 Poster: A snowHead
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We are spending a week in Les Gets over Feb half term and have some questions;
1) I have read queues can be long from the village for the gondola. Are there any strategies for minimising queuing eg avoiding ski schools etc? Is it best to get there at 9 or wait for all the ski schools to go up first?
2) for my wife graduating from greens to blues, what are the easiest blues?
3) for me and my sons graduating from blues to reds, what are the easiest reds?
Thanks in anticipation!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@stodge, I hadn't seen your questions earlier, so apologies!
We are heading home for four weeks on Saturday so that we avoid February half term weeks but I am sure there are ways round the queues and this must surely depend on where you are staying. We very rarely use the gondola but I imagine this must depend on how old your sons are as perhaps you won't want to use the Chavannes Express chairlift? If you are not using ski school yourselves at all then try getting there at 9 or even 8.45 as the lifts open then, at least on your first day and see how you like that.
On the Chavannes slopes then there is a nice green slope that runs down from the top of the poma which is just near the Grand Cry restaurant, it winds through the trees. And then if you use the Croix chairlift up the Chavannes its a great wide slope, blue, and very gentle. Depending on how old your children are they might enjoy the Indian village on the Chavannes. If you go over via the Violettes piste to the Rosta bowl and take the Rosta chairlift up then there are four runs up there, the nearest to the chairlift is the Yeti and that is black. Next one along is a nice red, and then there are two blues. The furthest one along, just past the Rossitaz café on the right, is a longer blue and very easy, it used to be a green. If you take the Grains d'Or chairlift up, then the Renardiere blue is very gentle and not usually very busy at all. Or go further on and take the Vorosses blue down to La Turche - it is a poma up from there. The Melezes red is a lovely run.
The red (Arbis) on the Chamossiere is one of the less easy reds. If you go over to Nyon area via the Troncs lift then try the Lievre blue.
Hope you have a good time
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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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Thank you very much for that excellent response! Loads of good tips there.
We are staying at Escapade on rue du Centre which is meant to be 750m from the Chavannes cable car, and we have booked a locker - so it shouldn't take us long to get to the lifts.
My sons are too old for the Indian village (13 & 17), so I don't see an issue using the Chavannes Express chairlift (does that have smaller queues than the gondala?).
We have ski lessons 11:15 - 1:15 every day so need to get up for an hours skiing and down again for 11.
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@stodge, If you take the chairlift then it gets you higher up the Chavannes otherwise when you get out of the gondola you then have to go over and take another chairlift to go higher. The gondola will get used a lot by instructors with groups of small children who are not able to use chairlifts straightaway.
Who are you having ski lessons with? Some of the instructors will arrange to meet you on the Chavannes. Great having them at that time as a lot of people knock off at 12 for lunch so the slopes get a little quieter - and you can go and have a later lunch after your class - before a bit more skiing.
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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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What @Pamski said! Plus, if you have transport (self-drive, rental, slope transfers) you can miss the Chavannes access lifts altogether by parking (if you're early) or being dropped at Chavannes plateau. Mt. Chery will be quieter but it's an old bubble so might still have queues at half term first thing, don't know (and has no skiing for Mrs. Stodge).
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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The ski lessons are with ESF - we observed them in Flaine last year and thought they looked quite good.
We don't have transport so can't avoid the lifts up to Chavannes.
On the subject on Mt. Chery, how difficult are the reds on that mountain?
And when people say the queues are long, what's the worst the wait can be? We've just booked Florida in the summer, and I reckon the Chavannes lift at half term will be a walk in the park compared to Universal Studios in July! I guess it's what you are used to.
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Yes, as @shep says Mont Chery wouldn't be suitable for your wife - there is a blue there but a more tricky one.
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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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@stodge, the reds are divine on Mont Chery  Marmotte is probably a mid range red - one of my favourite ever. Chamois is steep at the top (over La Grande Ourse restaurant which is excellent btw) and goes all the way down to the village. Lievre is a nice wide one.
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Thanks everyone, can't wait!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@stodge we have go to Les Gets twice a year but have only ever been out at half term once and swore to never do so again, because its just so much busier than the other school holidays. For queue length think 15- 20 mins shuffling along about 20 feet. Pack yourself plenty of patience, hey after all you will be skiing and there is beautiful mountain scenery to admire, as well as the opportunity to indulge in some traditional British annoyance at the queue jumping activities of the other nationalities .
That said, your lessons are perfectly timed so that during the worst of the queuing peak (mid morning to lunch hour), you will be skipping by in the ski school lane, now that's what I call planning ! As Pamski says, get up early so you are up the Chavannes before ski school, head into the bowl and make the most of the quiet on the lifts there, you should be OK until around 10.30, before bracing yourself for the queue at the Nauchets express to get back down the Chavannes for your ski school meet up.
