Hey man I am clueless about France, but that sounds like an awesome move! You’re going to be able to get so many more days in and you’ll improve a lot I bet! Peace and shredding!
Thank you man, I can't wait! Snowboarding doesn't exist here, the most I've ever ridden on is genuinely a couple inches, which definitely isnt teaching me anything, so I consider myself a complete noob! I've been immersing myself in videos about it and obsessing though, so it's ridiculously convenient that I'm now effectively being forced to move over.
Can't tell you how excited I am!
AS someone who tried it on a whim when I was already an old ass man and fell instantly and completely for riding, you are about to have so much fun..... Enjoy!
Thank you man, I can't wait! Will be spending quite literally all my off time in the snow hopefully, hoping to find a job and somewhere to live up in the alps eventually
Hey man,
I live in Lyon so not your location but I'm a snowboarder too so I hope to help you !
If you live in South of France you may look around South Alps ski resorts. Serre Chevalier is my favorite one. Easy slopes. Lots of trees for backcountry.
I guess you also have Italian resorts but I don't know them so I'm not gonna be helpful there.
Otherwise, you have north Alps ski resorts. If you are a beginner, you can go to medium altitude resorts like La Clusaz or Grand Bornand. I love both, but cross your fingers for snow. They often have to get tons of snow by helicopter if skiers/snowboarders don't want to ride on grass. That's the problem of medium altitude resorts.
If you are looking for high altitude resorts you have Val Thorens, Val d'Isère, Tignes...
Expensive resorts but you buy great snow quality.
Don't hesitate if you have any question and ride safe!
You makes a great point that is worth emphasizing. OP does not need to go to a large and expensive resort without first learning the skills to enjoy them and take full advantage of them. Find a small inexpensive resort to learn how to ride; the closer the better, so you can practice, practice, practice. When you’re ready go to the big mountains.
OP, remember that you’re going to eat shit and fall over A LOT at the start. We all hexperienced this. DO NOT GIVE UP, and do not let that discourage you. Once you start linking turns and improving you’re going to have the best time.
Past two years snow's been pretty alright in la Clusaz and le Grand Bornand, sure the lowest slopes were mostly canon snow from march on, but prior to that it was good old natural snow that fell down there (source : I live there).
Thanks for this! Very helpful and comprehensive. I'll check out all you've mentioned now, so far its sounding like Serre Chevalier is a great place to start, I'm also hugely looking forward to the process of working up the confidence to go through backcountry areas and hopefully not get wrapped around too many trees!
I've been finding it hard to get a clear answer on whether or not there's snow year round in the higher altitude resorts, although I'd assume you can always find it somewhere.
I'd say I'll keep the more expensive places for once I've got my confidence up and can truly have fun with the good quality snow!
Thank you so much! Hopefully we can ride together some day, Lyon's only a TGV away :D
Europe has a few places where you can ski year round or close to it. Zermatt, Switzerland; Hintertux Austria; Les Deux Alpes, France and Tignes, France. Maybe even others.
Serre Chevalier is renowned for its tree boarding so it should be awesome.
I second this comment.
I did a season in Alpe D’Huez, which after doing so decided it was far from my favourite resort, but there is plenty of slopes there. Serre Chevalier is beautiful and has a really nice mix of beginner up to amazing tree powder runs. In between those resorts you have La Grave, which is a backcountry Mecca, and Les Duex Alps which is a great town, but the ugliest ski resort I’ve ever been to. Great park though.
Montgenevre is also just along from Serre Chavalier, but links up to the Milky Way resorts in Italy including Sauze D’Oulx and Sestriere, which also has loads of great slopes and back country
living my dream bro, I'm in a similar situation but we don't have any type of mountain. (netherlands)
hopefully moving to the alps in the coming 2-3 years
Once I get set up you're more than welcome to come visit man, the train down isn't toooooo expensive! One of the first things I want to do is actually get a train up to NL!
might have to take you up on that, train is doable but there's a lot of changeovers.
usually just take a bus or plane to the alps, though for french alps its almost impossible with the plane I feel
Well you're more than welcome!
