 Poster: A snowHead
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chrisheath, Thank you.....on the way at the moment...so skiing saturday.....don't think the no queues will last........
and yes gers is the most dreadful place to ski, especially the bowl on the left just before the access run.............
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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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Now packing car but have to go to work for a while......Late tunnel, overnight F1, get there tomorrow, should be on piste on Sunday 
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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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AlpineAddict, Correct, the only real issue is the mad rush for ski-school at 8:45-9:15 at the bottom of the GME, and the bottom of Morillion and Carroz can be busy - but avoid those and all rest is usually OK
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AlpineAddict, Too true... Tourmaline is like a mad race to Flaine early on... better to bide your time around the rest of the GM and head to Flaine at lunchtime. Another great "escape" is an afternoon in Sixt which is always dead 
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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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Agree with the above we go the other way,out of flaine by11 ski the villages and then back about 3.
Just packed car and will be there in the morning yeeeeehaaaaa haaa 
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Sitting in Etap at Bourg en Bresse, should be at LC for 10 tomorrow at the latest. Loads of Brit cars in the car park, gentlemen start your engines.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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got to ibis in sallanches.....its dam cold -10 according to hire car.....up hill tomorow with out winter tyres.....not done that before!
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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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It has been cold here today. -14 in Samoens village just now...but the snow is great. Highlight of today was directly under the Sairon chair.. snow was perfect and I skied it brilliantly apart from the bit where I ended up in a stream retrieving my sunglasses. Mind you they fall off atthe drop of a hat or, apparently when I misjudge a jump. happy days
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| Quote: |
I skied it brilliantly apart from the bit where I ended up in a stream retrieving my sunglasses
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You know it makes sense.
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chrisheath, a few years ago on the closing day of the season in Verbier people were lake skiing.
On snow skis you understand.
The lake was about four foot deep and about twenty yards long.
Quite a lot of people got accross, some spectacular crashes to the amusement of the crowds watching.
One poor teenage girl crashed, struggled to the side...all normal. A heated exchange with her parents ensued.
Ten minutes later she re-appeared, stripped to her underwear and was forced to go back in and to swim and dive for her sunglasses!
Biggest cheer of the day.
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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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Another extremely cold day on excellent snow.......no queues and empty slopes. Got down to Samoens at 5.30 having gone for a bonus extra run down Grand Cret.....I've never known it to be so well covered unless it's actually blizzarding at the time.......village has been invaded by the masses..I imagine it's going to be a lot busier tomorrow. A morning of jobs for me followed by a lunchtime flight. 10 days until the next trip. More snow forecast I see. Have fun. The season just keeps getting better.
Recommendations.....the fall line at tete des saix, under the sairon, gers, combe de veret...but everywhere is good. Don't miss the chance to ski to Vercland and Morillon village if you haven't done it before...not often you get such a good chance and it's nearly warm low down.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Can only agree at how good the conditions are here. All the pistes we skied in LC and Morillon as good as I have seen at any time during my skiing "career". Timalets particularly outstanding. Do not underestimate how cold it is and feels, windchill a serious factor so cover up and enjoy.
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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 had thought today was going to be a madhouse in the GM but it was actually okay. Waited less than five minutes for the GME at Samoens, then skiied straight on to Chariande Express, skied down chamois and marmotte back to Chariande - the one real wait all day, about 15 minutes, because they had a SNAFU that stopped the lift for five or ten minutes and the crowds piled up, but it cleared out soon enough. Then back up Chariande E, down to Vernant (no line) and then girded myself for Tourmaline; it was crowded, but really not as bad as I saw it the first time last month. (This was about 1045). The Grandes Platieres was also about 10, maybe 12 minutes, with the line starting just outside the building; I was skiing alone and should have gone the express line but I stayed in the main line, mistake.
Then I followed chrisheath's recommendation and headed over to Gers, where I skied most of the rest of the day in thick, soft beautiful snow. And of course it's a workout going up as well as going down, so I exhausted myself after 4 runs. Wrapped up the day by skiing off the back of Gers to Les Cascades (note for the future: this is not a restful final run) and got the joys of that but also the sorrows. . . it was getting dim in the afternoon light, there were some treacherous icy spots and the pushing is always an exercise in mind over matter.
