Poster: A snowHead
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@mgrolf, Las Ros is famous for its exposure to the wind so you've seen it in typical conditions
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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So, the final day. The fun kicked off around 04:00, with the other chalet guests departing at 04:20 and 04:50.
Our room was right next to the chalet door, so we heard them leave but as we'd said our goodbyes last night, we just pulled our duvets over our heads and tried to ignore the kerfuffle.
Let's try again...breakfast at 08:00, finish the packing as far as possible, dump bags in the car and head out onto the deserted slopes. Even in the chalet, we could hear the wind whistling over the roof, so the plan was to head low, and avoid the lifts above La Ros. But Petit Bois was closed, so we had little choice other than to go up, and be buffeted by the howling gale. It wasn't cold, but with mini_mg virtually being blown sideways off the pistes, and bone-rattling snow (and a fair few death cookies) we admitted defeat after the 3rd lift. If this had been our last day skiing this winter, it might have been different, but we're lucky enough to be going again at Easter so rule 5 was not applied. On a family ski holiday, if it's not fun, why bother?
That left us with plenty of time to sort out ski kit, visit the tat shop (important, apparently), and grab food for lunch in the Carrefour before heading down the mountain towards Geneva. The roads were pretty much deserted, going out, until we hit a short delay in Annecy. Once clear of that we made good time to Geneva, arriving at our hotel (Ibis Budget) mid afternoon. The girls tuned in to an Olympics programme on Swiss TV while I took the hire car back to the airport. Car rental returns was chaotic and I had to lap the car park a couple of times before finding a space to pull in to. The check in was perfunctory, pretty much just checking the fuel and mileage, and signed off without problems so now we just have to watch for late charges on the credit card.
All that's left now are 2 flights and a short drive back home to the frozen north. It's not forecast to get above -5 for the next 10 days, so there's a decent chance the sea will freeze I think. Brrrrr.
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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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@mgrolf, always a shame when it's sh i tty on the last day. I've had a couple of epics and a couple like yours!
Safe travels.
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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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Some thoughts on Ski Beat as an operator, and their chalets in La Rosiere, in case anyone searches the forum. They use Lyon, so the transfer is quite long (if you use their travel - we didn't). Saturday arrival was between 15:00 and 16:00, without much delay on the route in. Departures at 4 something would noir have been our cup of tea.
The chalet itself was fine (Papillon 1) aside from the usual problem of nowhere to hang stuff. Rooms were small but similar to other chalets we've stayed in. The view out was limited by the buildings opposite and was more from the table than the lounge area; Papillon 5 had a much better view. Saunas were ok, if a bit pokey. Hot water was good in the evenings but took forever to run hot in the mornings. The building was in two halves, with lots of stairs between and a confusing layout, so be aware of this of booking into several chalets as a group.
Most chalets had a single host/chef, with a couple of extra "floaters". We were lucky in that our host had a catering background so our food was generally good; if we'd had the typical gap year seasonnaire, it could have been hit and miss.
The boot room was downstairs, and a decent size though it would have been a squash if everyone left at the same time. Going out, you either had to walk 10m across the road and then about 100m up a track (which I skated a couple of times), or pout the back of the chalet and up a steeper but shorter track before putting skis on. Coming back, you could ski to within 10m or so. Not quite ski in ski out, but not bad.
Overall, pretty good and we'd go again if we wanted to go to La Ros.
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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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And a somewhat delayed final post, maybe topical seeing as the beast from the east appears to be causing havoc back in the UK. Retrieving my car from the car park, I was very glad I packed my avalanche gear. It may not have seen productive use in France, but the shovel was useful for digging my car (and a random stranger's car) out from behind the snow left behind by the snowplough. Always be prepared
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