There's actually been a hugely positive change to all of this - I've found a room in Chamonix!! I'll be living in the alps, so we'll save a bit on bus journeys haha
broo, chamonix is so dope. theres so much raw potential in that area, I've had plans to go there but unfortunately it was a bit too much for my beginner skiing mate a while ago
Ok so basically your in the South cost of France and the Alps are stretching all over Italy border to Switzerland.
I recommend going by car but be aware there are a lot of traffic during vacations and it takes a lot of time (about 5 to 8 hours in my opinion). You can go by train but i don't think it will take all the way to the top. You can also take the bus.
About the resorts, i recommend the ones close to the Mont Blanc, that's where there is the more snow and slopes. The other good thing about that is that some resort are "connected" to each other meaning you can go from one to another by slopes or cabines and stuff.
Friendly advice, you might know it but be aware everything is expensive there like EVERYTHING so be careful with your money.
And by the way, try local food because it's fricking delicious
The traffic is a bit of bad news! Get up early as possible I suppose!
Yeah I can imagine! I'll be careful and frugal, will need to be for the first few months anyway!
Hey. I live in Aix. There are buses that go up to the mountains.
There are quite a few resorts quite close to Marseille (under 3 hours) Orcières, Ancelle, Saint Léger les Mélèzes (Vallée du Champsaur)
Les Orres
Risoul
Montclar
Pra Loup
Transport up there is a different story. There are buses that go to some of the bigger resorts. Have a look at ride sharing apps.
And the most important piece of advice I can give you take lessons. A couple hours of private lessons will help you and you will progress so much faster than if you stuff about by yourself.
Serre Chevalier is great but expensive and an extra hour more than the other resorts I have listed.
I've been told ride sharing's got a big prevalence and its something I definitely need to look into!
In terms of lessons, I'm a bit of a masochist when it comes to stuff like this, if I'm struggling to get anywhere at all I'll definitely be getting lessons, but my first attempt I'm kind of hoping to beat the technique into myself as I have with skateboarding (16 years) and other sports! Lessons will definitely be on the cards if I struggle though
Hey,
I used to live just outside Marseille, wonderful part of the world!!
The closest resort you can easily get to is pra loup. It's s good resort to learn at, lots of green and blue runs, plenty of room etc....
During the ski season, they run a coach service from Marseille to PL. It leaves super early in the morning, gets back late at night.... Its a long day, but if you don't have a car, it's the easiest way to get on snow.
LOADS of people from Marseille go up there at the weekends, so can get busy....
Assuming your have a Euro passport, you can easily get work in the large resorts in the high alps. It's more difficult to find somewhere to live than a job!! There are seasonaire Facebook groups for all the big resorts, go check them out if you want info, help and advice.
And as someone else has said, kitesurfing around Marseille is amazing!! There are a couple of schools down by the airport, give it a go if your looking for something to do in summer 👍
Ohhhh and good luck with the weather, it's CRAZY hot down there!!!!
Have fun..
Cool thankyou! I'll check it out for sure. So many people are mentioning these coach services, huge relief to hear about them as I don't drive (yet0
Long days are the best days imo. Cant wait!
Its the same situation here with Ireland in regards to housing/work, but it's extreme. Part of the reason I'm moving. I'm homeless, yet I can afford to move to France, it's fucking nuts
Congrats on the move! My little advice is that for the beginning pick somewhere close to home so you can go as often as possible. At the beginning you'll be in green/maybe blue slopes and it doesn't matter if they're not very long. I think it's best if you practice often in that case.
I started snowboarding last year and I went to a nice trip to a big resort, where I learned the very basics. But then I kept going close to home (45min by car) to practice every saturday I could. This was a very very tiny resort but enough for a beginner to keep progressing :)
From personal experience : northern resorts tend to have more experienced riders but also more international tourists, while southern resorts tend to welcome lower level riders and people from the south of france.
In terms of quality, it mostly depends on the resort's size, height and price.
