 Poster: A snowHead
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| intermediate wrote: |
| @dan100, thanks, which chalet were you in please? |
sonjon2 though i think both 1 and 2 have good chalet hosts. Location is great about 200-300 yards to bubble. Its across the road and by the side of the smaill lake to the telecabine and another 50-60 yards to the chair
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Best ski deal this year? Go to Serre Chevalier Reservations website, be sure to click on 'Packages' (website seems to default away from that option sometimes) select 'Good Deals' and presto you get offered private self catered accommodation including 6 day lift pass for £300 ish pp. And some of it is good quality. Getting there is a minor challenge - hire a car / get the bus from Grenoble / Turin or like us take the Paris Couchette sleeper train, arrive at 8:30 and be skiing by 10:30. Couchette route is last remaining in the French Alps.
While I'm here - anyone got a spare bed in the French Alps for a few nights next week or fancy palling up? I'm repping from 8 April for a week and fancy a few days skiing before. I'm easygoing and flexible - you have to be rep for school trips!
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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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DIY can still come up trumps if you have 4 per car.
Our Easter school hols trip this year, to La Tania, is coming in at:
£££
EuroTunnel 172.00
Fuel 265.49
Tolls 144.07
Apartment 400.00
First night Reims 53.98
Last night Macon 79.65
Total £ 1115.19
So 278 pp. That's with an overnight stop in Reims en-route down to break the journey, and an overnight stop in Macon coming home to give 7 days skiing.
For comparison with a typical Tour Op 7 night 6 day ski package hol, ie. without the hotel down and back, it would have been 981.56, so under 250 pp.
Now just got to hope the snow holds after the last few weeks of sunbathing weather ! Glad to see temperatures in resorts have dropped in the last couple of days.
EDIT: It's about £ 2100 including a 7 day family 3v ski pass. (Again for rough comparison around £ 1800 had it been a 7 night stay and 6 day ski pass).
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@dan100, thanks, I'll see whether silverski still have availability. 
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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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@splashrollandplod, thanks and that may well be useful for future reference. Prefer catered for this one. Good luck with repping - which resort or area will you be in?
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@Gazzza, thanks, your deal sounds excellent, especially for Easter. Only 2 of us for planned trip next week, so prefer flights. La Tania is one of our options. Temperatures forecast a bit lower until about next Tuesday - hope snow stays good for you.
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@intermediate, no, there's plenty of snow and plenty of empty and well groomed skiing available but south facing slopes suffering, regardless of snow making - which I'd pretty irrelevant at present.
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Les Saisies higher than La Tania 
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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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@intermediate, La Plagne 1800
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@pam w, @splashrollandplod, true - but La Tania being 30 mins from north facing Courchevel slopes and an hour or so from high altitude Val Thorens is tempting for next week.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Top of skiing Les Saisies is 2069m. 3 valleys has multiple > 3000m points. But Les Saisies does look nice.
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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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@Gazzza, I noticed you omitted food, ski hire and lessons from your calculations, although maybe you don't need the latter.
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@splashrollandplod, you're right, of course. Courchevek a good bet but personally I'd stay at 1650.
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You know it makes sense.
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Yes good point, I was just putting in equivalent indication for travel and accommodation which is what you'd get if you did a tour op self catering/b&b package.
We're skipping kids lessons on this trip and all skiing together for the first time (wish us luck). We need kids skis n boots hire (we've got our own).
We'll shop en-route and stock the apartment with breakfast stuff, cheese & charcuterie etc, wine n beer, and kids food, for the evenings, and we'll have a good restaurant lunch out on the mountain every day (reasonable 15 euro plat du jour type places as opposed michelin starred places).
So adding all that in the whole trip cost all-in including travel, accom, passes, kids ski hire, apartment breakfasts, restaurant lunches out, apartment eve meals (mainly as simple as gorging on bread, saucisson, cheese n wine, etc) that gives a total of £2988.28 all in according to my spreadsheet 
@intermediate, Enjoy La Tania, or wherever you end up, next week and yes save us some snow ! I'm keeping everything crossed for some traditional late seasons now followed by sunshine spring days
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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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Ski Olympic have some good deals from Manchester on Sunday - from £500. Gatwick at a £135 supplement, now that makes a change!
Skiworld also have a lot from £500.
Personally, I would look at a resort above 1800m unless you like slush a lot!
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Poster: A snowHead
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@pam w, @splashrollandplod, I missed a golden opportunity just over a year ago to visit Les Saisies. I stuck to my original plan and drove on to Les Contamines instead. That was fine but I'm determined to get to Les S one day.
With conditions and forecasts as they are now it's all about the base...and altitude.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@intermediate, missed a golden opportunity to ski with me too, old chap...... "There is a tide in the affairs of men which taken at the flood leads on to fortune".
As somebody said.
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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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Slightly OT but like other posters above, I was very surprised by the lack of good deals for the second week in March this year. Checked that there were no school holidays anywhere and it is usually medium-low season unless Easter is in March. There seemed to be very little availability 6 weeks or so before and therefore not much discounting going on. Wasn't expecting half price offers but prices were pretty full even taking into account the exchange rate.
Looking at booking early for next March and/or going later in the month.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Were you only looking at packages, @mmgg1988?
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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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@mmgg1988, Matched pretty much by the view that Tignes and Val were very busy that week, the pistes were very busy but none of us could work out why 
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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@intermediate, As @pam w, says stay high. Spring has arrived head on, its beautiful and very warm but the snow is certainly paying the price.
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Men and machines battle nature. Bottom of a south facing piste at 1500m will live to fight again another day!
