Sierre

A snowHead

Hi all

Can anyone help with advice. We are staying in Sierra (ibis Styles) Christmas week and intend to drive to parking at the bottom of one of the lifts in crans Montana.
Car parking seems to be limited, not many spaces and limited by time and paid for.
Would any other resorts be easier to drive to and park? Perhaps not taking a car and relying on taxis, public transport would be better?

Tom

A snowHead

Get the funicular from Sierra to Montana and free ski bus to Montana or Violettes bottom stations.

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Hi Steve
Looked closer at that and it’s actually a lot less than 40 min. Do you know approximate ticket cost?

Regards

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

The funicular is much more expensive than parking, 26 CHF for an adult RTN and 13 for a child. I have paid to park at Crans and I don't remember it being ridiculous. Nax Mt Noble has free parking, Vercorin has parking by the lift, not free but not crazy and also has cheaper (free?) parking in the valley with a lift taking you up to the resort. Grimentz and Zinal have an absolutely massive car park, about 10 CHF per day, but it is an annoying walk to the lifts from it

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We have parked in Crans on the roadside near the upper bubble ( forget its name) without problems. But it was Easter and most Swiss give up by then. Grimentz is great but the road up is painful and hairy. I wouldn’t want to do that everyday.

After all it is free

Once you get in a car, you have a fair few places to try out if you wanted a change, and perhaps to survey for future holidays. Sierre is fairly central for the 4 Vallées linked resorts of Nendaz, La Tzoumaz and of course, Verbier at its hub. There is a big car park at Le Chable, from where you get the gondola up into central Verbier (Médran). If I was to do one outing, I'd try Le Chable-Verbier and you'd get a good day's skiing and see what all the fuss was about in terms of the ski area.

If you're visiting La Tzoumaz for the day you can also ski/gondola across to Verbier. You get off the autoroute at the Riddes junction (half way between Sion and Martigny) and it's a 13kms climb to the village. There's some outdoor free parking but the easier option is the underground car park, which costs about CHF 1/hr and is right opposite the ticket office and gondola station. See our client Downloads Webpage and click on Visitors: Public Car Parks for an idea. The website also has some local maps with Sierre shown in relation to the above places. If there's enough snow, the Savoleyres Sector (the ski area between La Tzoumaz and Verbier) also has a 10km toboggan run which is fun - you can hire a luge in the village, but wear walking/boarder boots, not ski boots.

If the weather is terrible and you fancy doing something else, then the thermal spa and indoor/outdoor pools at the Bains de Saillon is more family-oriented than the usual 5-star type Swiss resort. You get off the autoroute at the Riddes junction.

La Forest Thanks for the above. Lots for me to research.
I was looking for something similar to Aquadome in Langenfeld (Saunas and swimming) for my day off but I assumed closed due to C19.

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@Tom _H Remember, this is Switzerland. Not only can you ski there now with no quarantine on arrival, but as you can see from the website, the Bains de Saillon plan to be open as well (with COVID measures) from this Monday (14.12.20). Of course, all this could change by the time you travel, but it's at least encouraging.

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@Tom H, We spend a lot of time in the Anniviers valley. The road up to either Grimentz or Zinal is not as bad as people are saying. I posted a video on here of the drive up from the train station in Sierre.

Drive to Grimentz from Russell perkins

https://vimeo.com/149295954?utm_source=email&utm_medium=vimeo-cliptranscode-201504&utm_campaign=29220
Also the parking in both Grimentz and Zinal is close main lift stations. I'm guessing that de King parked in the overflow carpark. If you get there early the parking in Grimentz on the left as you approach the lift station and is no more than 1-200M to the lift, same in Zinal. One of my recommendations from Sierre would be Chandolin and St Luc. Park in St Luc near the Gite du Prilet there is a free navette service which you can track on your phone or walk. The ski from the top of the resort to bottom on the red piste Prilet at the end of day is amazing, and always made better by the vin chaud in the Gite.

You know it makes sense.

As others have said, the road to Grimentz and/or St. Luc is easy and quite pleasant. And I much prefer Anniviers to Crans Montana, particularly for family skiing. I have driven the road dozens of times in all weathers with no problems (but I live in the highlands of Scotland so used to small roads). If you have limited experience of smaller roads then take your time, and please us the many laybys to let locals past.

I would advise:
1. Leave early - aim to get to resort well before 9AM. Best is around 0815 and have breakfast there (Hotel Alpina is good for this in Grimentz). That way you will get parked close to the lift.
2. The overflow car parks are not that far from the lifts in my view, 10 mins walk or so.
3. Be sure to be on the road early particularly if conditions are good and it is a weekend. You might find the access roads closed otherwise.
4. La Prilet (St. Luc) is one of the best pisted runs in the alps, and the bar/restaurant at the bottom is excellent. However, it is not connected to the lift system and the first bus to the funicular is not until 10.15 so if you park there earlier than that you will have to walk. And again, busy weekends they will have people there trying to prevent non-residents using the parking. That being said I have often dumped people and gear at the funicular, parked at La Prilet, and walked along to the funicular in ski boots. But I am quite fit and ski in quite light hybrid boots (Atomic Hawx Ultra XTD) which have a walk mode and a grippy sole. It would not be that much fun a trudge in traditional ski boots!

