Each is like a special confection–Val d’Isere, Zermatt, Davos, Klosters, Kitzbuhel, St. Anton, Cortina, Val Gardena–the names go on and on and stretch across the French, Swiss and Austrian Alps and the Italian Dolomites.
While the Rockies may offer the best skiing in the world, Europe’s slopes always hold a special romantic allure and charm. Even top American skiers, while touting the Rockies, wax poetic about skiing in Europe.
“If you’re a skier, you definitely want to ski Europe,” said Billy Kidd, director of skiing at Colorado’s Steamboat Resort, and a U.S. Olympic skier and U.S. ski team racer in the ’60s. “I think that if you’re going to ski Europe, part of it is the sliding down the hill, part is the food, part is the scenery, but part of it, too, is just the feeling of being part of this international sport with its long history based in Europe.”
“I’ve skied some incredible places in Europe,” said Bill Egan, men’s head alpine coach of the U.S. ski team, extolling the huge mountains, wonderful views and great ambience. “The Swiss Alps are a little different from the French Alps. I think that skiing in the Dolomites and in the Swiss and French Alps are a lot of fun because you’re normally skiing very high. In Austria often times you can ski at a much lower elevation and experience quaint villages.”
Kidd and Egan shared their European favorites recently in separate phone interviews. Interestingly, they were virtually on the same wavelength in choosing their special places. And fortunately for skiers with an eye on a European experience this winter, there are ample weeklong, complete ski tour packages that match up with their choices.
“The best place for Americans is Zermatt, Switzerland,” Kidd said. “You can find other ski areas with spectacular snow and views and food, but I think Zermatt gives people, especially Americans, the best of what Europe has in the easiest format,” Kidd explained. “It’s an international resort, so people speak English.
“You can ski in both Switzerland and Italy, which is really appealing to Americans. You can ski down to Cervinia for an Italian lunch. Zermatt is the crossroads of international skiing because you can go up in a cable car and hear people speaking French, German, Italian, as well as Portuguese, Japanese and Russian.”
At the top of Egan’s list is Val d’Isere in France. “If you’re not a real great skier, I’d say that Val d’Isere would be a blast,” he said. “It has wonderful intermediate terrain. English is spoken almost everywhere. The people are nice, and the French wines and food are great.”
Here’s a country-by-country recap of their other choices:
France: Kidd liked Val d’Isere, too, in part for sentimental reasons. “It’s the first place I went in Europe when I was 18 years old and trained with Jean-Claude Killy (the French ski great). Val d’Isere has a vast area to ski, with great food and scenery and all that stuff. In the early ’60s it was just a sheepherders’ town.” Egan’s other choice in France is Serre Chevalier, about 60 miles southeast of Grenoble–“not quite as crowded as Val d’Isere and very, very French.” (It’s very small, and not a ski package option.)
Switzerland: Egan also put Zermatt high on his choice list. “It’s amazing, the lifts that it has. The skiing is really excellent. The town is fun. It’s beautiful. Great restaurants. And the scenery is breathtaking, with the Matterhorn and Monte Rosa. There are lifts you can just ride and go sightseeing.” Egan also cited the Graubunden region, which boasts Davos/Klosters, Arosa, Lenzerheide and, of course, St. Moritz. “The towns are real simple, and I like the people in that area. You really see the old Swiss culture. The farmers get up in the morning and take care of their cattle, go out and teach skiing and take care of their farms at night.” Kidd also weighed in with Verbier, which he described as “modern, very well laid out and interconnected” with other ski areas.
Austria: Egan chose Kitzbuhel as his first stop. “It’s fun to be in Austria. The Austrians are fun-loving. I like the ambience of Austria. The hotels are first-class. And the skiing is very nice,” Egan said. Kidd opted for St. Anton. “From St. Anton you can ski into Zurs and Lech. You’re up in the kind of country that you imagine Maria von Trapp grew up skiing. So much is above the tree line. It’s spectacular scenery.”
Italy: Said Kidd: “I like the area around Cortina and Val Gardena. Part of it is I like sunshine. I found you can have really good skiing without freezing to death. A lot of the ski areas face south and get a lot of sun. The Dolomites are interesting looking mountains, and you can ski for days without repeating the same trail. And the food is spectacular.” Egan opted for Corvara in the Dolomite ski region. “You can buy a lift ticket and ski to and from a different resort every day.” Like Kidd, Egan lauded the area’s unique beauty and wonderful food. Corvara, however, is small and not mentioned in the ski brochures, although it’s part of the Sella Rondo ski circuit, covering some 650 miles.
As for the Bavarian Alps, Garmisch, about 60 miles south of Munich, garners a mention, but doesn’t rate with the others because of its colder, windier weather.
While traveling to Europe to ski might seem like an extravagance, skiers or those in search of a special winter experience can find weeklong packages in January for a tad above and below $1,000 a person, based on double occupancy, including air fare from Chicago. For example, the most economical package to Zermatt I saw was for $931; to Val d’Isere for $810; to Davos/Klosters, $1,144; Verbier, $911; Kitzbuhel, $1,052; St. Anton, $897; Cortina, $816; and Val Gardena, $913.
Best place to start ski-package shopping is at a travel agency because most are stocked with brochures that describe (in glowing terms, of course) tour offerings throughout the Alps and Dolomites. Among the major tour operators packaging European skiing are Adventures on Skis of Westfield, Mass. (800-628-9655); Central Holidays, Jersey City, N.J. (800-935-5000); and DER Travel Services of Rosemont (800-782-2424). Swissair’s Alpine Experience program (800-688-7947) tops the list of airline offerings with packages at 19 resorts in four countries.
