Poster: A snowHead
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Looking for a bit of advice from anyone in the know. Fancy a change of scenery this year and reckon we can do a'cheap' diy trip to sauze doulx end of January. My concerns are around how snow sure it is as a resort, how it would be for a group of mixed (adventurous and timid) intermediates and whether it's full of my pet hate - drag lifts. In terms of the snow cover I suppose it's weighing up the risk of booking now relatively cheaply or holding off and watching the prices rise and options limit if the snow improves. Any thoughts and advice appreciated.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Haven't been there for years, but IMHO it's great for intermediates of all persuasions!
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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've been twice in the past few years and it's a great resort. End of January shouldn't see too many problems with snow; resort height is 1500m which isn't low by any stretch. I'm pretty sure we only used one drag lift, and that is more of a short access lift from the top of the Sansicario side to get back to the top of Sauze. Some of the boarders in our group found another route to avoid it (down to halfway point of the Sestriere bubble and up) but other boarders found it just fine. Our group consisted from 2-3 weekers to advanced and we all found more than enough to keep us all very happy. Going January will be quiet in any case (and Sauze is rarely all that busy) but I was amazed how few Italians go off piste; we had a dump of snow while out there and i was still able to find fresh tracks 2-3 days later by venturing not too far off the sides of the pistes.
The bars in resort are also decent, it's lively without being too oi oi.
The small criticism I'd have (when we went anyway, 2014 and 2015) is that some of the lifts, while being 3 or 4 manners, are still the older, slower type and there were sometimes some choke points in certain areas (the lift up to the top of Sauze to ski down to Sestriere, for instance). But it's a small criticism, I don't think we ever waited for a lift for more than 5 or 10 minutes and most of the time we got on without any queue at all.
Personally, I've skied in over 20 European resorts and I wouldn't have any hesitation at all in going back to Sauze, it's a great ski area.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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As the others have posted, it's a great area for the group you describe with a large meeting platue "Sportina " at the top of the first lifts above the village giving a good central place to ski out of with cafés etc to allow mixing different levels of participation while leaving nobody out.
January doesn't usually give any problems booking even up to the last minute for most places in Europe, but worth looking at pricing schedules now which will tell you which week demand kicks up toward the Feb half term rush and if you are likely to be in that area, then to consider your advance booking with that in mind.
Snow is usually reasonable at end of Jan, but to temper that I've always felt that for me to book Sauze again, I'd try to wait and see conditions as much as I could before committing.
I think it's a great village, good atmosphere and decent people working there. Don't think you'd be disappointed.
Also by current measures, looks hopefully like a good season coming. In which case I'd rate it sublime for variable skills group.
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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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@the saint, Done Sauze twice, 2006 and 2014. Both times in January and snow cover was excellent (certainly 2014 and iirc 2006 was good although with a bit of crap weather thrown in). It's a great base for skiing the Milky Way and there is plenty to keep both adventurous and timid intermediates happy. Good bars and restaurants; lively if you want it but there are also some quieter bars. 2006 we did a Crystal package and stayed in hotel Gran Baita. 2014 we were diy and had an apartment about 5mins walk from Clotes lift. Not too many drag lifts to spoil a good holiday? I'd happily go back again.
Forgot to add that it's a nice short transfer from Turin
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Great to see all the +ve reports. Seems like neither of my concerns (lack of snow and drag lifts) should be a problem unless we were really unlucky with the weather this year
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So bit the bullet and booked sauze 4th to 11th Feb. Can anyone recommend a good and reasonably priced transfer option or a company they've used before. We don't want to hire a car and while public transport seems an option it involves a train and two buses. There's five of us. Thanks
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@the saint, From Turin airport you should be able to book a private transfer (minibus thing) for about £60 return (you said you were a group of 5 people - £300 total)
The real bonus with the private transfer is it gets you right to your door and the drivers hammer along. It takes just over an hour from Turin.
Theres a couple of places to sort this out from but I cant recommend James @ sauzeonline enough!
https://www.sauzeonline.com/airport-transfers/
Resort wise... its one of my favourites. Theres a new lift and 2 new pistes this year as well to explore!! I'll be there the week before you and I'll keep this site up to date with weather and conditions reports!
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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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Decent memories of Suaze. I stayed in the hotel that looks like a toilet roll about 16 years ago and then in the hotel next to the nightclub about 11 years ago. Both times conditions were good and there was enough nightlife to keep you entertained.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Why is it the moment you book a ski trip you then spend every day checking snow reports/ weather forecasts etc even when it's 9 weeks away!?!.....or is it just me?
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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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Not just you .!!!! .i have 43 sleeps till i get on first trip and cant stop looking at webcam and ive now joined the resorts facebook page and its wall to wall pictures ... god i love skiing 😀😀. Sauze is where i managed to smash my tibial plateau on my 50th birthday so i have fond memories of the place😂😂😂
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@yorkshirelad, nothing more nostalgic than that first tibial plateau smash!
@the saint, If you look carefully, you can see people up the top of Fraiteve... I'm green with envy!!
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