 Poster: A snowHead
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Glad you enjoyed your trip today ,undiscovered and hidden gem that ship sailed long ago !
I would like to add that every run is pisted daily we are very proud of our piste prep team .
Yes it is very Brit dominated but interestingly less so now than in previous years the French and Belgic’s buying property now .
I had a day in La Rosiere / La Thuile today no doubt about it we have a lot of snow at 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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@Pamski, @Rob Mackley, thanks very much! Piste grooming was indeed excellent so agree that the piste prep team do a great job.
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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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Thu 1 Feb - Courchevel
Piste map here.
Today was our "spare" ski day - all the new resorts on our list had been allocated days elsewhere in the week. Originally I'd had a vague plan to head back to the Espace Diamant - which we visited in 2018 and enjoyed immensely - but snow conditions low down aren't great at the moment. Add in a slightly poor weather forecast, for low cloud and maybe snow flurries / drizzle focused on the NW Alps, and it seemed better to head southeast instead, back into the Tarentaise.
I didn't want to fork out €60+pp on a day pass for one of the mega-resorts, but a bit of research came up with the Courchevel mini pass, attractively priced at €35.50 (cheaper than the Espace Diamant or even the Les Saisies local pass). The Mini Pass is designed to allow you to "safely ski green runs at an affordable price". That sounds prohibitively limited, but that is not the case. The pass covers the lifts serving the easiest areas above each separate village base, but crucially these lifts often also serve several other pistes, all the way up to a couple of blacks. The following description will only make sense if you're familiar with the Courchevel piste map, or have one handy.
We parked in a layby 2-mins walk away from the La Tania gondola - as far as I know, La Tania is the only remaining lift base with free parking. In this zone, the Mini Pass principally covers the La Tania bubble and Bouc Blanc chair, giving 900m vertical spread between green, blue and red runs. Folyères (blue) is a really excellent long run, perfectly groomed and deserted early in the day, and easily linked with Arolles (blue) above.
La Tania
Dou des Lanches chair
Late morning, we skied from the top of Bouc Blanc down to the Courchevel 1850 zone. This is possible in this direction only - the lifts back to La Tania are out of bounds.
Saulire from Loze Est (green)
Above 1850, the Verdons and Jardin Alpin gondolas are covered, plus the Pralong chair and several drag lifts. Conveniently, the "access lifts" to 1850 from both 1550 and Le Praz are also included, opening up the longer runs down to these lift bases too, and a vertical of nearly 1000m.
Plantrey (green) through 1850 towards the lower villages
Brigues (red) to Le Praz
Le Praz
Tovets (blue) to 1550
Top of the Grangettes gondola
Having last been here 20 years ago, I was unimpressed that none of the three gondolas out of 1850 have been upgraded, and even the countless drag lifts are still present. The gondolas had annoying 5-min queues at times, and so did the Pralong chair (and the Vizelle bubble, not on our pass).
Verdons / Chenus scrum at 1850
The sheer number of people on some of the pistes was unpleasant, and the crowds descending both the Combe de Saulire and Creux runs higher up looked like ant colonies. Snow conditions were good down to 1850, hard packed to 1550 (but deserted), and sugary artificial stuff down to 1300. Probably my favourite runs in this area were Dou des Lanches (red) down to 1550, and a reasonably quiet Biollay (blue) along a minor ridge off the Pralong chair.
Views towards 1650 from Biollay (blue)
Saulire from the top of the Pralong chair
Verdons (green) to 1850
At 2.45pm we skied down a short, new blue (with icy / thin patches - no snow cannons) to the fancy Aquamotion leisure centre, and caught the free navette around the corner to Courchevel 1650.
