 Poster: A snowHead
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Hi there , as stated in previous topic me , girlfriend and other couple are going to Avoriaz in late january for 1 week 
This year i wanted to try and go 2 times snowboarding so i was thinking either early season or late season................... 
Due to high stress at work we really need time-off to clear our minds and souls.................................. 
So basically i finish work in UK on the 9th december and only start on the 28 but of course Christmas i´ll be at home in Portugal.
Anyway i have many options , from 2 , 3 , 4 days , full week snowboarding , either departing from UK just after work on the 9th or go home to Lisbon and then fly from there.
Any tips from accomodation , days of skiing , location (France , Austria) , bargains and deals websites i´ll be much appreciated.
Main issues are going very DIY so i can be very dynamic of dates and resorts as well and most important low budget...
We have our one gear which we will take and in terms of prices the best i saw was to vaujany for a week on the 14th but that would cut my 3 weeks off straight in the middle......... 
I know that maybe there´s thousands of possibilities but the sooner i go (9 , 10) would be perfect and ideally for 3, 4 days...
Of course i have the option of going late season and plan it with more time but we need the mountains!!!! 
Thank you very much 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Sorry... What's the question?
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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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Hate to bang on about them but have you tried UCPA?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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| Layne wrote: |
| Sorry... What's the question? |
Best place to go on a budget early season?!
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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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Just had a look , very promising really but the early date is the 22nd December which is late because of Christmas at home , looking at closer the 9 December....
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Everywhere is budget early season i.e., up to the December 21st. Other people may be advise better but I am not sure many places will be open during the week 9th - 13th Dec. 14th on anywhere with decent altitude should be open.
Is it for 4 same as in Jan? Do you have a car.. or flying?
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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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| Layne wrote: |
Everywhere is budget early season i.e., up to the December 21st. Other people may be advise better but I am not sure many places will be open during the week 9th - 13th Dec. 14th on anywhere with decent altitude should be open.
Is it for 4 same as in Jan? Do you have a car.. or flying? |
No , just 2 of us , flying either from Uk or Portugal...
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Take your time and wait until the snow arrives, then you can decide where to go.
E.g. there is a Ryanair flight from Stansted to Salzburg on 10th Dec - if there is snow in Salzburgerland, you can pick your resort (Bad Gastein, Ski Amade, Saalbach, Zell am See-Kaprun etc) and just find a B&B for about €30 a night. The larger resorts will open on 30th November is there is sufficient snow - you can check on webcams and resort sites for the current situation closer to the date.
France and Italy will probably offer similar opportunities.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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OK. So here's what I would. Find the cheapest flights possible to any of the major Alps airports - thinking Geneva and the like. Places that give options for several resorts and ski areas. I would go for a week and then fly directly on to Portugal.
I would then check out the weather conditions and book some accomodation last minute. Catered chalet or hotel deals should be great value at that time of the year.
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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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Or I would just wait until 3/4 days before and just book a late package deal.
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| Layne wrote: |
OK. So here's what I would. Find the cheapest flights possible to any of the major Alps airports - thinking Geneva and the like. Places that give options for several resorts and ski areas. I would go for a week and then fly directly on to Portugal.
I would then check out the weather conditions and book some accomodation last minute. Catered chalet or hotel deals should be great value at that time of the year. |
Yes , i was thinking exactly like that because i´ve done once similar , flew from uk to geneva and then geneva to lisbon , but had to stay 3 days in London waiting for the flight on saturday (usually i work wednesday to wednesday 2 weeks off , 2 on) but this time because i´m changing schedules onboard the ship because of christmas (i work on the ferries in the channel route) i go off work on monday the 9th and only get back on the 27th...
That´s why i wanted to go straight to Geneva from London on the monday , go for 3 , 4 , 5 days and then fly to portugal to spend the rest of the time at home because i allready have the flight to return to work on the 27th from lisbon to gatwick...
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You know it makes sense.
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Very few resorts near Geneva will be open on 9 December.
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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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jony azenhas, self catering apartment in Val Thorens? Not exactly sure on opening dates but is usually open for the last week of November. The other 3 Vallees resorts are open from 7 Dec but not all the lifts will be open at that point. Geneva transfer would be around 2h30mins to Val Thorens?
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Poster: A snowHead
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From the 3V's weather report last year (a good one):
Sat 24 Nov, 12
Val Thorens today .... very busy, seemed like every skier from a hundred miles around was there, along with about half the non-skiers too. About a quarter of the resort open, most of the snow man-made but some good skiing. Some reasonable between-the-piste higher up. Nothing at all below 2300m.
