Zinal resort info

Post by **NTwoO** » Friday 5 February 2010, 8:33

Maybe one for a sticky/FAQ

Hi all, some questions about Zinal.

1: Are there as many pull lifts as I've seen on one skimap?
2: Except for being the place for EC, is it snowboard friendly, will less experienced boarders also feel comfortable?
3: How good is the off-piste?
4: Which runs are used for EC (seen some references on the forum)?
5: Is Zinal well suited to take the family along? Are there ski instructors / nursery staff with international language for kids (Dutch, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish)?

Post by **Whitey** » Friday 5 February 2010, 15:17

Hello there,

here are some answers to your questions. I have been in Zinal 5-6 times, but maybe some locals could correct me if I'm wrong.

1. There are pull lifts and also chair lifts.
2. Yes, it is very snowboard friendly also for beginners.
3. After snowfall, Zinal is paradise in terms of off-piste possibilities.
4. Mainly Barthelemy and Le Col (both sides of it). Also Durant is really nice.
5. Definitely yes. You will manage allright with English.

Extra advice: if you are planning to go there, do it now. You won't regret it!

Post by **István** » Friday 5 February 2010, 15:58

Let me be the devils advocate here:

1) You think it's too much, or too few? I think the lifts in Zinal are ok in general and work well for me, but it is far away from modern places with fast 4-6 chairs (heated, padded, covered)

2) I am not sure. Typically beginners feel good on wide blue slopes like the Tiefenbach in Sölden. Zinal does not have such slopes. I had a beginner there with me once, he's been cursing me since then....

3) Fully agree

4) Fully agree

5) Disagree. You'll survive, but staff in hotels and restaurants rarely speak good English. You'll get your drink and food, but most probably you'll not be able to arrange more complicated things in English. Surely there are exceptions and good English speakers, but here's a funny story from last Sunday, Hotel Europe (THE largest hotel there), the waitress and me over a 3 language (French, English, German) menu:

Me: - Do you speak English?
Her: - Oui
Me: [completely confused and switching to German] ein tagessuppe bitte
Her: Pardon? [or something like that]
Me: [with my zero French, reading out almost phonetically] un p o t a g e d u j o u r sil vous plait....

Even with German it is not easy to make yourself understood there...

And don't get me wrong, I love the place and been there 6 times out of the 7 sessions..... but let's be realistic here.

Cheers

Post by **NTwoO** » Friday 5 February 2010, 16:15

Hi Guys, Thanks for the tips so far. The questions were asked in a general manner, since I think more people might be interested in this info.

Some explanations for these questions from my perspective. My wife will be joining me for a test drive of a swoard. She can board OK. Will happily do French reds and rides a contained but neat style with her arms very still next to her body. She dispises pull lifts. I am not a fan either, but can get by.
Our kid will join us. He is 3 1/2 years old. We speak dutch with him and we read english books to him. It would be more comfortable for him if people in the nursery or ski school speaks dutch to him. Most big resorts have child classes with teachers that speak the languages the kids understand. More international people will have these issues, I guess.

Post by **starikashka** » Friday 5 February 2010, 23:06

István wrote:Let me be the devils advocate here:

5) Disagree. You'll survive, but staff in hotels and restaurants rarely speak good English. You'll get your drink and food, but most probably you'll not be able to arrange more complicated things in English. Surely there are exceptions and good English speakers, but here's a funny story from last Sunday, Hotel Europe (THE largest hotel there), the waitress and me over a 3 language (French, English, German) menu:

Me: - Do you speak English?
Her: - Oui
Me: [completely confused and switching to German] ein tagessuppe bitte
Her: Pardon? [or something like that]
Me: [with my zero French, reading out almost phonetically] un p o t a g e d u j o u r sil vous plait....

Even with German it is not easy to make yourself understood there...

And don't get me wrong, I love the place and been there 6 times out of the 7 sessions..... but let's be realistic here.

Cheers

hehe

you asked the soup of the day!!

my friend with his wife go to st.luc last day...they meet nobody who speak english in cafe ^-) and try to order the food - they got milled meat that was not even fried...should be something delicious, i do not know.

Post by **István** » Saturday 6 February 2010, 11:11

Indeed, I've asked for the soup of the day.... it's just that SHE did not understand....

Post by **NTwoO** » Friday 12 February 2010, 21:56

OK, the resort sounds good, but only limited suitability for kids with minor European languages. The ski school has a Dutch instructor, but it is 92 euros for a 1.5 hour lesson private lesson for the little one. That is rather steep. I'll have to abandon Zinal as resort for now. Another thread follows.

Post by **Schneewurm** » Sunday 14 February 2010, 22:11

Ask/confirm "Ecole suisse de Ski et Snowboard" at St-Luc, next to Zinal for Dutch spoken teachers.

http://www.ess-stluc.ch/portalessstluc/ ... en&num=985
See at bottom!

During lessons You can go back to Zinal for do ExtremeCarving.

Another Choice:
International New School Grimentz (next to Zinal)
http://www.ins-ski.ch/ski-school/booking/booking.php

On the reservation form, You can choose Langue Netherland. So ask/confirm by phone too, for Dutch spoken teachers.

Post by **NTwoO** » Sunday 14 February 2010, 22:22

Sweet advice there wurm. I guess we can look into one of these two options as home base and give the swoards a test drive in Zinal for a day or two. If we like, then we can see what the options are from there on in.