 Poster: A snowHead
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I might have a chance to slope off for a long weekend 7/8th December, any tips on where to go?
I’m used to going to Austria, Gatwick to Munich and a hire car. I’m thinking it’s a little early for Austria, and the flights are not as cheap as normal.
Gatwick to Geneva flights are looking good, car hire I think is best via the French side from reading the forum - just where to go ski????
Thank you, Keith
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Bump 
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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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Well it's been dumping in Austria and Dolomites area of Italy, so either would be a good bet right now 
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@Keith_b, so far it's a record breaking start to the season all over so more or less take your pick. There may yet be a little thaw so aim high. ValD/Tignes in France, but in Austria I'd recommend Munich > St Anton by train. One change then sit back and enjoy the stunning journey, the train station is 5 minutes walk from centre of town.
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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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Plenty of options-the obvious being Tignes/Val D'isere or Val Thorens. But I might wait to see how the snow depths develop over the next couple of weeks. A number of resorts are scheduled to open on 7th and I think there is optimism (for a change) that they will actually have some half decent pistes to ski on.
You could look at Zermatt-bit pricier and a longer transfer on arrival day means you don't get to ski-not much use if you are only away for one night. The late (9.40pm) flight back from Geneva means you can ski till about 3/3.30 before coming off the mountain and heading home.
Reports from Cervinia on the other side of the mountain from Zermatt look very good for this time of year-see the Zermatt Cervinia thread here. Perhaps you could look at flights to Turin or Milan.
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@Perty, Agree Cervinia will be a good bet, as long as you don't need gnarly blacks or off-piste. ~2 hours from Turin if memory serves.
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If you go to Verbier on 7th., and are willing to don a Father Christmas outfit, you can ski the area for CHF 5 http://www.verbier.ch/fr/opening-session-fp39000.html
If you don't have one already, the cheapest outfit I could find on the web was £3.98, so that's a saving in my book.
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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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@Keith_b, hopefully that will be the first weekend of the season for me. Fingers crossed for reasonable snow in the Arlberg though the forecast is for a good period a mild föhn weather so the snow might suffer, it might have to be Ischgl instead. Obergurgl / Sölden seems to have plenty open already. The big snowfalls have been mainly south of the main alpine ridge so high spots in the Italian alps could be worth looking at. Many spots in Italy are easily reachable from Munich by car.
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Thanks Munich_Irish - I've had a lot of success with the Gatwick - Munich route over the last few years however, it seems everyone else has now cottoned on to this route . The prices are much more expensive.
Italy rocks, I had a awesome trip in 2017 to Val Di Fassa, the scenery is stunning.
I prefer Munich airport for car hire as you get winter tyres, Venice took some negotiation and more cash than I had planned. I am expecting Geneva French car hire to come with winter tyres, same as Munich.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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The Mt.Fort Swiss Lodge in Le Châble is actually in the base station of the télécabine next to the Le Châble railway station. The lift goes from the same building, up to central Verbier. 3 nights £151 (but check yourself, probably a bit more for a single room/single occupancy). The car park is big and free. Although you could just take the train from Geneva Airport to Le Châble via Martigny (https://www.sbb.ch/en From 'Genève-Aéroport' to 'Le Châble VS, gare') 100m to the hostel, so a car not really needed. See http://www.verbier.ch/fr/fppoi-mont-fort-swiss-lodge-3184-8109.html
Remember to bring your St.Nicholas outfit (has to be a miter not a bobble-hat, plus coat and beard as a minimum).
Last edited by snowHeads are a friendly bunch. on Tue 19-11-19 22:34; edited 2 times in total
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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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@LaForet - I will be looking into your suggestion here, sounds proper fun.
Checking this option out now....
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@LaForet - I've booked a room with a cancel option for a week or so at the hotel you suggested, a lot cheaper than VT/Tignes (I suspect they're not setup for random days like I want to book) - the drive time is much less as well. Ski pass is slightly higher than VT but that's easily offset by travel travel time/santa outfit option/accommodation costs of alternative options.
Anything I need to be aware of taking a French hire car from Geneva Airport to La Chable please?
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You know it makes sense.
