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Les Arcs 2019 - 2020 (Useful links are added to the first post)

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Looks like myself and a lot of other travellers were almost told winter tyres were better than chains, as I had the chains refunded and winter tyres added. Would have been nearly 70 Euro cheaper to leave with normal tyres and take chains. Anyhow its done, first time I've rented a car for our ski trip so lessons to be learn't for the next one.
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
johnE wrote:
@dogsheds, probably heresy to say it here, but I never bother with winter tyres and on dozens of trips to les arcs have only used chains twice. Chains are obiligory winter tyres are not
I think it depends a lot on which part of Les Arcs you are driving to. The road up as far as 1600 very rarely has snow on it of any significance, not least because all the traffic going up the hill travels on it so can help to keep it clear. From 1600 to 1800 the road has tricky driving conditions because of snow more often (higher altitude, less traffic), so chains will be required slightly more often. Ditto the road up to Arc 2000, will have difficult driving conditions more often than the road to Arc 1800.

It then depends on the 'local' roads in your village. My place is at the top end of Arc 1800, gets far less traffic than the main road to the village centre and is a bit steeper and twistier. As a result it will always have more snow on it than the main roads. And then from that road I have a small private road which serves our underground garage. This gets no passing traffic, only the cars heading to our building, and despite being ploughed at least four times a day when it is snowing will often need chains fitted for the 100m drive up the road from our garage.

I do whatever it takes to ensure my car has winter tyres, whether that be on my own car or rentals. I don't think I've ever needed to fit chains to a car with winters when driving to Les Arcs, and over the years have frequently passed people reaching under a wheel arch in inclement conditions as they struggle to fit chains. On those occasions the additional cost of hiring at the Swiss side of GVA or buying a set of winters for my car seems like great value for money!
ski holidays
 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?
Hi,

Long time lurker but first time poster.

Our ( 3 guys) accomodation has fallen through on our original holiday and looking to head to Les Arcs/ Vallandry on Wednesday till Sunday this week, can any one point us in the direction of last minute accomodation as every thing online seems to only be a week or looks dire!
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@clumsen, you could try the solutions room on chalets direct?
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
@clumsen, ring Les Arcs tourist office. Details on website, if it’s this short notice ring them.
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 You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
@clumsen, there are reasonably priced hotels in Bourg that do day by day bookings' the Autantic and Base camp lodge may be suitable:
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
in La plagne you can try the Araucaria Hotel & Spa - or the ho36 La Plagne. 2 option that should have rooms at different ends of the market
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
dogsheds wrote:
Looks like myself and a lot of other travellers were almost told winter tyres were better than chains, as I had the chains refunded and winter tyres added. Would have been nearly 70 Euro cheaper to leave with normal tyres and take chains. Anyhow its done, first time I've rented a car for our ski trip so lessons to be learn't for the next one.

In marginal situations winters may render chains not needed and in general will be safer than normal/summer tyres. But if a lot of snow and/or if the gendarmes say so only chains will do.

As Rob says it also depends a bit on the village you are staying.
snow conditions
 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.
@rob@rar, The road to Arcs 1600 is indeed always busy and hence clear. In fact the road to our apartment is the same road used to deliver most goods to the Cachette hotel and shops in 1600 so has a lot of HGVs on it. The central large dustbins are also just outside which means the rubbish carts are there every day emptying them (the hotel appears to generate a lot of waste and empty bottles). This is, of course, also a nuisence since they are often active at 6 am making noise. Our biggest problem is usually snow build up once parked. It can take upto 3 hours to dig the car out from over a metre of snow and clear a track to the almost clear road past the snow plough ridges (they are often frozen and need serious hackeing to get past.
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 Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Layne wrote:
In marginal situations winters may render chains not needed and in general will be safer than normal/summer tyres. But if a lot of snow and/or if the gendarmes say so only chains will do.
Indeed, there will be occasions when no chains means you don't get up the hill, regardless of what you're driving and what it is shod with. But I think those times are fairly rare, and I've only seen one occasion when the police were requiring vehicles to fit chains. It was a very snowy Saturday at the start of the season (at least 30cm of fresh in Bourg), and snowing heavily. The police were stationed at the chainage area by the EDF power station at the bottom of the hill, stopping every vehicle. The only things getting through without needing to fit chains appeared to be 4x4 with winter tyres fitted, everyone else had to fit chains immediately or turn around. Fortunately I was let through, with a cheery "bon chance", and the drive up to my place in Arc 1800 was pretty sketchy, especially from the Arc 1600 roundabout upwards. Made it OK without having to fit chains, which I was happy with as I absolutely hate fitting chains.
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 snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
@rob@rar, likewise, a 4x4 with winter tyres has satisfied the gendarmes (although in our case it was at the aire de chainage by the Les Granges funicular stop when we were pulled over).

