Poster: A snowHead
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Wow. I was thinking about the disproportionate number of superb young race skiers who come from this tiny place (all the clubs from the Tarentaise Valley race each other during the season). All that off-piste must produce a truly rounded, all-in skier.
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PG, great aticle. I had heard about Sainte-Foy, but only vaguely. I knew it was the place instuctors were meant to go on their day off, knew it was small with only a few lifts, but never realised just how good the place was until now.
Now I hope no one else reads this article before I get a chance to go there....
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Please do not publish any more articles like this, this is the place we go when there's a fresh dump. We don't want the world and his wife over-running St Foy. I also believe it's already been over developed. PG is right about the skiers from this area, the guy who won the extreme ski world champships this year, Manu Gaidet is a 'tarin', born & bred in the Haute Tarentaise.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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In March this year I was tempted by a German couple to visit Ste Foy while staying in Boug St. Maurice for 4 nights, after skiing a week in Chamonix. It was our last day after touring Tignes, Les Arc, La Plagne and La Rosiere/La Thuile. My question to them was "Hasn't it got only 3 or 4 chairlifts?". Their response was "Yes but it is nice there".
Didn't take their advice and chose Valmorel instead because it is on our way back to Chamonix. Ste Foy is not on the opposite side and adds 25 to 30 miles more to the journey.
I am not sure if Ste Foy is that much better but Valmorel didn't disappoint us. We simply went to the far end of St. Francis and returned and that took nearly the whole day. Distance wise that is about going from St. Martin to the end of Val Thoren and back in the first valley of 3-Vallee.
I visited Boug. St. Maurice at the first week of March and the only long queue I met was in Plagne Bellecotte. The funicular to Les Arc 1600 was deserted and I could park my car next to the ski pass office. I think Tarentaise is so big that crowds at times other than the mid-term break are not really a big issue.
I would have a go at Ste Foy next time I drop into Tarentaise, as 25km piste is big enough for me in a relax skiing day. People booking a week holiday and go there by flying should be a bit more careful. France is littered with what I called as local resorts which are too small to support a week bashing from the skiing junkies. They don't appear in the brochure but are everywhere.
The European biggest drop of 2km from Les Arc's Aiguille Rouge 3227m is to descend to 1200m Villaroger. Ste Foy, at 1520m, is almost directly opposite to Villaroger in the same valley according to Map 3532ET map.
It wouldn't surprise me at all that this little fellow called Ste Foy could be ate up by the cosortium owner of Paradiski (Les Arc + La Plagne) in future.
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Thats very selfish David!
I doubt posting that article here will affect it too much, certianly less than the British property buyers as mentioned in the article. Plus it sounds like its being billed as a luxurious resort, so probably out of a lot of peoples price league....well certainly mine!
Sounds nice tho, maybe one day when im loaded as well!
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Tomski01, in fact St Foy is (has been) the exact opposite, the lift pass is good value, there are no psuedy bars/restuarants. But now there are lots of new chalets/residences, so I guess in time it will change, although I hope, not too soon.
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I have also heard that Le Corbier/La Toussiere is now part of a new quite big linked ski area, and has currently managed to stay out of the British tour operators grasp?
I hope places like Saint Foy dont change too soon either, but you could argue that it becoming a luxurious accomodtation place will mean it will always have some exclusivity!
The rest of us could always camp i guess, now that would be a cheap holiday, with those cheap lift pass rates?!!
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Tom, in fact I met 4 guys there, a couple of years ago, who were living in a camper van, to do just that. It always amazes me that you can see people in caravans or RVs in the depths of winter.
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