 Poster: A snowHead
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@Albotian, http://www.vialattea.it/public/bollettino_vialattea_20160122.pdf?t=60314,48 - this is todays lift/piste/link status. Id say Sauze is 40-50% open, Sestriere 40% and Sansicario: 25%
Yes that video is from Sauze. As has been posted it seems like the best skiing the Italian side is actually Sauze - makes a change! Sestriere probably has too much traffic as its a bigger resort but similar km's of slopes open.
A significant amount of snow (>10 cm) looks very unlikely over the next week though. Therefore the lift/piste situation is unlikely to change unless they have been busy in Sansicario and the word hasnt got out.
Are you booked on a package holiday or booked independently? Have you pre-paid for lift passes? Only asking as you do have other options very nearby (30-45 mins) which are plentiful in snow.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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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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@Albotian,
In fairness I think you are in a fairly lucky position. My group I travel with this week had paid for everything up front including rentals and lift pass- meaning we cant really change anything.
I think your idea sounds great. You have many options with lift passes. There are lift passes that include the VL and Serre Chevalier (around 240-250 euros from memory) but Im not sure if they will be at a discounted rate (due to lack of snow) so its a lot to pay for average conditions. It might be better to buy a discounted 6 day VL pass that includes one day Montgenevre and pay for a 1 day pass at Serre Chevalier if you go there. NOTE: A 5 day VL pass does not include the 1 day pass at Montgenevre, only the 6 day pass. Alternatively just look into Montegenevre, its just as close as Sestriere but far superior in snow quality - so you could maybe buy a 6 day pass at Montgenvre that maybe allows a day at Sansicario/Sestriere/Sauze?! Not sure if it does but it probably does.
Daily passes offer a bit more flexibility and wont be much more expensive - drawback is the time it takes to buy it but I cant imagine it being busy. To be honest I think daily purchase may be the way for you as it means you can drive to Montgenevre one day, Sestirere or Sauze another, Serre Chevalier if you really fancy a change (bit further away). Sounds great to me - bit of hassle but nice at the same time.
If you have ski insurance you might be able to get the cost of a car refunded... Long shot but possible.
We have our VL 6 day pass already brought but will definitely utilise the free day in Montgenevre as they have most slopes open.
Good luck- count yourself lucky you are within half hour of some good skiing - really it could be worse!
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p.s. parking I am unsure but I am sure it exists- you will have to do a bit of research - search on this forum and if nothing set a thread up or something. If you arrived at the resorts around 8.30 am I would think it should be easy to find parking - provided parking exists. Maybe @HeidiAmsterdam, know a bit about parking?!
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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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Just as a follow up to my week in Sauze (9-16th Jan) a cheque arrived 3 working days after getting back from Inghams refunding me £50. I'd pre paid the lift pass and as VL had reduced the price due to lack of available skiing. I'd thought I might have some hassle getting a refund on return but is came as promised. Make sure you get a refund if you've paid for a VL pass through a TO in the last few weeks!
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Heading out to Sestriere on 7th Feb, so obsessively checking the forecasts! Can someone please tell me how long it takes in the gondola up towards sauze? Kids will be in ski school, so wondering if 3 hours is realistically enough to get over to sauze and get a good few runs in and not be late back?!
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gondola from sestriere up to sauze takes about 7 minutes i reckon
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Considering the lack of real snow the pistes are in pretty good nick, with only occasional gravel towards the end of the day. For anyone arriving tomorrow, there is enough to keep you happy for a week.
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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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| Albotian wrote: |
| Not likely. I considered changing but it is a group of people traveling together and it would mean changing too many. I just can't really understand why they are not letting at least the lift to take you up to Fraiteve from San Sicario. |
When I skied across to San Sicario a few years ago, my recollection is that the link lifts are drags only, with no chairs or cabins. That would make it more difficult to open them. (Admittedly, they might have been upgraded, but they still look same on the piste map.)
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I'm off to Sauze D'Oulx (for the first time) in early March.
I'm trying not to obsess about the conditions (yet) but I have a couple of questions for anyone with local knowledge:
We're staying at the Hotel Splendid which may not be 'splendid' but looks OK and, more importantly, it looks to be in a decent location.
The TO blurb says it's 5 minutes' walk to the lift but there's some suggestion (on TripAdvisor!) that it may be only a 1 minute walk to the piste. It may also be possible to ski back from the piste almost to the hotel (depending on conditions, of course).
Is that true?
If the hotel is almost ski in / out, we'll need somewhere to keep the gear there but there's no mention of a boot room. Does anyone know if the hotel has a ski / boot room?
It's a bit of an uphill schlepp to the hotel from the bottom of the pistes so we may look to dump the gear somewhere down there if it's not possible to easily reach the Clutes piste from the hotel and vice versa.
The (very limited) website for Ski hire shop Eydallin Sport says they offer free lockers - has anyone used them?
Are they a decent hire shop or are there better alternatives?
And finally: it looks a long way to ski to Montgenevre and back. Is it a sensible day-trip for a couple of intermediates - or it a bit too far?
