 Poster: A snowHead
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Zero-G, walking underrated. Keeps the crowds away! Snow's coming from around the 13th according to the forecasts. I sense there's going to be a lot! Will however hide the crevasses so going with a guided group is very sensible.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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more than a bit of a walk
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Indeed - I'd be most reluctant to tackle anything which BobinCH described as a "bit of a walk" or a "bit of a climb". 
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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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BobinCH, ooh, what forecasts are you looking at?
pam w, too true! However, I look at it as a something to aspire to.
Right, I think the bulletproof stuff at the top of GM has had a bit of time to soften up - I'm off skiing!
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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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ed123, Casa Valerio is always open. Thankfully they have moderated their prices and at least tried to get quality back up to what it used to be. But it's not what it was 5 years ago IMO.
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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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ed123, Casa Valerio is still open (never really closes( but I am afraid we have avoided it mostly for about 18 months as the prices were hiked unreasonably and the quality of the pizzas dropped dramatically.
Napoli under the Alpina may be a better pizza bet. Lapin Agile definitely a better pasta bet.
Last edited by Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do. on Sat 9-04-11 16:25; edited 1 time in total
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Sale alert, Vieux Campeur in Sallanches has lots of Skis and Ski Boots 50% off. Strangely I had to pay full price for some rock boots!
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I spotted a forecast that was predicting quite a bit of precipitation (I am reluctant to say snow) next weekend, but when I looked again it had changed 
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Vieux Campeur in Sallanches
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Will have to look into their Albertville shop when I'm down there in the week. 
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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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Lift update- Le Tour is now closed for the season, some lifts are running for walkers. Brevent /Flegere closed from 1PM to skiers, only the Bozon open at Brevent, the Index open at Flegere.
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Zero-G, This one from ski-finder. Looks more like 15th now.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Crazy situation at GM. Everyone is skiing this mountain, including ski schools from Les Houches. Lift queues and pistes are rammed. Between pistes busy too (via SMS)
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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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Yep GM v v busy. A bit of fresh snow, but unfortuately not as good as it sounds.
Came home for an early bath to warm up and dry off 
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Yep. Can verify that GM is pretty grim right now. Visibility today (12/04) was dreadful up top. Rainy and cold. Not a fun day at all.
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You know it makes sense.
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Admittedly, with the rain, low vis and crowds yesterday, it did feel like I was skiing in central London. But, I stayed warm and dry and had a couple of hours of skiing. Can't fault that.
A combination of the tricky conditions (sheet ice in the mornings and gluey slush by 1pm) and the sheer number of people skiing GM has increased the blood wagon activity. Every day this week, there has been an injured person on a stretcher in the cable car on my way down to Argentiere. On Sunday, in the 30 minutes I waited for the bus, the ambulance made two collections. Since I have seem the same ambulance drivers every day for the past 5 days, we are now on bonjour terms.
The tops of the Combes and the Bochard first thing in the mornings are entertaining to say the least, with one in ten people sliding down the icy slope on their backs/butts/sides. I know I will burn in hell but it is funny to watch and I usually head up there for a bit of a sit down to watch the carnage while talking myself through the moves I have to make to get down those bits without becoming a victim myself.
Despite all of the above, it is still better than a day at the office!
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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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Zero-G, what are the conditions like at the top of the grands montets or was the queue too ridiculous to bother?
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Poster: A snowHead
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Has there been any reductions in lift pass prices if just GM is open? Have a couple of friends going Sat (against my advice, but feel a little sorry for them) and will be giving them a list of other things to do, so just curious on pass prices!
Thanks!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Yes the lift pass prices have been reduced.
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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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Discounts on ski prices from 13 April 2009
Finish the ski season at low prices!
Ski discount prices for the coming winter season available soon.... in the meantime, and for information only, below are those of the previous winter!
