Seconds out, round 7: our two editorial titans of the slopes pit their
opinions against each other again on the latest big issue - which are the
best ski runs? Well, 4 of their 10 favourites are in Switzerland and 4 are
in the USA. Do you agree? Let us know your favourites on the comment form
MARK FRARY, wintersports editor of The Times:
I’m not sure I could pick a single run that I could label as the very best in
the world but I could pick a handful that rank as the leading contenders.
So, in no particular order, here goes:
The Vallée Blanche, Chamonix – not the classic route that everyone
does but the Petit Envers du Plan. You still start off, edging down the
sharp arête with your skis off and linked to other skiers before your
descent, but this route is far steeper and you’ll be less likely to
encounter others on your way down. I can never get enough of those eerie
blue glaciers and scary crevasses.
Big Dipper, Heavenly, California – a nice easy run with some of the
most spectacular views from a piste anywhere on the planet. From the top,
you get incredible views over deep blue Lake Tahoe on one side and of the
arid Nevada desert on the other. You could almost be on another planet.
The long red runs down from the Weissfluhjoch in Davos to the hamlet of
Serneus (numbered 17, 21 and 53) – loads of variety to test you, steep
pitches, ungroomed snowfields, tree-lined sections and wide motorway
stretches to let you pick up some speed. At the bottom in Serneus, grab a
hauskaffee in one of the bars, a coffee fortified with schnapps as a reward.
Black run down from Mont Fort, Verbier. This, the highest section of
the Verbier network, is steep and frequently speckled with moguls. After the
leg burn of those, you flatten out onto the Mont Fort glacier to give your
knees a rest before leading you towards the terrors of Tortin.
Twilight, Steamboat. This Colorado resort is renowned for its
sensational glades and they don’t come much better than this. You’ll find
hidden stashes of powder as you bounce between the aspen and fir trees. Tree
skiing at its best.
SEAN NEWSOM, wintersports editor of The Sunday Times and www.welove2ski.com:
Mark’s right! We could argue about the best ski run in the world until hell
freezes over. But, in the meantime, are the ones that have given me the
biggest buzz over the years.
The bottom half of Highlands, Aspen. For me, Aspen is the world capital
of groomed snow. They keep their pistes in superb condition here, and many
of the best are to be found on Highlands, one of the least-skied of the
area’s four mountains. From the Merry-Go-Round midstation, they start wide,
gentle, and confidence-boosting, before steepening up a little at the end.
By the time you reach the bottom, you’ll be flying.
Combe Saulire, Courchevel. The Three Valleys is packed with excellent
intermediate-friendly pistes, and none is more popular than Combe Saulire –
the north-facing screamer that shoots back down from the summit of Saulire
towards the resort of Courchevel 1850. The snow is usually in excellent
condition here, but only first thing in the morning, before the crowds carve
to it shreds. So you need to get up early to ski it. That only adds to the
challenge, however, and there’s a huge satisfaction to be had from being
amongst the first to leave tracks across its corduroy.
Top half of the Inferno, Mürren, Switzerland. The mountain views
from Mürren, toward the north wall of the Jungfrau, are the most stunning I
know. There’s no better way to sample them than on the long descent from the
top of the Schilthorn, back down to the village – through 1300 vertical
metres. It’s a real mixed bag of terrain too, offering everything from steep
mogul fields to boulevard-wide pistes.
Liberty Bowl, Big Sky. Big Sky, in Montana, is a thrilling place to ski
– a real middle-of-nowhere experience made all the more impressive by the
proper, pointy mountain that sits at its heart. Its many faces provide runs
that vary from the extreme to the merely exciting, and the best in the
latter category is Liberty Bowl. It’s steep, and ungroomed, but also
unbroken by trees or rock faces, and in fresh snow it’s the perfect place to
work on your powder turns.
The Laub, Engelberg, Switzerland. The Laub is like Liberty Bowl – only
longer: a single slope that drops through 1,100 vertical metres, never once
wavering from a steep, 30-45 degree pitch. In other words, it seems to go on
forever, and if there’s a longer powder run in the Alps I’d like to hear
about it!
Give Flain, Samoens and the Grand Massif a shot. It has wide varied interesting runs and the fact that it is nearly always nearly deserted means that you can blast them at top speed throwing in soaring wide turns as you please.
D Roberts, Denbigh,
Val is without the best. Go there. Stay there. Keep going back there. Verbier sucks! trust me.
Mike , Verbier,
Megeve tops the lot; though please don't tell anyone we don't want plane loads of commoners arriving and ruining it...
Peter Barr, Toronto, Ontario
val has it all, i spent a season there and would be quite happy to spend the rest of life there.
c johns, b'ham,
you are askng the wrong question here?! should be verbier vs. courchevel?
darshan, fontainebleau,
Having had the pleasure of visiting both...... Val is superior.
Adam, London, UK
The resort that has it all is Val. You even agree that Verbs is most suitable only if you are very rich and / or looking for very advanced skiing.
But if you want advanced skiing you'd be far better off going to Chamonix, which ironically is far more accessible thatn V or V, from the airport, the autoroute and the TGV. It's only the skiing convenience that counts against it. It's also a far better bet if you want to buy rather than simply holiday, as its a year round resort. Anyone for a sumer moon-hike round Val? Thought not...
alan, london,
I'd also add the stunning landscape of Lake Louise Canada.
a don, Sydney, Australia
Verbier..Mont Fort leads to the itinery route Col de Gentianes. Get your facts right boys
mike, verbier, Switzerland
Yes, but having reached the Weissfluhjoch from Davos or Klosters, why not go on up to the Gipfel and, after admiring the 360° view, down the superb and not difficult Nord side and then join up with the run down to Serneus?
John Thorpe, Milan, Italy
Have these guys never heard of La Grave in France?
Graham Stenson, Stamford, Lincs