Any assistance much appreciated
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| Red Leon wrote: |
And finally: it looks a long way to ski to Montgenevre and back. Is it a sensible day-trip for a couple of intermediates - or it a bit too far?
Any assistance much appreciated |
It takes so long to ski/lift to MG you are much better off getting a coach for the day trip, otherwise you will spend all day on lifts with hardly any skiing.
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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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@Red Leon, The skiing back to resort isn't always that reliable. In the past, I've stored my skis at Sportinia under the Orso Bianco hotel. That way its just chuck your trainers on in the morning and hop on the sportinia lift and the same at the end of the day. I honestly cant remember the cost, but it was negligible and saved us lugging skis and boots around every day.
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| stef88 wrote: |
p.s. parking I am unsure but I am sure it exists- you will have to do a bit of research - search on this fo
and if nothing set a thread up or something. If you arrived at the resorts around 8.30 am I would think it should be easy to find parking - provided parking exists. Maybe @HeidiAmsterdam, know a bit about parking?! |
I don't know about parking, I always got a transfer. But this time, I am renting a car, as the conditions aren't optimal, and I may want to explore montgenvre, which seems to have the best conditions at the moment, so I thought I'd drive over there... or least leave myself the option. Meaning: I'm looking for parking as well.
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You know it makes sense.
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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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Hi all,
So I'm here finally! I think the best way to some up the conditions are if you have skied a lot before you will probably be a bit disappointed but if you haven't skied too much you will still think it's pretty good! It's not too icy, just a bit hard and thin
There's a suprising amount of slopes open in sestriere and Sauze which are more than enough to keep you busy for 3-5 days. As they say, a day trip or two to montgenvre is probably needed for the more regular skiers though.
It's very warm but I don't think that will lead to piste closures. If it does, and I notice it I will comment!
Don't know anything about the sansicario link as I'm new here and i didn't get a chance to see how it all works. The skiing in the links is brown in places, shows how thin the snow is.
I'll try post again in a few days
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Poster: A snowHead
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| stef88 wrote: |
Hi all,
So I'm here finally! I think the best way to some up the conditions are if you have skied a lot before you will probably be a bit disappointed but if you haven't skied too much you will still think it's pretty good! It's not too icy, just a bit hard and thin
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We got back yesterday and had a wonderful time. Yes, got to MG if you can.
On the long slow two chair lift that goes up from Sauze to the bubble that takes you to Sestriere look at the run that goes under it. It did say 'Piste Closed' but that was due to exposed rocks rather than avalanche risk. Try it, it is wonderful. Have a fantastic week.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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From Crystal...
"RT @sauze_oulx_ski: The link to Sestriere is closed on Thursday so join us on our Ski Away Day to Montgenevre #Powder #NoRegrets http://pic.twitter.com/Qolo9bTrU8 "
Is this just a planned closure, regular thing or maintenance, just for the day? Or is this due to worsening conditions and likely to remain closed?
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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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@deadkenny, supposed to be closed for maintenance reopening Friday
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Thanks 
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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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You'll need to Register first of course.
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| Red Leon wrote: |
We're staying at the Hotel Splendid which may not be 'splendid' but looks OK and, more importantly, it looks to be in a decent location.
The TO blurb says it's 5 minutes' walk to the lift but there's some suggestion (on TripAdvisor!) that it may be only a 1 minute walk to the piste. It may also be possible to ski back from the piste almost to the hotel (depending on conditions, of course).
Is that true?
If the hotel is almost ski in / out, we'll need somewhere to keep the gear there but there's no mention of a boot room. Does anyone know if the hotel has a ski / boot room?
It's a bit of an uphill schlepp to the hotel from the bottom of the pistes so we may look to dump the gear somewhere down there if it's not possible to easily reach the Clutes piste from the hotel and vice versa.
The (very limited) website for Ski hire shop Eydallin Sport says they offer free lockers - has anyone used them?
Are they a decent hire shop or are there better alternatives?
And finally: it looks a long way to ski to Montgenevre and back. Is it a sensible day-trip for a couple of intermediates - or it a bit too far?
Any assistance much appreciated |
Red Leon...
The Hotel Splendid is perfectly good, it has a boot room and there is a flat road that leads straight to the Clotes piste (52 bassa) and from there down to the lift. The track is directly opposite the Splendid - if you look on Google Maps it's pretty obvious - there will be cars parked along it and from memory a sign than warns you off but everyone ignored it.
It is a fairly steep hike back from the bottom of the Clotes so when you're coming home keep an eye out for the cut through and just walk back the way you came when you set off instead of skiing right down. No need to mess about with lockers at the bottom.
Pray for snow - we're off there on Sunday and it's looking sketchy, definitely heading to MG but bus is the only option by the looks of it.
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| fishboy wrote: |
Red Leon...
The Hotel Splendid is perfectly good, it has a boot room and there is a flat road that leads straight to the Clotes piste (52 bassa) and from there down to the lift. The track is directly opposite the Splendid - if you look on Google Maps it's pretty obvious - there will be cars parked along it and from memory a sign than warns you off but everyone ignored it.