From 13 April to 10 May 2009, enjoy major discounts to ski in Chamonix :
Season start and end of season discounts 2008-2009
1,00 € the 2nd consecutive day skiing on the Mont-Blanc Unlimited area
28,50 € one day skiing on Chamonix le Pass area
Validity dates :
Season start : from 6 to 20 December 2008
End of season : from 13 April to 10 May 2009
-
Mont-Blanc Unlimited Lift-pass prices
Rates from 6 to 20 December 2008 and from 13 April to 10 May 2009
The Mont-Blanc without constraint
Number of
ski days (consecutive) Adult
(16-64 yrs old) Reduced
Young (4-15 yrs)
Seniors (65 -74 yrs old) Veterans
(75 and +) Family
2 Adults +
1 Young and +
1 day of ski 48,50 39,00 24,30 121,30
2 days of ski 49,50 € 39,60 € 24,80 € 123,80 €
3 days of ski 100,00 € 80,00 € 50,00 € 250,00 €
4 days of ski 124,00 € 99,20 € 62,00 € 310,00 €
5 days of ski 148,00 € 118,40 € 74,00 € 370,00 €
6 days of ski 165,00 € 132,00 € 82,50 € 412,50 €
"Smart card" required : 3€ cost
Mont-Blanc Unlimited validity area
(Validity perimeter dependant on snow conditions and lift access)
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Guernseyfreerider, all of the queues are just silly at the moment. I spent 40 minutes in the queue just to get up the mountain yesterday.
We had a few centimetres of snow last night, so the top of GM was a little softer first thing this morning than it has been in over a week. My teeth are thankful!
There was even a thin layer of snow at the top of both the Combes and the Bochard this morning... covering sheet ice, of course. After spending days being amused by people sliding all over the shop, I slid on my ar$e today. Karma.
Some dodgy phone pics:
These signs are everywhere:
The quietest I've seen the slopes all week:
Looking down at the lack of snow on the runout of the Vallee Blanche itinerary on the Mer de Glace - the red arrow indicates the train station:
Edited to link to slightly better res images.
Last edited by You need to Login to know who's really who. on Thu 14-04-11 7:02; edited 1 time in total
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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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Guernseyfreerider, I have been to the top a few times this week.Today was MARKEDLY better than any of the other days.
Only got two runs in today from the top due to the big queue the 2nd time I went up (over 1 hour queue wait!) but both the back and front sides had at least around 20cm and some patches of around 30cm and more!! 
As soon as I have sorted the snowmediazone thing out I will put a couple of pictures of the conditions up!
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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20 - 30cm! Is that like all men think 6 inches is bigger than it really is? 
I'd say it was closer to 10cm covering ice, from the top cable car on the ungroomed blacks.
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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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| Zero-G wrote: |
| Word on the street is that Courmayeur is still in pretty good shape with a bit more than the 25cm base that CMB currently reports for Lognan. |
I also heard that Courmayeur was decent, so am planning on heading over there on Friday for a run around. More snow forecast....but then you know how that often ends up !!!! 
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Touchguru, any news on the vallee blanche? Read on one guide's blog earlier in the month it was a 20 min walk out to bottom of the steps. Wondering what it was like now with state of snow bridges?
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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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Guernseyfreerider, I enquired last Sunday as to the possibility of some friends going on the VB and was met with a 'you must be joking' look. Apparently it is about a 40 minute walk/boulder scramble out to the steps and lots of crevasses. This is all 2nd hand information as I haven't been there this season.
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Guernseyfreerider, it's definitely more than 20 minutes. The pic in my post above (now with larger pics) shows just how far you have to hike from the end of the snow to the bottom of the steps. That pic was taken last Thursday and there has been more melt since then.
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You know it makes sense.
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Much quieter on Grand Montets today. No queues at the bottom and I walked straight onto the top lift twice.
Only skied off the back today (Point de Vue side) as the front looked a bit tracked out, although some guys were skiing what I thought was pretty close to the glaciated area where there was good looking snow but also a few huge crevasses!!
Conditions still good at the top (off the marked run) and still new tracks to be laid almost all the way down to around the 11 Piste marker on Point de Vue.
