 Poster: A snowHead
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Morning
Hoping for a little help. Myself and fiance have flights booked arriving into Geneva on Wed 14th January; we have six days out in the alps but have no accommodation booked as yet. I know France is struggling for good conditions but have no idea how Switzerland is getting on? My fiance is pregnant and so is still deciding if she will ski a little (but that's not a debate I want to get into), however I know she is going to do some winter walking. We are going to hire a car so can happily drive up to around 3 hours (2.5 would be better) which means we have a choice of France, Italy or Switzerland.
Any advice on where is a good resort for me to ski and for my fiance to do some walking would be much appreciated. I'm certainly not too bothered about going to one of the big ski areas this time around, but would like to find a prettier resort where I can make the best of what conditions are out there and she can have a nice walk or three. I will have a walk with her a couple of afternoons, meet for lunch ect ect. Not that it really matters for this trip but we are both competent skiers. Looks like she's picked a good season to be pregnant!
My original thoughts when we booked were Le Grand Bornand or La Clusaz, (maybe even Courchevel 1650), however I'm now thinking we need to look higher and further afield than that and have been toying with the idea of Andelboden, but I do not know too much about the area or how they are doing for snow out there at the moment.
Any ideas or thoughts on places no matter how big or small that fit the bill would be great and well received.
Thanks so much
Will
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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We have an apartment in La Tzoumaz (in the Verbier ski area, above the Rhône valley) and are overlapping with my brother-in-law and his wife, who is a non-skier. She plans to do some snow-shoe ('racquettes') walking and we'll probably join her for at least a day. The Village is at 1500m and currently the conditions are OK but obviously not as good as the previous two winters. I would think that other satellite resorts of Verbier like Nendaz and Veysonnaz are similar and would suit. There's a thermal bath resort in the valley at Saillon and a small pool in the télécabine station.
You might also consider Ovronnaz, across the valley (up from Riddes) which is very much a combined spa-and-ski resort, although much smaller than the 4 Valleys. It's not as expensive as the better-known Verbier or Crans Montan, but it sounds like you're not after a massive ski Domaine. BTW spas in Switzerland aren't all expensive, 5-Star class: Saillon is very family-oriented and Ovronnaz is middle-of-the-road.
You might fancy using public transport instead of hiring a car: on the return leg to GVA it can actually be easier than driving, as the train comes right into the airport and there's no faffing-around driving; finding petrol near to the airport; returning the car; transit to the terminal etc. Take a look at the www.sbb.ch website, which can plan the whole journey across train, télépherique and bus. Generally, the outbound schedule works if you're arriving in GVA before 14:00 but isn't so good later in the day, and the return schedule works best if your flight departs 14:00+. Anyway, its worth a look. You cal also get a discount, foreigners-only return either via the SBB website or the London Swiss Tourist Centre at www.stc.co.uk
Take a look at the STC website and it may be worth you while giving them a call: I've always found them well-informed on the region and they often have special offers.
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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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@msej449, thanks for you advice, very kind, I was trying to think of areas with satellite villages that link into them. I have always booked with just skiing in mind which makes things easy. I know Switzerland very well but more summer than winter and have always found the, Swiss transfer pass and trains to be great. However the car is already booked now because initially we thought we were going to France; the plus side of this is now we have freedom to travel to a resort in France, Switzerland or Italy next week. My fiancee is adamant that I ski and find the best conditions that I can, whilst she wants to be in a nice village with snow (as good as possible with current conditions) and walks. We were looking at accommodation, resorts and forecasts last night and are still undecided. We think Saas Fee is a possibility, it is small, has walking trails, skiing and she can meet me for lunch up the mountain or I can meet her in the village and I do like the look of Andelboden too. France is still an option but we will look at forecasts again tonight before making our final decision. Anytime away in the mountains and fresh air is special but I'd like to find something that will work for the both of us. Thanks again.
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I can't advise on Swiss resorts but of the French ones I know I think Les Saisies would be a good bet for winter walking. The slopes near the village are very gentle, the scenery is beautiful and there appear to be a number of pedestrian tracks.
La Clusaz has the advantage of being near to Annecy which is very nice for a day trip - pretty old town and a lovely shopping centre  However I was there once and not able to ski much for health reasons and I don't remember finding a huge amount to do in the resort when I wasn't skiing (this was some years ago and maybe there are more non skiing activities now)
Samoens is a lovely village - it is a great place for walking in the summer but you'd need to check with the tourist office which walks are open/practical in the winter. La Reine des Pres apartments there are very nice and there is a lovely pool, Jacuzzi set up (I forget what the rules are on Jacuzzis, steam rooms etc when pregnant though).
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