It is a fairly steep hike back from the bottom of the Clotes so when you're coming home keep an eye out for the cut through and just walk back the way you came when you set off instead of skiing right down. No need to mess about with lockers at the bottom.
Pray for snow - we're off there on Sunday and it's looking sketchy, definitely heading to MG but bus is the only option by the looks of it. |
Thanks for that - very useful.
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What are the chances of hiring a car in or near town?
Our group is on a package trip with coach transfer, but just looking at options to get elsewhere. Or maybe could hire at the airport and skip the coach.
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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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As far as I know the closest place to hire a car is Turin airport. We did this last week and it was €105 for the week. We booked a golf sized car but got a Peugeot 308 so had a bit more room. The journey is very easy motorway all the way except for the last 6km, only took an hour. As the skiing was so limited in Sauze we used the car to go to Montgenevre, Serre Chevalier and Orelle (3 Valleys) for day trips.
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Anyone got any updates for Sestriere this week? We are heading out in 3 weeks, just praying for some snow!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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forecast suggests some snow around 6th-10th. I'll believe it when I see it. Fingers crossed as I'm out the following week.
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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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Just got to San Sicario. All the links are open.
Just an update if anyone is coming to the area.
Cheera
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And it's snowing now. Not a moment too soon as the drag lift back from San sicario was nearly mud. But the skiing there yesterday was great. I think we were the first tourists of the season to go down the olympique alta which was very pleasing . Overall we had wall to wall sunshine for a week and with a couple of trips to montgenevre plenty to go at. Would love to come back here when it's all open. Good luck to those reading this as obsessively as I was a few weeks ago
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You know it makes sense.
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Hi all,
Sorry for the lack of updates second half of last week - alcohol and day trips to Montgenevre and Val Thorens took up the time. Great to hear the links from sansicario are open, that must have started this weekend?! Shame as I really wanted to ski that area.
Day trips to Montgenevre are fully recommended until the fresh snow comes - we went there twice, once on the free day with the lift pass and then it only costs 24 euros for an extension day there. As said earlier, Its still a bit thin in snow in places but as its had twice as much as Sauze, its just so much easier to ski on. It also has some great long pistes which are missing the Italian side at the moment. Definitely enough there for 2 good days skiing and cheaper than heading off anywhere else.
We also did a day trip to Val Thorens - taking the bubble up from Orelle - Orelle is only 30-45 mins from Sauze Doulx. The one drawback was the tunnel toll which was around 50 euros as you can only buy a week pass. So watchout for that if youre on a tight budget - also get there early to avoid the queues (or avoid the weekend as we had to wait 30 mins to get a lift pass).
All in all had a great week but thats because of the blazing sun and a person willing to go an extra mile to rent a car from Turin to get us around easier. Id like to go back to the VL, but next time it will be a last minute booking when I know there is snow. When its all open, it must be one of the best resorts for value for money in terms of ski area and variety. Lunch and beer prices are half the price than in Montgenevre and Val Thorens so after a week you would probably end a few hundred euros better off. Unfortunately I cant see a return anytime soon though as I like to see different places.
People out there now or soon, enjoy it! I hope the fresh snow comes.
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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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The weather reports have changed overnight, predicting some heavy snow in Sauze (depending on the source) from Saturday 6th Feb. Our prayers could be answered.... 
Anyone out there, keep up the great work with real-time updates. I'm over on 5th of March so no panic yet, especially if this prediction is to be believed.
Good luck All.
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Poster: A snowHead
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| Zdh4 wrote: |
The weather reports have changed overnight, predicting some heavy snow in Sauze (depending on the source) from Saturday 6th Feb. Our prayers could be answered....
Anyone out there, keep up the great work with real-time updates. I'm over on 5th of March so no panic yet, especially if this prediction is to be believed.
Good luck All. |
Not on th reports I've seen, but happy to be happy with such rumors!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@stef88, Glad you made the best of it.
When there is a lot of snow, it is just the most fun to ski, in addition to the friendly prices.
If you get a chance to go back when there is snow, do it. You won't regret!
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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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@stef88, there is a funny side to your build up and reports:
My son was also on Sauze last week with a bunch of mates, and had been constantly monitoring all possible snow reports etc before going.
He is also an occasional snowHead.
He got back yesterday and when I phoned I said I was glad to see that he had had a good time in spite of the thin snow....and asked him "I've read your reports, but why have you changed your username?"
"I haven't....what reports?"
Guess what his name is...
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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@rungsp, He's the other Stef we met. Think those boys consumed more alcohol than us 
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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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Anyone have any updates on Sauze D'Oulx ?
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Web cams were showing a slight dusting on the brown patches yesterday, but gone again today. Here's hoping for the good stuff at the weekend.
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My fingers are crossed for you all -its finally looking likely this place will get some snow it deserves! Shame I was out here two weeks too early, ah well I made the most of it!
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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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What are the current conditions like on the hill and in the town? Thanks
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@Jerby, +1
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FAQ
