 Poster: A snowHead
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Hello all. I would like to try and engage the massed brain of Snowheads for some advice.
I am trying to book a trip next March (first week of Easter holidays) for seven of us - four adults and three kids (11/9/7). We are looking for self catering, driving from the UK, relatively low-cost ski pass (which is the reason I am looking at somewhere other than our usual Oz en Oisans - the AdH pass almost killed us last year!), smallish village, preferably ski to door (or at least pretty close). And some half-decent food.
I had pretty much settled on La Rosiere (partly due to the good notices on here) because of cost/ variety of accom/ chance fr a trip or two into Italy, but snooping around SHs last night, Pam W's enthusiasm for Les Saisies has been quite infectious, so I wanted to get some positives and negatives from those in the know.
I've looked at, and disregarded, a few other places for a variety of reasons - Courmayeur (too much hassle getting across the resort), La Thuile (not enough accom), Morzine/ Les Gets (too low at that time of year), Tignes (too pricey).
any help much appreciated...
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@rainman, Have you looked at any of the Maurienne resorts? Valfrejus has very cheap lift passes E586 for a family of four for 6 days and the skiing is pretty good and North facing not stayed there and cannot comment on the food but you can usually find somewhere decent to eat in France Val Cenis is a litle more expensive but offers some fine skiing.
La Rosiere is an excellent ski area but if you are not up to the journey over to La Thuile or the weather makes the connections poor you need to be aware that it is mainly south facing which means you can get a bit of ice/ slush variation late season.
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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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@rainman,
Pam W will tell you all about Les Saisies but as you asked for people's positives and negatives on La Rosiere and Les Saisies I'll give you mine.
La Rosiere
Positives - decent ski area if you include the Italian side and fun skiing in two countries. Nice accommodation in Les Eucharts. Family friendly
negatives - not that cheap if you want the better self catering places with pools. Lift pass more than Les Saisies I think. La Thuile is north facing but La rosiere south facing..lowest runs on la rosiere side might be a bit slushy late season.
Les Saisies
Positives - Pretty, plenty of gentle slopes but also a few decent reds. Family friendly. Great place for the kids to gain confidence. Lovely views of mont blanc
Negatives - accommodation slightly overpriced for what it is- eg. we stayed in le Hameau de Beaufortain which is ski to the door but one of the older not so good MGM residences and a drive from the village. There are options nearer the centre of the village but they don't look that luxurious. Has good snow cover for its altitude but might be risky late season on lowest slopes..check with Pam W for usual March/April conditions.
If I were choosing between La Rosiere and les Saisies for Easter I'd probably go for La Rosiere. However I'd suggest you consider Montgenevre and Val Cenis as well. We have been to both late season and had good snow conditions. Val Cenis is good value all round. Montgenevre has a more expensive lift pass but I think it is still cheaper than Alpe d'Huez and the ski area of Montgenevre/Claviere is beautiful. You could also consider Les Arcs - we have friends going there the week you are thinking of and they told me there is a good family lift pass deal that week.
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Hmm..... Les Saisies isn,t ideal for Easter but neither is La ROSE, being south facing. There is plenty of accommodation a lot cheaper and more central than the Hameau. The pool puts the prices up a lot. I would wait and see what the weather is like. I shall be in LS at Easter but if it's warm you might need to head higher. It's low season so finding accmmodation at a late stage shouldn't be too difficult. It's likely that parts of the Espace Diamant will not be open that late.
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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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@pam w, thanks - looks like your suggestion might be to look away from both areas that late in the season? So you are talking Tignes/ paradiski etc for height? In which case our old fave of AdH might be the one?
@snowymum, the more luxurious side of accommodation is not what we're after; quite happy with a fairly basic apartment. And @T Bar, more than happy to get to Italy - even the youngest hauled it around Alpe d'Huez this year, so happy to travel. I have since seen a couple of places in La Thuile - presume the North facing slopes will be a big help.
Never skied this late before (except french Pyrenees when we had buckets of white stuff) so a little unsure as to how worried I should be about height? Generally I believe there's always fun to be had on snow, but when it's the main family holiday...!