Had to put chains on a couple of times (when not in a 4x4) on the way down though - the last time they stayed on until we were almost at Moutiers, conditions were so bad.
snow conditions
 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.
Detailed report published yesterday on current snow conditions and how the snowpack has evolved over the last couple of weeks from the La Plagne pisteurs, but relevant for Les Arcs also.



snow report
 So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
I’m in Les arcs this week, can anyone recommend somewhere in Les arcs or la plagne to get a decent cote du boeuf for lunch ?
snow report
 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
https://leffetboeuf-lesarcs1800.eatbu.com might be an option.
snow conditions
 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
thefatcontroller wrote:
@dogsheds, future lesson. Always hire from Swiss side. Winter tyres included.


Came last week from Geneva, with a poxy little Fiat 500 hired swiss side. Arrived in a blizzard, and then at that point suddenly realised the snow tyres ( very new looking ) and 4x drive were a godsend. This thing seemed to be inclined to go up the side of an ice coated house with no apparent difficulty. We lost count of the number of expensive german cars we passed ( very carefully ) , travelling at 5 mph with their front ( or back ) wheels spiinning away. I was mightily impressed.
ski holidays
 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Following on from the post about conditions in French above. Here is what we have found on the mountains in both Les Arcs and La Plagne in the last few days.

The powder is back again so time for another update. It has been a very strange week. First blue sky and cold temps again. Then a little snow and then rain and loads of it. This caused the snow to become very unstable as the temperatures went up and down almost every day. Now it has become cold again and the snow started to fall.

24 hours later and yesterday was another blue sky powder day!

The pistes have been freshened up nicely. You can get down to all the ski stations and most pistes are in good condition although with the crowds returning, the pistes are becoming very polished in the busier areas so ski under control at all times and be careful to avoid collisions.

The off piste has been very firm and chalky so you needed to hold your edge and take care to avoid a long fall. Yesterday the powder was back, but also very mixed conditions on some slopes and a few very large avalanches to be avoided.

A little about the wind. It has been gusting up to 100kms/hr at times so the exposed slopes have been stripped and a number of natural avalanches have occurred due to the heavy build up of snow on some faces.

They tried to run the World Freeride qualifiers last weekend, but it was halted for safety reasons. One competitor told me under the Aiguille Rouge Cablecar was a great place to hold the finals if only we could see the drops better! It was a pity the event was halted!

Take care out there, if you venture off piste be sure to stay on safer slopes and watch out for wind slab and ice.

Overall as the busy ski vacation weeks begin, the top up we have just had was very welcome, but we do need more snow to keep the crowds happy until March.

For those just arriving, dress up warm, be prepared for lift queues and stay relaxed. The Vanoise Express yesterday had problems again in the morning so the queue was quite large, but it seemed to be running fine by the time we returned later in the day.

The Funicular still has it's problems with very few places to hold onto when full of people and the ski racks do not work with most skis. Watch out for falling skis and people. But someone did say the new design looked nice!!

Today despite the changing conditions we still managed to have another good off piste day in the powder.

The snow is slowly transforming in certain areas and as long as you are careful there is still good snow to be found. Just keep your eyes open and be aware of what is around you, you never know what is just round the corner!

We had flat light most of the morning due to high clouds, but after lunch the sun did come out and we finished the day with good visibility and I had the chance to get some nice photos.

