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!)

Decisions Decisions re drive timings

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
I just cannot decide what to do.

Driving from the Midlands to Tignes to arrive 14th March.

Do I

a) After getting the tunnel at 7ish on Friday night drive a long way in France before stopping for a few hours in a hotel, to be very close to the resort, so I get there early (in order to miss the traffic). The only issue with this is that I would arrive knackered, but that's not the end of the world.

b) Drive an hour or 2 in France, have a nice sleep, bit of a lie in a get to the resort at 4ish.Just how terrible is the traffic at that time of day?

Now I haven't planned to be skiing on the Saturday, so as I can't get into my accommodation until 3pm, would be having a mooch round and some lunch.

If it makes any difference, I will be travelling alone in my car.
snow report
 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
C) Keep driving and go skiing Saturday. (No hotel)
latest report
 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?
Well yes, that is an option, but a tiring one!
snow conditions
 You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
Driving alone is tough. I'd be tempted to try and drive through, with maybe a couple of hours kip in the car. I would ski on Saturday.

However, going with your options I would select a. Less traffic, gives contingency in case of problems. Much nicer arriving earlier in the day. You maybe able to get early access to your accomodation.
snow report
 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Personally I wouldn't drive a long way alone, late at night with nobody to keep me awake.

It will be 9ish local time when you pop out in France. You could easily make Reims by midnight - plenty of cheap motels there - and be back on the road after a steady breakfast late morning.

Never driven to Tignes myself but IME the worst of the traffic is over by 4ish. And in any case 14th March should not be a busy day. Why not set off from the motel at 8, stop somewhere nice for lunch - Beaune, say - and arrive late afternoon behind the crowds?
snow report
 You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
Traveling on my own I'd take a sleeping bag and try driving all the way. If I got tired, stop in a rest area and get a couple of hours kip in the car before setting off again. You'd be back on the road a lot quicker than stopping in a hotel, still miss a lot of traffic and might get there early enough to ski.
snow conditions
 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
@Philip1972, I have used this hotel three times now, its perfect for your needs including a secure car park. 45 mins drive from the tunnel. Leisurely breakfast and we still arrived in Oz en Oisans by 5pm Saturday afternoon, at Xmas... with a detour through a city centre (my fault)...http://www.accorhotels.com/gb/hotel-5919-ibis-budget-saint-omer-centre/index.shtml
ski holidays
 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
It's an 8(ish) hour drive.. so drive 3 hours on Friday (Troyes) leaving you 5 hours the next day so start at 09:00 and get there at 14:00 missing the worst of the traffic!

If you wanted to drive further or less on the Friday then i usually reckon on Reims 2 and Dijon 4 hours.
ski holidays
 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.
En route to Sainte Foy, we left the hotel at about 08.30 and hit Albertville at 15.45 which isn't a million miles from Tignes... we were staying there on the Friday night, meeting up with friends and family at the Ibis at Gilly Sur Isere...
ski holidays
 Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Philip1972, Experience has shown wink
A 7 ish tunnel means 9pm ish arrival in France. ( Hour ish for the crossing plus the clocks in France an hour ahead.)
So a two and a half hour drive puts you in Reims at 11.30 pm
We have stayed in St Quentin in the BB Hotel it's about 1.5 hours from the tunnel. Leaving there at 7.00am puts us in Montalbert at around 2pm So I guess Tignes being further on would be around 4ish Just avoiding the masses arrival

The drive through the night option we have done once, so tired when we got there, we didn't ski!!

edit: Marcellus obviously drives a bit quicker than me Toofy Grin
latest report
 snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
@Philip1972, If you are not going to ski on Saturday --- I'd consider staying in Calais - you can get something to eat, relax, get to bed at a sensible time and sleep well. Set the alarm for 6 and still be in Tignes for 4 or so.
snow conditions
 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.
Hi - if its any help I done this drive a couple of weeks ago - Calais to Tignes. We were on a 6.20 am shuttle - came off shuttle at 8am (french time) arrived at chalet (in Brev) at 4.58pm (to be precise)!
It was a very quick easy journey with no traffic at all - however, it was January and we drove on a sunday! But .... week commencing 14th March should not be particularly busy - we will be driving again in March - either that weekend or the following and dont expect it to be a much slower journey than a couple of weeks ago. So I guess the decision is yours - what time would you prefer to arrive - tired or ready to go!
Whichever - good luck
latest report
 So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
Driving through the day is vastly different to driving through the night though.... we have friends who insist on driving straight out of the tunnel and they often encounter fog late at night..and sleep most of the day once they arrive in resort. Which baffles us.
snow report
 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
I don't think you can miss the traffic by starting early can you? It always seems to be worse in the morning than the late afternoon to me (coaches though, so maybe I'm not paying that much attention).
snow conditions
 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Quote:
I don't think you can miss the traffic by starting early can you?


Depends what you mean by early. Inevitably 9pm onwards there will be more traffic even on a quiet day and I think peak arrival time is later in the afternoon. Non peak weeks probably no great shakes.