The Easy Pass here is a bit more stingy, with only the long Ariondaz gondola included (plus insignificant drag lifts). But the hill was almost completely deserted - what a contrast! Indiens (blue) is the same fun run I remember, through a miniature canyon; Marquis (blue) has become the main home run, modified by a new luge and major reorganisation of the pistes since I was last here. After Ariondaz closed, we had a couple of easy runs off the Belvedere drag. And when that shut, I couldn't resist finishing with a go on Mickey: a baby lift that was my first ever ski lift 
Marquis ridge from Ariondaz (blue)
Bel Air (red)
Indiens (blue)
Moriond / 1650
After all the lifts had closed, we caught a navette to 1850 for some window shopping / fur coat spotting. We then skied through the tunnel to take the Praz gondola down to 1300, but noticed the pisteurs hadn't yet put the barrier across the red run down - so had a cheeky last run down to 1300 instead, in fading light. Then the bus to La Tania. The weather had been cloudy but dry for most of the day, but a little light rain began to fall on the drive down the mountain.
1850
1850
Despite some busy pistes and slightly unspectacular weather we had a good day and I'd certainly recommend the Mini Pass, at least for a single / first day. It seems surprisingly good value for a ski area that is (by French standards) famously expensive, and covers a large area when all the different zones are added together - more than you could cover in a day. Obviously the highest lifts are excluded, but there's a good mix of run grades and 1,000m vertical on offer.
Our planned pizza takeaway for tonight was unexpectedly shut, so we headed down the road to Albertville to find some dinner there. Pizza Cosy: €16 for a superb pizza, dessert and soft drink - highly recommended!
Fave run in Courchevel (on the Mini Pass): Folyères (blue) above La Tania.
Last edited by Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see? on Wed 14-02-24 16:20; edited 3 times in total
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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@denfinella, I love researching a ski holiday and finding deals etc, but you really are next level!
Sounds loads of fun. Since we've moved to Austria i've found a new love for small ski areas, so your type of holiday sounds great fun!
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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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@denfinella, brilliant find on that pass, sounds like a bargain for a day out. Great that you found some quieter pistes as well - was it noticeably busier than the other areas you've skied this week? If so, a massive plus for finding smaller areas...
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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A lovely read, thank you
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Your navigation skills are impressive, @denfinella, as is your recall!
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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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Nice catching up on last few days, Areches Beaufort and Pralognan are both just super, I never remember or pay attention to the name of a run so have enjoyed your detail!
Looks like more of the mega areas are all staring to offer these mini area passes. Great for beginners etc or locals with just a few hours to spare. I hope its not at the expense of the tiny areas tho
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I don't mind drags. Skiing in the Arly Valley you get used to them!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@swskier, I agree that smaller ski areas can offer just as much (or more) fun as the bigger places 
@ElzP, yes, Courchevel was *much* busier than all the other places we've been this week. Sainte Foy and St François Longchamp were a big step down in busy-ness, and then all the others were a big step down again (including La Clusaz, surprisingly).
@FranzKlammer, cheers.
@Je suis un Skieur, sorry yes Dou du Midi! So you're a Folyères fan too? The green down to La Tania was fun as well. Unfortunately the red was shut (and so was Eclipse). Re. drag lifts - I don't mind using them at all, and think we did most of the runs that are accessible from them, such as the really quiet Sources blue off the Rochers de l'Ombre drag. Which are your favourite carving runs? Glad to hear the gondolas might be getting an upgrade.
@alasdair.graham, I'm a big map geek so always like to know where I am and what I'm skiing. Sometimes it's also nice to work out how the pistes / topography relates to the run's name. The mini pass is unusually generous in Courchevel - as far as I know, most other big resorts don't include such a large area for that sort of price.
@Origen, I very much like drags, such as in the Espace Diamant as you say. But there's not much point in using them if they're doubled by longer lifts which will get you to the same runs but faster (often with some extra vertical thrown in for food measure).
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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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Fri 2 Feb - La Clusaz (day 2)
Back to La Clusaz for our penultimate skiing day - roughly an hour's drive over the tortuous Col des Aravis. Rather than drive all the way down to La Balme, we parked at the Combe des Juments lift (still free). The sun has returned, though it looked cloudier over towards the Mont Blanc massif. After a cool start (0°C) it became really quite warm with the freezing level up around 3,000m... again.
There hasn't been much change in snow conditions since we visited a week ago. The main difference is that the link runs between Etale and Manigod are now broken, so a circuit isn't possible. Lift passes, again purchased online a while ago, were €34pp.
