2019 ideas, relatively affordable French Alps?

A snowHead

As this season winds down, we're looking ahead to Feb. 2019. We splurged this year, went to Valloire over Xmas and Val Gardena at half term. So...we can't spend that much next year. We're looking for a medium sized, affordable French station (preferably a village) with plenty of easy terrain for my wife, and easy access to that terrain (meaning, skibus or walking distance, would like to avoid driving). Night life is not an issue. Us: Two adults, two kids who will be almost 11 and 13 next February and who went thru ESF system. We don't need a ton of hard terrain, but a few accessible blacks and interesting reds would be great. We plan on driving from Paris in two days, so the southern alps are a possibility.

We've normally done bigger areas (ED, PdS, Serre Che). Valloire was the smallest station, and we liked it, but I wasn't a huge fan of the exposed terrain in mixed weather. So lots of tree runs are a plus. We'd be renting an apartment and cooking in except for pizza/fondue one or two nights.

I've made a longlist, below, loosely ranked. Anything rise to the top, and are there areas I'm missing?

La Clusaz/Grand Bornand (not small, I know, but easy drive)
Risoul/Vars (terrain looks good)
Les Contamines (I like the Beaufortain)
Other Maurienne resorts: We liked Valloire, so this seems like a good area to explore again.
Puy St. Vincent (too small?)
Montgenevre/Via Lattea (maybe too far for a drive?)
St. Veran (looks charming, but too small?)

Thanks in advance. Only thing better than planning a ski trip is the trip itself. Smile

A snowHead

@Pasigal, a bit mostly above the tree line but Aosta used to be French and e.g. Champoluc you can usually get by in French or English, tick most of the boxes. And better vfm (at least, restaurants are, than France).

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

@under a new name, Thanks, have considered Aosta before as the drive shouldn't be too bad, minus the Mont Blanc tunnel. Restaurants not a huge factor, but I do love me some Italian lunches.

We're focusing on France, one reason being that we'd like to start letting our kids ski by themselves a little bit, and as they are bilingual they will feel more comfortable in France.

You need to Login to know who's really who.

Les Contamines sounds perfect. PM @Brock for an apartment which is handy for pizza and lifts. It is on our 'to do again' list (along with everywhere else tbf). Only about 6ish hour drive from Paris. Plenty of tree runs. Some a bit more exposed up to the right side. A bit of 'off piste' (beside piste would be more accurate). Always seems to have decent snow. The only fault I could find was that the apartments near the lifts weren't near a decent supermarket. A five minute drive every couple of days to stock up on beer and pasta wasn't really a massive inconvenience though.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

@Thornyhill, Super, thanks for the endorsement. Definitely on the list. The only thing that gives me pause is a relative lack of easy home runs but perhaps I'm not reading the piste map correctly.

You'll need to Register first of course.

Another positive for view for Les Contamines.

My TR from 2012

There is a Sherpa near the lift station. Many download in the cable car rather than tackle the run home which is narrow and busy. Although we skied it most days.

Another place to look at is La Norma. My TR from 2012

Both good small to medium size ski areas with some skiing below the tree line - though IMO the bigger resorts over better options if that is a priority.

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

@Pasigal, You can get the gondola back down. Can't remember the names now but one of them spits you out about a 3-4 minute walk away from the apartment mentioned above. I don't know the guy. Found him through here. Don't even bother with the home runs. Fair drop in altitude, mucky manky slush and tired legs make it a chore rather than skiing. Think of Signal as your start and end point for skiing.

After all it is free

^^Mucky manky slush sounds horrific. But yes, I know it well! Thanks for advice about downloading.

*Ski* the Net with snowHeads

snowHeads are a friendly bunch.

@Pasigal, about time, surely, to start them on language #3, non? snowHead

snow reports

I'll throw Saint Gervais into your list, gives you the Les Cintamines option but with trees as well & a slightly larger town.

You know it makes sense.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

A snowHead

A snowHead

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

Also, any thoughts on La Clusaz/Grand Bornand vs. Les Contamines? Especially price-wise...thanks.

You need to Login to know who's really who.

I'll throw Les Gets into the mixture because I live here, and I work in an estate agents here Wink

I'd say it ticks all your boxes plus there are well contained areas for kids to go skiing by themselves but not have to go too far. My 9 year old went by himself for the first time this year...

We've got great reds, lots of tree runs, very accessible freeride areas and some fun black runs.
It's a village with everything central
If you stay in the La Turche or Les Perrieres area you pretty well never have to queue at the start of the day
Access to the Portes du Soleil
Loads of easy, wide cruisey runs with strategically placed restaurants for a fortifying drink

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

@MeMyselfandI, I've thought about LG for a while, have skied it as part of a PdS pass a few years ago and visited in summer. The one time I skied it, was mobbed during the French vacations (which we're sadly linked to).

I'm a little concerned about lack of altitude, but I'll add it to the list again, and add your site to the list Wink

. We have French friends with a studio apartment there who rave about it, and I know it's a really easy drive from Paris.

You'll need to Register first of course.