So, for the Sunday of the most crowded ski week of the year (according to my Swiss colleagues) it was nice and chill. That's the right word for it, of course - it was around -15 up there and I was having a wicked time keeping my fingers and toes from freezing off. Worst hassle of the day was getting stuck behind pokey puppy Range Rover with GB tags (heh) going 60 in the just-too-twisty-to-pass 90kmh zone getting from Cluses to Samoens. You know who you are. . .
Wish I didn't have to go to work tomorrow!
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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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Just found free wi-fi but my reporting will be sporadic. Big number birthday today (coincides with diamond jubilee - THAT old!!). As stated above snow fantastic everywhere but VERY cold. I need better gloves.... Everything open pretty much inc. Sortilege which is steep but fun. Snow simply fantastic. Must go - birthday meal beckons.....
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Come on guys we've all been reading your boasts about packing up the car and heading out there. What's it like now you've got a day or two under your belts??? Thanks to all those that are letting us jealous ones dream. Only 3 weeks to go  )
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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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3 weeks to go also. I am going on the 2 march.
I hope some fresh snow between now and then
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Were off 25th Feb and cant wait, 1o days and counting. May even be able to try some powder this year, but not sure of the best spots. Never done this before:) So any advice is welcome. PS, Were boarders;)
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Been out here now since Saturday and skied the Massif so cannot comment on Flaine. All pistes we've skied and seen from LC across to Samoens are in excellent shape, very busy though probably busier than any other 1/2 term we've been. Outside the hols will be epic even if no more snow falls. Temps are up which is welcome after Sat, Sun and Mon but are still at around -6 ish but blue skies and sunshine make it seem like spring. What off-piste is visible is all chopped up but appears accessible.
I've been trying out some skis too which adds an interesting aspect, skinny ones and fat ones but all long and stiff ones (ooh matron!).
Gonna make use of one of our season pass day tickets and take a trip over to Les Contamines tomorrow.
Bon ski
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Wow. Surprised you think it's busy, the quietest half term I have seen in ages. Maybe because there is so much to ski on and off piste. Snowed overnight and all day today. Lovely conditions through if a little foggy high up. The GM is in fantastic shape, les carroz is quiet, even got down to the gondola at lunchtime yesterday and walked straight on(I kid you not). Remind me not to follow basil if it's busy where he is. Longest queue of the week so far is less than 5 minutes.
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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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Agree with steve - quiet prob. cause it's been so cold. Snowing all day tday so didn't do much but snow will be even more fantastic now. All pistes in France are in superb condition. Best I've known it.
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stevo_the_saddler, billb, Must be a matter of timing then, not to say we have not had short queues and have walked straight on at times but some of them have been very busy, the pistes seem rammed at times too. Perhaps its that we thought due to the various school holidays being later it would have been quieter. Easy to get a table at the L'Igloo though.
Cos it was snowing today we gave Les Contamines a miss and enjoyed Morillon. as stated above the conditions were fabulous and interesting on skinny skis which I am not really used to.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Our last day's skiing in Les Carroz was Tue (14th). Consistent with all other reports we had great snow for our 5 day stay allowing us to enjoy all the Massif has to offer. The cold weather did a great job keeping even the lower runs in superb condition. The mix of pistes down into Les Carroz were among our favourites along with the Chamois/Marmottes run to Molliets. The runs above the Chariande Express were also great fun. The Marmotte red was in top condition Fri 10th - Sun 12th, but did cut up on Mon/Tue as the vacances/half term crowds arrived with the sunshine. Same story on some sections of the main links to Flaine. Having said that, our only serious lift queue was trying to get out of Morillon on the Tuesday. We must have waited at least 20 mins for the Lanche 3 man.