For me it's horses for courses really. When I used to do "boys" trips we'd all share the driving and could hammer it through and arrive in resort 8-10am and ski all day. You might feel a bit carp but once you were on the hill you soon perked up. Now with the kids it works because the kids are happy to sleep in the car. Driving in the day they got bored. We don't quite hammer it so much and we hit the supermarket before heading into the mountains proper but still get there at lunchtime. Kids can then play in the snow for 2-3 hours, can sort out lift passes. A lot of the time we've got access to the apartment early. But I can see why staying over and driving during the day is more civilised and means you feel better.
snow conditions
 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Probably the same from the midland as it is for us from Cornwall. We are aiming to get to Lyon so we can get a 6am start after a couple of hours sleep so we can get an extra days skiing in...
snow report
 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
That's not a big traffic day. Rather than mooch till you can get into your accommodation I'd go with the ibis budget st omer
suggestion and aim to arrive Tignes about 5. I drive through alone sometimes if conditions are good but if not stop in a hotel not doss in the car. But I go for weeks and wouldn't ski after driving all night. Calais to Tignes is a tad more than 8 hours for most people. I'd not stop in Calais. Get a few hours down the road.
snow report
 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?
Driving all that way as a solo driver is perfectly possible.... but depends upon the type of personality you have.
I enjoy driving, so actually look forward to the drive!
I listen to audio books... definitely not music. Music, with its regular beat is soporific, whereas the spoken books keep you alert and engaged. I have all the Harry Potter books, the Twighlight series (its rubbish), and also around 30-40 episodes of "I'm sorry I haven't a clue". In a 9 hour drive to the alps, that means 18 comedy programmes... and sod's law says that you'll reach a toll-booth just at a really good bit!!

By all means drink redbull and/or proplus (other caffine hits are available), but if you aren't the type of person that will pull over AS SOON as you feel the slightest bit drowsy.. don't even start the drive. I regularly see cars veering out of their lanes, but you notice that the driver doesn't pull over at the very next rest area. This is craziness.
I also find that snacking on nuts/sweets at regular intervals helps the night pass quickly.
snow report
 You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
Hey mate I dont mind travelling with you and sharing the driving
snow report
 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
That hotel is available on March 13th, £31 and £4.40 for breakfast (which is basic, French. Croissant, tea/coffee, cheese, bread etc)... honestly, its a nice and clean hotel with a decent steakhouse about five mins walk away on the roundabout as you enter the town.
snow report
 You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
Thanks everyone for the advice.

i have driven before, but we shared the driving so was a bit different.

I think I will stop at the hoyel mentioned-seems like a good idea.
ski holidays
 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
@Philip1972, its easy to find straight off the autoroute too, stick it in your satnav. Piece of cake.
ski holidays
 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
Philip1972 wrote:
...at the hoyel mentioned...


Am I the only one who thought that seemed a bit harsh... then realised I'd read it as Hovel when it was a simple mis-type?
snow conditions
 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.
rolling eyes
ski holidays
 Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
@Philip1972, Ignore the time difference on arrival and crack on as far as you can. Your body clock will still think it is 8:00pm so you could get 4 hours under you belt before you stop for the night, somewhere near Troyes perhaps.
snow report
 snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
Philip1972 wrote:
I just cannot decide what to do.

Driving from the Midlands to Tignes to arrive 14th March.

b) Drive an hour or 2 in France, have a nice sleep, bit of a lie in a get to the resort at 4ish.Just how terrible is the traffic at that time of day?



March 14th is outside UK and French holidays and should be moderately quiet for a transfer day. IME there are however still likely to be traffic jams in the late afternoon. Just not as awful as some other transfer days.
latest report
 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.
jamescollings wrote:
Driving all that way as a solo driver is perfectly possible.... but depends upon the type of personality you have.


I've fallen asleep at the wheel once on the motorway and once is more than enough. I woke to the sound of tyres on the cats eyes. Anyone who thinks it can't happen to them, well that's what I thought too. No harm done in that instance but lesson learned. Personality, well, I used to cheerfully drive between Hampshire and the Highlands in a day. Still would but only with a 2nd driver.
ski holidays
 So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
A friend totalled his car last year before he even got to the tunnel/ferry after falling asleep at the wheel. Family unhurt thankfully. I was told that he'd had a really busy time at work and so was short of sleep. So make sure you start rested. TBH day or night on a long boring drive it can happen. You just have use whatever tools/techniques to fend it off and recognise when that is no longer working.
snow report
 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
We live an hour and a half from Dover (on a bad day, about an hour on a good one)..and normally get a 21.30 ish Eurotunnel over, after a day at work. By the time we hit France, its pitch black. Getting used to driving there and in the dark, I'm happy to know that less than an hour later I am pulling into the car park at Saint Omer (just off the A26) and getting some much needed sleep. Even getting up at 07.30 French time and having breakfast, we are back on the road at about 08.15, after a light breakfast...
ski holidays
 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
I'd second getting as far south as you feel able. If I was doing it I'd have a list of possible stops and hotels and get belting down until I felt I really needed to stop. I'd hate to be feeling good only to have to stop because I'd made a booking somewhere. If travelling with wife and sprog it would be a different matter.

I too enjoy driving. I've done some big drives in a day on both 2 wheels and 4. Ijmuiden to Zurich on a big lazy cruiser was probably the hardest 567 miles I've ever done. The weather was atrocious (rained almost the whole way) and the roads were packed. Each change of lane was met with a wobble due to a combination of soaking wet roads and wide over-banding (why do German autobahns need such wide over-banding??). I’ve done Paris to Edinburgh and vice-versa on a number of occasions on a VRF800 and different cars. The longest drive days drive I’ve done was Le Bugue (Dordoyne) to Edinburgh; just shy of 1,000 miles. We left at 7:20 CET and arrived home at 22:46 BST. My wife says we are never doing that again. 

Having at least a 2 hour break at the tunnel is always a help. Normally that is enough for me to feel refreshed and ready for the next stage.
snow report



Terms and conditions  Privacy Policy