 Poster: A snowHead
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My girlfriend has moved to haute Savoie, and I will be spending somewhere between a month and 6 weeks out there over the course of the season this year with little else to do other than ski!
We're trying to decide where would be best to get a season pass for, having narrowed it down to:
Portes du Soleil (closest lift 50mins drive)
Le Grand Massif (45 mins)
Chamonix (1hr)
We both ski (she occasionally boards as well), love off piste when it can be got but happy on piste also.
PDS and Grand Massif have some good early bird offers for season passes (less than 800 and less than 500). Chamonix looks like being more like 1100.
Favourite resorts previously would be Mayrhofen, st Anton, tignes/Val disere.
All advice welcome! Is Chamonix worth the extra money?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@omicron, where is she living? Roads make a wee bit of a difference.
If I had no opinions, I'd go Grand Massif as it's so cheap. We get Chamonix (Annual) for about €750 each.
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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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She's living near Annemasse.
If going for Chamonix would be going for Mont Blanc unlimited I think more than likely.
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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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@omicron, Did you work out travel times to La Clusaz/Le Grand Bornand ?
Annemasse ski club run their races in Les Gets if that means anything.
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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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@omicron, don’t know Grand Massif but for off piste IMO Chamonix (including Courmayeur and Hellbronner) is in a different league to PdS. For piste skiing it’s probably the opposite...
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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@rjs, She's skied La Clusaz and wasn't a big fan before. It's much the same as the others, 55mins. Suppose we could add it to the list anyway!
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Wow, big difference in key elements of your principal three domain. Guess whichever you choose you could always feel the grass is greener somewhere else though.
I'd go GM access through Morillon as most convenient road journey, and jump on it at a wim convenience. Niece worked there season on that pass and they had days out in PdS, Pra de Lys, St j d'alps amongst them to add variety to your choosing.
There's alot more to the peripheral bits of GM than most appreciate, but it's not Chamonix. We've stayed all round GM and although compact it's a great area to ski.
Also both of the others too, again alot there and pure numbers make them appear more exiting if you compare that way. Depends what your skiing preference focuses on too.
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@ski3, Thanks for that.
I suppose on paper Chamonix ( with mont blanc unlimited pass) is our preferred option in terms of off piste etc, it's just so much cheaper for the Grand Massif pass that's making he decision difficult!
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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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I suppose a GM pass plus days of choice in Chamonix at walk up prices could make sense budget wise to split the difference, and convenience / reward ratio too.
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Personal choice would be PDS as car from Annemasse gives several access points to the area La Chapelle, Chatel, St Jean d'Aups, Montriond, Morzine, Les Gets.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Having lived in all 3 areas here's my very top line summary;
- Chamonix, the mecca for off piste skiing but get there early or you'll miss it, lack of motorway pistes.
- PDS, it's massive.... something for everyone, lots of motorway pistes, some off piste which stays a while.
- GM, easiest of the 3 to get to, food area, not as busy as busy times as PDS, off piste stays for a few days.
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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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... also which side of Annemasse will make a difference.
Annemasse is VERY busy at weekends, as it is a major retail hub.
It can take an hour to get across rom 1 side to the other on a Saturday.
If you're over by Ville La Grande, then I would head out towards GM or PdS.
If you're down by Etrembieres then I would head for Cham.
As you will be driving, Parking will be important in these areas.
From my experience, Parking Brevent & Les Houches are easy enough if you get there early doors, but you will be limited to the mini-ski area where you park unless you want to ride busses around.
There's a big car park in Grand Massif Express (Samoens) and also one at Les Perrieres at the entrance to Les Gets.
These 2 options have the advantage that you can get around most of the skiable domaines from this point of ingress.
That being said, it's a bit of a schlep across to Morgins / Chalet Neuf from Les Gets.
The GM express gets you up to 1600m pretty quickly, but I have not skied here for a couple of years so there's probably new infrastructure to get you around.
I live in the PdS so am a bit of a fan-boy, but I have had some great days in Grand Montets, Agentiere, Brevent, Vallee Blanche, as well as Flaine and Les Carroz, so IMHO all three of these are good options.
I would be tempted to go Grand Massif though.
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yeah I think for Annemasse base, and value for money GM is hard to beat at 489eur, which is 50% off until December. Don't think you get offers for other resorts included?
Today (Sep 30) is the last day though for max discounted passes for PdS.
PDS 774 eur plus 4 Verbier day passes, plus 1 Arena
Alternatively Les Gets - Morzine only is 416 eur, which includes 3 day passes for other Haute Savoie resorts (including Chamonix and GM, but not Avoriaz / Chatel). You also get 6 x 50% off day vouchers for LG-M that can be used for friends , 3 x 25% off and 6 summer passes. So if you use all of those (which I do every year), it breaks down like this:
Free stuff:
3 x 45 (avg day price) = 135
6x50% off = 135 eur (recouped from visitors)
3x25% off = 34 eur
6 x VTT = 18 eur
Total discounts 322 eur, so ski LG-M for 94 eur for the season 
People will say 1200m-1800m is too low, and the offpiste isn't good enough....but if you are totally flexible, then you can catch all the best conditions of the season. I'd rather be in relatively uncrowded LG tracking out freshies, than competing for better terrain with hundreds (or thousands) of others. You also get to find untracked runs all day after a dump, whereas Avoriaz / Cham / Flaine lift served untracked off piste is hard to get after a few runs
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