 Poster: A snowHead
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Hi all,
Done a few of these now so thought I'd get another one going for our upcoming trip! Will attempt to update daily and include a summary at the end! We are having a "short trip". Sunday to Friday with 4 days skiing. Flying out on the 1st and coming back on the 6th.
A few of the details:
Flights: BA Gatwick to Geneva
Car hire: Europcar booked via Auto Europe
Accommodation: Airbnb apartment in the hamlet of Les Crosets
Ski Hire: Intersport Les Crosets
So, originally this was meant to be a flight into Turin and a stay in Bardonecchia with a day in Sauze. However with the current outbreak of Coronavirus we decided to minimise the risks as much as possible (whilst fully aware, it's impossible to remove the risk entirely). The decision was prompted by the change in policy from BA to offer free changes to anyone flying into a Northern Italy airport. With elderly/sick relatives as well as the OH not being paid if she had to self isolate for 2 weeks we thought we'd make the change. I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised with the customer service from BA. I was literally on the phone for 10 mins including the on hold time and the changes confirmed instantly. So a tick in the box for them at a difficult time for all airlines.
But enough of that business....
This is our first trip into Switzerland and visiting the PdS. It's always been on my radar so glad we are getting the chance to visit. And with the current snow, it looks like we should get some fresh powder as well. It'll also be our first self catering ski trip! I've always avoided this as I felt that the extra you end up paying for food to cook etc and the effort of cooking/washing up roughly works out the same as catered. But as it's just the two of us, we aren't big eaters or drinkers so it'll be an interesting comparison. If we do eat out, it'll more than likely be a lunch somewhere and then have dinner in.
I normally book car hire direct with one of the big companies but Auto Europe came out £30 cheaper with Europcar for exactly the same vehicle. So went through them and got a bit of cash back with Top Cashback as well. We have booked on the Swiss side (pretty obvious) so comes with the Vignette and winter tyres.
Our little AirBnB is pretty much Ski in/out which we love and it's been a few trips since we were that close to a run/lift. It's nothing fancy but will certainly do us for 5 nights.
Happy to answer any questions whilst I'm out there be it about conditions, where we have visited etc!
Likewise, any veterans of the area have any tips for must do's or little secrets please feel free to share!
Last edited by Poster: A snowHead on Sun 8-03-20 18:34; 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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Sitting at Gatwick waiting to board.
Only seen 5 people in face masks.... 
Very quiet airport this morning. Quietest I’ve ever seen it actually. Not complaining though!
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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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Good flight into Geneva with BA. Through passport control and reclaim within 20 mins. First time at Geneva. It seemed like somewhat organised chaos. And it was heavingly busy. No temp checks for you know what at all and a few masks about.
Still, we checked in for the rental with Europcar car and were waiting for the bus within no time. In hindsight. We should have just walked it. Would have been quicker!
I had hired just a small hatch back but got a rather plush Focus Estate ST Line with all the bells and whistles. And an automatic so a result!
Headed off and enjoyed the drive. We pulled off the motorway and drove through Montreux (looking for an open supermarket, but no joy!). It was lovely. Sun was out and Lake Geneva looking beautiful.
Pulled into Champéry to pick up some supplies. Wasn’t too bad price wise! Especially the booze! Collected the pre-bought lift passes from the station and then headed up to Les Crosets.
Unfortunately about a 2 miles away from our destination, our flat tyre indicator came on. Pulled over in a small lay-by to discover a completely flat front tyre. I think I must of hit a rock or something as there was a split in the side wall.
Luckily the sun was still out and the car had a space spacer. So the quickest tyre change ever was carried out as it wasn’t the best place to stop, but couldn’t drive further on the rim without causing serious damage. It’ll certainly make getting down the mountain on Friday interesting, especially if there is snow!
With that little annoyance overcome (for the time being) we found our apartment, unloaded and walked down to pick up our skis. The weather was really closing in, windy and driving snow. So we didn’t spend long outside!
Now currently sat with a beer and can’t wait to get out an explore the area. I’ve rented some all mountain skis rather than my usual on-piste carvers as we are due some decent snow tonight and tomorrow. Never tried all-mountain before so it’ll be fun!
Now....if anyone knows of a decent tyre place between Champéry and Geneva who would do me a good deal on a replacement winter tyre, please do let me know!
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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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@Fridge03, replied to you on PDS thread re tyres. As an FYI for next time there is a supermarket in the airport building should you need to grab supplies. There is a large co-op and Aldi (or maybe it Lidl) in Monthey (and a decathlon) if you need to grab more things.
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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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| Ozboy wrote: |
| @Fridge03, replied to you on PDS thread re tyres. As an FYI for next time there is a supermarket in the airport building should you need to grab supplies. There is a large co-op and Aldi (or maybe it Lidl) in Monthey (and a decathlon) if you need to grab more things. |
Thanks for the heads up. I think the issue was that it was a Sunday so every Aldi and Lidl was shut! Even the Coop in Monthey was shut. To be fair, considering it’s Switzerland and a ski resort, I didn’t think the prices were too unreasonable.
So first day on the planks. Up and out before 9. I’ve rented a pair of Atomic All Mountain skis (vantage 90). Never had anything but piste skis before so had a morning getting used the them.
Pistes were in good condition, particularly above 1500m. And it’s was eerily quiet! Not that I’m complaining. I don’t think we share me a lift with anyone else all day.
We stayed on the Swiss side. Got over to Morgins where down the bottom in the town, it was getting a bit slushy but that was literally the last few hundred metres.