Mon 03 Dec, 12
A fair selection of runs open given the weather, but poor by VT standards. Only one red in the whole area. Cime de Caron not open. Orelle open, but only enough to get you up and down to VT.
Wed 05 Dec, 12
Les Menuires have announced what's open for this weekend:
- Remontées mécaniques ouvertes :
Tapis du Pelvoux (accès gratuit pour les débutants)
Téléphérique Preyerand en journée
Télécabines Bruyères 1 et 2, Roc des 3 Marches 1
Télésièges de La Becca et des Granges.
- Pistes ouvertes :
Mont de la Chambre, Pâturages Bas, Boyes, Grand Lac, Gros Tougne Haut,
Boulevard de la Becca, Petits Creux, Menuires, Côte Brulée, Allamands.
Fri 07 Dec, 12
Lift company in Meribel are saying that the links to the Courchevel and VT valleys will be closed Saturday and probably Sunday as they will need to time to secure the slopes from the snow that is due to arrive this weekend.
Sat 08 Dec, 12
A few lifts were open to mid-station in Meribel, but nothing above that.
Tue 11 Dec, 12
The link to VT opened today, so possible to go across all three valleys if you want.
Then more of the same until 22nd when resort was fully open.
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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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| juliad wrote: |
| jony azenhas, self catering apartment in Val Thorens? Not exactly sure on opening dates but is usually open for the last week of November. The other 3 Vallees resorts are open from 7 Dec but not all the lifts will be open at that point. Geneva transfer would be around 2h30mins to Val Thorens? |
Concerning transfers i´ll have to go with the flow...
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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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| Layne wrote: |
From the 3V's weather report last year (a good one):
Sat 24 Nov, 12
Val Thorens today .... very busy, seemed like every skier from a hundred miles around was there, along with about half the non-skiers too. About a quarter of the resort open, most of the snow man-made but some good skiing. Some reasonable between-the-piste higher up. Nothing at all below 2300m.
Mon 03 Dec, 12
A fair selection of runs open given the weather, but poor by VT standards. Only one red in the whole area. Cime de Caron not open. Orelle open, but only enough to get you up and down to VT.
Wed 05 Dec, 12
Les Menuires have announced what's open for this weekend:
- Remontées mécaniques ouvertes :
Tapis du Pelvoux (accès gratuit pour les débutants)
Téléphérique Preyerand en journée
Télécabines Bruyères 1 et 2, Roc des 3 Marches 1
Télésièges de La Becca et des Granges.
- Pistes ouvertes :
Mont de la Chambre, Pâturages Bas, Boyes, Grand Lac, Gros Tougne Haut,
Boulevard de la Becca, Petits Creux, Menuires, Côte Brulée, Allamands.
Fri 07 Dec, 12
Lift company in Meribel are saying that the links to the Courchevel and VT valleys will be closed Saturday and probably Sunday as they will need to time to secure the slopes from the snow that is due to arrive this weekend.
Sat 08 Dec, 12
A few lifts were open to mid-station in Meribel, but nothing above that.
Tue 11 Dec, 12
The link to VT opened today, so possible to go across all three valleys if you want.
Then more of the same until 22nd when resort was fully open. |
My first option was to go to Tignes because of the glacier , hummmm...........
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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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jony azenhas, Tignes is also a great early December skiing destination. I was just throwing another resort option in the mix. Depending on snow conditions, you might find there is more terrain open in Tignes that week because of the glacier.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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jony azenhas, assume you will be going Val T/Tignes, get the flights sorted for both London to xyz and then xyz to Lisbon. Then find some accomodation accordingly to fit in with those dates. Finding accomodation for a few days at that point in the season is not going to be difficult. There will be lots of options flight wise in terms of what is cheapest and it may take a while to do the searching and checking for that. You will also want to check on flight times, transfer times..
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| Layne wrote: |
| jony azenhas, assume you will be going Val T/Tignes, get the flights sorted for both London to xyz and then xyz to Lisbon. Then find some accomodation accordingly to fit in with those dates. Finding accomodation for a few days at that point in the season is not going to be difficult. There will be lots of options flight wise in terms of what is cheapest and it may take a while to do the searching and checking for that. You will also want to check on flight times, transfer times.. |
Yes , i´m just struggling with accomodation really , because its mainly apartments doing week by week while i only need a few days , i´ll do more research.