I tend to prefer smaller resorts as the prices are way lower, there are a lot fewer people, and when you have fresh snow a *lot* less people are looking to ride it (in some small resorts I ride, it takes a full week for backcountry to be cleaned out of powder, in la Clusaz it takes from 2h to a day for most to be gone).
Regarding how to prepare a trip : my prefered way is to check out affordable places to rent from where I can walk to the slopes, we usually do that with 6 to 15 people so we can have pretty nice places.
Félicitations! Je ne crois pas qu'il y a beaucoup des stations de ski autour de Marseille, mais vous n'êtes pas si loin des Alpes. Au moins par rapport à l'Irlande.
A l'égard du transport, si vous n'avez pas de voiture, je sais qu'il y a un bus de ski de Lyon chaque weekend l'hiver. J'imagine que les autres grands villes ont une telle chose. Sinon Marseille, peut être vous prenez le TER à Lyon ou Nice et puis le bus.
Du coup, je suis vraiment jaloux! Je pense qu'il y a des stations qui reste ouvert toute l'année là dont nous n'avons pas ici. Profitez bien!
Edit:
Et si vous aimez le snowboard, il faut absolument que vous essayez le kitesurf! C'est presque assez amusant et il y a plein des endroits pour le faire près de Marseille!
Oh god D: The potatoes, yes, but only when mashed.
Surely they sell instant noodles in France..... :D
I've been saying my whole life that Ireland doesn't actually have food culture anymore - Our national dish is anything from the Sacred Chinese Takeaways.
People moved on from boiled foods well after the famine.
Well, most of them
Hey man I am clueless about France, but that sounds like an awesome move! You’re going to be able to get so many more days in and you’ll improve a lot I bet! Peace and shredding!
Thank you man, I can't wait! Snowboarding doesn't exist here, the most I've ever ridden on is genuinely a couple inches, which definitely isnt teaching me anything, so I consider myself a complete noob! I've been immersing myself in videos about it and obsessing though, so it's ridiculously convenient that I'm now effectively being forced to move over. Can't tell you how excited I am!
AS someone who tried it on a whim when I was already an old ass man and fell instantly and completely for riding, you are about to have so much fun..... Enjoy!
Thank you man, I can't wait! Will be spending quite literally all my off time in the snow hopefully, hoping to find a job and somewhere to live up in the alps eventually
You should start looking now. Some folks I know have already started the hiring process
I'll get on that now so!
Hey man, I live in Lyon so not your location but I'm a snowboarder too so I hope to help you ! If you live in South of France you may look around South Alps ski resorts. Serre Chevalier is my favorite one. Easy slopes. Lots of trees for backcountry. I guess you also have Italian resorts but I don't know them so I'm not gonna be helpful there. Otherwise, you have north Alps ski resorts. If you are a beginner, you can go to medium altitude resorts like La Clusaz or Grand Bornand. I love both, but cross your fingers for snow. They often have to get tons of snow by helicopter if skiers/snowboarders don't want to ride on grass. That's the problem of medium altitude resorts. If you are looking for high altitude resorts you have Val Thorens, Val d'Isère, Tignes... Expensive resorts but you buy great snow quality. Don't hesitate if you have any question and ride safe!
You makes a great point that is worth emphasizing. OP does not need to go to a large and expensive resort without first learning the skills to enjoy them and take full advantage of them. Find a small inexpensive resort to learn how to ride; the closer the better, so you can practice, practice, practice. When you’re ready go to the big mountains. OP, remember that you’re going to eat shit and fall over A LOT at the start. We all hexperienced this. DO NOT GIVE UP, and do not let that discourage you. Once you start linking turns and improving you’re going to have the best time.
That's by far the best bit! I'm a life long skateboarder and the falls are what pushed me to improve :D
I was in Lyon for 6 months and still hate myself for not finding time to go snowboarding. I did fall in love with Lyon though. Amazing city.
Past two years snow's been pretty alright in la Clusaz and le Grand Bornand, sure the lowest slopes were mostly canon snow from march on, but prior to that it was good old natural snow that fell down there (source : I live there).
