We spent New Year's Eve at Evolene in 2008. We ended up going there because we booked late and since it's a small station, there were still some spots available at one of the hotels. It was my first time in Switzerland, and I thought Evolene was a charming little town, with chalets perched up on the mountain side (no idea how people could get there!). We also found the locals to be very friendly. We stayed at Les Haudères and there was a ski rental place right across the street from our hotel that was great - the owner was super friendly and had good recommendations of things to do in the area.
The ski resort itself is pretty small. The mountain has a steep face with mostly black runs at the bottom, plus a catwalk (blue) to get you down to the base, and then most of the red and other black runs are at the top. There is one chair lift that gets you up to the main cabin, but from there you have to take T-bar lifts up to the main runs. I would say I am an intermediate snowboarder, but I still had somewhat of a hard time getting used to how things work in Suisse. I kept sliding off the T-bars all the time, and could never get all of way up to the red runs. Thankfully there was a lot of fresh powder, so we started the day off in the black hill at the bottom (where we had access by chairlift!). It was my sister's first time skiing, and her only option on the mountain was the catwalk. So overall, not a great place for beginners. The other down side I would say is the nightlife. It was a bit too backcountry for me.
Overall I think it's a good resort if you are used to T-bars and are looking to stay away from the crowds. Even on NYE, with great snow on the ground, the mountain was relatively uncrowded. I would also say it's a good place if you are looking to hang out in your cabin afterwards, since the nightlife is not all that great. I would say it's a good spot for families, with skiers who are at a good level.