The lifts were also busy today and there were large queues on the Cachette, Arpette and Carreley in the morning. The Crozats and Inversenes also had queues on the La Plagne side as did the chairs out of Les Coches. Overall it is fair to say the low season is over and the high season is beginning. This week is a medium week, but someone forgot to tell the french and Germans. Next week is likely to be much worse! Oh well we need someone to pay for the new lifts!

If you want to see what conditions really look like, here are the photos from the last few days! https://www.facebook.com/LesArcsWinter/ Enjoy!

Remember, if you need to rent ski/snowboard gear for your holiday or have any ski repair work. Polaire Star Snowsports shop at the bottom of the funi is the place to go.

https://www.polairestar.com/
snow conditions
 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Remember all the discussions about the NirvanAlp replacement programme (for owners).

So more details have come to light - and they're not looking too bad.

1st up the €50 charge is for a 5 year registration, so that a maximum downside of €10 a year.
2ndly Once registered, points are awarded based on weeks rented x number of beds x quality of apartment. for Leaseback owners (ie like me) there is a fixed amount based on a formula of 'X' times beds times quality. X is irrespective of the actual rental achieved by your leaseback company, but I guess will vary by year if numbers begin to fall.

I am expecting a full rewards table to follow, but the initial one varies from 360 points for a 1 day adult Classic pass, to 7123 for an Essential season ticket.

3rdly, like the NirvanaAlp programe, points are valid for 3 years.

So it would seem that for a modest outlay, there are benefits to be had. I think I'll get around to it in the not too distant - I have the A la Carte for this season, but 2 or 3 (or 4!) weeks worth of passes is going to be a reasonable return for €10.
snow conditions
 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?
One more bit of good news: A friend from 1950 posted the below in our owners' chatroom.

Quote:
Having missed two days skiing both at Xmas (22nd and 23rd December) and at the end of January (28th and 29th) I contacted the lift company about a refund. Apparently all 4 days meet their criteria of at least 4 hours of service interruption and 50% lift closure so there will be a total refund for all 4 days. Unfortunately this will not apply if you have a season pass but if you were out on either of those two weeks it's worth contacting the lift company.
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Quote:

Having missed two days skiing both at Xmas (22nd and 23rd December) and at the end of January (28th and 29th) I contacted the lift company about a refund. Apparently all 4 days meet their criteria of at least 4 hours of service interruption and 50% lift closure so there will be a total refund for all 4 days. Unfortunately this will not apply if you have a season pass but if you were out on either of those two weeks it's worth contacting the lift company.

Interesting bit about the 50% lift closure criteria. I hope it applies to the whole domain. We were in Arc 1600 and of course the 2000 area was closed as well as the upper lifts, so 50% of the lifts were closed. My son was there on both occaisions with an essentials lift pass (non season). I see if he can get a discount even though we skied quite happily over that time, but I bet they check to see if he actually got on a lift Sad
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Arctic Roll wrote:
Remember all the discussions about the NirvanAlp replacement programme (for owners).

So more details have come to light - and they're not looking too bad.

1st up the €50 charge is for a 5 year registration, so that a maximum downside of €10 a year.
2ndly Once registered, points are awarded based on weeks rented x number of beds x quality of apartment. for Leaseback owners (ie like me) there is a fixed amount based on a formula of 'X' times beds times quality. X is irrespective of the actual rental achieved by your leaseback company, but I guess will vary by year if numbers begin to fall.

I am expecting a full rewards table to follow, but the initial one varies from 360 points for a 1 day adult Classic pass, to 7123 for an Essential season ticket.

3rdly, like the NirvanaAlp programe, points are valid for 3 years.

