@22fluffysheep, there are some really cruisy greens at the top of the new Pontillas lift in Villeneuve and they can take the lift back down again when they've finished!
Re ski prices, try booking online, you normally get a good discount that way, Intersport are always offering deals like this, can't comment on the accomodation, but maybe someone else will, or maybe google it/tripadvisor?
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
@22fluffysheep, Like your wife, I’m a nervous skier & like you, came on here asking for advice before our 1st visit! It’s fabulous & we’re going back for the 5th time in March! Some lovely blues in the ratier area in Chantmerle, a blue “home” run to the arret lift in Villeneuve & some great ones in Monetier (Euchayda in particular). I’m now quite happy cruising blues (and one or two reds) from Prorel to Monetier and, quite happy to travel home by bus if the nerves get too much! I would recommend they get some lessons to get the best experience out there! The ‘locals’ on here suggested Gavin Crosby’s ski school & I had a fabulous private lesson with one of his instructors a couple of years ago - a real confidence booster. Sorry can’t comment on your accommodation, we’re staying at the Plein Sud.
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?
@22fluffysheep, sounds like it might be best for the wife and child to have some lessons to help build confidence?
@22fluffysheep, you're quite close to the Ratier gondola, it is just a short walk. Booking lessons might be an issue at this late stage though and to book Gavin Crosby, you will probably need to be up in Monetier to meet him. Other ski schools are available in Chantemerle though. It is a good area for nervous skiers, and the option to get the gondola back down at the end of the day and avoid the crowds is available. There's a long green run back to the village, but it does cross the main black run, Luc Alphand in several places and it will be busy.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Thank you, appreciate the replies. We’ve done the lesson route, they ended abruptly last time round when my daughter had to be rescued during a fall in a lesson and my wife used that as an excuse to finish hers for the week. Now my daughters wants to build confidence before another set of lessons, otherwise she’s actually quite a good skier. I’m just hoping for some nice easy green/blues along with good conditions that allow them both to build confidence but it sounds like there’s good opportunity for those.
@22fluffysheep, I completely understand that, having had lots of lessons in the past! Taking the gondola in Chantmerle, up to Ratier, then the ‘ore de bois’ chair lift, you’ll be in a lovely bowl of blues & greens, with the option of a drag lift & chair lift to ski some lovely runs. A blue run will take you back down to Ratier and a choice of places for food & drinks before descending in the gondola back to the village. Once they’re confident with that you can explore a little further, if they want to. The bus along the valley is also an option if you want to try the runs in Villneuve or Monetier, without the need to ski there - or just for your wife & daughter to meet you for a drink or lunch, with no pressure to ski there!
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Hello, we are staying in Briacon at the beginning of March and we need advice on transport around the villages. We have looked online and it seems the free ski bus doesn't run to Briacon. There is another paid bus service that runs. Are we correct in thinking there isn't a free shuttle service to briacon? Thanks in advance
After all it is free
After all it is free
@red, I’m no expert but I believe there is a ski bus from the Briancon gondola base that goes along the valley. There’s a paid bus that runs from the Briancon gondola base area up the hill to the old town.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
@red, whereabouts are you staying? There's a bus running all day but the ski bus is no longer free for anyone though.
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Snowing hard today I believe!!
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
Great to hear! Coming out on Saturday - hoping it remains snowing atleast at 2000!
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.
Likewise, we'll be there Sunday for a week. My first time skiing there and am watching the weather forecast carefully.
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
Heavy snow this morning, good pow first thing, but got warmer/wetter as the day went on
You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
Also out on Sat, looks wet on the Village cam and was whiter on the upper slopes this morning.
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Don't want to tempt fate, but as @KenX, said twas a good morning, and whilst skiing the snow became heavier every run, and we could feel the temps rising.
The 10cm+ we had on the terrace this morning is nigh on gone now and we just have slush, and it's drizzling but thankfully no stair rods just yet, and temps have come back down to 2.5 from the high of 4.5 so just hope they come down some more.
Worth taking a look at the webcam, which is panning around our terrace tomorrow morning, to see what happened overnight.
It's grim out there now, just grabbed last bus back from Monetier and unfortunately it's indeed stair rods.
Only optimistic POV is that maybe FL is circa mid stations?
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
@Weathercam, Can you arrange for the snow above 1800/2000 metres to be ok at the end of next week please?
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?
Well that was interesting!
