February 2022 - Gridlock?!

[Africa2go]

We missed Christmas skiing this year and are looking to book for the 21/22 season. However we're thinking of going with other families who want to go at Feb 22 (rather than Christmas 21). I worry it'll be manic - everywhere will be massively busy, overcrowded. What does everyone else think?

I’ve still booked - I would probably not choose to ski the popular British choices in the PdS etc where bottlenecks are well known - but it will help in France that Paris half term is not until 19 Feb and in Austria our half term doesn’t look like there is much overlap either.

Thank you !

Yikes - I was looking at the wrong page for Austria - www.holidays-info.com/austria/school-holidays/2022/
Looks like Vorarlberg on holidays then and Vienna not listed yet - sorry!

Which resort were you thinking of going to? I also would avoid the biggies that the Brits love for half-term but there are plenty of others.

Not France, possibly Austria or Italy but missing it so much I'm not really that bothered - as long as there's good snow. Just don't want it to be a week of long queues and really overcrowded slopes! Any recommendations for "off the beaten" track resorts for Brits?

Same here. I am even considering glacier skiing to get a fix sooner. (Although never had a good glacier ski!)

In Italy if you are all reasonable skiers Champoluc is great, high up and not too busy. Also Madonna might really suit you they have a really good range of skiing for every level.
Kronplatz (San Vigilio) is lovely too and great for families of all abilities.
I love Alleghe (Civetta ski area) and didnt see a single Brit while I was there, but its best for family lower intermediates its around 80kms . You can easily get to Marmolada glacier from here too though for the better skiers. The Dolomites are awesome def my favourite place to ski!.
In Austria Nassfeld/Hermagor is a good option as is Katschberg.
I could go on and on!

Avoid Courmayeur - the queues are crazy at the best of times (and to be honest it’s not enough for a week unless you have a car or are big off piste fans)

www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/ski/articles/best-ski-resorts-february-half-term-top-deals-family-holidays/ despite title this article is about avoiding the inevitable crush next Feb 🤞🏼

@SkiYetiMagic Marmolada is one of my favourite all time runs .. sigh.

I'd add Canazei to your list, I prefer it to Alleghe as better access to whole Dolomiti Superski area. If you stay in Alba you've got access to 2 big "funivias" giving you lots of options.

@massistar Im glad to find a fellow Dolomite and Marmolade fan those mountains are like no others :-)

Will add Canazei to next years potential list. Just love the lake views and peaks of Alleghe but its not on the main circuit and I do plan to ski every run on that SuperSki circuit....

Thank you for all the tips :-)

Thank you for this thread!! You've just got me all excited! The Dolomites are 100% in my view for Feb 2022.

Has anyone skied them at Xmas? How's the snow?

I've skied at Christmas/New Year a couple of times. Mixed results. Couple of times had amazing snow and other times very little but they are very good with the cannons.

We had our Easter trip last year rearranged for half term this year. The chalet is already full for Feb half term next year and is so expensive. Now I’ve given up and re-booked it as a term time holiday for March 2022. It will be unauthorised and there will be twittering about every school day mattering but DS will only be Y2 and this holiday matters to us.
Going to Morzine and will enjoy the relatively quiet slopes.

Good for you @Cyclingforcake, I think doing that for Morzine is a better option than Feb frankly and easy access to Avoriaz if it’s a warmer March.
Dolomites fans, apologies to derail the thread but could it be a good long weekend destination and which resort would you recommend as a base?

@abricotine transfers are a bit longer than doing the traditional Geneva long weekends. It's about 2 hours from Venice up to Alleghe which is a beautiful town. Limited skiing but that might be ok for long weekend. I love Canazei and have also stayed in Sesto. Or somewhere like Corvara or Arabba for easy access to the glorious Marmolada.

Thanks @massistar. Would love to go!

@abricotine yes as massistar says it's about 2 hours from Venice. We did a long weekend in Alleghe last year I think it was Thurs eve to Mon eve doing Venice Easy Jet from Luton.
We stayed in a really big apartment right by the lift. It's on Booking.com as 'apartamento fronte impiante'
You can prob ski Alleghe in a day, but then you can jump on a bus to do Marmolada and Arabba really easily.

Hi again, can anyone recommend a ski company that can look at accommodation for a group (13 in total, children all 12+)? Am looking at Champoluc after advice on here, and any other Dolomite resorts? All good intermediates, ideally access to ski area from hotel (i.e. not having to get a bus etc). All advice received - pressure is on feeling responsible for getting it right for the group!

You could try Ski 2 in Champoluc. Interski in Aosta may also cover Champoluc too.

Crystal had a chalet for around 13 in the Dolomites, but im not sure if they are still doing chalet holidays. Most of the big package companies will do some of the Dolomite resorts.

I’ve used ski solutions before to Italy and they have been good throughout the pandemic with updates and flexible booking. www.skisolutions.com/dolomites-ski-holidays Might be worth a try.

@SkiYetiMagic thanks for the weekend tips! Sella Ronda definitely on the bucket list now!

Super devoluy/lajouedu loop. Southern alps been a few times very few brits when we have been. Not much apres ski but what there was we enjoyed. I think when your going in a group you can make a lot of your own entertainment at night anyway.

I always use Skiline when we’re in a big group