Airports & Ski resorts in Alps

[skybeacon]

Any reccomendations for airports that can reliably be used and are near to ski resorts? Preferably with instrument approaches.

Is Geneva GA friendly, and what resorts are most convenient from there?

How reliable is weather at Chambery?

How about some of the smallers airports, perhaps Germany Austria Switzerland, and what resorts served?

Grateful for any any advice.

[GRP]

Geneva is reasonably GA friendly. Ski resorts accessible from there are such as Megeve, Morzine/Avoriaz, Chamonix, Flaine in France and then places like Verbier and Villars in Switzerland. If you want to get to the Swiss ski areas such as Zermatt and Crans Montana you are probably better off flying into Sion.

Chambery is good for the three valleys, Val D'Isere, Les Arcs, Tignes etc.
Annecy is not bad for places like La Cluzaz and Le Grand Bornand. There is also the smaller airfield at Annemasse for Megeve, Chamonix etc but no IAP available there (as far as I am aware anyway).

Weather in the winter seems to vary between the impossible and the perfect and it really is the luck of the draw. Perfect is not entirely uncommon and I'd suggest that the weather tends to be generally better than we get in the UK but you can't take it for granted.

Can't help you with Germany and Austria.

[M14P]

...and while we are on the subject: Anyone got any recommendations for places to stay close-ish to Sion in the third week of Jan? Apartment hotel or Chalet would be the most ideal.

Thanks
m

[big.al]

If you're looking for an airfield instead of a major airport, there's one at Zell Am See, in the Austrian region of Salzburg. One of the red ski runs down from the Schmittenhohe looks right out over the runway (around 700m length I think).

Obviously you'd run the risk of being weathered in (in my opinion there aren't many better places to be stuck!) but it looks like a fantastic place to fly to if you have the mountain experience. The runway is definately open in the winter - when we were there last March there were plenty of sightseeing flights taking place when the weather allowed.

From Zell am See you can also ski at Kaprun, on the same lift pass, or take a short journey to Saalbach/Hinterglemm. Salzburg is about an hour on the train from Zell and a great place to visit (or fly in to Salzburg if you'd prefer a larger airport - they seem to have plenty of GA activity).

http://www.flugplatz-zellamsee.at/For_Pilots/for_pilots.html
http://engl.salzburg-airport.com/generalaviation.html

Have fun!

[fltcom]

St Johann in Tirol has an airport, we went there in the summer and is not particularly challenging but it helps if you have some mountail experience. The skiing is a bit limited, but fine for a week if you are upto intermediate level. Kitzbuhel is on the back side of the local mountain and can be easily reached by car or train.

Let me know if you need further info

Flt

[egld0624]

Hi Skybeacon,

"Is Geneva GA friendly, and what resorts are most convenient from there?"

Switzerland is a funny old place and one seriously to consider for GA... Yep there are specific VFR routes into and out of the big airports AND they are incredibly GA friendly despite the level of activity; you'll probably receive recommendations to visit smaller airfields but I wouldn't let that deter you from trying the bigger guns; Sion is an obvious location for Verbier.

Most of the airports that I have flown into in Switzerland have a television touch screen VFR flight planning terminal with current weather info and chart print-off capability… you could only dream of that back home.. So yes GA is welcome.

If you fancy some more interesting VFR routes via the mountains you could try from Geneva/Sion to Locarno/Lugarno to Samedan (Europe's Highest Airport) which opens up the possibility to incorporate all the typical winter Olympic sports at St. Moritz;

Alternative route: is direct from the UK to Zurich or St. Gallen and then onwards to Samedan. If you'd rather go commercial to Zurich and fancy some hands on mountain/canyon flying in an Archer at Samedan PM me and I'd be happy to pass you details. Last season I took some flying friends from Denham via the latter method and organised some Taxi ride Bobsleigh (4-Man), local mountain flying and skiing for a long weekend... the mountains don't just have to be skied!

All VRF routes are clearly described in the Swiss AIP available from Skyguide.

Enjoy & all the best whatever you finally decide.


EG:ok:

www.navex.aero

[iflyhighinthesky]

Not sure if it is still accepting fixed wind, but Interlaken is at the foot of Wengen, one of the best ski resorts I have yet been to. Would check it out, I shall when I get back from work. Then again Interlaken may have closed years ago..... Anyone know?!?! Could recommend a good hotel as well!
Failing that, you could get a train direct from Zurich/Bern, only 2-3 hrs by train. It is a quieter resort, in the middle of nowhere but you will go back over and over I guarantee it.:ok:

Ifly (or try my best to):O

[CrashLander]

I'm looking to go to Switzerland for skiing in Feb. I'll be going IFR in a Cessna 340 - Geneva looks to be a bit pridey, what's the best GA airfield with an instrument approach?

[egld0624]

Crashlander check your PM's.

EG

[PW Cooper]

Can anyone provide any contact details for the altiport in the Val D'Isere/Tignes area.Have passed by a while ago but did not call in.Tried a google search but no sense of that.Would appreciate any info.
Thanks
PC.

[cblinton@blueyonder.]

Heres the link for the Courchevel Altiport http://www.adgs.com/C/GB/ecole-generalites.htm
I did the rating 3 weeks ago and fully recomend it. You cant get an airfield much closer to the resort than this.:D