Awoke slightly leant over, and looked up the hill and could see snowline circa 1850m and Serre Ratier webcam showed snow on the trees there, and a lot of blasting going on.
I arrived at Pointless 09:20 and they'd only just opened as I later found out, going up snow on the trees just got better and better and once out the lift it was puking!!
At the top there was many ESF ski schools and groups of skiers waiting for the drags to open and then the ski down to Frejus cafe was fun as it was so chopped up and so heavy and many people having issues, and then what a surprise none of the drags were open.
So I skied down through the trees which was good in challenging viz and snow and skied all the way down, and at times on the chemin having to pole as the snow was so sticky.
Went back up again bumping into some "youngsters" I recently had a drink with, friends of a friend, who are in Briancon for the month working remotely, and thought they'd do first lifts, hence how I found out about Pointless opening late, and we skied together the forest as the drags were still not open.
They went up again as I bailed, as they'd bought a lift pass for the day and did look as if some more lifts would open, but there was still a lot of avy control going on, and I recommended Pi Mai as somewhere good for lunch, but best to find out if it was actually opening today.
I might be tempted to go up again if it looks like some more lifts might open, as I'd imagine that most people will pack it in after lunch as they'd be well and truly soaked.
What depth of new snow do think you had up top@Weathercam, ?
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
@Rogerdodger, well I went back up to take a look and only a couple of drags were working, and the snow was even heavier than this morning which was to be expected.
Whilst going up on the drag there were numerous snow-boarders on a lesson and they were getting off halfway up, and attempting to walk out to the piste and they were up to mid-thigh.
I went off a coupe or times and just came to a grinding halt with cement-like snow well over my knee!
I'm not too sure even if we get a clear night how much moisture can get sucked out of it all.
Well we've settled on coming to Briancon area. Yet to book accommodation though.
This is a long shot. I don't suppose there is a multi area RFID card that covers a multitude of resorts (Montgenevre/Serre Chevalier/Duex Alps etc) that we can reload online? Or is the only option buying day tickets?
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
The mountaineering community in la Grave, Briançon and beyond are in shock following the sudden death of the guardienne of the refuge du Pavé, Lucie Gauthier. A Doctor of Particle Physics from Illinois University and a researcher at CERN Lucie had given it all up to become a gardienne. Winter resident in Briançon she'd recently moved her piano and scientfic books to the new buildings in anticipation of the opening this spring.
I don't know if anyone has used the Pavé. I've been past once but a long time ago. It is quite remote with a long approach in Spring. You may also have met her in Chamonix where she worked as a mid mountain guide and gardienne.
A report on the construction of the new refuge where Lucie looked after the workers (she is seen from 4m30s approx)
I really wasn't too sure that we'd get a clear night; walking home at 21:00 it was still stair-rods, let alone would be clear enough to suck the moisture out of the cement I encountered yesterday.
So it was en famille, one daughter and the OH and the mission was to ski proper off-piste powder. We even took two pair of skis up in the Pointless telecabine as I'm trying to prise my daughter away from her 92mm skis onto the OH's Scrapper 105's.
After first couple of runs it was obvious that we'd need to ski far steeper than she's been used to as snow was a good mid-thigh in places, and snowboarders who ventured too far off were stuck and had to resort to trying to paddle out.
We did one tree glade and she handled that well so I then suggested a line that we often do, and she was up for that.
So before.....
Some during.....
And after.....
Then I was allowed to break loose, after doing some Arva practice.
And then went up Vallons and did half a Cucumelle hike to ski a line that looked non-to-tracked that dropped me in above the Bergerie above Frejus.
Then it's a little pole/traverse to get me into the forest above Frejus where I can traverse and then do a big line in the trees that then drops me onto the Frejus Chemin, seemed like a good plan and all was going well till around 2,000m and the snow transformed to absolute shite, hard icy crust, so lesson learnt for further sorties tomorrow!
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
@Weathercam,
"and after..."
brilliant, looks like you had the best of days!
Pray for more of the same next week please!
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Just finished first ever couple of hours skiing Serre Che sheet months of anticipation and cam-watching (although it should've been all day...thanks Eurostar for making us miss our night train!). Anyway, great first impression - snow was good all the way down to the bottom at Chantemerle and will be interesting to see how it holds up as temperatures rise a bit this week. The vin chaud is pretty good too. Looking forward to exploring some less-busy pistes tomorrow so suggestions for a 'competent but sensible intermediate' most welcome! Skiing alone for some periods this week as my lovely partner is having lessons (I know, it seems to be the done thing to say 'OH' here, but I may get a slap for that, and I'm far too old for 'girlfriend').
