 Poster: A snowHead
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After a wee chat with a nice lady at the Scottish Ski Show on Saturday, I've now become aware of a wee place called St Foy Tarentaise just up from Bourg St Maurice.
From the literature that I saw and her description of the place as an off piste mecca to rival La Grave it sounds like a place that I need to gain more information and learn from peoples experience of the place.
Sounds good, but is it as good as the nice lady made it sound?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Stayed there a few times but never hit it with any powder around. The lift served off piste is pretty good, above treeline and treeline, quite southerly facing, and there are some decent ski tours starting from the lifts. Probably best get a guide for out of bounds stuff. The piste skiing is pleasant but limited, but a 20-30min drive gets you to La Rossiere, Les Arcs, Tignes & Val. So you could stay at numerous other resorts nearby and make a day trip or two to ste foy. It's a little limited for night life if that's your thing, one or two bars and eating places. Was a few years since I was there mind. You used to get a day ticket for st foy if you had a val/tignes weekly or more ticket. Again some time back so not too sure now. Not done la grave so can't compare, I doubt it's quite as an extensive an area as la grave.
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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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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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livetoski, I would like to see some pics as proof of how bad it is please 
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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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I like St Foy but saying it is like La Grave is a gross misrepresentation
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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just a small part of the mountain
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correct its not really like La Grave at all, its much more mellow off piste, as long as you dont go during holiday times its very quiet tho
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drop in points they are about half hour walk from the top lift
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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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Have only been in the summer for mountain biking and walking but it is a great little corner of the Alps for that!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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+1 for Stevo as well from me, this is a view down from the top inbetween the two arrows on the previous pic, we will be there at some stage during the season as well 
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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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Well and truly added to "the list".
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Alans deep bath, that chalet looks great.
Anyone got any experience of ski school there for the wee one and is there a swimming pool?
Looks like a great option for a family ski hol but with more advanced areas as well.
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You know it makes sense.
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shoogly, there is a pool complex with health spa and other goodies, also Venture Ski http://www.ventureski.co.uk/index.htm have their own pool as well plus some very upmarket chalets but a litle pricey
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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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shoogly, if he doesn't see this give stevomcd a pm.
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Poster: A snowHead
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We're not planning on booking this season until a couple of weeks or so before we head off so as we can go where the best snow is, but I'm very keen.
There'd be a 3 and possible a one year old in the group so i'd need to make sure they're accommodated for.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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shoogly, much as I like to go their for a half day sometimes or a bit of hiking to the main off piste areas. The lady in scotland was not really being honest. It is nothing like La Grave. Much smaller off piste unless you really enjoy hiking. Most good areas are all at least 30min plus to reach. Those in the photos above take me a good 30 plus minutes to reach them and unless you are a local you need to pay a guide.
But it does not get as busy as the bigger resorts.
As a base to drive to other areas such as Les Arcs, Val d'Isere etc it is ok. Everywhere is about 30min drive. Depends what you want out of a holiday. The resort only has a few lifts and pistes. You can ski all marked areas in half a day easily if you are a good skier. Hope that helps with your choice of where to go.
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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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Hi shoogly,
I worked there for a few years and there is some great skiing.
There are 4 lifts and a limited number of runs, but if you don't mind repeating lifts that you've already done there are plenty of nice off-piste spots between the trees. A lot of the off piste is quite accessible and there are specific areas which are security patrols - the ski schools take people to these areas from red runs standard onwards.
It is like La Grave in the respect that it has a limited number of lifts to access a large terrain, but as livetoski says the skiing is much more mellow and it has a more upmarket, family focused atmosphere. Lift passes are comparatively cheap but it is worth spending the money on a day with an off piste guide to access some of the spots which you wouldn't normally find. The tourist office can recommend guides for you.
The local ESF ski school is surprisingly good and runs lessons in English - they have a couple of native english instructors so the language standard is pretty high. For childcare there is a creche in resort but they speak a limited amount of English so a private nanny might be a better option. Premiere Neige also have a creche which you can book into if you stay with them.
+ 1 for white rooms - lovely small company (not who I used to work for before the claws come out  ) but likely to be booked up if you don't want to reserve in advance - they're pretty popular.
Happy holidays!
Heather
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Thanks for all the info on this thread.
I've come to the conclusion that it's one to keep for another year when my wife has advanced her skiing a bit and we can enjoy it together - or if i'm lucky enough to be there in another group.
It looks great and everyone here is enthusiastic about it so it must have "something".
All info above is filed and I'll be looking it up when the time comes, so thanks.
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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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Hi All, been on holiday myself so didn't spot this thread! Thanks for the recommendations!
Well, as above, there's loads of great off-piste, both with some hiking (Fogliettaz, the Cross, Pierre d'Arbine) but also plenty with no hiking at all (Col Granier, Far Crystal, Le Monal, Les Foyeres, etc, etc, etc!).
But, to be honest, the real reason most people come (and come back again and again) is for the piste skiing. OK, so there isn't a huge, linked domain. Yes you could ski all the pistes in a day easily enough. But all the pistes are top quality, with nice, sustained gradients and immaculate grooming. And more importantly, they're empty. You will ski straight on to every lift, every time* and then you'll get all the space in the world on the way back down. For this reason, it's one of the best places around to learn or to build confidence. This makes the resort really popular with family groups both for the afore-mentioned reasons and because it's very easy to split-up to do a run or two, then meet-up again after.
