 Poster: A snowHead
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NJD1977, Great report, thanks. Looking at the Les Gets webcams today things are starting to look very thin indeed....
I have a question - roughly how long does it take to get to Avoriaz using the Super Morzine Bubble - looking at the piste map it seems to link in with a couple of subsequent chairs, is an hour a fair time to allow?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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if you have a car you are normally much better off driving to the Ardent bubble than the Super Morzine
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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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simo1234, don't, sadly..... may consider bus/taxi if the above is too slow.....
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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a couple of weeks i heard that special buses were laid on from Les Gets (is this where you are staying) to Ardent
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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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red 27, a few mins to get up the gondola, then a chair ride, then a few mins for 1 long slow run, then 1 more chair and you're in Avoriaz. Way back is similar, but need to come down that 1st chair at the moment (officially).
We were dropped off at Super Morzine twice, but collected from Ardent (where there was more parking).
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red 27, you'll do it in an hour easily, shame you can't get Parker back though!
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davejsy,
Mont Chery is still closed. Chamossiere is open but I suspect getting there might be interesting. The base in Les gets was washed away before last weeks snowfall hence the poor condition of the piste.
Don't be too gloomy, Avoriaz still has some good skiing.
cheers
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andy, thanks all.... I'll go super-morzine way, I love chair lifts anyway, sitting there chatting/basking/admiring the beautiful scenery....
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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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We were in Les Gets last week as well and agree with all previous posts - the only thing I can add is an alternative suggestion to going to Avoriaz. As Les Gets was green when we arrived last Sunday we went up to Avoriaz on our first day (Monday22nd) but then on Tuesday and Wednesday we got a private minibus taxi (there were 8 of us) up to Morillon and from there we accessed Flaine where there was some very reasonable skiing to be had. The journey was only about 20/25 minutes to get to Morillon which didn't seem much longer to us than getting to the Ardent lift. The only 'problem' seemed to be the reluctance of the Les Gets taxi companies to take us there so in the end we contacted a firm in Morillon who were quite happy to come and pick us up from Les Gets - there were no queues for lift passes at Morillon either!! Loatie
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loatie, this is probably very ill mannered,  but can I ask you how much that trip cost please, single or return?
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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loatie, the people that ran our chalet in Les Gets timed it as 2 minutes quicker to Morillon than to Ardent. We did not do that last week in the end, but we did keep that option open.
red 27, If being dropped at lift by chalet staff, the Super Morzine is very convenient. If parking up, then there's a set of potentially lethal steps to walk up/down between carpark & lift station if the lift between carpark and lift station is out of order (and I've never seen it operating in 3 years). Not sure how far the walk is from bus stop if that's the route you're taking.
I'm very glad I was in a chalet last week, where (a) the owners knew the best places to seek snow, and (b) where we could all be dropped off and collected from convenient lifts each day (with some in lessons, and others requiring the best snow).
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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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red 27, Takes 1/2 hr from bottom of Super Morzine to Lindarets bowl most mornings.
Did the Valle de la Manche this morning - bit cruddy but interesting off piste and a welcome change from the busy pistes in Avoriaz. If/When we get any/more snow can highly recommend it.
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Back from PDS today, there 3 days and had some really good skiing. Can't really add much to whats already been said here apart from if you want to find the best pistes then I think you need to head up above Avoriaz. We had some good skiing over plaine dranse on the 1st day. Sunday was very busy in Av so we headed off to Les Crosets, the views from Pointe de Mossette are fantastic, even had a helicopter land up there to take some poor injured sole away! The Mosesettes run into Les Crosets was pretty poor so we then did abit of off piste above the lindarets bowl, if you stay below the chair lift there aren't as many hidden rocks! Just to mention we had some fantastic Pizzas in the bowl, little bit more of a walk but worth it.
I have to say that we found the best and the quietest runs to be the blacks at the top of Hauts Forts, these were less icey and very quiet in comparison to other runs . Be careful heading back into Avoriaz on one or two of the Blue runs as towards the end of the day they were quite busy and did get pretty icy .