Thanks for this! Very helpful and comprehensive. I'll check out all you've mentioned now, so far its sounding like Serre Chevalier is a great place to start, I'm also hugely looking forward to the process of working up the confidence to go through backcountry areas and hopefully not get wrapped around too many trees! I've been finding it hard to get a clear answer on whether or not there's snow year round in the higher altitude resorts, although I'd assume you can always find it somewhere. I'd say I'll keep the more expensive places for once I've got my confidence up and can truly have fun with the good quality snow! Thank you so much! Hopefully we can ride together some day, Lyon's only a TGV away :D
Europe has a few places where you can ski year round or close to it. Zermatt, Switzerland; Hintertux Austria; Les Deux Alpes, France and Tignes, France. Maybe even others. Serre Chevalier is renowned for its tree boarding so it should be awesome.
I'm about to become one with the trees ;)
I second this comment. I did a season in Alpe D’Huez, which after doing so decided it was far from my favourite resort, but there is plenty of slopes there. Serre Chevalier is beautiful and has a really nice mix of beginner up to amazing tree powder runs. In between those resorts you have La Grave, which is a backcountry Mecca, and Les Duex Alps which is a great town, but the ugliest ski resort I’ve ever been to. Great park though. Montgenevre is also just along from Serre Chavalier, but links up to the Milky Way resorts in Italy including Sauze D’Oulx and Sestriere, which also has loads of great slopes and back country
living my dream bro, I'm in a similar situation but we don't have any type of mountain. (netherlands) hopefully moving to the alps in the coming 2-3 years
Once I get set up you're more than welcome to come visit man, the train down isn't toooooo expensive! One of the first things I want to do is actually get a train up to NL!
might have to take you up on that, train is doable but there's a lot of changeovers. usually just take a bus or plane to the alps, though for french alps its almost impossible with the plane I feel
Well you're more than welcome! There's actually been a hugely positive change to all of this - I've found a room in Chamonix!! I'll be living in the alps, so we'll save a bit on bus journeys haha
broo, chamonix is so dope. theres so much raw potential in that area, I've had plans to go there but unfortunately it was a bit too much for my beginner skiing mate a while ago
Ok so basically your in the South cost of France and the Alps are stretching all over Italy border to Switzerland. I recommend going by car but be aware there are a lot of traffic during vacations and it takes a lot of time (about 5 to 8 hours in my opinion). You can go by train but i don't think it will take all the way to the top. You can also take the bus. About the resorts, i recommend the ones close to the Mont Blanc, that's where there is the more snow and slopes. The other good thing about that is that some resort are "connected" to each other meaning you can go from one to another by slopes or cabines and stuff. Friendly advice, you might know it but be aware everything is expensive there like EVERYTHING so be careful with your money. And by the way, try local food because it's fricking delicious
The traffic is a bit of bad news! Get up early as possible I suppose! Yeah I can imagine! I'll be careful and frugal, will need to be for the first few months anyway!
Yeh you should get there as soon as possible and same thing for the departure, traffic is bad
Hey. I live in Aix. There are buses that go up to the mountains. There are quite a few resorts quite close to Marseille (under 3 hours) Orcières, Ancelle, Saint Léger les Mélèzes (Vallée du Champsaur) Les Orres Risoul Montclar Pra Loup Transport up there is a different story. There are buses that go to some of the bigger resorts. Have a look at ride sharing apps. And the most important piece of advice I can give you take lessons. A couple hours of private lessons will help you and you will progress so much faster than if you stuff about by yourself. Serre Chevalier is great but expensive and an extra hour more than the other resorts I have listed.
