Ski Club 2.0 Home
Snow Reports
FAQFAQ

Mail for help.Help!!
Log in to snowHeads to make it MUCH better! Registration's totally free, of course, and makes snowHeads easier to use and to understand, gives better searching, filtering etc. as well as access to 'members only' forums, discounts and deals that U don't even know exist as a 'guest' user. (btw. 50,000+ snowHeads already know all this, making snowHeads the biggest, most active community of snow-heads in the UK, so you'll be in good company)..... When you register, you get our free weekly(-ish) snow report by email. It's rather good and not made up by tourist offices (or people that love the tourist office and want to marry it either)... We don't share your email address with anyone and we never send out any of those cheesy 'message from our partners' emails either. Anyway, snowHeads really is MUCH better when you're logged in - not least because you get to post your own messages complaining about things that annoy you like perhaps this banner which, incidentally, disappears when you log in :-)
Username:-
 Password:
Remember me:
👁 durr, I forgot...
Or: Register
(to be a proper snow-head, all official-like!)

Transfer from Val Thorens to Tignes
 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead

My first post, so greetings to everyone Smile

On the 10.01.15 I'm supposed to transfer as per thread title.
Only it turns out it's a somewhat complex undertaking; it involves catching 2 buses and a train in between.

I found all the connections, but I have a few questions: the advise (upon trying to book a train ticket) is to allow oneself 20 min for ticket collection.
My bus' estimated arrival time at Moutiers (I know this is relative in winter time) is 25 min before the train's departure time.

So my questions (especially to anyone who has swapped bus/train in Moutiers before) are: am I giving myself enough time? How far is the Moutiers train station from the bus station?
The advise further states that tickets can be collected from SNCF collection machines - providing a station has them. Are there any in Moutiers? I assume there are.

Whilst on the subject, does anyone know how far is the bus station in Bourg St Maurice from from the train station? The bus company (rather sensibly) sends e-tickets, so I wouldn't have to collect a ticket there, just to locate the right platform/bus.
I have a 30 min window in B St Maurice. Would this suffice?

I know it's a lot of questions for my first post - apologies for that! Laughing
Any help will be greatly appreciated!
ski holidays
ski holidays
 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person

@snowglider, welcome to snowHead

these funny foreign types are much better than us at joined up transport - in both Bourg St M & Moutiers the bus station and train station are handily adjacent. There's perhaps 1 mins walk with both of them from the middle of the platform to the bus and vice/versa

You would have time for a cig, a pee, and an espresso at both stops. Just be conscious that in 'great' snow conditions (for skiers) the trip down from VT can take a while - took me close to 3 hours going up from moutiers just before xmas and we had chains on from the bottom - don't get a seat above the wheel otherwise you're doing zeberdee impressions all the way up. Of course the real resaon for the delays was the general lack of abillity of the francais to put on snow chains / obvious lack of pneu's d'hiver. Possibly best to get an early trip down the mountain, so if it all works then you might get a 1/2 day in Tignes

There's bound to be an SNCF collection machine in moutiers.. but don't know for certain

Enjoy both trips
snow conditions
snow conditions
 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?

Definitely - there is a ticket machine in Moutiers. You can select English language, select collect a ticket, then you put in your six character booking reference. I think five minutes is all you need, but I am used to them.

You need the credit card that you used to book the ticket, so have that handy as you get to the station. You put it in the slot - don't worry they won't charge you twice.

I assume that you have already booked the ticket. There is a way to get the ticket posted to the UK for free, but that has got more complicated this year because the default option is the "UK" website - there are ways to avoid that.
snow conditions
snow conditions
 You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.

@bertie bassett

Thanks for the welcome and sharing your knowledge Smile
Some very useful tips there, including the one to avoid getting a seat above the wheel!
Never even crossed my mind but, come to think of it, it's only logical - with the chains on, the ride must have resembled a rodeo! Smile

It's exactly the kind of experience that you described that made me hesitant about leaving myself so little time in the first place, as I know it's a real possibility.
Yet due to the horrible time table, pretty much all the options are uninviting: book an early bus, give myself plenty of time in case it dumps big, and then be stuck in Moutiers for hours if it doesn't. The same goes for a change at Bourg St M. So the 1/2 skiing in Tignes just isn't going to happen either way.

My thinking is, I may as well then ski 1/2 day in VT, and take my chances with the nature?
Hmmm, decisions, decisions....
Maybe someone else with the local knowledge can chime in and shed some light whether bertie bassett's experience was atypical, or does that happen a lot on the VT - Moutiers route that time of year?
Again, any help will be greatly appreciated.

@AndrewsPeppers

Thanks very much, priceless info! I was hoping someone with a bit of local knowledge would be along with a few tips.
I haven't actually booked the ticket yet (bertie bassett's experience has made me sit up and take notice), so I'd be really grateful if you could let me know how go get it posted to the UK?

Btw how typical was his experience, in your opinion?
Would I be extremely unlucky to get such a heavy snow fall that the road services aren't able to cope with, or does that happen pretty regularly that time of year? (I know it's a bit of a silly question - just trying to glean any info that would help inform my decision) Smile
At the moment I'm leaning towards my original decision and leaving myself with 25 min to change.

Thanks in advance for your help
snow report
snow report
 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

To bring up the post to UK option. Go to http://en.voyages-sncf.com/en/ - select GB as your country, then go through the booking process. At the end before you pay there is a ticket delivery option, and you can enter your UK address. The tickets will arrive in 2-3 days.

Sometimes it chucks you off the French website and directs you to the UK website. You might have to try it a few times or use a different browser - you should be able to get it to work.

As to the road traffic conditions I thought the above advice was good. If you get a dump of snow the coaches can be delayed. I would say the chances are low, but it can happen. The trains can be late as well (not because of snow - they cope with any dump) they have more than their share of breakdowns. You can check the infolignes website for daily traffic updates,
snow conditions
snow conditions
 You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.

@AndrewsPeppers

Thanks very much for the link & instructions.
Seeing as delayed traffic isn't a regular occurrence, I think I'll go with my original plan. I know I'll be taking a chance but the benefit of 1/2 day extra in VT, as opposed to loitering around the train station in Moutiers & Bourg St M for hours, outweighs the risk, methinks Smile

Thanks again for your info, it was very helpful
snow conditions
snow conditions



Terms and conditions  Privacy Policy