So it would seem that for a modest outlay, there are benefits to be had. I think I'll get around to it in the not too distant - I have the A la Carte for this season, but 2 or 3 (or 4!) weeks worth of passes is going to be a reasonable return for €10.
Do they still require guests (or owners?) to log in to the resort's wifi each day to prove occupancy? That's a deal breaker for me.
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 You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
johnE wrote:
Interesting bit about the 50% lift closure criteria.
Indeed. 50% seems very generous compared to how I think other resorts operate (when it seems that keeping one small lift open at village level means no refund). Does that 50% apply to season pass holders? A small refund for those days when there's only a handful of lifts open across the domain would be a nice bonus. How does one apply for this?
ski holidays
 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
@rob@rar, as an owner we did register and paid the 50 euro. It was a total pita to sort but actually worth it for us as we probably got €800 euro back in lift passes. The system is very French, hugely over complicated.
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
thefatcontroller wrote:
@rob@rar, as an owner we did register and paid the 50 euro. It was a total pita to sort but actually worth it for us as we probably got €800 euro back in lift passes. The system is very French, hugely over complicated.
Are you a leaseback owner? Be great if you could describe the registration process and how the scheme operates for you. When I first looked at the scheme the benefits seemed minor (for guest and owner) and the bureaucracy unnecessarily complicated.
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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.
@rob@rar,
Quote:

Do they still require guests (or owners?) to log in to the resort's wifi each day to prove occupancy? That's a deal breaker for me.

I think that will not apply to guests booking through an agency, such as CIS who deal with mine. However I'm tempted to leave an old kindle in the cave to download the daily paper for me every day while I'm not there. It requires a wifi download from our buildings ISP, but that is not the same as the resort's wifi, which we cannot access without doing something odd such as going to the top of Combourciere every day.
@Arctic Roll, I forgotten where this table of benefits is - sorry. It clearly needs further investigation on my part.
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 Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
johnE wrote:
@rob@rar,
Quote:

Do they still require guests (or owners?) to log in to the resort's wifi each day to prove occupancy? That's a deal breaker for me.

I think that will not apply to guests booking through an agency, such as CIS who deal with mine. However I'm tempted to leave an old kindle in the cave to download the daily paper for me every day while I'm not there. It requires a wifi download from our buildings ISP, but that is not the same as the resort's wifi, which we cannot access without doing something odd such as going to the top of Combourciere every day.
@Arctic Roll, I forgotten where this table of benefits is - sorry. It clearly needs further investigation on my part.
Yes, that's why the PITAness of logging in to the resort's wifi is a deal breaker. I have my own wifi in my apartment and the resort's wifi doesn't cover our building. Out and about I find logging in more hassle than simply using 3G or 4G data. As a result I think I've only once logged in to the resort wifi via Yuge, and it was painfully slow so haven't bothered again. No way I'm going to ask people who rent my place (only direct with me rather than via an agency) to log in once a day, nor do that myself unless the benefits are worthwhile.
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 snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
rob@rar wrote:
thefatcontroller wrote:
@rob@rar, as an owner we did register and paid the 50 euro. It was a total pita to sort but actually worth it for us as we probably got €800 euro back in lift passes. The system is very French, hugely over complicated.
Are you a leaseback owner? Be great if you could describe the registration process and how the scheme operates for you. When I first looked at the scheme the benefits seemed minor (for guest and owner) and the bureaucracy unnecessarily complicated.


Leaseback. I just emailed this address and they sent me some forms. It was painfully slow. If you pm me an email address happy to forward you some of the correspondence.

Contact.ADS@compagniedesalpes.fr

https://en.lesarcs.com/footer/owners/owners-benefits.html
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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.
Arctic Roll wrote:
One more bit of good news: A friend from 1950 posted the below in our owners' chatroom.

Quote:
Having missed two days skiing both at Xmas (22nd and 23rd December) and at the end of January (28th and 29th) I contacted the lift company about a refund. Apparently all 4 days meet their criteria of at least 4 hours of service interruption and 50% lift closure so there will be a total refund for all 4 days. Unfortunately this will not apply if you have a season pass but if you were out on either of those two weeks it's worth contacting the lift company.


Do you know how is it working? That is, what is their e-mail, and how do I get the refund?
ski holidays
 So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
I'm recently back from a very enjoyable week in Arc 1600 (Hotel Cachette), where I went with my Daughter and skied with Snowheads that have become firm friends (Alastair and Sean).

All my fears over Geneva Airport and Ski chaos were unfounded, as our TUI flight disembarked us into the side where the Coaches go from (Swiss Side?), which is much smaller, saves the long walk from one side to the other and where our skis and luggage arrived at the same time.....easy as it was only our flight that was being dealt with.