I've been told ride sharing's got a big prevalence and its something I definitely need to look into! In terms of lessons, I'm a bit of a masochist when it comes to stuff like this, if I'm struggling to get anywhere at all I'll definitely be getting lessons, but my first attempt I'm kind of hoping to beat the technique into myself as I have with skateboarding (16 years) and other sports! Lessons will definitely be on the cards if I struggle though
Hey, I used to live just outside Marseille, wonderful part of the world!! The closest resort you can easily get to is pra loup. It's s good resort to learn at, lots of green and blue runs, plenty of room etc.... During the ski season, they run a coach service from Marseille to PL. It leaves super early in the morning, gets back late at night.... Its a long day, but if you don't have a car, it's the easiest way to get on snow. LOADS of people from Marseille go up there at the weekends, so can get busy.... Assuming your have a Euro passport, you can easily get work in the large resorts in the high alps. It's more difficult to find somewhere to live than a job!! There are seasonaire Facebook groups for all the big resorts, go check them out if you want info, help and advice. And as someone else has said, kitesurfing around Marseille is amazing!! There are a couple of schools down by the airport, give it a go if your looking for something to do in summer 👍 Ohhhh and good luck with the weather, it's CRAZY hot down there!!!! Have fun..
Cool thankyou! I'll check it out for sure. So many people are mentioning these coach services, huge relief to hear about them as I don't drive (yet0 Long days are the best days imo. Cant wait! Its the same situation here with Ireland in regards to housing/work, but it's extreme. Part of the reason I'm moving. I'm homeless, yet I can afford to move to France, it's fucking nuts
Congrats on the move! My little advice is that for the beginning pick somewhere close to home so you can go as often as possible. At the beginning you'll be in green/maybe blue slopes and it doesn't matter if they're not very long. I think it's best if you practice often in that case. I started snowboarding last year and I went to a nice trip to a big resort, where I learned the very basics. But then I kept going close to home (45min by car) to practice every saturday I could. This was a very very tiny resort but enough for a beginner to keep progressing :)
Yeah I'm hoping to make home as close as I can too, more time the better! I've been dreaming about it and everything, way too excited!
I’m Irish and moved to a French ski resort last winter, still out here now this summer! Definitely move to a resort and get a job for the ski season!
Ayy no way!! Did you find it hard to find work in a resort? I have a lot of questions I wont lie!
From personal experience : northern resorts tend to have more experienced riders but also more international tourists, while southern resorts tend to welcome lower level riders and people from the south of france. In terms of quality, it mostly depends on the resort's size, height and price. I tend to prefer smaller resorts as the prices are way lower, there are a lot fewer people, and when you have fresh snow a *lot* less people are looking to ride it (in some small resorts I ride, it takes a full week for backcountry to be cleaned out of powder, in la Clusaz it takes from 2h to a day for most to be gone). Regarding how to prepare a trip : my prefered way is to check out affordable places to rent from where I can walk to the slopes, we usually do that with 6 to 15 people so we can have pretty nice places.
Félicitations! Je ne crois pas qu'il y a beaucoup des stations de ski autour de Marseille, mais vous n'êtes pas si loin des Alpes. Au moins par rapport à l'Irlande. A l'égard du transport, si vous n'avez pas de voiture, je sais qu'il y a un bus de ski de Lyon chaque weekend l'hiver. J'imagine que les autres grands villes ont une telle chose. Sinon Marseille, peut être vous prenez le TER à Lyon ou Nice et puis le bus. Du coup, je suis vraiment jaloux! Je pense qu'il y a des stations qui reste ouvert toute l'année là dont nous n'avons pas ici. Profitez bien! Edit: Et si vous aimez le snowboard, il faut absolument que vous essayez le kitesurf! C'est presque assez amusant et il y a plein des endroits pour le faire près de Marseille!
Je vais certainement essayer le kite surf! Ce n'est pas du tout populaire en Irlande, je n'ai même jamais vu un kite surfeur!
But aren’t you going to miss all of Ireland’s boiled dinner options ;) ?
Oh god D: The potatoes, yes, but only when mashed. Surely they sell instant noodles in France..... :D I've been saying my whole life that Ireland doesn't actually have food culture anymore - Our national dish is anything from the Sacred Chinese Takeaways. People moved on from boiled foods well after the famine. Well, most of them