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Thank you zikomo

A snowHead

Hi Tom

Sorry, I've been meaning to reply but a few things came up. So hopefully not too late for you to make use of the info.

We were at C-M last Christmas, took the bus once up to the Montana gondola from a few stops away and it wasnt busy but it was a bit late in the morning after the rush. We took the bus back and it was delayed due to a big snowfall, must only have the one on the route.

The other days we drove to the lifts as had a car and had to get first lift for a lesson time (the first bus from where we were wouldnt get us there on time. So much for joined up thinking in the resort!). Parking was about 12-14CHF per day if memory serves, so not too bad (one carpark I found only took coins but the rest took cards) . There are some free spaces to be had (get there early for these and best spots in the paid). This all worked out as follows:

Montana gondola - there is a big multistory at the bottom of the lift. Its capacity was reduced due to some structural issue with roof supports taking up a few spaces, not sure if same this year. There is a bit of on-street paid on the roads along the bottom but as this and the multistore does quickly fill up, a good bet is car parks near the shops below the gondola then take the escalator that runs from alongside the Mosaic takeaway up to the gondola (I think we parked in somewhere called Casino). But we found you could park for free on both a road called Route de Zoutet which leads onto Route de Chorecrans - these two roads I think are joined in summer but in winter a piste bisects them so if you can park on either (Route de Zoutet is better as there is more of it on which to park) you can walk to the piste and ski into the gondola station thereby bypass the queue which can be long in the morning -result!

Crans Gondola - there is a an open air carpark, a bit grotty and potholed but ok. There is also a short strip of paid on street parking on the road leading to the gondola car park and there are also a few unmetered spaces just before the entrance to the gondola carpark, did snag one of these once but they are hard to come by. Generally it seems to be quieter here than the Montana gondola.

We never started in the morning from the Barzettes lift.

So in summary there is a fair bit of paid parking around in C-M , and as usual it just depends how early you get there to get the best spots.

Any other questions, just ask.

Best of luck!

PS I dont recall them being time limited so you could stay the whole skiing day.

PPS for a day away from skiiing (well an afternoon actually) we went to the Luekerbad pools, not too far and very nice. Easy for you if you are in Sierre as from C-M you have to drive down to Sierre, then along the valley then up the mountain again. In fact you could go for the day, ski there as there is a ski area there too and then go to pools.

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Ster Thanks for your comments, apologies I should have noted here that my plans have evolved slightly, partly due to the uncertainty around the Journey to CM, which now does not seem too bad.
We are now booked into an apartment in the village of st Luc. (looking forward to La Prilet) Being able to self cater may come in handy if restaurants are shut and will help keep costs down.
For skiing We plan to stay in the same valley. I’m aware st Luc, Chandolin and Verconin are linked but I would like to get up for Grimentz too, and am wondering If there is a Combined pass covering the whole valley?
Leukerbad sounds interesting.

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@Tom H, Chandolin and St Luc are linked, Vercorin sits all on its own and can be awkward to get to if the road via Mayoux and Pinsec has a lot of snow on it. Grimentz and Zinal are linked. Four of the five villages (not Vercorin) are in the commune of the Val d’Anniviers, but an Val d’Anniviers lift pass from the RMA covers all five for skiing or you can separate them. We just buy a Magic Pass but that would not suit a short holiday. https://www.valdanniviers.ch/en/homepage.html is the best source of information. The buses around the valley are reliable and pretty convenient timings for a day skiing, all included in the lift pass. Enjoy your trip, we have not been out since the beginning of March so I’m pretty jealous.

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Hi Rarepack and thanks.
We are hiring a car, if the road gets that bad are snow chains required or suggested for st Luc? If the weather is bad I guess we could leave the car at the bottom of The Valley and switch to public transport a taxi? Don’t fancy try to figure out how to put on chains after a long days travel.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Congratulations on your choice for Val d'Anniviers.
On Alpinforum you can find several very extensive trip reports on this beautiful valley. For instance these 2:
https://www.alpinforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=53&t=63403
https://www.alpinforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=53&t=61776&p=5205611

It is written in German, but you can always use google translate. Irrespective the language, the photos speak for themselves.