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... will be keeping an eye on the webcams in Verbier..... 
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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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Les diablerets....Skiing glacier 3000. Easy drive from Geneva and accommodation should be easy to find and not ridiculously expensive.
If you are looking at 2 or 3 days skiing then it's an ideal opportunity to look at an area that perhaps you wouldn't consider. With all the early snow the link from Les d' to Villars could be running, well worth a punt.
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Poster: A snowHead
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[Anything I need to be aware of taking a French hire car from Geneva Airport to La Chable please?]
Cue the French Hire Car at GVA discussion: Yes. You will need a Swiss Vignette and winter tyres (yes, Le Chable is in the valley, but the worst winter journey I've ever done was on the A9 around Lake Geneva: think M25 plus snow and slush with no reduction whatsoever in traffic speed!). If this is Ferney Voltaire (rather than T51 airport car park) then that's well outside the airport perimeter, so leave extra transfer time. Personally, I always hire from the Swiss side, but then I get a discount from Hertz through my professional association. But then if it was me, I'd go by train unless I was going to arrive very late into GVA.
If a vignette isn't supplied, you can buy one at the border, but if it was me, I'd get it online from somewhere like the Swiss Travel Centre in London before you go. Just in case you end up driving late at night.
Apps: There's a Verbier 4 Vallées app. (not fantastic, but has the webcams on it) - For weather, I use the MeteoSwiss app which is the national weather forecaster - Geneva airport has a good app GVA which will be useful if there are any flight delays or airport problems.
DO NOT SPEED in Switzerland: keep to the limits. The traffic police are very hot on this and they have hidden cameras. Fines are pro rata to you income. Hence the world's most expensive speeding fine of €650,000 in 2010. Do not fail to carry a vignette if you use the autoroutes - police are similarly very hot on picking up on this. An autoroute is not necessarily what you would recognise as a motorway, either.
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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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@Keith_b, don't drive, take the train.
The airport has its own station.
@LaForet vastly(!) overstates the distance from the Le Chable station to your accomodation at 100m.
It is 50m at the most!
The trains are scheduled superbly, minimal wait time at Martigny for the train change.
However if you arrive late evening at Geneva then train not so good as you may only get to Martigny, a taxi will be 100chf to Le Chable (a lot for 15kms)
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Thank you for following this up. I was looking at trains and the travel time is >2hrs, a change plus "waiting for the next train" time, adds up to more than "grab a hire car from the terminal".
My flight gets in at 0845 - my priority is to get on the slopes dressed as St Nick as fast as possible.
Have I missed something here?
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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've gone back and looked at the trains again - maybe its the better option in terms of cost and hassle, and it is around a similar door to door time....
10:02
Genève-Aéroport, Platform 1
Martigny
arr11:42
Martigny, Platform 2
dep11:51
Martigny, Platform 50
Train
R 26118
Direction Le Châble
arr12:17
Le Châble
The train gives me somewhere warm to get changed.....
And (and I think this is where I'm catching up here) the rail station is next to the gondola and the hotel.....?
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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@Keith_b, if you've not done France before then try and stay in Val d'Isere. It's an actual French village with a high street and character, as opposed to a collection of high rises.
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Thanks Dr John - appreciate the tip
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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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@LaForet and RungSP - I've now made the journey to your way of thinking and will be getting the train, I really appreciate your patience on this topic.
This is a perfect setup for a couple days skiing somewhere new for me - a great Snowheads result.
Keith
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Keith_b And to complete the service, here's a plan I did for some clients of where to go in GVA. Fairly simple, just turn left out of Arrivals, walk past the UBS ATMs, and various shops, to the end and through the revolving door, then down the escalator to the ticket hall level. Once you have a ticket, the platform level is below you.
My only other advice is to be careful with your valuables on the train from, and particularly back to Geneva Airport. Thieves do look out for tourists on the GVA train who will often be preoccupied with the journey and not paying attention. As anywhere, keep your passport and wallet on you and don't put valuables in a rucksack on the overhead storage etc. Not a big deal, and I would never let it put me off travelling by train, but like anywhere, not everyone is honest.
Have a great trip.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Thanks LaForet
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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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