The bit that caused some amusement, was after we had landed and were waiting to disembark, the Pilot said there would be a delay. Apparently, this was because, since they only had steps for the front exit, they had to take some luggage off first, as everybody heading to the front of the plane could unbalance it, to the point it could tip over!!! Seriously?

When we headed up the mountain to Les Arcs, it was raining - I could have been driving up a mountain in Donegal.

Our first day's skiing was in the rain - which is something I've not experienced since skiing in Avoriaz at the end of March, 30 years ago. We arrived back after 3 hours like a couple of drowned rats. It took 2 hours with a hair dryer to dry everything out.

The second day I skied with Alastair as my Daughter couldn't face the possibility of getting soaked again - but the weather stayed reasonably dry, though the light was still flat.

Third day (Tuesday), it was just myself and Miss Fartbaglette who went out before the weather was predicted to snow - and managed half a day before the weather caused an early finish.

The final 3 days were sunny and glorious, where we skied with Alastair and met up with Sean on the Wed afternoon, being his only free day.

Lunch times were spent doing a Vegan Restaurant Hunt, which we did with some success, in both Les Arcs and La Plagnes.

Our biggest annoyance was with Belambra's pretence that they would accommodate Vegans. We put it on our Crystal Booking (which they made clear wasn't a guarantee). Belambra's website said we should give them 1 month's notice, so they could inform the kitchen. This we did by email and got a reply saying it shouldn't be a problem and the kitchen would be informed.

On check in, we spoke to the person who responded on the email, who again assured us things were in hand. When we went to our first meal, the only thing that my Daugther could eat was some fruit salad.....everything else had meat, cheese or eggs in it. On taking the issue up at reception, the lady (not the one who replied to the email) said "We" should have spoken to the Restaurant Manager, which was trying to deflect the blame and not what we were told to do.

The Restaurant Manager was then called. He was pleasant and sounded helpful (and said he had no knowledge of our request!)- but the result was that my Daughter lived off Soup, Bread, Rice and Fruit Salad for the rest of the holiday for the evening meal. Breakfast was OK. They did have Soya Milk, but a Butter substitute, like Flora, seemed to be beyond them, despite being requested. We took the situation up with the Crystal Rep, who did try - but to little effect. She did say she would take up the issue with her superiors - but I doubt much will change in the foreseeable future.

The rest of the Holiday went without incident.....but we were lucky to make the landing at Dublin, due to Storm Ciara, as I'm aware that a Ryan Air flight headed to Shannon after 3 abortive attempts to land.

As we touched down, just after the wings stopped tilting from sided to side, the breaks were hit so violently that if I hadn't put both hands to brace against the seat in front, I'd have hit my head quite a crack.

There were gasps from the passengers and even the Irish Air Hostess said over the intercom "Oh My God" a couple of times, followed by a nervous laugh.....and "That was a bit hairy".

Anyway, the Holiday was most enjoyable, we experienced every sort of weather, met some friends, got some fresh snow and had 3 days of Sun. That's OK in my book.


Last edited by So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much on Wed 12-02-20 16:17; edited 5 times in total
snow report
 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
@Old Fartbag, nice report
snow conditions
 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Ps. A thank you to @johnE for the recommendation of Intersport as a place that would sort edge angles how you want them.....and they were right beside our Hotel.

I found them very fair and helpful.....and they did my Daughter's K2s at 89 deg and my Scotts at 88 deg.

They get a thumbs up from me.

My other choice to try, would have been the place at the bottom of the Funicular (Polaire Star)......but that was more of a trek (in the rain).
snow conditions
 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
@Old Fartbag, Nice report.

We had friends stay at the Cachette Hotel at the end of January and they thought it was very good for the price. However, they were not vegans. Though they booked with Crystal I beleive they never saw a rep at all. Not even on the transfer coach. It made no difference.

There are two guys in Intersport. The clean shaven one knows what he is doing. If the other one is in the shop alone he has to phone up his colleague and ask him.

Though there are two entrances to Geneva Airport there is no French terminal as such and no coaches leave from the French side. To the best of my knowledge the coach station is directly outside the arrivals gate. (I have to confess I have never got a coach to or from the airport)

My friends took the funicular down to Bourg one evening just for the ride. Polaire Star is less than 100m from the base of the funicular. There used to be a tiny ski shop in the space occupied by the small bar opposite the Abrevoir. He would do an edge and wax for 10 euro, which I thought was a very good deal. The bar is quite nice, however.

