 Poster: A snowHead
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How was it? I'm heading to Saint Gervais on March 6th what are conditions like compared to Les Contamines, thanks.
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see my comments from Feb 16th when I had just skied in St G. Think it will be getting pretty firm and worn by now but there is a bit of snow in the forecast 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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any updates on conditions around Megeve?
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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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any updates on conditions around Megeve?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Snow heavy last 24 hours, apart from Sunday morning visibility has been poor. Piste very quite & lots off virgin piste
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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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Just back from a 3 day weekend (Fri, Sat & Sun). Have to say I love the place. We had blue skies for 2.5 days; snow overnight on Saturday; The only bad day for us was Sunday afternoon, by which time we were just about done and all to happy to head to the Café de Telerifique at Rochebrune.
Spent Friday skiing around Rochebrune, didn't quite get to Cote 2000, mainly because one guy in our group flatly refuses to take surface lifts. Snow on and off piste was great!
Spent Saturday on the Les Jaillet sector. Skied all the way to La Giettaz and then back to Combloux. From there it looked like the whole of the Megève Valley was in a bowl of blue ski, with the clouds threatening on the periphery, but never really taking hold. Friends were in Rochebrune on Saturday and they said from time to time they closed the Telerifique because of wind, but other than that it was good skiing.
Sunday morning was glorious. It puked it down overnight - at least 2 inches by midnight in Megève villiage and come 8am the sun was out. We skied around Mont Arbois and up to Mont Joly. Great conditions till about 1pm when it started closing in and the wind picked up. We headed down and back to Rochebrune and by then we were spent and the conditions weren't great.
Honestly I reckon its a really underrated ski area. Heaps for everyone. our group included advanced intermediates, beginning intermediates and absolute beginners and we all loved it!
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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Just back from 3 days in Les C.
Conditions?
Very very snowy 
Think this is a case where video may be more eloquent than words. I'll try to post some tomorrow.
But hard facts - about 50cm fell Friday night until Monday morning. Snowed all day to day and was very heavy as we left - could easily be another 50cm.
Wind shut the lifts on Saturday and most lifts were shut by mid afternoon today. We skinned sat and had a truly memorable day to day. looks well set up for the end of the season.
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Oh no..... I'm back out there on the 19th 
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I'm not back out until 7th April, so hoping we have some left.
On a side not was out with some engineer friends & they can not work out why there is not a lift from Cotes 2000 over to Les C & then another from StG up to Le Houche (I know about the tram), that would make a very big connected area.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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On a side not was out with some engineer friends & they can not work out why there is not a lift from Cotes 2000 over to Les C
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That is one of the options that has long been debated (think the other is from below Mont Jolie over to Velleray or Aiguille Croche).
Both seem to be dead for now.
There are problems:
1. Would probably need to be a pure transfer lift between the two areas because the slopes between Les C and Cote 2000 are not amenable to pistes (steep, avalanche prone). Big expensive lift that doesn't add any terrain.
2. In general the Les C locals are not that enthusiastic - in their view it opens up the Les C skiing to people spending money in Megeve but they don't think Les C guests would find the link nearly as attractive. I tend to agree while it would be nice to have the option of some high mileage cruising I'd prefer not to give the Megeve hoards easy access to our better snow and quieter pistes when there snow is a bit rubbish (fairly often).
3. There is no money! I think the cost (big lift. must be more than eur10m) could be spend better on improving some of the remaining bottlenecks around Megeve and St G where they still have some small fixed chairs. Les C is pretty sorted but could do with the long 3 man Roselette chair being replaced with a 6 man detachable.
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I'm not back out until 7th April, so hoping we have some left.
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The Les C website is saying 60cm fresh since yesterday rather than my guess of 50cm. To be honest they have been conservative in recent days. Of course snow QUALITY in April is a lot to do with the temperatures and cloud cover at the time but I don't think you need to have any worries about snow COVER now
I'm out from 5th and the first few days are touring on the Mont Blanc side. All the faces look stuffed with snow I think all the glaciers should be filled in nicely.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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I tend to agree while it would be nice to have the option of some high mileage cruising I'd prefer not to give the Megeve hoards easy access to our better snow and quieter pistes when there snow is a bit rubbish (fairly often).
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I found this funny....."Hoards".....if what we saw on the weekend was indicative of hoards then give me that any day. No real lift queues in Rochebrune (telerifique excepted) and the main bottleneck on Mt Arbois was the 6 person chair to Mont Joly.
I get the argument that it would open up the Les Contamines to more people from Megève etc when snow is not great, but I think the counter to that is that would many really bother to ski all the way there? Point being, the Month Arbois/St Gervais/Mont Joly were on the weekend the busiest areas because they were easy to access. In comparison La Giettaz and Christomet were empty as was Rochebrune because they require effort. Its a great ski area.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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@FrediKanoute,
This weekend was very quiet but it is after the end of the French holidays.