*possible exceptions at half-term and on mega powder-days, but even then you won't queue for more than a minute or two.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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stevomcd, + 1 from us
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We are driving down for half term in Feb 
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Ski in Sainte Foy and you might get lucky and see me there......
(there, that should ensure it remains nice and quiet....)
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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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Our clients choose Ste Foy because it's a great family resort with excellent self-catering accommodation on the slopes and I agree with previous posters that there is no comparison to be made with La Grave (love it personally but not exactly family friendly).
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I'll be there in the second week of March. A nice little place and great as a center for exploring the Tarrentaise resorts though it will be my first visit since being in an avalanche there offpiste.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Are there places to eat up on the slopes or is it a bring your own ?
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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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harrim51, choice of 3 places to eat up on the hill, plus loads more at the base of the lifts.
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Thanks Steve, we are there half term and I dont want to lug a load of food around in my lessons!!!
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You know it makes sense.
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Booked a week in February 2014 and looking now for a good private instructor /good school for my 9 and 14 year children. Any recomendation? English speaking preferably.
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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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Poster: A snowHead
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Thanks Fogliettz, been using ESF arround FR alps (Morzine, Morillon, Tignes, Les Menuires) with mixed experiences - some were simply great, others were looking like someone was holding a gun against their backs to do the work ... Although more pricey, I came to a conlussion that smaller EN schools established in FR resorts value their customer more. This could be due to the fact that smaller schools value customers more - EN or FR irrespectively. My both kids speak very good EN and FR (we are neither EN nor FR native speakers) but the pedagogical approach shown by EN based school was more acceptable to me - at least in the case of kids, EN instructors were more attentive. I was shocked to see an elderly ESF male instructor (this Feb in Les Menuires) completely ignoring his group of small first timers 4-5 years old, some fell and the instructor was simply waiting for the kids to get up, which they were not able to do on their own - I actualy skied up and helped them as the elderly instructor was simply watching from 10 m down bellow the piste. As I said, I met some great people at ESF, but equaly so some of them were not very inspiring and useful when it came to my children experience - it was not fun and I actually argued hard to pursuade them to go to a ski school again the following season. It is all good now, my daugther (14) is a confident red piste skier, but as a teenager she became a little 'lazy' on skis, so I need a good instructor that is eager both to push a teenager girl and that it is still fun and enjoyable. So far ESF looks a bit more risky (50:50 chance of getting a good instructor) and my personal experience shows that instructors from smaller EN schools are working harder in this regard.
Last edited by Poster: A snowHead on Thu 22-08-13 15:22; edited 1 time in total
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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That may well be the case in other resorts but the ESF in Ste Foy is held in very high regard, both my children have been through their system and ski at a very high level. Give them a go and have your perceptions changed!
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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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| Fogliettaz wrote: |
| That may well be the case in other resorts but the ESF in Ste Foy is held in very high regard, both my children have been through their system and ski at a very high level. Give them a go and have your perceptions changed! |
Cheers, you know, I may well try it again 
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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I have an apartment above foggi , have been a skier around the alps for 30odd years . Both my girls are going through the Ste Foy ESF and are now at competition and Gold level . The ESF at Ste Foy is excellent . The only complaint I've heard are from some who don't pass at the end of the week , in other words they don't give badges out just for turning up .
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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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| Rob Mackley wrote: |
| I have an apartment above foggi , have been a skier around the alps for 30odd years . Both my girls are going through the Ste Foy ESF and are now at competition and Gold level . The ESF at Ste Foy is excellent . The only complaint I've heard are from some who don't pass at the end of the week , in other words they don't give badges out just for turning up . |
Thanks Rob for reasuring me. Certifates etc is not of big interest to my kids, real progress and fun is the main objective.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| snowball wrote: |
| I'll be there in the second week of March. A nice little place and great as a center for exploring the Tarrentaise resorts though it will be my first visit since being in an avalanche there offpiste. |
Sounds hairy. Do you mind us asking what happened?
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peanuthead, I am not sure where Snowball got avalanched, St Foy is pretty safe but there is a lot of off piste and it helps to know the area well as the other guys who have apartments there will no doubt tell you. There are some off piste slopes which need careful checking before riding as they can avalanche.
One of the reasons I run Snowshepherd is because of the slopes in St Foy and the time I have spent there over the last 10 years, if you look at the photo above with the arrows then you will see why!
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Hi mooney058 , now have a moment to help a little more .
Re the ski schools ,As the resort has only been on the map for the last few years there really hasn't been time for other ski schools to really develop . However Evoloution 2 and Ski Cool both opened their doors last year although very small operations , both have been set up by ex Ste Foy ESF instructors and are good . The Ste Foy ESF is as I have mentioned very good . The main thing is this is not a big resort big mega resort so you should find that everyone from Lifties , ski patrol and instructors are really nice , calm and local . You don't find that arrogance you can get else where . Most families who come to Ste Foy always return and I hope the experience will be the same for you .
Little tip . Go online and book your lessons as soon as you can as Kids morning lessons in Feb get sold out very quickly , I think booking starts in Sept .
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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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mooney.....Claire Hauret is a good instructor at the ESF, very good with children.
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Thanks a lot guys, booking is possible as of 1st Sept, will be keeping PC close to me on 1st Sept . Really tempted to book both children with separate instructors at the same time so I could have time for off-piste lessons for myself ... never did off-piste and it appears St Foy is one of the better resourts to start.
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FAQ