What were your favourite runs of the week. For me over Christmas/New Year it was the runs under the Varet, at the end of January it was the red runs from Vagere, Carrely, Arpette etc. down into 1600 and 1800

As an aside I thought this thread had gone very quiet recently and put this down to it being half term at the moment and many of us regulars leaving the resort to the hoards. The livecams have looked busy this week. Was it busy when you were there?
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
johnE wrote:
@Old Fartbag, Nice report.

We had friends stay at the Cachette Hotel at the end of January and they thought it was very good for the price. However, they were not vegans. Though they booked with Crystal I beleive they never saw a rep at all. Not even on the transfer coach. It made no difference.

There are two guys in Intersport. The clean shaven one knows what he is doing. If the other one is in the shop alone he has to phone up his colleague and ask him.

Though there are two entrances to Geneva Airport there is no French terminal as such and no coaches leave from the French side. To the best of my knowledge the coach station is directly outside the arrivals gate. (I have to confess I have never got a coach to or from the airport)

My friends took the funicular down to Bourg one evening just for the ride. Polaire Star is less than 100m from the base of the funicular. There used to be a tiny ski shop in the space occupied by the small bar opposite the Abrevoir. He would do an edge and wax for 10 euro, which I thought was a very good deal. The bar is quite nice, however.

What were your favourite runs of the week. For me over Christmas/New Year it was the runs under the Varet, at the end of January it was the red runs from Vagere, Carrely, Arpette etc. down into 1600 and 1800

As an aside I thought this thread had gone very quiet recently and put this down to it being half term at the moment and many of us regulars leaving the resort to the hoards. The livecams have looked busy this week. Was it busy when you were there?


The Crystal Coaches park outside the smaller entrance, which usually meant a long walk between terminals. When we were left off, we went through security in the smaller Terminal and were then taken by an internal bus to the main terminal.

As for my favourite runs: The first 3 days were spent messing around in the trees at Vallendry and Villaroger. When the Sun came out, we just followed Alastair, who would say, "This is one of my favourite runs"....and it was always a good choice. As usual, when following somebody else, I paid little attention to the name of the runs Embarassed - but if himself sees this, he might shed some light. I know the Espace Killy area much better - which doesn't answer your question.

At the end of each day, we took a route that passed the bottom of the Clocheret Lift, which brought us onto Gollet and a section of Blue that transitioned onto Traversee, which was always empty - allowing the final run to end on full throttle, before taking the gentle path through the trees and finally down to the steps by the Combette lift.

The crowds seemed not too bad - but maybe busier than last year......but this may be because so many people headed for the trees in the bad weather and the Cable Car up the glacier was closed for a few days. As usual, the more difficult runs had much less people on them.
snow report
 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?
postai wrote:
Arctic Roll wrote:
One more bit of good news: A friend from 1950 posted the below in our owners' chatroom.

Quote:
Having missed two days skiing both at Xmas (22nd and 23rd December) and at the end of January (28th and 29th) I contacted the lift company about a refund. Apparently all 4 days meet their criteria of at least 4 hours of service interruption and 50% lift closure so there will be a total refund for all 4 days. Unfortunately this will not apply if you have a season pass but if you were out on either of those two weeks it's worth contacting the lift company.


Do you know how is it working? That is, what is their e-mail, and how do I get the refund?



Apparently you can email:

contact.ads@compagniedesalpes.fr

Or you can also use the ‘contact us’ form on the site that you use to buy the lift passes:

https://www.lesarcs-peiseyvallandry.ski/fr/

it is expected to take "up to two months" to get the money back... but hey, free money never came cheap.
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Quote:

At the end of each day, we took a route that passed the bottom of the Clocheret Lift, which brought us onto Gollet and a section of Blue that transitioned onto Traversee, which was always empty - allowing the final run to end on full throttle, before taking the gentle path through the trees and finally down to the steps by the Combette lift.