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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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Why, oh why do they keep closing lifts in Flaine? It seems that as fast as they build new apartment blocks, increasing the numbers, they remove some lifts to decrease capacity. The two longer drags (grand balacha I and II) have not operated for the past two years, pushing people down to the 6-man chair and, now, the aup de veran (eggs) is out of action. Those drags were great when it was very windy and the dmc/chairs/eggs couldn't operate. The dmc is going to get really clogged up. Flaine lift company is going to ruin the resort. Glad I didn't invest in a season pass this year. Anyone at Flaine at the moment?
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Been here since last Saturday, all lifts have been running well. The DMC is always a packed avoid this and head to the six man. It may look like it has a long que, but it moves very quickly. This morning the eggs had ther pylons replaced, so hopfully this lifts will be open soon.
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You know it makes sense.
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Got back last night, did Friday to Friday to avoid traffic and eurotunnel nightmare!
The first 3 days were freezing but fantastic conditions just about everywhere, with the exception of the red down to 700 at Morillon, it was an ice field about half way down, it even had banners on it warning you, something I'd not seen before! We skied into flaine for coffee but didn't ski there as my friends only had massif passes, I have to agree that with the removal of the ballacha drags and the aup de veran out of action flaine is less attractive at the moment.
Then the weather started to warm up, relatively speaking, and we had some new snow, thursday morning I skied in some of the best conditions I've ever known and the promised half term madness just didn't happen, most of the week we walked straight on to the lifts, including the bubble from Morillon, we had a couple of 5-10 min queues but I did notice that thurrsday afternoon (our last day) it seemed much busier in places.
I've been going to the GM for 5 years, several times a season, this is pretty much the best I've ever known it and probably the quietest half term week I've experienced.
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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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Thank you guys for the updates. 2 weeks to go really looking forward to it. Seems to be holding up well. It can snow as much as it likes for next two weeks but bluebird from the 4th March would be brill.
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Poster: A snowHead
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| marymag wrote: |
| Why, oh why do they keep closing lifts in Flaine? It seems that as fast as they build new apartment blocks, increasing the numbers, they remove some lifts to decrease capacity. The two longer drags (grand balacha I and II) have not operated for the past two years, pushing people down to the 6-man chair and, now, the aup de veran (eggs) is out of action. Those drags were great when it was very windy and the dmc/chairs/eggs couldn't operate. The dmc is going to get really clogged up. Flaine lift company is going to ruin the resort. Glad I didn't invest in a season pass this year. Anyone at Flaine at the moment? |
I'm interested by your point of view. I never used the Ballacha drags (or ball-acher as my smartarse son liked to call them) once they'd put in the Tete de Verds chair as it serves all the same terrain and never seems to have a queue. Having said that I'm always based in Samoens so when it's windy I can't get to Flaine (not that I'd want to) so maybe that's why I feel differently. As per previous ramblings, I think the Tete de Verds-Desert Blanc route is a good way up unless the DMC is quiet but I'd ultimately like to see another high speed chair at the top of Flaine (replacing the Diamant Noir) to make me happy. I'd also like a high speed Lanche chair, a high speed Lindars Nord, an Aup de Veran that works, an expansion higher up above Aujon, a lift to drag me back up from the Gers refuge to the current Gers lift, new mechanisation in the bowl above Pont de Lededian, a toilet seat made of solid gold and the undivided attention of several Swedish nymphettes. None of these is at all likely this or next season and some of them will never happen. Still one can dream........
Back in Samoens on Weds with the usual mates. Any snow heads around?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Wow -what a week. Just got back (having our own accom means we get to ski on a nice quiet Saturday changeover day... yesterday was fantastic. Temp was perfect - but a little too warm fore some of the south facing slopes... but thats being very picky. Ask Skimum said, probably the best I have seen the GM - brilliant all over. Quiet (by half term standards). Loved it. Also, skied the whole week as a family with neither child in ski-school for the first time, all did really well too!