All in all we had a fantastic time but feel we were abit lucky with the conditions having arrived on fri and then leaving today. 
Anybody heading out soon, go with an open mind and make the most of it, even if the skiing isn't as good as it may have been on previous trips you still have some beatiful scenary to appreciate.
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You know it makes sense.
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| davejsy wrote: |
NJD1977, thanks for the report. I'm heading out to Les Gets this friday, so its a bit worrying to hear about the poor condition of the pistes, is it because they haven't been groomed properly do you think? Anyway we will have the car, and I think ther is also a free bus from Les Gets to Avoriaz, so guess will spend a fair amount of time up there. Did you manage to get across to Mont Chery side in Les Gets, or Chamossiere? If so what were the conditions like over there?
glad to hear you managed to fine some decent skiing anyway. |
We didn't manage to get across to Mont Chery - didn't look good though. I would write Les Gets off for your hols and make the trip over to Avoriaz every day. Chamossiere was very awkward to get to, we didn't manage it, but I would imagine the conditions up there would have been downright dangerous.
The snow in Avoriaz really is decent stuff so I am sure you will have a decent holiday blast.
btw - be careful of the buses from Les Gets to Morzine / Avoriaz - they seemed pretty eratic times to me. If you have a car, I would drive to Ardent and get the bubble up from there - then you are straight into the Lindarets bowl which was great conditions.
Have a good holiday!
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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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Welcome to  s NJD1977 - great first post.
| zzz wrote: |
| Mont Chery is still closed. Chamossiere is open but I suspect getting there might be interesting. The base in Les gets was washed away before last weeks snowfall hence the poor condition of the piste. |
In between stopping young children hurling themselves off the chair, I managed to have a good look at Mont Chery from the Nabor chair. It's in terrible condition and won't be opening this side of more snow.
Once again, I was doing circuits and bumps around Piste B and Piste N, so can't report on much. If you were in the area and saw a bloke trying to do moving 180s and falling over a lot, then that was me. I fell more today than I have all season. Damn those edges...and my lack of technique...
Despite deciding to have the day off, Mrs PhillipStanton mustered the enthusiasm to go for a "brain out" ski to hunt out a good deck chair and vin chaud. She did manage to say that Nyon (and presumeably the rest of the route to Chamossiere) was "in surprisingly good condition" - with the notable exception of the patch of snow under the top of Troncs down to Chez Nannon - which she describes as "positively yucky".
I'm very jealous snowandtrek, I've been wanting to do the Vallee de la Manche all season.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Have been reading this thread with much interest over the last few weeks. Me and the family are travelling out to morzine this weekend. We went last year and loved the place, so are coming back for some more! last year we were in a chalet on the outskirts of Morzine. it meant a drive into the village for the non-skiers, or a short ski down the green run for the skiers. This year we decided to be in the thick of it all and have booked a chalet right next to the Pleney bubble lift. The ESF school meet right outside our front door i believe. The prospect of ski-in/ski-out was too tempting. However, there does seem to be a lack of snow at the moment. We all have classes booked, which means we are restricted to skiing in Morzine in the morning at least.
Where do you reckon we should head for the afternoon? Avoriaz?Take car or take lift.
My son is only a beginner. Does anyone know if the ESF childrens garden has enough snow to function in Morzine, and if not, where do they go?
Final question, I have to drop son off at ski garden at foot of Pleney, and daughter at ski school, before going to top of Pleney for my ski class. How do others manage? I have grave doubts I will get to class meeting place before the class sets off......
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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PhillipStanton,snowandtrek,
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I'm very jealous snowandtrek, I've been wanting to do the Vallee de la Manche all season.
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Where is this guys?
Thanks
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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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| davejsy wrote: |
PhillipStanton,snowandtrek,
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I'm very jealous snowandtrek, I've been wanting to do the Vallee de la Manche all season.
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Where is this guys?
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Top of the Fornet lift in Avoriaz. Come off the lift; follow the piste 100m - to the right and the apex of the corner and you'll probably see a path through the snow leading to an edge. Over that edge.
