 Poster: A snowHead
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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 do this three times a season, with our two kids. We drive from Peterborough, get a late chunnel, and arrive at Oz en Oisans normally at about 10.30 the next morning. Hubby takes the first shift, I take over just after Calais, and drive the graveyard shift until about 4 or 5 am, and then we swop back again. It works really well for us, as we can take all our own skis, and self catering bumph.
We also have a doofer which makes things alot easier.
I won't say that it is the part of the holiday that we look forward to the most, but I personally find driving through France a heck of a lot easier and pleasurable than driving through England!
It's definitely worth having a go at least once I'd say. 
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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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It's a lot easier than driving in the UK and more economical for larger families. We have done it three times with three teenagers. I drove the whole thing myself only finding around 5-6 in the morning a bit of a grind. As soon as the sun comes up and you see the mountains, excitement kicks in and tiredness forgotten The real benefit though is eight days skiing, both Saturday's with the mountain virtually to yourself is the heaven.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Lots of points already covered, got a few more to add, having been doing it for over 20 years.
If you stop for a sleep (and the simple Aires are great because they are really quiet so you don't get disturbed), be wary of leaving the ignition on . One year we arrived in Les Houches so early we couldn't even get breakfast anywhere yet, so we had a couple of hours' kip in the lift station car park, and when we woke up the battery was flat. It wasn't old, it was a company car. Now if it looks like we're going to arrive too early we prefer to stop and sleep around 3-4am, when it's still dark and your body is at it's lowest ebb.
I wouldn't want to drive back after a whole day skiing, not only are you tired, you also haven't got the adrenaline excitement of heading off on holiday to keep you going. Friends who tried it because their small children would be asleep found it really difficult, and ended up swapping every hour or so to keep awake. We prefer to ski till after lunch Saturday, drive half/two thirds of the way, stay in an Ibis or similar, and finish the journey Sunday morning.
Most chalets we've stayed in have let us come in, dump our stuff, change, and go off skiing for the rest of the day, even if you can't technically get in till 4pm. The problem has been when we've had a non-skier with us who has nowhere to go till 4pm.
Strangely I find it really hard to stay awake as a passenger during the day, but at night I find it hard to sleep well because i'm subconsciously too worried about the driver not being able to stay awake!
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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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@karin, i wouldn't want to drive all the way after a day's skiing either but doing a couple of hours on the Friday night makes for each easier drive Saturday and ahead of the traffic. Skiing Saturday then doing a couple of hours is also good. On busy days leaving Saturday morning is the worst of all worlds.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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I've done the trip at various times of the day/night. The major disadvantage is the jet lag. I did a similar journey on Sunday evening and I'm still recovering. Yesterday I was wiped out. I guess some handle it better than others.
The other major factor to consider is that reaction times of tired drivers fall off in in a similar manner to drunk drivers. More than one in five road fatalities are caused by driver fatigue.
If you're going to do it, some useful tips here:
http://www.tac.vic.gov.au/road-safety/safe-driving/tips-and-tools/fighting-fatigue
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I think you'd be better to get across the channel on Xmas eve drive for a bit and get a cheap hotel and get up early and drive the rest and then get to the resort, settle in get skis/passes etc and all fired up and rested for first lift on Sunday.. I can't see that after an overnight drive you are going to really enjoy skiing on Boxing Day.
If you want to stretch another day then I suggest you ski all day on the Saturday and leave Saturday night and get a hotel 2 or 3 hours from the resort and drive the rest in the Sunday.
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FAQ
What if the weather was bad, driving at night in the rain, or snow would not be much fun? I would also worry that it would not be comfortable for the kids to sleep in the upright position they'd need to be in to keep the seatbelt on properly. On the very rare occasion my kids ever fell asleep in the car on the booster type seats, their neck would normally tilt which looked quite uncomfortable.
, it was still quite relaxing - particularly with cruise control, telepeage doofer and Eurotunnel flexi plus.