I second what @IgLou says about the Choucas run, its about 5km in length and a lovely winding run through the trees, with gentle slopes. Its (mostly) a road in the summer. There are little tracks through the trees that your boys can safely sneak off on, as they all rejoin the piste later, and the achievement of getting all the way down will be a real confidence booster for Mrs Stodge. Les Blanchots is a must for the hot chocolate with a Mr Whippy sized cone of whipped cream on it, and its worth having the rum/grand marnier/cognac in it...
The two blue runs in the bowl off the Rosta chair are a little more challenging, with a couple of steeper pitches from the perspective of the learner, but have lovely shallower carving parts as well and so are good for learners to hone their technique on.
Running down the side of the Chavannes, starting at the same place as the Indian village, is the "Milka" run (corporate sponsorship, sigh) which is actually a fun curvy path around a piste basher wide and its lots of fun even for the slightly better skiers. There is a bell hanging up at the end which you can ring if you raise your ski pole as you go by.
Hope you have a great time.[/b]
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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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Thanks all - I have thought of another question. I have noticed there are a couple of small lifts at the village where the ski schools meet and the Chavannes express departs, but that the slopes there are labelled as blue runs. Would these be suitable for us to practice the morning before the first lesson, or would they be too demanding for Mrs Stodge?
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As you look up, the slope on the left is a bit steep for beginners and very busy at the bottom as ski school rendezvous (ESF) points and people milling about. Top sledging spot after hours though! The other side of the Chavannes Express (Vieux Chene) is a slightly quieter blue but still busy. We spent our second day ever on skis there as the bubble was out of action and that was where our instructor brought us - it felt very steep to us on the bottom segment! But it sounds as if your wife has more experience than we did at that time.
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You know it makes sense.
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I would do what Pam suggested (she is the source of Les Gets knowledge). Get to the lift before the ski schools depart. Couple of minutes and you will be heading up the mountain. I have been at New Year and its not that bad, just not as quiet as when schools are not there. Get off The Chavaness Express and turn left or right back down the mountain and you can ski nice blues which meet up again soon enough. This is a great slope to get your 'ski legs' on. Couple of runs then drop down into the bowl and play on the blues down there. Your wife will enjoy Reine des Pres as Pam says. Nice gentle blue. When you head back up from the bowl I would use the nauchetes lift. This avoids any reds.
Have a great time. I loved Les Gets.
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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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Ok thanks, all excellent advice, 8 days and counting!!!
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Poster: A snowHead
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@stodge, if its lovely and sunny the it will be worth your wife going up the Mt Chery gondola even if not to ski as the views from there over to the village and beyond can be spectacular. There is the one blue run up there which goes down from the top of the Grande Ourse lift back to the gondola. Out of the gondola, turn right and down to the lift. Might be worth you having a quick run up there some time to see if you think that the blue will be ok for MrsStodge. It can be very gentle but at other times a bit more of a challenge just depends on the weather, snow and visibility.
OK back at the chalet now after a great day so leaving all the snow to you now!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I would agree with Pam and get out early, especially on the first day and take the chair to the top of the Chavannes Express. We needed a couple of nice easy days to start this year as my wife is "running in" her new hip ( 2nd replacement on the same hip) and we spent the first morning just doing this easy run. Head left 180 degrees from the chair heading down the right hand side of the piste ( slightly shallower) and then back left handed to the Croix chair, repeat as many times as needed. The rest is as Pamski has said.
As for Mont Chery the reds there are beautiful, they make me feel like a good skier and I know I'm not.
At half term I would ski through the busy lunch time and eat later once the rush has died down.
At the end of the day, in particular on busy days, the last slope into the village ( between the Chavannes Express and the TK Vieux Chene) can get very "chopped up" and lumpy turning it into quite a difficult experience for beginners with very tired legs, so taking the gondola back down can be a wise choice.
Towards the end of the week maybe try a nice blue tour round to Morzine and back
Chavannes Express up - Violette down
Nauchets Express up - Choucas down
Troncs Express up - Lievre down - there's an enclosed bridge / tunnel here whose entrance can be a bit intimidating first time.
Fys up - from here you can go straight on down the Crocus to get back to Les Gets or turn right along the top and take Piste B all the way down to Morzine
Pleney telecabine up - turn right and ski down to the
Belvedere up and along over the top and then the Crocus/Bruyere back down to Les Gets.
We have had friends turn into complete distance freaks after they were introduced this tour while learning
Have a great time
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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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By the way, I haven't seen it mentioned elsewhere but Google street view has filmed most of the Les Gets ski area so that you do a "virtual ski" through most of the area
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FAQ
The Voilette blue that runs down from the Chavannes into the bowl is gentle enough but can get very busy at peak times. For a long gentle and pretty blue (past the Chamossiere sector that Pam mentions) try the Choucas....there's also an excellent choc chaud stop along the way just by the Chamossiere Express chair 