We first headed up to Beauregard (the only morning-sun slopes around La Clusaz town) and lapped the blues off the gondola a few times. This is a busy lift, with a few minutes' wait at times. Guy Perillat reliable as ever, Les Prises pretty good too, Le Var getting a bit brown.
Combe des Juments slopes from Envers (blue)
Guy Perillat (blue) into La Clusaz
Then by late morning the Aiguille lifts came into the sun. I was a bit underwhelmed by this sector: the lift system on the SW facing side of the ridge (above Combe des Juments) is ancient and the piste network poorly laid out, resulting in one really overused red (Aiguille from the top) which is currently closed below mid mountain, and a deserted blue but with an awkward sideways camber (Jument 2000).
Aiguille slopes
View from the Aiguille chair
Aiguille (red)
Good views to L'Etale
The "front" of the mountain overlooking La Clusaz, despite having fast lifts, was also disappointing - little more than a single extremely wide blue which was rock hard in the morning and then seemed to instantaneously transform to being lumpy and cut up.
Crêt du Merle lift base
Crêt du Loup face
Snowpark under the Crêt du Loup chair
Snowpark under the P'tit Loup chair
In case you're thinking this is just going to be a moaning post - the afternoon was much better. The sun reached La Balme at about 1pm and we loved this sector. ~1300m vertical laid out in a "Y" shape, with the bottom part served by a gondola (lovely, interesting blue back down) and the upper branches served by two slow chairs and a drag lift (upgrades required!).
La Motte (blue) & Fernuy gondola
Foot of Balme (blue)
Top of the Balme gondola
Bergerie chair
The upper mountain is mostly of red gradient (the Vraille black was closed), and had lovely snow in places (though also some hard pack and heavy bumps later on) and even better views - surrounded by vertical rock faces, it felt a little bit like skiing in the Dolomites again. The two very best runs here - and some of our favourites from the entire week - were Botion / Lachat (reds, but verging on black gradient) plunging off the Torchère drag, and Le Fernuy (red) down a valley beneath its namesake gondola. The latter faces directly north so we waited until 4pm for it to soften.
Viewing platform at the Col de Balme high point
Mont Blanc in the clouds, but the Megève / La Giettaz / Espace Diamant ski areas all in view
Crintiaux (red)
Choucas (black)
Torchère bowl
We found ourselves at the Bossonet lift base at 4.10pm, and in a mad rush to get back up to the top of the Combe des Juments "sofa chairlift" for downloading (the piste is little more than parched grass). Made it with a few minutes to spare, leaving a lovely seated descent facing the sunset.
Sunset descending Combe des Juments
Overall thoughts about La Clusaz: one of the most varied mid-sized ski areas I've ever visited; each sector has a different character, almost feeling like separate ski areas. But the lift system needs serious work from mid mountain upwards (where many of the best pistes are), and more snowmaking wouldn't go amiss.
Fave runs in La Clusaz-Manigod: Botion / Lachat (reds), Fernuy (red) & Guy Perillat (blue).
On the way back to the Airbnb we stopped for a look around Albertville (seemed quite nice, bit of a weird mix of architectural styles), then had dinner at Buffalo Grill. Food was generally acceptable (€40 for a starter, two mains, unlimited sides, two desserts and two drinks, plus free salad / bread) and our waitress was lovely but the steak was one of the worst I've ever had. We've been to Buffalo Grill a few times over the years and always feel a little underwhelmed - note to self, must stop visiting 
Albertville
Last edited by And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports. on Sun 11-02-24 16:42; edited 5 times in total
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@denfinella, I'm a La Tania local so of course I like Folyeres! Must be one of the best home runs in the world. Whatever day you've had, it's pretty hard not to go home off Folyeres without a smile. I've been to a fair few places (but about 1% of the places you've been) and I cannot think of anywhere comparable beyond Colorado. But Colorado's full of slow skiing signs and piste patrol wanting to take away your lift pass for not snow-ploughing so that kind of negates it. Would be interested to know what home runs you think are comparable to Folyeres from your vast experience?
