 Poster: A snowHead
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How can you find out when the resorts are actually closing this year? I fancy going on the 15th April or even later but imagine that a lot of resorts are closing the Tuesday after Easter, despite the good snow.
I remember going to Madonna di Campiglio in the first week in April one year and discovering that half the lifts closed the day after we arrived!
Are there any resorts out there where they will keep open beyond their schedule closing date. How about Flaine, for example, where the snow still looks great?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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tessaventer, Have a look at the resort website ? Pages displaying lift ticket prices often show closing and opening dates too.
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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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Ski, but that's precisely my point. The Dolomiti ski website is showing 'uphill facilities available until 18th April', but surely they will in fact be open later?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Val Thorens, Tignes will be open until the first week of May. Arc 2000 the last week of April. There are others.
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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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tessaventer, I know that a lot of the Italian areas have an agreement with the electricity companies. The electricity companies will supply the huge amounts of electricity only until a certain date, so no matter how much snow they have got and the extra weeks they could stay open they can't. I think the French resorts are more flexible and if there is good conditions they will stay open until the snow is not good enough.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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| Dan wrote: |
| tessaventer, I know that a lot of the Italian areas have an agreement with the electricity companies. The electricity companies will supply the huge amounts of electricity only until a certain date, so no matter how much snow they have got and the extra weeks they could stay open they can't. I think the French resorts are more flexible and if there is good conditions they will stay open until the snow is not good enough. |
I don't know about the electricity deal but it might well be true, I have to say I doubt it though, the time we're talking is when excess capacity is going to be at the highest, no air con in operation ,heating off and more hydro than the grid can handle so that sounds like silly punter nonsense bar talk to me 
The problems opening a week longer for a large station are more mundane, the staff have other commitments, the insurance cover has expired, the wage bill won't justify the ticket revenue, the hotels shut for the same reason etc etc.
The only flexibility I've ever noticed are smaller stations with lower overheads, ie run by a handful of local farmers, who manage a few days extra or keep some weekend opening. I'd be interested to know if you have any actual examples of a significant size station staying opening. I can think of times when a couple of lifts were planned to be opened and a couple have been added but not much else.
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ise, definately true for the Sauze, Sestriere etc - Vialetta (Milky Way) area when I spoke to one of the tops bods there earlier this year on a slow chair up from Sportinia. I can't remember how the conversation started but I think it was over the fact there had been little snow etc and how worried they were about the snow levels for the olympics. He said last year at the end of the season there was so much snow around and fantastic conditions but they couldn't open the lifts due to the electricity agreements, not staffing problems as i suggested. Obviously all the points you made are very true as well.
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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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tessaventer, Having gone through a recent excercise of finding somewhere to ski the last weekend in April I can say your options are limited.
Vald 'Isere/Tignes openuntil 1 May, that's where we're heading.
Val T also open of course.
Then these Les Deux Alpes. Apart from that I think everywhere else in France closes at least one week before, although I'm open to corrections.
Into Italy there's Cervinia. Switzerland has Zermatt open (just the Matterhorn sector, Sunnega and Gornegrat close the week before). Saas Fee main area open, smaller areas (Saas Grund etc) close week before.
Didn't look at Austria too much, but Stubai would get my vote - certainly St Anton closes the week before and I couldn't find any other non-glacier resort open.
Hope this helps.
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tessaventer, Sorry have just re-read your oringinal post. If you're heading out 15/4 then you have plenty of options, it's the week after that I was referring to.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Howabout Finnish Lapland? It may not be the Alps, but daylight continues until at least 9pm in the evening, temps are good and snow guaranteed! 
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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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tessaventer, La Rosiere is open until the 23rd April, there's huge amounts of snow at the moment with more forecast, if you're looking for somewhere to saty we have availability for that week and there's a few snowheads around.
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Verbier open until end of April. We are there that weekend.
Actually I'm gutted that they are closed on Monday 1st May...because then I could have said that I skied for a six month season 
Given the very warm spell at the moment, and expected next week the skiing might be a bit limited by then!
Still...if there are lifts open, and (just) enough snow...we will be skiing it.
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You know it makes sense.
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| Quote: |
Given the very warm spell at the moment, and expected next week the skiing might be a bit limited by then!
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The depth of snow is excellent for the time of year, despite the warm weather, but even if there's two metres underneath, if the top 12 inches is "de la soupe", it's still not much fun after about 2 pm. But what's wrong with getting out early, ski-ing hard all morning then stopping for a very late lunch and lolling in a deckchair all afternoon? Or going on a walk on snowshoes in the afternoon, if you feel more energetic. The last few days, when the nights have been warmish, the pistes have been fantastic for the first few hours of the morning (as opposed to icy). Obviously best to stay higher, and to find some east facing slopes, but still well worth doing. And right now, it's snowing like it means it at 1500m after six hours of rain/sleet this morning. It won't last, but will be great tomorrow morning. With late holidays, just be flexible and go with the flow. The pistes will be quiet and the daylight hours very long. Take lots of sunscreen and some good books for rainy days! In my very limited experiences the lifts will close when they say. Apart from all the problems of insurance, staff contracts etc, there just aren't many punters around in late April, however nice the snow.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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demos, That sounds very tempting - you sound like you've been?
I think most of the Alpes have pretty good contitions - we have here in ADH although a little slushy at the bottom in the afternoon - pam w, Def my sort of a day!! Strange that the resorts seem to be quiet - after all the snow we've had you would have thought that the last-min bookings would be going crazy - what are the thoughts on that? Good conditions, no queues and no guests either???!
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Poster: A snowHead
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Going back up a few posts, my understanding is that in some resorts (at least this is what I was told some years ago...) the workers are on fixed contracts. This means two things, both related to French employment law.
1: They have fixed end dates to their contracts - which also allows better summer planning - they're usually seasonal jobs aren't they?
2: If a resort has to close early and lay off its workers, it's difficult or not impossible to do so as that would jeopardise the workers unemployment situation. No idea any more than that, but I have seen resorts close mid Feb, then get a huge dump and not be able to open again.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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My apartment has had guests in for the last seven weeks without a break. A few days empty now though, then a short break before we go for Easter.
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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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| Helen Beaumont wrote: |
| My apartment has had guests in for the last seven weeks without a break. A few days empty now though, then a short break before we go for Easter. |
When you buying the next one? Well done.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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boredsurfin, not for a while after the communal electric bill I received yesterday. Fortunately it was swiftly follwed by an email stating that it was wrong. It is still more for the electricity for the communal areas then I have paid for the apartment's electricity though, so not sure how that one worked, but they did give me a copy of the EDF bill.
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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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David Murdoch, you're correct, there are set dates for the completion of contracts.
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Val disere is now staying open untill the 8th may acccording to there website
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Squaw - 29th May
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sarah@alpedhuez, coming from Finland, I know what I am talking about...
Though a word of warning, the party season's on there seriously now and it will go on until about mid-April, starts to calm down and then 1 May is a big celebration again. And indeed, it's not the Alps.
Just choose Ruka, Yllas or Pyha, and it should be decent skiing. I have a friend who some years back skied one of the blue north-side pistes of Ruka in the mid-summer evening under midnight sun...
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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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demos, Wao...... sounds fabulous!
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