 Poster: A snowHead
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For most of the past 10 years we have skied Austria in Feb around the half term time. Difficult to say exactly when compared with English half term as ours are sometimes different and sometimes the same.
Although it can be a bit busy over Fasching I have never come across the really unpleasantly busy queues and pistes reported elsewhere save one day when we visited Flachau at the same time as the Dutch were starting their holidays and it really was seriously overcrowded.
Definitely worth giving other places a try.
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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 can't understand why people choose to come to France during French half term etc when Italy is so much quieter and a hell of a lot cheaper!
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+1. I love my French ski area and am not bored with it after 13 seasons BUT you'd not catch me skiing there (or driving there) this week.
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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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| pam w wrote: |
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I can't understand why people choose to come to France during French half term etc when Italy is so much quieter and a hell of a lot cheaper!
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+1. I love my French ski area and am not bored with it after 13 seasons BUT you'd not catch me skiing there (or driving there) this week. |
But it is possible to ski in France at half term week and it not be rammed - we've just had a great week in a big French domain and only had to queue a couple of times for lifts.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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We were going a fair way off piste (long traverses) and today avy risk is 4, and the muppets are merrily following us, whole families with young kids and not a care in the world.
Though have to admit some of them can ski powder fairly well even on piste skis as they've been doing it for ages.
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so they have got away with it so far? From some of the very sad reports of avalanche deaths this season the majority of those killed are experienced and knowledgeable, several of them guides and instructors. They no doubt knew they were taking risks and made an informed choice. The occasional "muppet" off piste at level 4 won't know he's taking a risk till he hears the roar behind him.
It's not self-evident to me that one category of skier is cleverer than the other.
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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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@snowlamb, yes, it's possible, and you are good at finding the right places. But certainly my area (with scarcely a half-termer in sight) is more crowded at half term than I find pleasant.
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Would rather ski Easter but as exams are May/June that's not an option for the next couple of years. Unless of course we go without them...now that's a thought
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It's just a week at Easter. Are kids honestly going to spend that whole week working? But yes, leave 'em with grandma. 
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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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Or if you have skiing friends with similar age kids, each set of parents do a week each at Easter whilst the others watch over all of them, cracking the whip.
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Though you wouldn't need to go at Easter at all then, would you? And easier for grandma if the little darlings are in school all day. A nice mid March trip perhaps?
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Don't need grandma, kids are 18 and 15 going on 25...just rebellion if we didn't take them skiing too. Honestly think we'e spoilt them.
18 year old would spend the week working she worked every evening on last weeks hols. 15 year old never does any work anyway so perhaps this is the last time we have to do half term madness after all.
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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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@snowlamb,
We took kids skiing Feb and Easter (because I'm an addict) I honestly think that the kids worked far better on their Easter holidays for having skiing than they would have done without. We did this throughout their schooling with all exams and Scottish public exams are a lot closer to Easter than the English ones.
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| pam w wrote: |
| Though you wouldn't need to go at Easter at all then, would you? And easier for grandma if the little darlings are in school all day. A nice mid March trip perhaps? |
Unless Grandma has at least a two hour drive from their home to the school.
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You know it makes sense.
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@NickyJ, not a problem, grandma has to come and live in the kids' own house.
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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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Surely a week off at the start of April when exams are the end of May/June is hardly a problem!
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Poster: A snowHead
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| pam w wrote: |
| @NickyJ, not a problem, grandma has to come and live in the kids' own house. |
Unfortunately they aren't prepared to do that, they are happy to look after them for us but only at their house. Still as they live close to Gatwick that worked out rather nicely for me and hubby to have a long weekend in Venice just after new year (thanks to a conveniently placed inset day).
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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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To come back to the original post...
- I don't think it's a Chatel problem, though it could be a wider, PdS issue and it depends to where you compare the PdS. Last week, during half-term I skied one day in Villars in Switz and one day at Chatel Pre la Joux area. I ski with my 4 and 7 year old kids, on blue and red pistes, and because of the kids I'm very sensitive about the danger from other skiers. It was busy in both places and whilst I wasn't very worried in either, I thought the skiers in Villars were more in control.
I would put this down to who's skiing there - in PdS there are a lot of French from far from the mountains, Brits and Dutch, all of whom are likely to be less experienced skiers. In Villars, it's mostly swiss, none of whom live far from the hills and if they're skiing, it's likely they've done it from a young age and they do it regularly. Of course, these are generalisations (I know some very good Dutch skiers), but generalisations can be taken from statistics, which are the basis of risk. Regarding Val d'Isere, it's not a resort known for it's intermediate-friendly blues and and reds, which the PdS is, so VdI may attract a more experienced (and certainly wealthier) clientele.
- there are other variables - the four weeks of half term bring a higher proportion of visitors from afar and crowded pistes. The OP mentions they've never skied VdI at half-term so it would be unsound to compare different periods. Another variable is the conditions, which are generally good at the moment, but there are some scraped patches where the icy base is exposed. This may lead to more out-of-control skiers, as the good conditions lead to a false sense of security until they hit the ice.