The Moretta red down to the LT gondola is shut for half the season every year - there's no snow making on it. Assuming you parked on the new car park on the right as you entered LT from Le Praz, then that's the replacement car park for La Saz that was the car park at the bottom of Moretta. It's being turned into a hotel, apartments and underground car park for 2026-27. Snow making is finally meant to go in too as part of the project. I'll believe it when I see it.
I like Pralong (and Creux) for carving but depending on how high up you let the skis go the speeds can get insane and it can be dangerously busy. Glad you found Sources, that's one of the drag lift carving pistes - great for a warm up first thing when it's fresh corduroy and there are queues at Biollay. The other is Granges in 1650. You may have skied that, it's on the pass. Bit more gradient and some fun rollers but you can scope out who's on it first and then admire your tracks on the drag back up.
The other run that I really like, not for carving but for sheer prettiness and a brief bit of solitude, is Cospillot, from the bottom of Pralong through the trees to mid-way above 1550. Also not much used - did you discover that?
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You know it makes sense.
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@Je suis un Skieur, oooh I'm not sure I have vast experience but I'll have a think. Folyères must be up there with the best of them, at least in France! Maybe Grand Vallon in to Vars Sainte Marie? Otherwise I think you'd need to look to Italy.
We actually parked a little bit closer to the gondola than the "new" car park - there are a couple of gravel laybys just beyond. We took the last space in the one closest to the gondola.
We did indeed ski the little Granges blue (and used the drag), as well as Cospillot (plus Jardin Alpin which is similar, and even better for fur-coat spitting). Cospillot was one of my favourite runs when I was learning to ski as a child
The Biollay chair was broken for the middle part of the day which added to queues at Pralong. The Vizelle bubble was also off for much of the afternoon, which I think caused a bit of panic for skiers heading back to Meribel / Belleville who weren't aware of the alternatives...
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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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If we're on great home runs, the red run back in to Pozza di Fassa in the dolomites is up there with the best of them.
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Poster: A snowHead
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@swskier, good shout (though south facing, and super slushy when I did it).
Sat 3 Feb - Le Grand Bornand (day 2) & departure day
Back to Le Grand Bornand for our last day, an hour's drive over the low Col du Marais. €41.40 lift passes purchased online again.
Traffic was fairly heavy as we drove past St Jean de Sixt and up to Le Chinaillon. I was expecting the pistes to be busy with weekenders, but that wasn't really the case; there were a lot of ski clubs, but they were all confined to a few competition zones and stayed off the main runs.
Le Chinaillon from the Floria chair
There's been almost zero change in snow cover since 9 days ago, with all the main runs open apart from the blacks (still). It seemed less icy too, though the temperature really shot up later on, giving us our only experience of widespread afternoon slush this trip. On that note, the temperature on the car dashboard has never dropped lower than 0°C over the last 10 days, and it read 13°C when we returned to the car after skiing. It really hasn't felt like January / early February.
We skied all our favourite pistes from last time...
Les Annes chair
Col des Annes (blue)
Upper part of Lanches (red) from Mont Lachat
Combe de la Tolar (red)
Lower part of Lanches (red) to the Lachat lift base
...plus finished off a few in the Maroly sector we hadn't got round to before. The blues off the Prarian and Almet drags were lovely and quiet and still had good, grippy snow after lunch. Unfortunately my partner had a fall on a comically tiny kid's jump (an XXS one!) just before lunch and has sustained a shoulder injury, though hopefully no lasting damage done, and it didn't stop him skiing this afternoon.
Photo point at the top of the Terres Rouges chair
Chardons Blancs (red)
Prarian snow park
Somehow the sunny Envers red to the village at 1000m is still going strong, with a deep artificial base, though it was predictably very slushy in places.
Envers (red)
Lunch was at Le Nevé near the Lachat chairlift base. €15 for a filet mignon plat du jour with mushroom / peppercorn sauce, potatoes and salad (decent), €14 for a goats cheese and honey pizza (outstanding). Some French mountain restaurants clearly still offer reasonable value for money!
