Les contamines - does it get very busy during french half term ( paris zones plus one other)

A snowHead

hi all,

Does anyone know how busy Les Contamines gets during French Half term? The week clashes with the first week of paris half term plus another french zone. U.K. Schools have returned.

With lift queues, is it say 5-10 mins at lift queues or longer? Are pistes packed or just bit busier?

We have booked the 20 February off, flights to Geneva. Actually we arrive a couple of,days before any staying with friends in geneva before heading off skiing somewhere. 2 adults ( rusty skiers) and 2 kids ( skied once before).

I did post a query on italian resorts as options instead (La Thuile or,Pila). Have now done my price comparisons . .and they are all within the same sort of price including Les Contamines. Esf offer 6 days ski school, whilst in Italy it's 5 days.

Just want opinions on Les Contamines during peak french holidays as a third contender?!

Thank you!

Smile

A snowHead

I suspect not terribly. If you can wait booking accom till the week before or so, there are many smaller resorts or systems from Geneva that won't be busy.

E.g. Praz de lys will be busy but mostly with classic cross country, leaving the pistes quiet.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

@under a new name, Hush your mouth Praz de Lys in not a place to discuss on here. It is our sanctuary during the French holiday madness.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=11&v=wWpnDjESuBw Why the english like les contamines

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

@Hils68, I cannot comment on how busy Les Contamines would be as have only been there in summer. However having seen the terrain I suspect it would be better for intermediates than beginners. Bear in mind the village is very small.

I'd recommend Les Saisies (although you'd need to hire a car to get there). It has plenty of gentle slopes in the centre of the resort and is ideal for families.

Given that everywhere will be busy that week I would pick somewhere that is not likely to attract too many fast skiers and therefore would be safer for your children to learn. You could avoid some lift queues by giving the children a quick snack after their lesson, then skiing through lunch and having a late lunch. Then take the kids for a swim if they are too tired to ski all day. We stayed in Le Hameau de Beaufortain in Les Saisies which had its own pool but I gather there is now a pool in the resort itself. There is also a small rollercoaster in the centre of the resort.

The only thing to be aware of with Les Saisies is that it is unlikely to have many English guests that week. My children were in a group with French children in ski school but the ESF instructors spoke excellent English so it was not a problem. Alternatively you could book private lessons with ESF or ESI there.

Pam W is the resident Snowheads expert on Les Saisies if it is somewhere that appeals. You could also have a look at Peak Retreats website which has a lot of useful info on French resorts. We have booked with them for many years.

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We have been there 3 years in a row during half term.
the queues are minimal (5-10) minutes , and if your kids are with ESF they get their own queue from the base of the mountain.
Pistes are generally quite .
I would suggest that it is one of the more under advertised resorts , with few or no tour operators in the area, hence most punters there are French families or English Self catering .

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

Thanks, did you go in french half term or uk? Our week is french half term, paris and another region. I like the look of les Contamines as its close, you can get a direct bus there, and it gives 6 days ski school as opposed to Italy's 5 days. Happy with 5-10 minute queue but wondered if it's busier during French half term.

Will check out the other secret resort mentioned too!

After all it is free

There are hundreds of places to choose from - just look for somewhere small. All the masses will be heading directly to the large, well known resorts. All you need to do is find a place that's so tiny as to be below the radar of most intermidiots.

Have a wander through this doc to get some ideas:
http://smbt.g-r-c.fr/userfile/file/1413899628_Guide_neige.pdf

We were always there is UK half term that coincided with french half term, nor sure which , but think Paris .

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Just my view but I don't think Les Contamines would be the best option for "2 adults ( rusty skiers) and 2 kids ( skied once before)"

snowHeads are a friendly bunch.

We lived in Les Contamines for a year starting for the 2007/08 season so my knowledge may not be current.

However, when we were there it was "busier" over the school holiday weeks so you sometimes had to wait for a few minutes for a lift if you chose the "wrong time" (ie just as ski schools were setting off) but then the area seemed to handle the increased numbers very well.

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What are pistes like then in les Contamines? I thought by the piste map there seemed to be blues and reds . . It seems to portray itself as a family resort. What's the inside knowledge on it then? Puzzled

@Hils68, Have you looked at the video i put up .There is a good selection of pistes the only one i would recomend not using at busy times IE, end of day would be from etape back to the village.

You know it makes sense.

I have an apartment in Les Saisies and a season lift pass and you wouldn't catch me skiing there in Paris holidays. it's simply not correct to say the crowds go to the big resorts. Every bed in LES Saisies (except the ones in my apartment ) will be full and the lift system is not well planned to enable you to avoid the two main chairs out of the Saisies bowl. And the only way in is by car or taxi. The other parts of the linked ski area will be quieter but the skiing is harder and there are some murderous drag lifts.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

@pam w, I don't think anyone has said the Paris crowds only go to big resorts. Puzzled

On the original thread everyone suggested Italy to avoid the crowds but Hils68 has come back saying she is still looking at France.

