 Poster: A snowHead
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Hi all, for various reasons we're looking to book a holiday on the week of Dec. 17-24.
Are the crowds estimated to be horrendous in the large French resorts due to Christmas vacation?
And will we fare much better in Austria or Italy since they don't have a vacation that week?
Cheers,
Chen
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@chenav, what do you mean by vacation? Christmas holidays are holidays all over Europe. What do you think is different?
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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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@holidayloverxx, doesn't France has an extra week of school holiday before Christmas which would make their resorts much busier on the specific dates I wrote?
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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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@chenav, not so much, no. Big week is New Year.
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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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@chenav, ignore me...I thought Austria school holidays started earlier but they don't
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Independently of the above, bear in mind that many resorts limit the number of slopes and lifts that are open before Christmas week. This isn't a strict rule, but you can understand why they might try and preserve the snow for the main Christmas and New Year weeks, especially if the snowfall is average or poor up to that point. Even if snow cover is good, they might simply not have ramped-up the staffing to Christmas levels, so they can't operate all the lifts. It might be different this year, with Christmas Day falling when it does, but it's still worth being prepared for the slopes not to be 100% open.
Last edited by You'll need to Register first of course. on Sun 18-09-22 10:01; edited 1 time in total
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@LaForet, good point!
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@chenav, In Italy there's a saying that translates (politely) into:
"Christmas with the family, New Year with whoever".
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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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@chenav, In Les Arcs the week before christmas is usually quiet compared with christmas week itself and of course new year week. However, this year things are looking a bit different with the return to work in France on January 2nd, new year bookings are less than the christmas week.
To put some numbers on to the situation these are the availability in Les Arcs of the 329 apartments managed by Alpes-Horizons in the resort.
date free percentage
17/12/2022 181 55
24/12/2022 171 52
31/12/2022 185 56
07/01/2023 196 60
14/01/2023 200 61
You will see that this season the week comencing the 17th will be slightly busier than that commencing. New Year's eve, but there is not much in it.
I know it is only September and that most bookings only start coming in from now onwards, but in general bookings are looking quieter this year than last. There is still over 50% vacancy over the 4 weeks I have listed. I supect the ecconomic situation is putting off a lot of people from ski holidays this year.
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The week before Christmas is very definitely still low season, especially this year where the 25th is on the Sunday, so nobody's needing to break up their Sat-Sat bookings.
Extra holidays or not, families don't tend to be wanting to ski much before Christmas, snow is not guaranteed and many people are tied up with their own seasonal preparations.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@chenav,
One thing to consider is how Brit TOs are going to schedule their weeks due to Xmas & New Years days falling on Sundays.
If they are using mid-week transfer days you may find a sudden upsurge of numbers with Brits out for Xmas week.
I had a look at the lift pass prices for Tignes, and 17 Dec is the first day of main season prices. On the plus side it will probably mean (snow permitting) that 17 Dec will be the first day of the season that the runs down to 1850 & Brev will be open.
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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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We've always found Xmas week to be fairly quiet in France, compared to NY and Feb anyways.
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