Top of the Rosay gondola / Lachat lift base
Fave runs in Le Grand Bornand: Piste 2000 (red) off the top Lachat lift - a lovely, long and scenic blast. Combe de la Tolar (red) off the Floria chair, down a gully - best just after lunch at this time of year when the sun briefly pokes above the surrounding terrain.
Called it a day just after 4pm, then dropped off hire skis before driving back to Geneva. There was an irritating queue for the French / Swiss border, which meant we arrived back 10 minutes later than our pre-agreed car drop-off time. Hopefully shouldn't be a problem. easyJet have revamped their check-in area at Geneva Airport, with the introduction of self-check-in desks. Seems to be a major improvement, with no queues this evening. I'm typing this from the departures hall; our flight currently has a 20-min delay.
I'll post again in a couple of days with final thoughts, cost breakdown and all-important photos. It's also not long until our next trip, to Italy... 
Last edited by Poster: A snowHead on Sun 11-02-24 18:24; 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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Trip summary
An enjoyable 10 days' skiing, with pleasant sunny weather probably outweighing below-par snow quality. On these trips there often ends up being a "dud" ski area which I enjoy less than the others, but not sure I could name one this time.
Comparing the different areas, there is currently a gulf in piste conditions between resorts around Geneva (fairly poor for the time of year), and those further south in the Tarentaise (perfectly acceptable). Altitude is one factor, but I think recent rain events are the main culprit, which were significant in the far NW Alps but only gave inneralpine regions a glancing blow. Of the areas we visited, La Clusaz is suffering the most: a shame as it took the gloss off what is really an amazingly varied, quirky area. I reckon in better conditions it could top the list from this trip.
Good: Wide variety of ski areas, all with their own special appeal. Weather was lovely with 8.5 sunny days, 1.5 cloudy, 1 hour of intermittent light rain, negligible wind, and no fog whatsoever. Some good lift pass deals. Accommodation was great, especially our main Airbnb in Esserts Blay. Easy driving, negligible traffic issues despite ongoing strikes / protests. Good restaurant food and generally reasonable menu prices.
Not so good: Snow conditions (hard pack, some ice, some slush) resulted in most black runs being closed, and anything ungroomed was unpleasant unless directly south facing. Crowded pistes in Courchevel 1850 took the shine off this supposedly world-leading area. La Clusaz's lift system needs improving, and snowmaking needs extending.
Cost breakdown
Prices are for 2 adults, 11 days (halve for per person prices). Not included: food costs, insurance.
Flights (EasyJet EDI-GVA, 1 hold bag) £199
Car hire (Alamo 10 days, winter tyres, + fuel / tolls £293+91
Accommodation (2-person studio in Le Grand Bornand, 2 nights, + 4-person apartment in Esserts Blay, 8 nights) £92+233
Lift passes (total 10 days - see individual posts for details) £602
Ski & boot hire (10 days) £154
Total: £1664
"Cost per skiing day" (£83) is up on last years Portes du Soleil trip (£76). Most of the increase is accounted for by more expensive lift passes, but that's more down to last year's passes being astonishingly good value (averaging £22 per person per day), rather than this year's ones being expensive (£30pppd). Everything else cost roughly the same as other French trips from the last few years. Any questions about deals etc. - feel free to ask.
Last edited by Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person on Sun 11-02-24 18:30; edited 3 times in total
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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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£30 per day for skiing is really good value, even if it's up considerably vs last year.
Can't even think of an activity you could do in the UK for 8 hours at the cost of £30? (not including free activities like walking!)
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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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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Pics now added to each day's post. Sorry for the delay, had a few issues with Imgur but have found a workaround now.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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Great read, thank you.
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Loads of informative photos - great. Some of them, particularly the ones of Areches-Beaufort, show the importance of aspect and the contrast between the sunny "adret" and the shady "ubac" side of the valley. Normally not so marked till much later in the season.
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@Flattsix, thanks!
@Origen, cheers. Agree re. slope orientation being unusually important for the last month.
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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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FAQ
- French small and medium sized ski area are consistently much better value for lift passes than elsewhere in the Alps.
