 Poster: A snowHead
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When hiring a car from the airport, we often like to ski somewhere different on arrival day compared to departure day.
Unfortunately this can make ski hire a hassle. On departure day you have to drive down from the resort you've skied at, then back up to the resort you rented from the previous weekend. A waste of potential skiing time and lots more windy roads. Hiring skis from somewhere close to the airport, in the valley, removes this issue.
Next year I suspect we'll be doing this out of Geneva. Is there anywhere (cheap) to hire skis (edit: and boots) close to the A40, between the airport and approximately Cluses? e.g. Annemasse, Bonneville, Geneva itself, Cluses...
Lanches Sports in Annemasse seems to be an option, but at €100+ for a week per person, it's quite expensive.
Last edited by Poster: A snowHead on Tue 29-01-19 19:23; edited 1 time in total
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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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 am presuming you are asking for a recommendation rather than just asking someone to google for you because you are too lazy, I have no recommendation as the one I'd have suggested closed but google comes up with this not too far from the airport http://www.technosurf.ch/en/content/6-remise
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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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Compared to your Chamonix link €100 isnt' expensive(!), but it's 50% more than what we would usually pay.
I have googled already (hence Lanches Sports), but wondering if somebody might know if somewhere else which I haven't found. I'm not asking you to Google it for me...
I hadn't come across your second (Geneva) link. Seems to be 155CHF for a week when you add in boots (sorry, didn't make it clear that I need them too), which is still quite a lot. In my opinion.
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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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It's difficult to find much at all for ski hire along that level of the valley, nothing much comes to light.
Not strictly on the route you listed but could be of use http://www.mieuski.com/ serves the ski area of Pra D Lys but is down on the base level road between Taninges and Geneva suburbs (if you go that way  to Giffre valley).
Depend on where you are heading, it may let you plan around it without climbing to a village you're not skiing as it's an easy run into Geneva area from there.
Cost I haven't checked.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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@denfinella, he he. Hmmm, Concept is about as high end as you get, new kit, etc.
I can’t imagine you get anything worth skiing on at €100 for skis and boots!
There’s got to be something in Bonneville or Cluses.
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https://locaski.info/location/ in Carouge, Geneva. Their opening hours are not brilliant if you're just going for the weekend....but you can drop things off on a Monday morning.
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We used to use https://shop-skiclinic.fr/?lang=en in Cluses, but they stopped doing rental this year. Plenty of shops in Cluses you can use, some in the centre with the Carrefour and others in the main drag. I think 100euros for skis and boots for the week is cheap.
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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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Thanks all, lots of helpful suggestions. I've now looked at all of the places above.
It seems like the cheaper option is to hire from Sunday to Saturday in our main resort (about €55), then hire separately for wherever we go on arrival day (about €25).
Not a huge saving (€20+ per person) but also cuts down on driving, and we'd have the shop close to hand if there were any issues with the equipment.
Or, hire in the main resort for all 8 days. Cheaper still, but difficult to visit somewhere else on arrival day without losing out on skiing time.
Edit: hang on, Lanches Sport in Annemasse (in my first post), is €69 through Skiset. And probably less with a discount code...
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@denfinella, Lanches isn't actually in Annemasse, but the next commune over, Ville-La-Grand, probably a 40 minute round trip drive from the motorway junction.
Got to admit, what's so appealing about going somewhere different on the 1st day?
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@under a new name, true. Google maps suggests 9 minutes from the motorway junction, so 20 minute round trip. Not too bad...
In my opinion there are lots of appealing reasons to ski somewhere different on the 1st day - though I should say that whether it's worth it depends on the time of your flights and where you are going for the main week.
1. More skiing time on arrival / departure day. For example (and this is an extreme example), let's say you leave Geneva airport at 10.30am on Saturday, need to be back the following Saturday at 6pm (as was the case for us last week), and are spending a week in Tignes. I'm assuming that it'll take an hour's "faffing" plus driving time to get onto the slopes, accounting for parking, picking up ski hire, picking up a packed lunch, getting changed etc.
- if you go to Tignes to ski, 3hrs drive + 1hr faff = 2.30pm on the slopes (assuming good traffic)
- if you ski at Le Semnoz on the way, 1hr drive + 1hr faff = 12.30pm on the slopes i.e. double the skiing time (and less likely to be held up by traffic as it's a shorter journey)
Obviously you still then have to drive to Tignes, but you can do that once the lifts have shut. And the same sort of thing on departure day. For the resorts along the A40 the differences in driving time are less pronounced, but read on...
2. It's interesting to go to a new resort. We've loved our recent single days in Aprica, Pejo, Monte Altissimo, Cordon and the Scottish resorts. We wouldn't want to go to any of them for a week, but they're great for a day... and better because it's all new for us.
3. If you're going to a mid-sized ski area for the week, after 6 days we might be looking for some new terrain. Being able to ski somewhere else on the 7th and 8th days gives us that option. Again, doesn't apply to everyone - some people might be happy skiing Sainte Foy for a week, or they might be interested in off piste (which adds options).
4. Saving on lift passes. Usually the difference between a 7 and 8 day pass in a major resort is 30+ euros each. An afternoon pass at a small resort might be 15 euros. It adds up...
5. Flexibility. Using the extreme Tignes example again, if it's windy and snowy on arrival day it's not going to be much fun skiing there, and the lifts might be closed. But there are numerous more sheltered resorts en route which are more likely to stay open, with tree runs for visibility. On the other side of the coin, snow might be less reliable in some of the lower resorts, but unlikely to be an issue in mid season.
Does any of that make sense? I understand it doesn't appeal to everyone, but for our situation we've found that we really enjoy skiing somewhere different on arrival / departure day.
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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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@denfinella, (Lanches) not with Saturday traffic it's not!! You could spend 40 minutes just getting out of the Industrial Zone! To be avoided.
Ah, (1) good point if you are heading somewhere further away. That makes sense, as does (5). Also gives weather related flexibility.
I don't get the "new terrain" argument, but that's just me. I'm as happy looping Cornu for a few hours (despite 12 Chamonix winters) as I am setting out across the PdS.
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@under a new name, fair enough. Thanks for the traffic tip - might continue looking around.
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