I usually go this way home. That section of Gollet cutting down to what is now marked as Traversee is lovely after a snow fall as few people know about it and it doesn't get skied out. If my son wants me to work on technique this is where he takes me. Even days after a snowfall you can find fresh snow. The track is peaceful compared to Sources and IMHO much nicer. The only problem is you need to take combettes if you fancy an end of ski vin chaud at the smoking boar.

I ski in Les Arcs a lot and don't know the name of some of the runs, not helped by the fact that they keep changing them. Apparently Cascades is not called that anymore, but I don't know its new name. One run I enjoyed a lot this year was called the Col des Frettes. After skiing the resort for over 30 years I didn't know that and thought it was the bottom half of Claire Blanc

I didn't know there was a second terminal at Geneva airport. I go through the airport perhaps 3 or 4 times a year and never encountered it. What a sheltered life I've led.
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
@rob@rar, ref: Owners Advantage.

IIRC after all the GDPR hoopla and push-back, they now just expect you to self-declare your occupancy levels. Whether they have access to your tax declarations of rental income to verify your statement is of course another matter... they quite probably do - it seems to be quite the done thing in France to share that info.

If you as an owner are staying in your own place, then to get credit for YOUR stay, they expect you to wi-fi login.

HTH
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@johnE, Cascades is now Vallee de l'Arc 3 ...
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
@Arctic Roll, Cascades is a much nicer name - especially in spring.

It looks as if the next time I'm in Les Arcs will be the from last weekend in March for a week. Full on spring skiing. I'm looking forward to it. Who else will be there?
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
johnE wrote:
The only problem is you need to take combettes if you fancy an end of ski vin chaud at the smoking boar.


My Daughter doesn't drink......but on the Wed, after skiing, I caught the bus over to 1800 and went to Chez Boubou, where I met up with Alastair, Sean (with his lovely Family) and ipKen and his delightful Partner (who I met last year, but didn't get to ski with this year - though it was great to catch up).

As usual, I topped up with Hoegaarden, which Alastair introduced me to last year.....I couldn't remember its name - but when I said that I wanted some of his "Cloudy Shyte", he instinctively knew what I was on about!
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
Arctic Roll wrote:
postai wrote:
Arctic Roll wrote:
One more bit of good news: A friend from 1950 posted the below in our owners' chatroom.

Quote:
Having missed two days skiing both at Xmas (22nd and 23rd December) and at the end of January (28th and 29th) I contacted the lift company about a refund. Apparently all 4 days meet their criteria of at least 4 hours of service interruption and 50% lift closure so there will be a total refund for all 4 days. Unfortunately this will not apply if you have a season pass but if you were out on either of those two weeks it's worth contacting the lift company.


Do you know how is it working? That is, what is their e-mail, and how do I get the refund?



Apparently you can email:

contact.ads@compagniedesalpes.fr

Or you can also use the ‘contact us’ form on the site that you use to buy the lift passes:

https://www.lesarcs-peiseyvallandry.ski/fr/

it is expected to take "up to two months" to get the money back... but hey, free money never came cheap.



This is useful, thank you. We went home on 30th Jan, so didn't get any skiing done on 28th and only about 5 minutes of skiing (and about 6 hours of queuing from Marmottes) on 29th. I've applied for a refund on their claim form, so will let you know if I'm successful. Worth it, for two full days for two adults!
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 Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
@Old Fartbag, very good to see you and your daughter - I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I'll have to consult my Yuge to see where all we went - but some of my favourites are Clocheret, Arolles, Aigle, Bellete, Rhodos, Carreley and of course the Aiguile Rogue down to Villaroger where we did at least manage to find some Vegan chips. To be honest there aren't that many runs in Les Arcs that I don't enjoy (although I still haven't done Malgovert after comments here).

@johnE wrote:
As an aside I thought this thread had gone very quiet recently and put this down to it being half term at the moment and many of us regulars leaving the resort to the hoards.


I shall consider myself admonished and endeavour to do better!

@johnE wrote:
It looks as if the next time I'm in Les Arcs will be the from last weekend in March for a week. Full on spring skiing. I'm looking forward to it. Who else will be there?


I'll still be here - let's hope the snow is!
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