Given that everywhere in France will be busy that week, I thought of Les Saisies as somewhere that is a family resort with good beginner terrain and is less likely to attract the type of skiers who speed down the home runs which can be dangerous at busy times.

Do you think Les Contamines would be a better option for kids with one weeks skiing experience?

A snowHead

A snowHead

@snowymum, it was stated above that the crowds go to the big resorts. I love Les Saisies as you know but to suggest ie won't be packed with Parisians is just misleading. LS would, as you suggest, be far better than LC (which I like very much) but for an extra hour driving PILA would be better than either. The OP sadly booked flights without doing the homework on school holidays and now has to decide between busy slopes and a longer transfer.

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@Hils68, This is my trip report.

Summary: we loved it and had a great ski there but there are several severe drags that you will have to avoid and the single piste home run is problematic but can be avoided by downloading in the cable car. Lift system a little bit creaky the week we were there. There are plenty of nice pistes for your group other than these issues but off piste skiers will get even more out of it. If you want a short walk to the lifts rather than a short bus ride then you need to be careful to stay in Hameaux du Ley rather than the main town. Can't comment on how busy it will be at half term but based on my experience of the lift system in general I would expect there to be some delays.

I think there are better options for you.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

One point about Les Contamines is that you shouldn't bank on good snow cover on the slopes right down in the valley - realistically speaking the skiing begins up at the mid point of the two-stage gondola. If you really want to go somewhere in that area it could be that St Gervais would be better but I have no first hand experience of the skiing there (the town is great but it's not a "ski in/ski out" place).

I would still very strongly advise, with kids, that you stay somewhere a very easy walk from accommodation to ski school meeting place.

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Thanks guys for your knowledge and ideas. Yes perhaps I should have looked more closely at dates, but we booked the flights now and it would cost too much to change them.

I was asking the question about french resorts as the resorts are obviously closer to Geneva than the italian ones. Les c. Came up as there was lots of self catering options and it was easy to get the SAT bus. i stuck with it mainly as I got a few prices of accomodation. Praz de lys looks lovely but husband boards ( on piste) so not sure how happy he will be with all the drags. A few are fine, but from what I could see there are a lot more than a few!

We are not too fussed on busyish slopes and 5 mins lift queues but just not too mental . . In Paris half term. But if general consensus is there is no such resort in france during this catastrophic week then we will travel a bit further out!

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

My 3 kids learnt to ski in LC. We always hired an apartment in the main village and a car. Every morning we drove to the lifts. There is ample parking particularly if u need to get up for ski school. The key to our holiday and the best advise I would give u , is to higher one of the lockers on the mountain. With young kids this is a game changer. We would leave all our kit in the locker and get the gondola up and down at the end of the day. Sacrificing the run into the car park is no big deal as it is a fairly boring traverse down a meandering road.
Generally the skiing is not difficult in LC , but the home run at the end of the day back to ski school is the only route back and can be tricky for1 week skiers. Also if in ESF your kids will likely be in mainly French speaking group. At the peak of UK half term there were still few English speakers in my kids groups. They struggled with this.
St Gervais seems better equipped for the beginners, and while we were there there seemed to be a large group of young English kid groups .
We skied LC for 3 years and then moved to Les Gets.
Personally I feel LG is a better option for the kids. Lovely village , yet still compact.
Lovely gentle slopes to learn on, and plenty of options with Morzine and Avoriaz if u get bored.
Ski schools are better equipped and varied. Would recommend ski360 for the kids, as well as ski and locker rental at skimium fun shop,which is directly across the road from ski school, which gain makes life much easier.
More variety of restaurants, and also short transfer time from Geneva.
Arguably snow may not be guaranteed but at that time of year u will be fine.
We loved our times in Les Contamines but in retrospect I think there are better options to suite your needs.
I would strongly recommend that u look at Les Gets

After all it is free

Les Gets would suit your party very well. Even the most committed Les Gets fan would say that it is extremely crowded in the British half term but maybe it's better in Paris week as such a lot of the visitors seem to be Brits. There are lots of SHs who know Les Gets well and spend a lot of time in the area, who might be able to comment.

The point about language of tuition in Les Contamines is a good one. It would almost certainly be 100% French in Les Saisies that week - it's rare to get Anglophones in group lessons even at times like New Year. Private lessons are very affordable but in peak times only available for relatively short periods at mid day, which probably wouldn't suit you. Language probably matters less for kids - they learn by copying and following rather than technical explanations but they might feel a bit excluded.

