 Poster: A snowHead
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Hi...exploring options for next year...half term. Until I figure how to do away with the Head of my son's school...or Mr Give...or both! That's when we'll be going. So...I can get bargain flights to Geneva, if I book soon. Then look for accommodation or someone to share an apartment nearer the time. Alternative? Book a quiet resort...near a quieter airport than GVA. We like France, so will with that. But where? Heard Isola is ok....
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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alyefs, I think agenterre wrote something about it recently. He is a local. Try a search.
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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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alyefs, there is also Serre Chevalier and Risoul, both accessible from Turin or even Marseille airports.
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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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alyefs, there are quite a number of comments on Isola if you do a search. I've been there but only for a day, driving up from the coast. Friends have been there a couple of times, some years ago (though I don't think it's changed much!) and liked it.
It's small. Got heaps and heaps of snow this year, as did some other southern areas - not always the case but should be OK in February unless you are very unlucky. Not a picturesque resort.
Have you looked at the code of practice for issuing Penalty Notices (all Education Authorities have one)? Ours says no action will be taken on two weeks family holiday a year, though the absence will be noted as unauthorised.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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alyefs, not good for GVA flights think it's a long long way 
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sarah, yes, but that's why the point has come up - the possibility of using Nice, which should be less busy and have cheaper flights. I don't think you can sensibly drive to Isola from Geneva - it's a long way round.
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There are buses from Nice. Not a good journey for anyone who gets car-sick though - bendy road! And a bit hair-raising because of all the drivers who believe they should be able to do it in an hour. 
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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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aleyfs - I haven't been to Isola 2000. However if I were going there I'd definitely book a flight to Nice - probably cheaper than Geneva, a lot nearer the resort and if you haven't done it before it is lovely flying in over the Med at the end! You could also check if there is a coach transfer option from Nice airport to Isola.
When does your son's school break up next Easter? If you have the week of 28th March off you will find accommodation a lot cheaper wherever you go and if you pick a resort with a good snow record, will still get a great week's skiing.
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If you're going to consider Isola, it's not going to keep you busy for a week by any stretch of the imagination. It's *really* a weekend resort for the coastal dwellers, just a single compact valley. So you might want to hire a car, buy your lift pass online and make sure it covers the Mercantour area which includes Auron, and head over there for a day or two for somewhere different. They have less snow than Isola, but it lasts about the same because the pisteurs are wizards.
It was excellent conditions at the turn of April, so barring an unseasonably warm and dry march (it happens, but not in the past few years) you'd be fine around then. It's not the prettiest of resorts in terms of buildings and mountain territory (it's kind of grey and dusty in the summer), but it has a charm and it's very Alpine and pointy, not hilly.
Don't fly to Geneva, I can't imagine how much of a pain that drive would be. Nice is painfully cheap to fly to in the winter, fairly quiet at that time of year too and it's one of the best places to land - it's not just the Med bit, as snowymum says, it's how close the snowy stuff is to it as well!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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call me dave, Is it really that small? They advertise 120km.
How is the real size compare to, let's say, Livigno, Obergurgl, Schladming?
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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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Folks, the OP is NOT planning to visit Isola from Geneva (which would be madness). The whole point of the thread is to explore the possibilities from Nice. 120kms is plenty for a week.
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To be honest, I've never been to any of those. The only other place I've been is Wengen and that has much longer runs and yeah, a bit of a weird uplift setup. Isola has a decent amount of variation - a few blacks with moguls, some really nice snowboard friendly cruisy blues, two quick chairs etc. On the other hand the lift system aside from those two quick chairs and the Mercantour gondola is old. Exploring the full extent of the resort requires trebuchet launch pomas, and 40 year old fixed 2 man chairs which aren't too good if you have 3 kids for example, or enjoy a single plank lifestyle. If you were used to the bigger resorts where there's been significant investment in the lift system you'd be disappointed. Many of the drags and both the 2 man chairs serve just a single run which splits out towards the bottom of the valley.
It's very handy having everything return back to the resort (aside from the little Mene and Merlier lifts, and to a point Valette) and it's great because you don't have to plan anything, you just get on any lift you fancy and you'll end up back at the resort centre in half an hour but you don't really *go* anywhere. Auron is better for that - it has a more spread out domain. The vertical drop at Isola is the same as Greolieres, which is wayyyy smaller and in "big hill" rather than "mountain" territory.
Don't get me wrong, there's a really good variation in terrain there but it's very compact and scaled down compared to lots of the more popular places. It's kind of more of a long weekend place than a full week.
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You know it makes sense.
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call me dave, Thanks. I am on the board nowadays as well so see you point - drags are no-go and old chairs a pain.
Seems like some runs are only accessible by drags, specially the one which looks nice but you need a drag first to get to the old chair. Weird
Anyway, one day would like to go there and explore, for now there are many places on my list.
Auron looks interesting so definitely double resort trip. And from what I read - Auron is replacing those 3 drags in the middle of the piste map by 6-person chair lift for the coming winter.
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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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Poster: A snowHead
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The 2 man old chairs aren't so bad, they're so slow that getting on and off is a lot less challenging than it could be!
I guess you're talking about the St Sauveur drag (eeeevil, eeeeeeeeevil) leading to the Sistron chair - that drag is up a really steep hill, then crossing the piste once or twice so the camber is a bit off. To be honest the Sistron piste is such a narrow little run and pisted not very often that it's good that the numbers are naturally limited by that drag. It's a bit of a shame they haven't been able to do anything with the natural bowl up there just beyond where the drag ends though. The view up at Sistron is a real top-of-the-world thing! Kind of like the view from the top of Greolieres - that one's worth a day's drag lifts!
The whole area from Grasse to the Italian border is nicely populated with small weekend resorts - I think there was a thread about that recently. As well as Isola and Auron there's La Colmiane, Greolieres, Valberg, Roubion, and L'Audibergue, all vaguely within 90mins of each other, some much less.
Also, Pam W is right about drag lift cowardice Pomas are easy once you've fallen off one several times and figured out how you personally need to do handle the launch. Both feet strapped in and watching the mechanism is my method - so far 100% success (after the falling on face repeatedly phase before figuring it out)
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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pam w, I am sure I could manage but I would rather avoid
In fact did not have to used them at all in almost all resorts I have been to. As they only covered minor runs or beginner slopes.
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