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
Sir Bitton wrote:
Just finished first ever couple of hours skiing Serre Che after months of anticipation and cam-watching (although it should've been all day...thanks Eurostar for making us miss our night train!). Anyway, great first impression - snow was good all the way down to the bottom at Chantemerle and will be interesting to see how it holds up as temperatures rise a bit this week. The vin chaud is pretty good too. Looking forward to exploring some less-busy pistes tomorrow so suggestions for a 'competent but sensible intermediate' most welcome! Skiing alone for some periods this week as my lovely partner is having lessons (I know, it seems to be the done thing to say 'OH' here, but I may get a slap for that, and I'm far too old for 'girlfriend').
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.
Much muppetry and traffic on the Col stopped us getting an afternoon ski in. Looked very windy up high.
Indeed very goon vin chaud at the Annex.
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
@Thick As, was it windy up at the Lautaret?
Friend staying in La Grave gave up trying to come over this way to do a grocery shop due to the traffic, and speaking to a Brit who lives in Aix who had come up for the weekend he was saying how mad the traffic was last night.
You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
@Sir Bitton, today, Sunday will be busy with weekenders, though they don't tend to get up the hill that early.
Good call today will be the Mea sector & drags off the new Pointillas lift - and the nice pistes running along the drags as hopefully ski schools and Club Med (changeover) will not be around.
We're now a man down as daughter was blood-wagoned off the hill yesterday after a silly fall, just when she was really starting to get to grips with skiing off-piste, nothing broken but she's not going to be skiing the rest of this trip.
I was in the ambulance with her and was surprised when at the RAB we headed away from Briancon towards Monetier, as I was fully expecting to go to the hospital as I didn't know there was quite a comprehensive mini A&E set-up there.
And in fact, our new centre which will be similar, next to Pointless evidently opens in 3 weeks.
Up the hill shortly hopefully for some classic slack country.
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
@Weathercam, that explains why I was seeing so many more ambulances around in Monetier over New Year, I was thinking they were collecting casualties not dropping them off.
Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Weathercam wrote:
@Thick As, was it windy up at the Lautaret?
Friend staying in La Grave gave up trying to come over this way to do a grocery shop due to the traffic, and speaking to a Brit who lives in Aix who had come up for the weekend he was saying how mad the traffic was last night.
Yes mate, we drove over it yesterday. Snow chains required and we got stuck at crawling pace for a couple of hours due to a lorry that probably should’ve chosen a different route!
It was windy - lots of powder blowing around across the col!
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
@conor, wow, weather here never fails to amaze me, as up on the hill yesterday there was no wind to speak of, though back up in the same sector today, off-piste you had to choose your aspect carefully as there was far more wind affected snow about.
So often when it's windy on the other side (La Grave) it's calm here and vice-versa.
Was a great morning with @KenX, and we did three small skins that gave us access to some rather sweet lines.
We're out of here for three days tomorrow up to La Clusaz for the SIGB ski test, then when we're back looks like biking weather towards the end of the week!
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?
Keep your eyes out for a pair of Head Supershspe E-Titans for sale. 1 days worth of skiing on them. Stolen from the Bar at the bottom of the Luc Alphand. Probably well out of the valley by now. But be careful with your kit out there!
I think my daughters may have learnt some new words today.
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Even worse, I had to tell the Gendarme how much they cost in front of my wife.
After all it is free
After all it is free
@Thick As, surely you told them the full retail and not the mega sale price you managed to find them for.
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.
@Thick As, if you can get your backside up to me I can loan you some old skis to use, trouble is I leave at 09:30 and am away for three days.
Presume it was the Chazelet bar? Though not heard of any skis ever getting nicked from there, but it was a super busy weekend with loads of people, and from the Chaz you don't have to be able to ski to get to it etc
That said I'm often paranoid and will sometimes split skis etc
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
@weathercam. That’s super kind of you. I have another pair (or two) with me which are fine, but less suited to the conditions on piste or a bit knackered. I’ll just have to spend less time on piste for the rest of the week.
It was the bar opposite the bubble at Chantemerle with the crepe and vin chaud on sale. We were sat outside under the canopy. Annoyingly we separated skis at lunchtime. I just skied the Luc with my eldest and was super happy that she did it so nicely, we were waiting at the bar for the rest of our group.
FAQ
Poster: A snowHead