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@pam w,
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@intermediate, missed a golden opportunity to ski with me too, old chap......
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If only I'd known I'd have turned left at Flumet instead of right. Would have been great to meet a snowHead legend. Impressed by lorry delivering snow to your back door!
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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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@mmgg1988, @chocksaway, thanks, someone may have said already but I wonder if the poor Christmas/New Year boosted demand for a March break instead?
@Swissie, thanks, still looking to get somewhere with easy access to 2000m + skiing...preferably EK or 3V...as so many others are.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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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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Agree that there seem to be less cheap deals around this year. Also many schools do break up this Friday and go back immediately after Easter Monday. When I was young we always tended to have off the week before and after Easter regardless of when Easter fell, but these days a lot of schools aim to make the terms a more equal length so if Easter falls late (like this year)they get the 2 weeks prior to it off and if its early (like last year) they get the 2 weeks after off.
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silverski offering le praz at £350 pp for 2 April. Worse comes to the worse you can always come down in gondola from 1850.
Chalet host in sonjon 2 knows what she's doing
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You know it makes sense.
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And that Silverski option Le Praz is available with no single supplement!
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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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@dan100, @splashrollandplod, thanks and they're still on the (very) short list. Have one possibility in Val D I'm trying to firm up.
Happened to notice Esprit have good family deals departing this weekend, especially in La Rosiere and also Les Gets. £300-£400pp in many cases, though I recall they're good at ramping up some extra charges with late bookings. Regional airport choice too, incl Scotland. Good company and service in my experience. Sadly I don't have a kid to take this time.
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Poster: A snowHead
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@intermediate, not sure if somebody else said but Neilson has emailed through a couple of careers chalet deals for that week at £299 one in Serre chevelier and one in El Tarter.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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There's cacpacity available in the resorts so if you're prepared to book flights/transfers independently and book the accommodation/lift passes directly with the hotels/apartment owners you should be able to negotiate good deals. Ski resort tourist offices or their websites are sometimes also a good place to ask.
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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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@NickyJ, @BobinCH, thanks, will look at those options. My snowbuddy for this trip getting spooked by forecasts of heavy rain below 2200m in many places this weekend. This one may go right to the wire
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Is it this weekend you are going ? I am waiting with baited breath to see where you end up and for how much 
(I often think of leaving it to the wire but often loose my bottle if I see a good deal in the weeks before)
Yep forecast looks warm again next week. Go high. My shortlist would probably be VT, Kaprun/Kitzsteinhorn, or Hintertux, as they should catch snow if the precipitation comes in. Or maybe Cervinia/Zermatt.
Looks even warmer the following easter week. I'm kind of now kicking myself for jumping in too early on booking the La Tania accomodation, as early forecasts for w/c 8/4 suggest even warmer and some rain in the week (lets hope it's still too early to be accurate) - I don't mind sunny warm classic spring skiing if it's dry and blue as its nice skiing with the kids, terrace lunches etc. Chucking down with rain is another matter. Miserable. I was out at new year and the lower end of runs into Courch 1550 & 1650, La Tania, Meribel, LM and St Martin resorts were strips of white in meadows of green - I was hoping the end of season would pay me back with good cover and maybe some fresh.
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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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@Gazzza, we're flexible, thankfully. Hoping for this weekend but depends if my snowbuddy decides to go. Have left many bookings 'to the wire' low season and usually works out fine.
My mate hates slush. He's a great skier and copes fine but just doesn't enjoy it. Also for me, knee op 5 months ago, heavy snow extra risky.
Latest forecast showing heavy rain below 2500m, eg Tignes. OK, should give fresh snow higher up but could wash out lower slopes. Thousands then crowded on and around the high stuff.
Not surprisingly, big discounts on last minute packages coming in now. But I'd rather pay double and have decent snow. Fortunate to be able to go most weeks until end of April, so plenty time yet.
Hope it turns bit chillier with sun for your La Tania week. From there you've got VT and the north facing stuff above Courchevel 1850 to keep you happy!
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I'm not a meteorologist but I get the feeling that when precipitation hits the mountains, it's difficult for them to estimate the freezing level (altitude). Snowforecast.com rain seems to be snow when you get there quite often. On the 'go high' advice I'd add that if you can 'get high' then that's as/more important especially if your first lift is covered (gondola etc.) eg La Tania (1350m) is a Gondola up to 1750 metres-ish, or Briancon at 1300m has a gondola that drivers you to 2300m.
I've now got 8 April La Plagne then start planning next January - a good month, cold, cheap, quiet, options, just as long as the snow has arrived by then.
Still sub £400 catered chalet + flights + xfers on Igluski including Meribel, Les Arcs (Peisey), Val d'Isere .... (assuming they actually exist).
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| intermediate wrote: |
My mate hates slush. He's a great skier and copes fine but just doesn't enjoy it. Also for me, knee op 5 months ago, heavy snow extra risky.
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Then certainly don't go this weekend and April really isn't ideal for you. Wait for a dump later in April but you will still get slush in the afternoons on anything other than high North facing slopes wherever you go. If he's a good skier it shouldn't be a problem - try some different skis maybe?
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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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@intermediate Yes, a travel agent we know suggested that people looking to go at Xmas and New Year looked at the snow and delayed to March and some that went then were probably looking for another trip
@pamw No, had to be a hotel rather than chalet or S/C but tried through Expedia and hotels direct in several resorts but all booked/expensive
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Day before conclusion for April 1 late booking:
1. Very few Scotland flights, none to France.
2. Several deals to Alps just under £400, mostly from Manchester. Low £300s to Pyrenees.
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FAQ
