no no no and no.
Verbier (even Thyon) had shit for park this season. Verbier has the worst snow record of all resorts in Switzerland, vs. the highest British population in any Swiss resort. It's as unauthentic as it gets. Go to Whistler instead.
Rastafarider is pretty much telling what's up.
There is a lot to see in Europe. It really depends if you want one allround mega-resort (Tignes, Portes du Soleil, etc...) or if you are traveling around and have a chance to check out the gems. Europe is about knowing the secrets. If you are looking for powder, and you head for the resorts that everyone recommends (Chamonix, Engelberg, La Grave) everyone will also be there and it will be tracked like a motherfuck.
For powder it is best to learn to read a map. The best powder in Europe is to be found on the 'Alpennordhang', for Austria you gotta scout the Arlberg and Vorarlberg region, Switzerland check central switzerland (round Engelberg), Berner Oberland (Mürren is sick), Chablais (Les Diablerets is a powder magnet) on to Haute-Savoie in France (Chamonix, La Clusaz, Avoriaz). These regions consistently get more snow. Once a storm hits, you wanna be in resorts without hordes of tourists, you wanna be shreddin that gnar on your own. (btw sometimes the storm cycles come from the mediterranean and then Livigno, Tignes, Serre-Chevalier are in luck).
Parks are bigging themselves up in Europe but it's all about knowing what park is great at what time. Laax is probably the only safe bet that is consistently good from november till april. But don't limit yourself to that. www.snow-parks.com
If you are traveling around, get to know local freeskiera, hear what's up at the time, and travel as much as you can. In Europe there's a resort on every mountain. It takes only 1 lift for a legendary line. Live it up.
If you wanna do a season in a resort, popular choices are Mayrhofen, Innsbruck, Portes du Soleil, Les Arcs, Tignes...
If you wanna do a season in the mountains and are looking for a good base, check Innsbruck, Chur, Thun (!), Luzern, Sion/Martigny, Bourg St. Maurice, etc.. people who know what they're talking about will agree that Thun is the best base as it is the chillest city in the alps, has a gorgeous lake, is at the foot of Berner Oberland + has a tunnel connecting it to Wallis (Zermatt, Saas-Fee), is close to Adelboden and Les Diablerets... basically you have year-round quality riding far away from the hordes of english/german tourists.
That's whats up.