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@rainman, I have skied with the family for the past 15 years in early April, Generally conditions have been good, often excellent with the odd poor year thrown in. It has never been unskiable. The sun almost invariably has an effect on the snow at that time of the year and at some heights and orientations it is more affected than others.
Myowm observation is that getting some north facing slopes is more important than going very high though having reasonable altitude is of benefit. I have only been to La thuile earlier in the season though friends frequently went at Easter at my suggestion, I would prefer it at this time than La Ros.
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@rainman, I'd agree with T Bar's analysis above. On the whole late March/early April is a good time to go skiing if you are restricted to school hols. 28th March is definitely a good week to go this year as it isn't French or Belgian holidays and only 2/3 of UK schools are off.
The resorts I mentioned above - Les Arcs, Montgenevre and Val Cenis all have a good snow record at Easter. Val Cenis can be a bit slushy at the very bottom but the slopes go up to 2800m so the snow should be fine higher up. Flaine is also north facing with reasonable altitude.
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LS is usually fine but I wouldn't book now.
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@rainman, a little further on than AdH, but with North-facing slopes, predominantly, is Serre Chevalier. Look at Monetier (1600m). There is always the risk, slightly lower, of afternoon slush, but the skiing provides a mix of above and at the tree-line, so conditions should be OK (usual caveats).
Ski pass prices http://www.serre-chevalier.com/en/winter/ski-area/skipass/family-pack/
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thanks all - hadn't ever really looked at Montgenevre before - but it looks great. @Cacciatore, I fear those SC passes are pretty similar to the Oz cost. What drew me to have a look elsewhere in the first place was the value to be had from Italian passes... a six day family pass (from what I can work out) comes out at €650 for 6 days in La Thuile. Essentially the same pass in La Ros i.e. Espace Bernado is €140 more. AdH Grand Domaine pass is €950ish - much the same as SC, Montgenevre etc. Add in the (usually) cheaper and better food in Italy and it starts to make a lot of sense heading there.
Presumably Montgenevre is something more of a drive, as well? I have found a very cheap apartment in the Hameau des Airelles there.
Has anyone much experience of La Thuile?
Oh, and @pam w, do you suggest not booking now to make a later call on the snow conditions, or on the accommodation?
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@rainman, Montgenevre is 12km further than Serre Chevalier (assuming driving through France).
The skiing at La Thuile is pretty good, IMO. I thought the town a little soulless, to be honest, though I didn't stay there, just skied over from La Ros for lunch one day.
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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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^ It is pretty soulless, I stayed there once.
Montgenevre was great. I went there near the end of the season (a long time ago!), and people were being bussed in from all over the place (mostly Serre Chevalier and Sauze) because the snow was so great and was melting everywhere else. Despite that, it wasn't too crowded and we had a fabulous week of warm sunshine and great conditions. Claviere was very pretty.
I also went to ADH late season one year and spent half the time water-skiing! The south-facing slopes were all green with white ribbons of cannoned pistes on them and giant puddles at the bottom. It was a particularly warm year though, and this was in early April.
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@HoneyBunny, I've had similar conditions in the Pyrenees at New Year, so can sympathise. I try not to be too worried about the snow, as I firmly believe you can generally find good snow everywhere if you look hard enough!
Montgenevre is looking very appealing now I've had a bit of a dig around.
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You know it makes sense.
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@rainman, Montgenevre is lovely at Easter  If I were driving there I'd go through the Maurienne Valley and through the Frejus tunnel (you can get a discount on that if you buy the tunnel voucher with the lift pass in advance). It would be motorway all the way apart from the last 20 minutes from Oulx to Montgenevre.
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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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Good route idea and the Frejus tunnel is a belter - worth going that way and skiing for a week just to experience it....
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Poster: A snowHead
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Cacciatore, the french tunnel is better than MB but still not fun and awful for people with claustrophobia. rainman, I am suggesting waiting to see what snow conditions are like. Conditions can be very different, year on year and sometimes different between the alpine areas. Les contamines would be worth looking at. Higher area there holds the snow much better than, for example, Flaine and lift pass is reasonable. Very easy drive too.