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

@Layne, Because it has been in the past in the PdS for us. There were a number of days in February when snow level was 1500m, with rain below that. We stayed in La Chapelle d'Abondance and Chatel, which are (IIRC) at 1000 and 1100 m.

If you're staying high, no problem, but LG is what, 1100 m or so? From 2013-15 we stayed in Les Saisies, at 1650 m and had only 2-3 rainy days.

After all it is free

@Pasigal, I believe Les Gets sits at an altitide of 1170 and yes the skiing is relatively low altitude but in your OP you said you didn't want exposure and wanted lots of tree skiing. You pays your money and takes your choice. If you go to Les Contamines for example you will have a bit more altitude and probably better snow but there isn't much tree skiing. And February is generally a good bet for colder temps and plenty of snow i.e., peak season. If people didn't go to Les Gets then, they never will.

@Layne, Yeah, I know. It's a trade-off. But there are some stations that have tree skiing and relatively high altitude.

I want it all, at an affordable price, and with good on-mountain food too!

*Ski* the Net with snowHeads

I think Montgenevre has everything you are looking for. The two mountain restaurants are good but they could do with more. We had some lunches in Claviere in the same ski area. There are also lots of places in the centre of the village at the foot of the main slopes.

snowHeads are a friendly bunch.

Can I throw in Les Carroz. Easy to reach from Paris (our neighbours from Paris regularly drive down on a Friday night and back on Sunday night), lots of options on s/c accom (Carroz Immobilier lead the pack on rentals), regular ski buses that run all day, lots of tree-lined skiing and also several 'you go down the blue, I'll go down the red/black and we'll meet at the bottom' options. There is a relatively nice blue down to the village, but also the option of downloading in the telecabine.

snow reports

You mentioned Vars/Risoul as a possibility; I'm now hankering after going there again next year, as you have spotted it has excellent terrain. Higher than you might think with trees up to well over 2000m, loads of accessible off piste above that. We were there the first week of half term and it was busy but with no big queues other than the gondola first thing. It seems like a small resort but with a big ski area, I'd compare it terrain-wise to La Plagne but much nicer and less busy.

Bit of a drive but probably cheaper than other resorts.

ps. I spent 2 months in Valloire last year, Vars has a much more varied ski area.

You know it makes sense.

@snowymum, @sj1608, @BoardieK, So much good advice, thanks to all of you!

Good to hear about Vars.

I hadn't really thought about the Grand Massif resorts, not for any real reason but just a feeling that we wanted to avoid that area. I love the Giffre Valley but frankly, not the Cluses area. It doesn't quite have that feel of getting away from it all probably because it's so close to the "flatlands." (Though, as you say, it's probably the closest "real" ski station to Paris by car.)

I think it's these "Tier 2" stations that are the hardest to decide on. You have to compromise on something, whereas with the big interconnected ski circuses there's something for everyone.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

@Layne, If I find that perfect place, I ain't tellin' nobody!

Maybe ski stations need to plant artificial trees up high. My aging eyes seem to struggle more with contrast every year.

A snowHead

@Pasigal, you'd never need to know that Cluses existed if you were in Les Carroz! We use Sallanches as our local town and ignore Cluses. Happy

A snowHead

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

if you want to save some money, look outside the French Alps IMHO.

You need to Login to know who's really who.

@kitenski, Don't need to go bare bones, but we do live in Paris and enjoy the ski culture here. Our kids are going thru the ESF system and we'd like them to finish. Just looking for something less expensive than the big interconnected stations.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

@Pasigal, I know you've said smaller, but Serre Chevalier ticks a lot of your boxes.

You'll need to Register first of course.

@Hells Bells, Loved Serre Che, especially Monetier-les-Bains, where you are. I'm envious! It's a possibility, but the Monetier section might be a little hard for my wife -- she's really still on greens and gentle blues. She wouldn't be able to make the Cuccumelle (sp?) link to the rest of the area, I'm pretty sure.

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

We've been to both Vars and Montgenevre. Both are really good for family trips though we chose them specifically to be too far south to be popular with the Parisian hordes, so potentially too far to drive. Vars was certainly noticeably cheaper than the big French resorts and is awash with snowparks.

We let the kids (then 11 and 10) loose in Vars for the first time one afternoon and they were fine. It was off a lift that serves a snowpark one way and some more cruisy stuff the other, so we regularly regrouped at the bottom of the lift. By the end of this year's foray to Montgenevre (15 and 14) they pretty much abandoned us other than to get fed! FWIW I think common sense and natural navigation ability are more important than language skills. My eldest doesn't speak French but has a natural ability to know where she is on the piste map. My youngest has the navigational skills of a housebrick but has just enough common sense to stick with her sister when they are "unleashed".

After all it is free

@The Flying Snowplough, thanks, definitely seriously considering Vars. We'll do the drive in two days so it's within reach of Paris.

@Pasigal, if this kind of thing is of interest, both Vars and Montgenevre have sizeable natural half-pipes. Our kids love them, and both parents liked the proper pistes than run alongside so there's no necessity to go into the confounded things.

*Ski* the Net with snowHeads

Help!!

2019 ideas, relatively affordable French Alps?

snowHeads Forum Index >>> Resort Reviews and Trip Reports