Samoens first week of January

A snowHead

Hi, we're a group of 4 (mixed beginner and intermediate ability) and have some time off work in the first week of January. I've seen a 5 night deal in Samoens village that looks good, we love the look of the place and understand we'd be reliant on bus/gondola to get us up to the slopes.

Is it risky going at this time of the season though for decent snow? Will Flaine provide decent slopes at that time even if lower slopes don't have good snow cover?

Also, our first day skiing would be the 5th Jan, so I'm assuming most of the New Year rush on the lifts will have settled by then? Thanks!

A snowHead

Welcome to snowheads!

First week in January you should be fine, don't expect the runs from Samoens 1600 down to Vercland or even Cascades to be open necessarily, but you can be pretty sure that everything from 1600 up should be fine. Equally, Flaine should be absolutely fine by then too I think (though of course anything "could" happen).

Grand Massif is a good option to staying reasonably high as you can ski down to around 1300/1400 for most lifts including those on Morillon and Les Carroz without going to the resort base itself.

I've not been that week in January to Samoens myself but that week tends to be amongst the quietest of the season from experience. And Samoens is a nice enough little town, hopefully it will have snowed to the valley too for you as it can look a little sorry if its wet and muddy though.

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We were in Morillon the same time a couple of years ago. Had a great time even though that was the year of no snow all through Christmas and a number of resorts were very limited. Flaine was OK, but it is rocky so needs a good depth and some was closed. Most of the mid level above Morillon/Samoens though is in the trees and over smoother ground so that was in good condition and only the very low level runs suffered. I think that was an exceptionally poor year and the area was still really good so you should be fine. The place was pretty quiet

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@edallen41, I have spent New Year in Samoens for the last 10 years with my family and while it can be a little sketchy as it is very early in the season, the snow conditions are usually fine. At this time of year though you are unlikely to have the picture postcard experience of the town covered in snow.

As @bigtuboflard mentioned, routes to Vercland and Morillon Village may well be closed but downloading to Samoens is well organised on the Grand Massif Express.

Flaine usually has good coverage and is in good condition by mid-late December. Flaine is considered to be a fairly snow sure resort - http://www.weathertoski.co.uk/our-blog/top-5-snow-sure-ski-resorts-near-geneva/ but beginner zones are also usually fine for snow in Samoens and Les Carroz. If your beginners can navigate their way down Perce Neige (blue - but hectic with people as it's a bottle neck from the Tete des Saix) Les Carroz has the better beginner zone particularly now that Club Med has taken over the Char piste for themselves. Once the beginners have found their legs on Coin Coin, Plein Soleil is fantastic for developing skills. In general, Flaine is more suited to advanced and intermediates but Meleze (green) and the bottom of Serpentine are good starting points for beginners.

Early January is always going to be a risk (probably part of the reason for the good looking deal). For instance last New Year was one of the worst for snow I've ever seen, however, thanks to a lot of hard work from the Grand Massif crew the area stayed open despite reports that some of the neighbouring higher resorts were re-opening their mountain bike trails. The risk is lower at the highest resorts Tignes, Val Thorens etc. but these tend to be more expensive.

The 5th -7th January are likely to be very quiet on the slopes. It may get slightly busier from the 8th as the weekly arrivals will be getting their first day's skiing in.

Samoens is a charming town and the bus/gondola start and finish really doesn't feel like an ordeal but renting a car may be more convenient depending on where your accommodation is.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Hi All
planning to go in Feb -school holidays for the first time (usually we go in March- no snow in the village) do i need snow tires, what is the Cluses to Samoens pass snow-wise? cheers for replies

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You should be fine and have a good time. the services to the gondola are very good and won't be overly busy. If you go post where you are staying for a more complete answer re the buses or bars or where to eat for that matter. Perce Neige is only at issue at going home time not all day.
@kedsky, Half term can be very snowy - think recent "snowmaggedon". If serious enough the police won't let you up the hill from Cluses without chains. Snow tyres on 4wd not normally an issue but think it depends on how they are feeling about UK cars!

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

@kedsky, I suggest posting your question on a new thread if you haven't done so already

After all it is free

Can I ask about the deal you saw as I'm interested in that resort myself.
The short transfers are appealing.

@coolhandluke It was through Alps Accommodation - the deal I wanted had gone a couple of hours earlier unfortunately, but we've booked something similar through them for Morillon Village instead as we found a 6 night option that fit our dates (so maximum time on the piste)!

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Thanks for the info , have stayed in Morillion 1100 but it's kinda life less at night and the village in the valley isn't much better , still I hope you enjoy your week and snow conditions are good for you.

Help!!

Samoens first week of January

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