Actually i went to Les Breviéres for a week 2 years and i loved it , what a beautiful village
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Apartments aren't going to work well for two people for 4-5 days. Having said that there will be stacks of empty ones that week. Put most agents and owners probably can't be arsed.. no money in it. I would expect Hotels to be the way to go. That said if you make an appeal on the Solo Skiers v Groups - Organising Trips board there may be people willing to put you up for a few days. Actually I am sure I have read about somewhere in Les Arcs - like a bunkhouse or something that would be ideal.
I stayed in Les Brev. And totally agree.
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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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Tignes is -FAR- better than Val Thorens both early and late season.
Normally at least the whole Grande Motte is open, to Leisse (left) and down into the valley. That's 1400 metres (4200 ft) of vertical.
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we're not sure (family of 4) we can afford to go this year, but an email from Silver Ski has whetted our appetites ... w/c Dec 15, catered chalets in La Plagne or Meribel & Courchevel from £409pp (or La Tania from £449pp) and lift passes for La Plagne 25% cheaper. Any thoughts on liklihood of snow and lifts beng open appreciated
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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simonx, I can't help on the La Plagne front but all the 3 Vallees resorts will be open from the 14 Dec. Val T will be open already, and as mentioned above Courchevel 1850 and Meribel from the 7th with La Tania, Courchevel 1650, 1550 and La Praz opening on the 14th. It can be hit and miss with conditions that week, but generally the pistes have been good. The last two seasons have been great with lots of fresh snow that week. Whilst the resorts will all be technically open, they generally don't open every lift until the following week. You can still get around with no problems and the 3V link lifts will be open.
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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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jony azenhas, If you loved Les Brevieres before then why not go back?
You seem to have dismissed Mountainsun previously saying they only start on 22nd Dec, but actually they open today (11th October) if you look at their ski+board camp. Subject to availability they'll let you do any number of days starting and finishing anytime. (We are there for 5 days at the end of this month).
http://www.skiandboardcamp.com/
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RobW, Les Brev is down the valley so might be iffy early season.
simonx, you should be fine that week. Good option if you are on a budget. Personally I would take the La Plagne option.
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You know it makes sense.
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We did Kuhtai in Austria the first week of the season last December (£350 for travel and halfboard accommodation) and you can get some great deals before the resort is fully opened up two weeks later.
The highest resort in Austria so you're guaranteed snow but no good for familes, beginners or keen apres skiers. Night life is pretty much non-existent
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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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| RobW wrote: |
jony azenhas, If you loved Les Brevieres before then why not go back?
You seem to have dismissed Mountainsun previously saying they only start on 22nd Dec, but actually they open today (11th October) if you look at their ski+board camp. Subject to availability they'll let you do any number of days starting and finishing anytime. (We are there for 5 days at the end of this month).
http://www.skiandboardcamp.com/ |
Yes, i think i didn't looked at the website in depth really!! Thank you very much , i'm going to send a e-mail straight away , cheers!!
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Poster: A snowHead
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Waiting for an e-mail regarding availabilitie and i asked for the 6th November as well because i have a few days off , so double the chances
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| joemalone wrote: |
We did Kuhtai in Austria the first week of the season last December (£350 for travel and halfboard accommodation) and you can get some great deals before the resort is fully opened up two weeks later.
The highest resort in Austria so you're guaranteed snow but no good for familes, beginners or keen apres skiers. Night life is pretty much non-existent |
What's wrong with Kuhtai for families and beginners?
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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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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Thanks Juliad / Layne.
Going to go for it I think, but wait till December before booking, to see how/where the snow is.
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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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La Plagne and Les Arcs open 14th December but the link does not open until the 20th December
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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darn, we can't go w/c Dec 15th, I thiught the kids broke up from school midweek but they don't - not taking them out of school for a whole week. Back to the drawing baord, can't go Christmas, so gotta hope can get something over New year (which will be just 3 of us) - late deal eg. cancellation perhaps or find a cheaply priced apartment. Will check out Mountain Sun as soon as I get round to it.
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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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anyone been to Chalet Pere Marie in Le Pré, Villaroger (Les Arcs) ?
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Booked above chalet with Mountain Sun for 6 night over new year - 7 days ski-ing.
Driving - so we can arrive mid-morning, plan to drive most of the way and book a motel within striking distance - any suggestions??
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FAQ
the dates of December are fully booked , only places left are from 3 to 6th which i´m working. Regarding November they only have available from the 10th for 3 , 4, 5 , 6 days but i get off from work on the 6th and staying 4 days in London it´s a little bit harsh 