 Poster: A snowHead
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hi fellow snowheads, just back from a trip to Combloux for half term, (first ever family ski trip and first time back for 10yrs for us) absolutely loved the place and even the OH was encouraging me to look into booking for 2017 half term even with the disappointment of our youngest fracturing a bone in her knee and being in plaster for half the week.
I know we are still just over the mid point of this season, but am itching to start looking into 2016/17
But apart from a couple of rooms at a hotel overnight on the way out, cannot book accommodation yet for 2017 but will try and book when I can as there is no financial commitment at this point.
Now here is the rub, I must admit I am a bit of a bah humbug when it comes to xmas, kids obviously love the presents but none of us are that bothered about xmas dinner and it annoys the life out of me with all the faffing about with either visiting or having visitors, and having dreary uk weather.
I might try and tentatively broach the subject about getting away at xmas this year instead.
we do everything diy (self-drive) anyway so it can b done on a reasonable budget
If she goes for it I will look into booking accommodation for both holidays if I can, where I can cancel nearer the time without penalty depending on the snow and book transport when decided upon.
I know the last two festive periods were not great, but did any fellow SH's have any experience of either resort last xmas, and if so what were the conditions like?
has anyone else taken this gamble before, and if so did it work out??
cheers
terry
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@terrygasson, there was limited piste skiing at Christmas but there was skiing (we had guests do a week of ski school and jump up 2 award levels for example so they had a choice of pistes). Absolutely no off piste and wasn't 'snowy'. But it was beautiful and sunny. Christmas is a gamble because it's early season but you can't decide on the basis of what happened the year before. I've done 7 winters here and there was plenty of skiing in Combloux for 4 of them, ok for 1 of them, and limited skiing for 2 of them. If you are a bit bah humbug about Christmas then it's great to be in the mountains - it's beautiful, everyone's in a good mood and it's 'festive' without all the hassle and faff that comes with Christmas. We have a tree and host a Christmas Dinner. Not sure what they do in Combloux but Father Christmas visits the village here on Christmas Eve and hands out presents to kids etc. but you could easily avoid all that if you wanted to.
I love going for a ski on Christmas Day; however, you just don't know what conditions will be like at Christmas until the 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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@terrygasson, the snow conditions were very poor throughout the area at christmas - and new year - this last season. The bottom of Praz sur Arly (nursery area) was actually quite good because the fierce temperature inversions had enabled them to blow snow down there, when it was impossible higher. But most of Praz sur Arly (very comparable to the Megeve side of the valley, just next door and generally better than the other - Combloux - side) was rubbish, frankly, with a few runs of artificial snow open. But that was true across many alpine areas, not just in France, of all but the highest resorts - and even they weren't too wonderful, either. The conditions then were particularly bad but in general I think it's fair to say that conditions at Christmas/New Year are rarely as good as they are at half term. Half term throughout the area this year was pretty good.
I would strongly encourage you to do Christmas rather than New Year though. Accommodation is cheaper but, more importantly, the slopes and roads much less busy. And Christmas in the mountains is so much better than in the UK - incomparable! My 6 year old grand daughter loved her ski lessons, on the poor snow, at Christmas and my daughter and SiL enjoyed their skiing (there was a fair bit open up in Les Saisies) but one big disappointment was the lack of anywhere to toboggan. At New Year my niece and family, staying in a neighbouring apartment to mine, did manage to do a couple of runs every day but didn't bother to do more - they are very keen skiers but found the crowded pistes, narrower than usual, nerve wracking. Les Saisies was very crowded, not least because although the skiing was poor, it was better than anywhere else around. There were masses of coaches every day. The difference between Christmas and New Year week was very marked.
IME most French apartments will want a deposit on booking, which you would presumably lose if you cancel (you would if it were my apartment  ), and then the balance paid some weeks (varies) before.
I've been in the area every Christmas since 2002. Mostly OK skiing, occasionally spectacularly good, spectacularly bad twice and fairly bad once. That's probably a reasonable illustration of the odds.
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@terrygasson, have a car so you can pick and choose and spend a day in different areas so it's not too repetitive if the skiing is really limited.
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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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We have done a number of Christmas holidays in St Gervais over the last decade or so. Some have been spectacular, some fine and a few poor.....With an 18 year old miles and speed freak the couple of extremely poor years like last year we cut our losses and headed to warmer climes instead. Although we did do few years in an apartment which we knew well, which necessitated booking early, the majority of the time we just left it until last minute when we had a sense of what we could expect from the snow.
As Miranda and Pam have both said, even in a poor year it beats Christmas at home for anyone of even a slightly bah humbug persuasion but also agree that except in exceptional years when there's plenty of on and off piste to disperse the masses, you would struggle to pay me enough to do New Year
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have a car so you can pick and choose and spend a day in different areas so it's not too repetitive if the skiing is really limited
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Good point. We had an enjoyable day down in Praz, where my grand-daughter went round and round the nursery drag on her own, using up the points on her pass and feeling very grown up. We had a picnic in the very nice new "salle hors sac" there, went for a walk along the river and played in the snow with the 3 year old. Who was entranced with the artificial snow, compared to the ancient hard, baked, stuff she'd been playing with in Les Saisies. "I didn't know there was soft snow!" she exclaimed in wonder. Her parents could have done a few runs up the Cret du Midi lift, but decided it was not worth buying a pass given what was on offer.
It could well be worth a trip over to Les Contamines if the local skiing wasn't too great. The top area of east facing runs there is usually pretty good.
The weather was wonderful, up in the mountains (much colder down in the valleys, and darker in mid winter). My daughter and niece spent hours one afternoon just walking, up to 2000m, on our south facing slope which was practically devoid of snow.
I realise this doesn't sound too inviting to keen skiers who want to ski dawn till dusk. But the point is that, at Christmas - like very late season - you do need to be flexible about the way you spend your time, and to adapt to the conditions available. And surely practically anything is better than watching the dratted telly in the UK?
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@terrygasson, I will be just round the corner from you in St Gervais & I am looking upon snow as a bonus, just the idea of being away at Christmas is enough to make my mind up. I am sure it will feel far more festive than blighty.
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thanks @miranda , @pam w, have skied xmas before both on holiday and working out there and have always loved it, but would love the kids to experience (hopefully) snowy weather in the mountains.
is it me, or did it not used to be busier (and dearer) Christmas than new year? it certainly seemed that way when i worked in the alps, and took an interest in the prices after that, or is it just the fog of time playing tricks with me?
with regards to the accommodation, I normally use booking.com, and they allow cancellation without penalty on a lot of the properties they advertise up to very close to the travel date.
I assume the owners are happy with this, or would not offer this service, I am also in a business where clients have cancelled at the last minute and I have to had to find alternative work for my employees as well as myself, i know it is not ideal but assume they have added a premium on to the price just in case.
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