I've skied a lot around St G /Megeve and it is markedly busier than Les C in the peak weeks. You have to plan to avoid lift queues something I don't need to do in Les C apart from 930 ski school meet.
And your counter argument basically means "So why would anyone bother spending €15m on a lift few people are going to use" - you can't have it both ways!
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As La Giettaz has north-facing pistes, it is noticeable that some Megeve ski schools bring their classes over here when the snow is really rubbish (which can be a bit annoying as we quite like having the deserted pistes that come with being tucked away at the edge of the domain) so it does happen on occasion. However, I must disagree that the snow is fairly often rubbish in Megeve! I'm sure readers of the thread get the fact by now that snow holds up better in Les C than Megeve but it's ridiculous to say the snow in Megeve is fairly often rubbish -I have skied over in Cote 2000, Rochebrune, St.Nicholas etc. a lot during the 8 years I've been living in La Giettaz, at various points throughout the season, with great conditions. There are of course certain south-facing/lower bits that you know are the most vulnerable and don't bother with if the weather's been dodgy, but that's true of all ski areas and it's a big enough one not to matter.
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You know it makes sense.
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Fair enough - a little harsh.
I guess what I'm getting at is that whatever resort I'm skiing in, I will gravitate to the slopes with the best conditions. If Les C was linked then that would almost always be Les C unless the weather was awful in which case the link would be shut! That's why the link doesn't offer much to Les C skiers
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Oh and I have never got over to La Giettaz so I'm only really talking about St Nich, St G, Mont Arbois then round the bowl to Cote 2000.
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Poster: A snowHead
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we are getting close to the argument over traditional village verses purpose built village, I am assuming Les C was a purpose built village as there does not seem to be much to do outwith the summer & winter season.
For me I have ventured up to Les C twice & while I agree the snow is more likely to hold up better it was a soulless place but a great asset to have on the same pass for late season skiing.
@miranda, I have never managed to get over to La Giettaz, I was hoping to get over this weekend but Saturday was mainly lost due to visability so I wanted to ski where I know & Sunday was always destined for Cotes 2000 as the chaps I go with like it there. I hope to get over there in Easter hols if snow holds up.
I honestly do think the Les C/StG/Megeve/Combolux/La Giettax combination on a single pass is a winner for everyone.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I was there (La Giettax) on Saturday and it was perfect. No wind, great vis and hardly any other skiers!
I agree re the ski pass. As an area its fantastic - something for everyone - and its BIG!
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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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Yes, I don't count La Giettaz as "Megeve" either - for me the Evasion Mont Blanc pass covers 3 areas really, the Portes du Mont Blanc, Megeve, Les Contamines (although obviously both the Portes du Mont Blanc and Megeve are then broken down into smaller areas - La Giettaz feels very distinct from Combloux and Jaillet for example, even though they all come under the Portes du Mont Blanc sector).
Jonny996 La Giettaz will not be open doing the Easter holidays this year sadly - because the area is so quiet the lift company closes it after the first weekend of April irrespective of snow conditions. Always seems like a huge shame as they will keep the south-facing side open while the closed north-facing pistes here are in perfect nick (though closed lifts provides me with opportunity to do safe touring here). Luckily for us we are situated so close to other ski areas that guests we have ski Espace Diamant/La Clusaz/Megeve so it works out well but it's a real shame for the village and we are hoping the new head of the lift company might be a bit more flexible than the previous one.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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@Jonny996,
Les Contamines de Montjoie is an old village (the church is 1700s I think). Les Contamines means (I think) pastures and it is an old farming community plus you have the pilgrimage to the Chapel at the Gorge. Much of Les C reflects that - lots of chalets, many of them old conversions, scattered round the valley plus some small apartment buildings in the village centre. But there is a big area - Hameaux du Lay - which is as you say purpose built and IMO a bit soulless (that's the area just below the Lay telecabine). Of course it is very convenient for the skiing and gets the same views so it appeals to many.
It has a permanent population of about 1500 people. But I seem to remember there are 10000 beds! Most stuff is privately owned so I imagine even in peak weeks a lot of those are empty. It is a real place (some shops and bars stay open outside the summer and winter seasons) unlike the true purpose built resorts but it IS a quiet place.
Of course it has none of the bustle, glitz and glamour of Megeve. In January we ended up hiring a Volvo XC60 and I have to say that felt pretentious/ostentatious in a Les Contamines car park. You'd have to be driving a Bentley to feel that way in Megeve!
I'm not saying it is "better" than Megeve - that depends on individual preferences - but it is quite different. The atmosphere it has - low key, friendly, alpinism more that apres, touring skins more than fur coats* but never straying in to the full Chamonix hard core thing** - appeals to me but won't to many. I was just pointing out that the locals tend to think that a direct connection to Megeve would detract from its character rather than add to it.
*First time I went to Megeve was in my 20s and I remember saying to my mate "Christ, even the dogs wear fur coats around here".
** which is great too, just different
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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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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Sorry for the mess - the first frames work. I'm not sure what I need to to with the rest of the HTML.
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