The weather started to close in about 1. Wind picked up and the visibility went but on the plus side, it’s been chucking it down since. Tomorrow should be a good fun day as long as wind drops down as per the forecast. Depending on what’s open, we may head over into Avoriaz.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Day 2
Woke up to huge amounts of fresh snow outside and the makings of a clear day.
We headed down to Crosets for the first lift along with everyone else! But still, we were up on skiing in no time. The pistes were in awesome condition for the first couple of hours. They had bashed them all so very little onpiste powder to play on.
As predicted all the high lifts and links were shut till probably about 1030. Never heard so much avi blasting before. And saw a few big slides they triggered between the Chavanette and Grand-Conche chairs.
The powder on the side pistes and proper off piste was epic in places and we were able to get some much needed practice in as we are still relatively new to deep powder.
We headed over up and over into France and skied down to Avoriaz. By this point (about 12) it was bluebird, warm and (whether because it was the French side) noticeably busier. The pistes were really getting a hammering and in high traffic areas, there was a small amount of carnage.
That being said, still very enjoyable!
We then headed up Choucas and the unpisted red. It was so much fun. Over knee deep powder in some places still even later in the afternoon. We had a couple of laps of that before dropping back into Switzerland by the Wall. That was an experience. It was chopped up but we took our time and had a laugh negotiating it.
All in all, a fun day with a little bit of everything really!
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So, yesterday was a brilliant day!
It was sunny, clear and the pistes in superb condition in general. Not as busy as they say before which was lovely.
We headed up early and over into France on the first lift. We skied down to the Chaux Fleune lift with no one else. It was perfect.
We then headed over towards Châtel and spent most of the morning kicking around there, eventually getting down to Linga before heading back. Up to Avoriaz and down the runs into Podrains. At this point the legs were getting a bit tired and it was about 1PM. So we got the gondola up and we made way back towards the Swiss side via Choucas and down the Wall once more, but not before a quick pit stop at O’Padcha.
The plan was to stop on the mountain for a late lunch, but that didn’t really happen as my binding broke on my ski, so had to very gently go down to Les Crosets and swap them at the hire shop. By this point, it was getting on and most mountain places were shut so we caught the gondola down to Champéry for a pizza and beer. We came back up about 7 to partake in a first for us. Night skiing. It was good fun, and actually really busy despite the cold and increasing wind. We did a few laps and headed for home about 830. In total we were out for almost 12 hours and covered 39 miles.
Fair to say, we were exhausted!
Today. A different story. Woke up to wet sleet and strong winds.
Made the decision to head down the valley to try and get the tyre sorted on the car. Tried several garages but no joy without paying more than what my deposit is at Europcar.
So we came back up about 1030 hoping that the sleet had turned to snow.
No joy. More rain now than anything. But determined we suited up and headed out. After one lift and down back to Les Crosets. We came home. It was vile and the pistes getting a hammering. Most of that lovely fresh snow from Tuesday now mostly gone. It may be snowing hard higher up but anything high today is shut. Forecast suggests the rain may turn to snow tonight. Just spent the afternoon relaxing, eating, doing a bit of packing ahead of leaving tomorrow.
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On the plane at Geneva waiting to taxi so a quick update.
The rain did turn to snow overnight and I reckon there was about 10cm of fresh stuff at Les Crosets.
Must have been much more higher up as the avi blasting started early and was still going as I left about 845.
Decided to take the hit with the tyre and Europcar. Nowhere could source the right tyre to match the others, and buying a new pair was coming out more than what Europcar would charge me. You can buy them easily online and they retail at 85chf so hopefully it won’t be too bad when I get the bill.
Still even with the space saver on and doing a steady 80kmh it was an easy drive, no traffic. Geneva airport was very quiet, bag dropped and through security in 10 mins.
I’ll write a summary of our first trip to Switzerland and the PdS this evening or maybe tomorrow!
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Hi all,
So a little summary of our few days in the PdS.
Really enjoyed the area. Especially the quietness of the Swiss side. It was lovely and some great tree lined runs, as well as the infamous Swiss Wall! A few slow lifts but nothing to be too bothered about. As for the French side, I can see the appeal of Avoriaz but it was much more busy (understandably) than anywhere else. But on the whole, we really enjoyed the PdS with the big variety of runs. The only downside I can see is the low altitude and not huge amount of snowmaking. One of the massive upsides is the ridiculously easy access from Geneva to all the resorts.
As for Les Crosets, it's a great location for access to the pistes but not a location if you want apres/any sign of life in the evening. Don't get me wrong, it's blissfully quiet and is very lovely. You'd be better off down the valley in Champery or on the French side. However, to be at 1600m and almost straight out onto the pistes and 1 chair ride away from the French side is a big plus point.
Our first time through Geneva. It was pretty busy on the Sunday, so wouldn't like to see it on a Saturday in more peak season. The baggage reclaim seemed particularly disorganised and a free for all. On the Friday, it was quieter and we dropped off the bags and were through security in 10 mins.
When we arrived, we waited for the shuttle bus for the hire car. We waited 15 mins, crammed into a bus that not everyone waiting could get on for the 30 second drive to the pick up. Safe to say, when we returned we did the very easy 5 minute walk back to the terminal.
Glad we managed to get away when we did, as we have missed the worst of the delays from the French Air Traffic control and the ever increasing CV issues.
If/when we return, I think we'd base ourselves over in Morzine to experience more of that side of the PDS including Les Gets.
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