- Somebody made a point about the new developments at Chatel bringing too many skiers to the area. I don't think there is a significant enough difference, because many of the new developments are on the sites of old, largely run-down hotels. I think it's important for a resort to upgrade these places, so the tradeoff, if there is one, is worthwhile.
- One of the things I like about Chatel is that even during half term there are always options to escape the peak-week crowds to the Super Chatel/Torgon/La Chappelle sectors, the latter of which can be almost completely empty. The new link between Super Chatel and Linga may have made these areas busier, but I doubt there's that much difference and most visitors to Chatel tend to head in the other direction regardless. I bet the OP was skiing at Plaine Dranse/Pre la Joux, which is always the busier side of Chatel because of its proximity to the more densely populated Avoriaz and Morzine.
- lastly, the OP was very unlucky. I've never seen such a ridiculous collision.
Skiing is a sport not without risk and those that ski must be aware of and accept these risks. In my opinion, more effort should be made to promote the FIS code and an awareness of the speeds and consequent risks involved, than to attribute blame (and damages claims) for situations which are beyond the control of an inexperienced skier. It would be safer to stay at home and watch tv or to play badminton, but hey, nobody ever went on a badminton holiday.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Sorry to contradict the PDS fan club, but I visited Avoriaz last Jan, so low season; Morzine sat in a soup of smog, and Avoriaz and above Chatel simply had too many skiers for the area; overpriced and over populated; Champery had some more space, but was even more expensive. To be fair, Les Gets and Morzine had little snow, but this is the weakness of the area, where low lying, over built areas flood into higher resorts. Personally, I think it has become a victim of its own popularity, being one of the first stops from Geneva, and by car from NW France, UK, Belgium, Netherlands etc...... there, someone had to say it ( flamesuit on !)
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Have to agree with this, I was in Avoriaz at the start of January this year and it was rammed solid. More people than I have ever seen on a low a week in the alps.
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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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Can I just compliment the OP's Mrs on how well mannered she is. Gets wiped out by someone coming from the other side of the piste and simply replies with an incredulous "Really?" and no swear words. Very good. 
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| lordf wrote: |
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Sorry to contradict the PDS fan club, but I visited Avoriaz last Jan, so low season; Morzine sat in a soup of smog, and Avoriaz and above Chatel simply had too many skiers for the area; overpriced and over populated; Champery had some more space, but was even more expensive. To be fair, Les Gets and Morzine had little snow, but this is the weakness of the area, where low lying, over built areas flood into higher resorts. Personally, I think it has become a victim of its own popularity, being one of the first stops from Geneva, and by car from NW France, UK, Belgium, Netherlands etc...... there, someone had to say it ( flamesuit on !)
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Have to agree with this, I was in Avoriaz at the start of January this year and it was rammed solid. More people than I have ever seen on a low a week in the alps. |
To be fair, the slow start to the season meant that there wasn't a great deal of pistes open - I recall going out at the beginning of Jan this year and being a little over whelmed that it was surprisingly busy (at first glance anyway) a little deeper investigation revealed that there was something like 40 - 50% of the pistes closed ( I remember over hearing an argument at the pass office that people where still being charged full price for a PDS pass when the 'entire' PDS wasn't open) resulting in an otherwise normal amount of people being forced to ski within a limited area, giving the illusion of over crowding - once it starting dumping with snow towards the end of Jan things returned to normal service and people once again dispersed amongst the 650kms of pistes.
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I blame Joey Essex personally.
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@trainee snowboard jedi, the half-term could be a factor.
Just out of interest, were all of these people that crashed into you and your wife, British? It could be that this is their first time on skis. A simple solution could be to go to the less uk heavily touristic places? In Scandi-land I am yet to see a crash, or in the places that I go to in the alps...
(At this point, I know a shhiit storm is coming my way on these boards )
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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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It's been a few years since I skied anywhere but the PdS, so I cannot compare, but I honestly think this is just a function of half term, high numbers and (inevitably) larger numbers of inexperienced skiers on the slopes.
I always found it worse at half term, mainly due to the numbers, and I agree that the worst places are Avoriaz and the Plaine Dranse part of Chatel, the latter I think because people venture there as overspill from the former. I haven't "done" half term now for two years as my youngest has now left school, but in previous years there have been so many ambulance helicopters at times it has been like being in a Vietnam movie. Before we came to Champoussin we "did" Les Arcs and La Plagne at half term and they were no better.
There is a mentality with some people that "we must go to Avoriaz", perhaps because it is higher, I see this with visitors who come to ski with me. I have to educate them that the rest of the PdS has some excellent quiet ski-ing, and is not just there as something to ski through on your way to Avoriaz. Add to that the huge number of people who stay in Avoriaz itself of course.
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FAQ
) we'd take them out and go in January. Would rather ski Easter but as exams are May/June that's not an option for the next couple of years. Unless of course we go without them...now that's a thought
