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I’ve been once before (skating) in Les Rousses in the Jura, and mrs W would like to have a go this winter.
Where has some reasonable trails (more than just one circuit of the valley below the lifts), a ski school (we would both benefit from lessons), ski hire & a nice hotel/ apartment?
Happy to drive to Geneva, so most of the French or Swiss areas should be OK, but my Google Fu isn’t throwing up much in the way of specifics.
Pralognan la Vanoise often crops up, though I may be thinking of Telemark skiing rather than xc. Apparently Serre Chevalier has the most xc trails of resorts in France. If you're ok with Switzerland then Davos Klosters
Waves from östersund
Pretty sure le Grand Bornand has some extensive xc trails for all abilities. Nice little ski town with it too and very close to Geneva.
Ostersund would be a fair drive
Nah, nice trip really and it is part of the XC winter series. Six hours from Stockholm and. Östersund has its own airport, so you could probably just fly there from the UK via Stockholm
I like ski touring but isn't XC skiing a whole other level of punishing yourself? All the effort with none of the reward.
HEATHEN!!! Burn the witch!
“I like ski touring but isn’t XC skiing a whole other level of punishing yourself? All the effort with none of the reward.”
I think of it like road cycling. So part of the fun is the fitness/effort side of it
Is this XC skiing as part of a trip including alpine as well or purely XC?
If the former than really the Nordic (clue is in the word really) countries are much better than the alps. The terrain is more suitable and the whole culture is more orientated around it. They're also more likely to have some Nordic instruction and gear hire etc rather than it just being a converted summer golf course...
Providing easyjet do their flights again it is every Sunday from Gatwick.
I want to go back to Åre
the Nordic (clue is in the word really) countries are much better than the alps.
If you're not also doing alpine skiing, you could fly to Oslo and stay in the city. It's a 40 min metro ride up the hill to the XC ski trails - you can hire gear/instructors at the Vinterpark ski centre if you need. Over 2000km of ski trails in the Nordmarka forest and the main ones close to the city are lit up at night. It's a nice city for a short history/culture break too if you want other stuff to do.
I'm biased because I live here, but Scandinavia really does do XC skiing better than other countries!
I'd recommend Scandinavia or Canada too. Being able to ski at lower altitude makes it much easier if you're used to living at sea level, plus the terrain can be easier. Idre Fjall at Easter time for example has loads of great trails and better quality snow than the alps.
alpine X-C resorts were built when there was reliable snow at 1200m, there isn't anymore. Lower resorts even in Scandinavia are suffering shorter les reliable seasons. Altitude will get you better snow. La Féclaz is easy to get to, accomdation reasonably priced because it's easy to drive in for the day from the valleys. If money is no object then rent a place on the pistes in in Les Saisies.
Here are a few in France, The Vosges and Jura recommendations are too weather dependant to be a destination for UK skiers planning a long time in advance IMO.
https://www.lefigaro.fr/voyages/montagne/ski-de-fond-top-10-des-stations-en-france-20201205
As for:
I like ski touring but isn’t XC skiing a whole other level of punishing yourself? All the effort with none of the reward.
I find ski-touring/alpinisme the slog, X-C is fast and fun. This is an uphill section:
Thanks all, plenty to go at there.
I agree with the Scandinavian idea, but as a first go together to try it the flexibility and lower cost of driving may well win. Will look into the Oslo idea as well- that could be a good intro.
Edukator’s link seems to list the kind of places I was thinking of but couldn’t find- Les Rousses being among them.
Like everybody else said the Nordic countries have the best facilities and they usually are just run by the council or local organisations. If you get the chance try skating on the lakes/sea if you get the chance. It is my favourite thing to do in the winter here. It is really magical to skate on perfect mirror like ice on a clear winters day.
Levi in Finland has plenty of trails and an airport close by.
Depends on the winter of course but somewhere like Geilo is nearly guaranteed good conditions and tons of trails, but there's a higher risk if you're reliant on good valley conditions in the alps. I'd go to Oslo and head a bit north