 Poster: A snowHead
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Hi everyone.
I'm looking at finally buying in a resort not too far from geneva.
I know pds like the back of my hand, and have never skied in St Gervais.
I like the idea of St Gervais being so near many great day trips, such as chamonix and cormayer etc.
I'm just asking, is the snow cover pretty much the same as Morzine, as it's pretty much the same altitude.
Be heard the rumoured link to les Contamines is now a ddad duck, but it's only a quick drive away, so hardly counts as an away day, and the snow seems better there...
Any St Gervais feedback would be appreciated,
Thanks
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@Jwh138, welcome to Snowheads  I'm a fan of St Gervais, summer and winter, and having skied there twice, haven't found the need to go further afield. The snow was very good both times (early/mid January) and it does seem to benefit from the Mont Blanc effect so the relatively low altitude is less of a problem than you may expect - the skiing is extensive and pretty varied. I've skied Morzine at the same time of year and enjoyed it there too - both towns are 'real' and have a life all year around (we love it there in Summer too), although I'd say Morzine has more in the way of bars, restaurants etc., being a bit more commercialised but still lovely.
If you're considering buying, rather than just taking a holiday, both have their benefits - having Chamonix so close to St G would be a definite draw for me - but you may get a bit more for your money in St G (dependent on what type/size of property you're after)
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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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I guess one difference is that you can generally ski down to Morzine but can generally not ski down to St Gervais - but that might not be too important for you.
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There are less English in St Gervais.
Deal breaker in my opinion.
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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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St Gervais is an attactive town - much less sprawly than Morzine. And it's very easily reached from the A40. The Evasion Mont Blanc season pass is great value, too.
This is a guess, but I would think the EMB area would be less busy outside French school holidays than the PdS - because the clientele is more weighted towards French people with no big UK tour operators.
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Thanks for the posts.....
It would be so good if it was just 300m higher....but I'm aware of the most blanc microclimate effect.....
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my perception, based on one mid January day season before last, is that EMB would indeed be quieter.
we were with not very challenging skiers so we didn't see any challenging skiing.
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@Jwh138,
Disclosure - I've not skied a lot in the PdS, I've skied a few weeks from St Gervais and we now have a place in Les Contamines (part of the EMB, 10 mins drive from St G but not linked).
I like the skiing around St G but there isn't much in the way of challenging piste skiing and it is quite low. The St G side (Bettex/St Nicholas) keeps its snow relatively well but over the hill to Megeve gets pretty slushy in the Spring. There are some nice little bits of off piste - gaps in the trees leading to open meadows - if you like that kind of thing. Overall I think the PdS would offer you more variety and more snow sure skiing (up at Avoriaz anyway) than the linked area of EMB.
That said, the option to head up to Les Contamines adds quite a lot in that it is a bit higher, faces more Northerly and has a micro climate at the head of the valley that makes it significantly more snow sure than St G / Megeve. On the piste map it doesn't look much higher but in practice it has a lot more skiing above 2000m both on and off piste. It also offers a lot more ski touring options and adventurous off piste (on that front probably even more so than PdS given the accessibility to the high mountains of the MB Massif).
Overall though, as a pure lift-served ski area it is not on the same scale as PdS. It is considerably cheaper though (for property). If like me you really value the off piste and ski touring (plus summer hiking / climbing) then it offers more for less. If you place more weight on lift-served skiing then you have to weigh up whether the greater scope of the PdS is worth the extra property costs.
Final point is that I do think ST G / Les C are both a bit more French and a bit less busy at peak times than the more mainstream Brit resorts (EK, TV, PdS).
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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I think that's an excellent summary, @jedster.
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Be heard the rumoured link to les Contamines is now a ddad duck,
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forgot to mention - I see absolutely no signs that this is progressing and I believe people have talked about it for more than a decade.
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