Once you're over the edge you're seriously off-piste - it's avalanche prone and there are terrain hazards. Only do it with a guide.
Note - when you come off the Fornet chair you might see people walking up past some netting in front of you. That's a cliff - they're looking at the view.
Last edited by Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see? on Tue 30-01-07 23:23; edited 1 time in total
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Welcome to s hubblebubble.
| hubblebubble wrote: |
| Where do you reckon we should head for the afternoon? Avoriaz?Take car or take lift. |
It very much depends on the ability of your children. If your son is a complete beginner and you want to do stuff with him in the afternoon then you'll be best sticking to Morzine until he's confident going down a blue run. Frankly, there's plenty there to keep a beginner amused.
If you want to go up to Avoriaz then I'd normally recommend driving up to Ardent and taking the bubble up to Linderats. But that route isn't the best option for beginners - there's only one green in the Linderats bowl and the easy blue is the tail end of a busy run. The easiest return runs from Avoriaz into Linderats are also in poor condition at the moment. I'd avoid with a beginner.
The route via Super Morzine is much better for beginners - the route to Avoriaz is little more than a green - and the return run is an easy blue (although on the top section there's a corner that's a bit unpleasant when it's busy).
| hubblebubble wrote: |
| My son is only a beginner. Does anyone know if the ESF childrens garden has enough snow to function in Morzine, and if not, where do they go? |
Even when there was virtually no snow in Morzine the ESF children's garden had snow. One of the people on my first course was fed up with his daughter telling him that he should just go skiing with her because the snow was soooo good!
| hubblebubble wrote: |
| Final question, I have to drop son off at ski garden at foot of Pleney, and daughter at ski school, before going to top of Pleney for my ski class. How do others manage? I have grave doubts I will get to class meeting place before the class sets off...... |
snowandtrek will be much better placed to advise on this and will hopefully be along shortly...
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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, just over a week to go till we are out there.
This is the first time I have driven out and boy am I pleased at least we will be able to drive to some snow. Morillon would probly be my choice as we were all discusing skiing in Flaine for a day.
Does any body know how St jean Du Alps is getting on that was another choice for where to stay and wondered if it may be worth going there for a day if its really busy in half term the Morzine area?
This weekend I will be getting the Snow chains & ski rack for the car. I have never used snowchains before, as i have a 4x4 will they be fitted to all 4 tyres or just the main two (sorry if its a dumb question.
I have not been to the area before so reading all the posts mentioning different places makes no sence at all to me. I have tried to down load the piste maps from the main web site but they are not good at all. Is there some where else I can down load the real map? If not would it be possible for some one to scan one and email it to me (or is that some sort of copy right theft)?
Lastly for now any way does any one know what road map i should be buying of the area, as i said prev i would like the optoion going to the snow if it doesn't want to come to us and I am hopeless on the direction front with out a map.
Cheers have 11 days to go and I am to excited to sleep 
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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Firstly I'd like to say a big thanks to everyone who's been posting about conditions wether they're out there for the season or have just been for a week. It's been very reassuring to know that even in the worst weeks when the webcams had cows, goats and grass on them there was still snow to be had.
I fly out on Saturday (hopefully in time for a couple of hours riding that day), do any other Snowheads fancy meeting up for a bit of riding with an indefferently intermediate snowboarder or a beer one evening?
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RED27 - The cost of the minibus taxi for 8 plus all equipment (after a bit of very lighthearted haggling!!) was 15 euros per person for the return journey. Loatie.
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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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loatie, thx - off over there this PM - may well try a day in Flaine....
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hubblebubble, ESF - Morning lessons - you can drop your children off from 0915ish which thens gives you 15mins to get to the top. If the only child to drop off is a begineer they will be in the Childrens Garden and so that is usually manned from just before 0915. If you have others in the 1* or over groups then get thme to the meeting point and put a bib on them there is then ususlly an ESF instructor around from 0915. You won't be the only parents with this problem so it is the norm.