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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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Touchguru, damn! Thinking the visibility would be about zero, I took a down day today to give my muscles a rest. I'll be on the first lift tomorrow though. According to the forecast, there will be four millimetres of snowfall tonight. Woo
Let me know how Courmeyeur turns out - I may head out there on Monday.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Did a mission over to Verbier yesterday. Wasn't great but well worth the effort and still a bit of soft dry snow about, along with the afternoon slush (which I like) on some aspects. I understand there is a bus there on Thursdays from Cham>
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Zero-G, there was a fair bit of low cloud about as I boarded the first lift to the top but this miraculously lifted as we approached the top around 10:15am!!
Will post on here about the Courmayeur conditions 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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Touchguru, fired over to Courmayeur yesterday: VV cable car shut, as all the lower lifts eg Zerrota on that side closed. Went up Courmayeur cable and from there walked to bottom of Gondola (as no cover to ski), even descending you can't quite make it to the gondola with skis on. once on the gondola you are passing over skiable (just, at the bottom) terrain and by the top of the gondola snow is fine (if little old). you can jump on the Youla, but the Arp is for pedestrians only (as both VV & col d'arp) run out of snow before the bottom. tuesday had been v hot day and cold night, as a consequence wednesday was icy/hard as f*** till gone lunch from the top of the Youla back to top of gondola, but just point downhill and who notices. in the pm a softer snow non stop thrash from top of Youla to base of gondola was a thigh burning option. Had a look at the chutes from the top of Youla but decided an icy cock up on the drop in could mean a very long steep slide (no bottle I know).
Anyway that's my opinion & in summary: worth the tunnel toll if just to break up the tedium (and bag the anti pasta at Roma).
disclaimer: all info min 30hrs out of date already and could be by now utterly irrelavant.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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jbob, is there more skiable terrain open (and less bottle necks) in verbier than cham then? thinking about filling the car up and heading over on say sunday as GM could well be a zoo with the weekenders into cham.
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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 obviously missed out on yesterday but conditions today were the best they have been in weeks. All day yesterday (and last night) I wore a jumper down in the valley and it was frickin' cold on the mountain today (oh, how we have grown soft after weeks of summer temperatures), which meant the snow felt like proper snow, rather than thawed and refrozen ice particles.
The queue for top tickets was offputting, so I spent the day skiing the off-piste accessible from the Herse and had an absolute blast! Was grinning so much my face was aching and I know a whoop or two escaped from my mouth.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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jbob, I'd be interested in your answer to midgetbiker's question too. Have the pass, may as well use it if the conditions are good.
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midgetbiker, Yes there is a lot more to go at. Lac Vaux, La Chaux, and Mont Fort are all open plus a bit on the Ruinerres. Its in better nick don't know what Sunday will be like crowds wise!
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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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just back from a family ski trip to Cham.
Not as dreadful as we feared.
As already posted essentially all closed except Grand Montets and even there several lifts/pistes closed.
When we left the runs/lifts open were;
Point de Vue
Pylones (open to the Herse)
Blanchots (opened on Saturday)
Bochard
Combes
Marmattons.
thats it- very limited for any younger skiers/ novices.
Weather and snow conditions varied a lot.
Weather- from very hot through to a near Scottish mix of rain/sleet/fog/hail/wind.
Snow- on piste- mostly very hard packed/boiler plate ice with death cookies- then ok for not long then slush. A large pool of brown malodourous water lies outside thecafe/lift station at the Grand Montets mid station giving a subtle scent of merde.
Did have some good snow yesterday all day.
Top of Grands Montets / pylones not too bad really.
We did actually have a good time and stayed some days till the last lifts. Many others did not share our approach and one day there was a 2 hours cue to get down the cable car at lunch time (quitters)- that was Tuesday when the weather and snow were both really terrible.
I was sharing childcare with Mrs Ed so we skied alternate days.
Once again Jeremy the ski tech at Otavalo sorted out my telemark bindings - thanks.
We we were the last Esprit guests in the Sapiniere which will now be used as an Inghams hotel- a real shame.
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FAQ