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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 wrote: |
| Cacciatore, the french tunnel is better than MB but still not fun and awful for people with claustrophobia. rainman, I am suggesting waiting to see what snow conditions are like. Conditions can be very different, year on year and sometimes different between the alpine areas. Les contamines would be worth looking at. Higher area there holds the snow much better than, for example, Flaine and lift pass is reasonable. Very easy drive too. |
Whilst I'm sure Les Contamines is a good option is it really more snow sure than Flaine late season?
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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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Yes, in my experience. not that that's very extensive. Others might have different experiences.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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| pam w wrote: |
| Cacciatore, the french tunnel is better than MB but still not fun and awful for people with claustrophobia. |
It was an old "joke", referencing an inadvertent detour through and back following a missed turn between Turin and Serre Chevalier many years ago. There are nicer tunnels. Like the Mersey tunnel, for instance 
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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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@rainman, I've tried out some of the smaller resorts, due to the kids being young and not needing so much terrain. Though I've sort of alternated with the mega resorts rather than ignore them altogether.
Trip report of La Norma at Easter http://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?p=2019798&highlight=norma#2019798
And from Les Contamines http://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?p=2206261&highlight=contamines#2206261
Going to Les 7 Laux this Christmas.
Our mega resort of choice in recent years has been Paradiski (usually stay Les Coches) and ADH (Oz).
You can write off Les Contamines on account of you probably be forced to download in the cable car each day (may not be an issue to you) and there are several steep drags unsuitable to young children or beginners (definitely an issue). Read the trip report for more details.
There is a pic in the La Norma report of Aussois down the road which highlights the difference betwen a north facing and south facing resort in late season. I tend to look for a combo of decent altitude and north facing.
I'll report back on Les 7 Laux at Christmas.
Personally I don't hold off booking because I make sure I got to resorts that I am 99% will have snow of some kind. That 1 in 100 I am happy to make a late switch or do some driving. If you want to be 100% sure go to somewhere like Paradiski. We were there 2nd week of April in a really bad year and they did a great job. But clearly getting away from that is why you are posting!
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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I would never dismiss a resort where you have to download. I've skied quite often in LC and never bother going below SIGNAL
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I've skied in LA Ros twice in April and both times it's been excellent. Yes it does get a bit slushy in the PM but you've got to expect that really. I love LA Ros and would thoroughly recommend it. When I was there I was restricted due to having my young daughter with me but still had a wonderful time; I know lots of people who go back year on year and that's for good reason.
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Hi I've skied in most of the major resorts in the Alps but still have a soft spot for La Ros and have skied there 6 times. It is a good priced resort with nice south facing slopes but with the advantage of alternative skiing through the link to La Thuille. There have been times when I've been in upper area of La Thuille and there hasn't been anyone in sIght so lovely uncrowded pistes.
It can get slushy late in the day but as it has an excellent snow record then there is always a good deep base. Not unusual to have nearly 3m upper and 1.5m on the lower so it last nicely to end of the season. Locals are friendly, prices reasonable(for France) and little queuing for if at all for lifts.
Dunc
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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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Agreed with the above posts re. La Rosiere - it has an exceptional snow record (often top 5 in France) and is at high altitude, so the south-facing aspect is much less of an issue than in many places. Also, from the resort centre it takes 2 chairlifts with a short run in-between to be on extensive, North-facing slopes!
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Thanks all - La Ros is still appealing, but Montgenevre may just have the edge on price - plus routemap is telling 10hrs from Calais which sounds pretty good.
Anyway, thanks for the info. I've booked a Chunnel and will keep an eye on accommodation and snow post-Christmas!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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We had a very special holiday in La Ros this year, staying in the Planica building with Ski Olympic. Accommodation is excellent and there is a pool. It is right next to the nursery slope and just below the ESF children's ski school area (which, despite our reservations, we thought excellent). Ski Olympic have two separate catered chalets within the Planica building, but there are also a number of self-catered apartments which share the facilities and are run by a French couple. For what it's worth here is the link: http://leplanica.com/en/
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