SNOW - the GFS are forcasting 'precipitation' for the end of next week. I have a theory about 1/2 term week that the snow gods love to dump huge amounts especially on the Saturdays just so that a horrendous transfer day becomes even worse - belgiums stopped mid hill acroos road trying to put on snow chains - comes to mind. The locals agree that snow is coming so lets all do a bit more of a snow dance!
Pleney Stade - the red down the front - will not be open until the holidays - got this info from the ESF this morning.
PhillipStanton, If we are doing agin will let you know. Must try and meet for a beer!!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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davejsy, Cheers for the link, at leats i have one side to look at now unfortunatly its the side it seems with the  least snow
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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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| bigtoe wrote: |
This weekend I will be getting the Snow chains & ski rack for the car. I have never used snowchains before, as i have a 4x4 will they be fitted to all 4 tyres or just the main two (sorry if its a dumb question.
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First check handbook and see if it makes a recommendation. Otherwise best answer is to have them on all four wheels but if you only have one set I have always found it preferable to have them on the front.
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bigtoe, If you have permanent 4 wheel drive then fit them to all 4 wheels. You can only fit to 2 wheels if engaging 2 wheel drive. It can be VERY expensive if fitting 2 chains whilst in 4 x 4 mode. Exploding transfer boxes etc etc
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You know it makes sense.
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I am due to travel on Sunday to Morzine,last year we skied mainly in Morzine/les Gets with a couple of afternoons in Avoriaz.
Is there any Sking to be had in Morzine/Les Gets or shall we just head over to Avoriaz every day??
Thanks!
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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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bigtoe - I've not been to St Jean d'Aulps (Grande Turche), but have been told on the chairlift that the top is open, but patchy. The bottom runs are closed.
| snowandtrek wrote: |
| PhillipStanton, If we are doing agin will let you know. Must try and meet for a beer!! |
Thanks snowandtrek, that would be great.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Philipstanton and snowandtrek Thank you for your informative replies. Looking forward to our week in Morzine. Busy doing a snow dance right this minute...... 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I'm off out to the PDS at half term had one quick question, i'm staying on the Swiss Side when skiing in other Franch resorts I have brought Carte Neige. As staying in the swiss side is this available, to buy on the Swiss side, if so does it work for the whole PDS or would i need to re buy on the French side.
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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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Apologies, jtobin03, it's outside my experience.
David Murdoch may be your man on this one...
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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've had (yet) another day of circuits and bumps on Piste B and Piste N. Although, excitement of excitement, I did manage a diversion onto Piste D at one point.
The top of Pleney is getting thin and they've started harvesting snow - which isn't doing any good (again) for the bases of my skis as the harvested snow contains rocks...
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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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jtobin03, as far as I know the carte neige is universal and worldwide, ps that was DM replying on my computer
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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i will check thehand book then, thanks
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| Quote: |
its a bit worrying to hear about the poor condition of the pistes, is it because they haven't been groomed properly do you think?
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No, it's because there has only been one modest fall of snow since 2 January, with some warm or very warm day time temperatures, lots of sun and some heavy rain which washed all snow off the lower slopes before the limited snowfall last Tuesday/Weds. Not a good recipe for low altitude pistes! If Les Gets is anything like here they have been doing a fantastic job of keeping pistes skiable but there's a limit to what they can do.
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We were in Les gets from the 20. - 28. Jan. Green when we arrived, so for three days got the free bus to Avoriaz. We went on the first one that left at 08:30, this takes about 30 minutes to get to Avoriaz. This takes you actually to Ardent Station, from where a bubble takes you up into the mountain and from there you can ski and eventually find your way to the town of Avoriaz (which is a sight to behold in itself of how bad architecture was, not too long ago).
If you are doing this and to avoid the queues for lift passes, buy them the day before either in Les Gets or at the Ardent Station. They sell next day tickets after 3pm. This can save a lot of queing up.
We would get the last bus back which leaves Ardent Station at 5pm.
As it started snowing on the Tuesday, we stayed in Les Gets from Wednesday onwards.
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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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jtobin03, zzz is quite right - Carte Neige is worldwide cover.
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hey where are thoughs photo's we were promised
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FAQ