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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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I got back last night from Flaine having finished skiing on Friday. I agree with Stevo, it was a great week although VERY cold last Sunday (-12/-15) and Monday in Flaine. You needed decent clothing, especially gloves. I was getting cold finger tips even with thin gloves inside my ski gloves. Wore long johns every day and, for the first three days, neckwarmer, balaclava, hat, plus pulled hood up on lifts - it really was cold. Friday was easily the best day, milder and a classic bluebird day. We did Cascades which was in fantastic condition all the way. Did Marvel (green in Morillon if you don't know) on Thur as it was misty up top and it was fantastic all the way down to Morillon 1100. Watched helicopter taking new parts up to Aup de Veran lift in Flaine on Friday - so it should open before Easter.....
Re. Flaine lifts I agree with marymag to the extent that it isn't worth staying in Foret anymore as you can't get up the mountain. Also, with putting seats in the dmc cars, they've limited their capacity resulting in longer queues. The Tete de Verde 6 man chair is the best way up now imv but the diamond black chair badly needs replacing if you want to get to the top. The revised lift arrangements have actually put me off Flaine and I may now look elsewhere after 12 years.
But, the snow was simply fantastic everywhere, you could just power along without hitting trouble, great for we cruiser types. Anyone going out in the next few weeks should have a great time. If you like skiing, it doesn't get any better.
Last edited by Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see? on Sun 19-02-12 23:35; edited 1 time in total
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Just got back, bit tired from long drive in a c5 (changed my view of citroen forever, super car...did i say that?)
Snow has been epic, wednesday was the best day skiing i have ever done, boot hiked up the golf course and did l'arbaron, it was epic powder. Gers on friday was just brilliant, shame the veret drag was shut so you could not get in from that side. But that was really good last sunday when most other off piste was tracked.
Yesterday daughter swapped her competition sl skis for her twins and we did lots of top of tete des saix into samoens, after a week of competition stuff the grin on her face was something else
As mentioned above really quiet, and epic snow, i have never skiied so much powder in a week!! side of corbalanche into the l'airon bowl was rather good as well and the trees in les carroz
Pleased i am not there this week...well ish....when we were leaving late sat afternoon, it was manic in the village and the stream of cars coming up the hill was very very long. On sunday driving up a6 there were jams on the other side, it will be busy this week.
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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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billb, Have been reasonably reliably told that aup de veran will most likely not open this season as they still don't really know why they fell off 
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cran
cran
Guest
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| carroz wrote: |
| billb, Have been reasonably reliably told that aup de veran will most likely not open this season as they still don't really know why they fell off |
Gravity?
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carroz, there's a thread (in French) on a Grand massif forum about it, discussing what seems to have happened. The cars which detached were thrown off by the mechanism on one of the pylons and the safety shut-off failed to operate it seems. I actually saw the helicopter taking what looked like a new pylon up the mountain plus additional metalwork. So I was guessing it might be fixed soon but your information may be right. We shall see......
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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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Hi fellow snowbuds
We are heading out this Saturday and now counting down the hours:) I have 3 questions if anyone could help with.
1. What are the conditions like in Samoens village, do we need our snow boots around town?
2. Can anybody advise on where to go off piste? We have never tried this before so want to give it a go. Is it best to hire a guide for half a day? If so what are the costs and can anybody reccommend.
3. Can you hire someone for half a day to show our 2 boys some tricks on the park in Flaine?
We are all intermediatte boarders, yes we are from the dark side:) Any advice is most welcome.
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DJADS,
1. When I left (Sunday am) there was no lying snow on paths or roads... obviously that can change quickly.
2. -Gers bowl is a good place to try off piste (and has a drag lift) follow top of Flaine Bowl path to the left (as you leave lifts) and keep going (it's on piste map - but all un-pisted)
-Blacks at top of Samoens, lots of other areas around Samoens
- NOT high up in Flaine unless you have a guide... some horrid crevasses
- Yes you can hire guides via most ski-schools - I was quoted 300 Euros for a full day (inc video etc)
- Not sure you would get someone at short notice now? It's a busy time for them - obviously conditions will affect if it is worthwhile
3. Can't help on this one, but sure a ski-school would help possibly?
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FAQ