Take heed of the advice about location of accommodation in Les Contamines - unless you are right by the lift following the example of @Spyglass and renting a car to drive to the lifts could make life a lot easier. There's a lot of self catering accommodation quite close to lifts in Les Saisies though rates are pretty high for those 4 French holiday weeks.

Lift queues at the main chairs out of the Les Saisies bowl will be up to 20 minutes at busy times. Possibly more. Generally the queues are pretty short and well behaved - but I'm afraid the Parisian crowds seem to be more pushy and impatient than most. Not much fun.

@Hils68, les Gets is indeed very convenient from Geneva and is very popular with families. We have over the years used BASS, LGS and 360 and found all good. We are never in Les Gets ourselves during the busy February weeks and looking at the webcams there do indeed appear to be big queues at the lifts out of the village but that is generally at the busy time in the morning and after lunch so you just need to get your timing right. Depending on where accommodation is there are better access points than the main village lifts ie Les Perrieres, or the drag lift, if a drag is acceptable....at La Turche. Try the TO to look at accommodation.

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@Hils68,

As you'll see from my signature I am biased. We've been skiing in Les C for the last four seasons and like it so much we bought a place.

In terms of lift queues I'd say that Les Contamines is one of the best options in France during February. We were there during the peak this year and it was significantly quieter than St Gervais/Megeve (just down the road) which was obvious to us when we skied over there and remarked upon by our friends who are based there when they came to Les C for the day. You can find queues of course but they tend to be limited to key lifts around the morning ski school rush (when everyone is trying to get to the mid-mountain rendezvous points). These pass quickly though. They other place we have had noticeable queues is at some drag lifts that serve big off-piste areas as well as a couple of pistes when conditions are good off-piste.

In terms of the suitability for your group I'd say that you have had some good input from others but to pull it together:
1. there are lovely long blues which are excellent for learning on
2. with a couple of exceptions, the reds are very unthreatening too
3. there are a couple of areas which rely on rather unfriendly drag lifts but IMO avoiding them doesn't limit beginner/intermediate skiers much
4. the run to resort is quite narrow and gets busy at the end of the day. In peak February weeks, I'd always recommend beginners or cautious intermediates to take the lift down. It is almost always skiable but as Pam says it may not always be officially open (although it would be unusual for it to be closed in Feb).
5. In general the snow is excellent - it's the elevation, the position at the head of the valley and the fact that a lot of the skiing is over grass so you don't need as much cover as over rocks

IMO whether the skiing is right for you depends on how much you value having a "big" piste map. Les C doesn't have huge mileage (compared to the French mega resorts) and if you avoid a couple of steep drags and the resort run then you limit it a bit more. I think the quality, variety and peacefulness trumps that for a beginner group but that is a personal choice. The off piste is brilliant for those that like that. I actually think it is least attractive to strong intermediate / early advanced skiers with no interest in off-piste. We have persuaded friends to bring beginners to Les C and they have thrived.

Happy to offer detailed advice if you have any questions

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Thank you all for your ideas and experiences . . If only time, money and school holidays weren't such an issue I'd ski them all!

I think after all that . . We have decided to go the other side of the tunnel and head to italy. Would def. like to try the french resorts mentioned above, but perhaps try and do it when it doesn't coincide with Paris half term. Perhaps end of jan. Or beginning of March.

Thanks again everyone, some brilliant information given. 😀

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@Hils68, first week of March is still French hols. Dates vary a bit each year but are easily found. Hope Italy is a great success.

@Hils68, we have had good trips to Montgenevre and Champoluc, both times driving there from Les Gets so only a little further from Geneva, or probably not so in fact as we had to come down the mountain, and really enjoyed both of them. We had been intending to do another trip away to the Dolomites maybe in 2016 but will have a new small young dog with us by then so we won't try that next year.

You know it makes sense.

@Pamski, I love the Dolomites but it's a long drive from our neck of the woods.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

@pam w, we were probably going to take it in with a week somewhere else too, maybe on our way back to Les Gets in March. That will all be another year now - if the knees are holding out of course!

A snowHead

When are the Italians on holiday?

Do they ski like they drive??

Laughing

A snowHead

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

I have found Italian driving really quite civilised - but I've only driven in the north and, in terms of cities, only Genova.

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I found driving in Rome a little, well, sporting!

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Yes, I spent a couple of weeks working in Rome, some years ago. Got round on foot or public transport and was constantly mesmerised by the way the traffic worked and very glad I wasn't having to drive. I'm not too easily intimidated as a driver but it did look sporting! But Genova was really quite easy even though I didn't know my way around and the satnav was completely bamboozled by it (but it is famously a city of old ladies....... wink

Help!!

Les contamines - does it get very busy during french half term ( paris zones plus one other)

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