in use. ( i hate them )

i've been many times in italy (madonna di campiglio, passo del tonale, marileva folgarida , pejo, etc.) and at least for me, it was pretty modern, only used chair-lifts/gondolas , extensive network , no need to walk almost at all and so on.

anything like this, or maybe even better in switzerland?

i'm asking from the skier perspective, not snowboard, if that matters, and i'm rather advanced (but my wife is not). i will be living in zurich, but i doubt anything like this is near zurich, so just anywhere in switzerland can be.

source to which i was reffering to, when i wrote about tbars only in switzerland: http://www.pubclub.com/switzerland/skiing.htm

I think most of the Swiss resorts are pretty modernized now days. Most places you can ski without using tbars and don't recall walking much.

There is much truth in the article but I just don't think it as such a pain in the butt as the article is claiming it is to ski in Switzerland. Adelboden which is sited in the article does have some connection issues and Saas Fee some walking but I don't recall 30 minutes of walking anywhere.

One of the main differences in Europe the ski experience is about being outdoors and enjoying yourself while in the US it is about skiing as many runs as possible. Many Swiss skiers I know ski only a few runs a day and sit a good portion of the day taking in the sun and the views.

Anyhow, you will find many resorts within 2.5 hours of Zurich and they will be of all types and modernity. The most modern? hmm, I can't even answer that as all resorts have their strengths and weaknesses so will leave to others.

seems others don't have any opinion about this

If you look through the posts above, links and use search engine on the EF there will be lots of entries poping up on the topic from discussions in previous years (just read between lines and avoid those posts on SL bashing ). Furthermore if you google for Swiss ski resorts there should be more than enough info and answers to your questions.

In the meantime, chill out, it is still summer season and when the right time comes the people will be back to discuss skiing, trust me

They do and they are all in the in the threads if you search, some are fairly long and amusing inc' the Salsa bashing ones, so make yourself comfy and have a read

Hi,

The big BUMP for this thread.... ski season is coming !!!!


yes, I know I got too excited

ka

Tell me about it, I'm all excited because I can now see snow on Pilatus.

In a good season, Hasliberg will open early if there's enough snow about. Last year that was mid november.

Couldn't see Pilatus earlier, but if it has snow that's cool. I drove over the Gotthard on Sunday and there was nothing but that has snow now apparently, and there is snow at Flumserberg..... ye haaaaa

There is a ski meet in ZH on the 22nd, shameless plug, but check it out

Anyone interested in starting an equipment thread / post.

For example, you can list you ski's / boots etc and give your opinion on how good they are, tips on good deals and so on.
Not sure how it can be done as I am not very knowledgeable on forums, but many members will be looking for new or even their first skiing equipment and it could be helpful.

I love the idea of opening an equipment thread. Although the decision and feel of the equipment varies from person to person (height, weight, etc...) i think it could still be useful.

I am going to Val Thorens for the weekend of xmas and then to Saas Fee for the new years week. We want to go somewhere in mid november for a weekend, near luzern if possible but good for snowboarders (wide runs)...

Anyone has any thoughts? I like Engelberg but i dont enjoy it so much as some runs are so narrow...i ALWAYS have a skier running into me!!!! Must say i am not a great snowboarder but hey, i never run into anyone!

Any tip would be greatly appreciated!

SEASON IS HERE !!! YAY YAY!!!

whats cracking, folks?
from the ski-meet-bunch are there some people whod be keen on going
a) saas fee, b) chamonix or c)gstaad?

yes, this needs to be planned over a full weekend. or during weekdays.
i still need to blow 11 left over days until april. interested?

This is the thread for this year dude, check it out Snow sports 2009-10

Does anyone have any experience of Sattel or the Rigi?
Its the nearesrt ski resort i can find from Zug- was looking for an ok place i can blast down for a half a days boarding type of thing

Never been to Rigi but Sattel can be good for a half day. The main t bar climbs 300m and compared to some of the other small areas the pistes are better prepared and queues not so long. I used to go for a morning there which costs 25chf and gives you from 9 til 1.

do you know any ski region in switzerland that is not full of T-BARS ? it seems switzerland is still in the 70ties when it comes to the ski infrastructure, compared to Italy/Austria etc.

but maybe i missed some modern ski area ?

(i live in zurich so of course better would be something closer to ZH)

Umm, well last season I did one button lift at Klosters I think, but skied out the mountains at St Moritz, Flumserberg, Davos, Adelboden, Gstaad, the Jungfrau, Zermatt and Engelberg without once using a t-bar. Not sure where you're going, but let me know so I can avoid them. I hate t-bars too!

I've always found bars to be an essential part of ski infrastructure.
Not sure about tea, tho'...
.