Here's an overview of the valley

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@Tom H, you are welcome. The roads are cleared of snow with the usual Swiss efficiency and attention to detail. The bus service runs virtually uninterrupted all year everyday, the school children use them for access to the larger schools in Vissoie and Sierre. Just very very occasionally there is an avalanche threat to the road and it is closed, happened to us once. Assuming your hire car is from Switzerland it will have snow tyres and be pretty new and well maintained so TBH that will be most likely all you will need. I would make sure there are some chains (that fit) in the boot, as you never know. Avoid the high level road that connect St Luc and Zinal via Ayer if there is fresh snow, and be careful going up to Vercorin similarly.
@Onnem, is clearly a fan too. The map that they copied is really useful to get a feel of the valley. The good news is that there a couple of new lifts this year that are not on it.
One last tip, Le Prilet is great for food and drinks but if you are there over Christmas and want to splash out on a top quality lunch/dinner try the Bella Tolla Hotel in St Luc.
Second last tip, do your food shopping in one of the Coops (Sierre or Contey) in the valley before you go up to St Luc, IIRC the shops up there are quite pricey. There is a Coop in Grimentz.

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@Tom H, You will love St Luc, good choice! Some tips:
1. Definitely ski Le Prilet, away from the lifts and a great run.
2. Definitely eat at Le Prilet restaurant of open. Also ask the owner about her selection of american wines, she has some very special bottles.
3. Plan on a least a day in Zinal/Grimentz. Access is slightly easier from Zinal, especially now with the new lift. Extensive parking right next to it.
4. The connecting run (chamois) from Zinal to Grimentz is great fun. Access is steep and narrow though so definitely not for the nervous or inexperienced. The top section is also steep, and the bottom is a run out road through the tress than ends about 10 mins walk from the Grimentz lift. Good pitches of quite easy off-piste off the sides of the piste. The lift connecting Zinal and Grimentz might be a better option if you want to ski both areas on the same day and have less able skiers with you.
5. There is very extensive off-piste in the valley from easy pitches to challenging couloirs.
6. Ski Zenit operate in the valley and offer both instruction and guiding (piste and off-piste). I cannot recommend them enough, been skiing with them for years. Nick Parks is a mountain guide based in the valley, also a legend and highly recommended.
7. There is a great family vibe in St. Luc/Chandolin with a higher percentage of competent and safe skiers than elsewhere.
8. Get comfortable with spending time on drag lifts, they access many of the better runs and the pistes they serve are less busy.

Enjoy!

After all it is free

This is our stomping ground and we know the area like our back garden.

If you have decent winter tyres on your hire car - ie hiring from Swiss side of Geneva - you will be fine.
If you have hired without winter tyres, cancel the reservation and get a car with decent winter tyres.

All Val D'Anniviers and Val D'Herens resorts are 'open air' resorts with no gondola for circuits in bad weather, they are all chair and drag resorts. Fine in good weather - unrelenting for families in bad weather. Except Vercorin, which is excellent for family in bad weather, since it has the big gondola top to mid to bottom, good parking, but road on which you will need good winter tyres.

Crans Montana has good gondola lifts for bad days - two big ones, Violettes and Crans. I would not use funicular in preference to driving up. Parking can be a pain but don't overlook 'Casino' in town - lots of exchange of cars during the day and escalator to Gnd Signal base station.

I should also mention Swiss Mountain Sports - run by the brilliant Yves Caillet - an excellent ski school and guiding office in Montana. English Tim is great, and Nicki great for off-piste guiding. Alaine knows all the resorts in the Valais in minute detail and does brilliant guiding.

@Tom H, Oh and be careful of the home runs to both St Luc and especially Zinal. The one back to St. Luc is classified as a black as the final section is both steep and cantered. It is straightforward in good conditions but very tricky if icy and forms big moguls later in the day if the snow is soft. The home run from Zinal is either a VERY steep black or a red road that is frankly a PITA. The black is so steep that they have overlapping nets across the piste, I can't count the number of people I have helped untangle themselves from them! And it gets very icy. It is a good challenge but do not attempt unless competent and confident. It is easy to download from both areas on the lifts (funicular and gondola)

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zikomo - spot on. It may be on the piste map but it can be carnage from top to bottom, depending on conditions.

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I've just been in Crans Montana this week and found the funicular very efficient, runs of course, bang on time. However, I only went up and back from the train station, so I can't account for the bus service, although it's very quiet in resort just now.

I do know that they are introducing additional parking down near the lake for this winter so that might make it easier, but that still means a bus to the lifts. I'd simply suggest getting up early!

All, thank you for all your very useful advice. Very much looking forward to it, except perhaps the drag lifts. Better get to work on my upper body fitness!
We are hiring ar Geneva Airport I assume winter tyres are standard there.
Nine days to go!

You know it makes sense.

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@Tom H Geneva Airport car hire generates a lot of discussion here, particularly the Swiss vs French issues. There are a fixed set of agencies renting out of the Airport, so even if you go through an intermediary, you're turning up at one of them. The safest option is to book directly, and to be collecting from and returning to the main P 51 car park, which is actually only 10 minutes walk away from the car hire desks (if you miss the shuttle bus or prefer to walk). Ideally, you do not want to be picking-up or returning to Ferney Voltaire, which is in France, just north of the airport. Using P51 normally means you get winter tyres and chains and motorway vignette included. But you should always check (a) you're using P51 for collection and return (b) the car is fully winterised (fully = winter tyres and chains included) and (c) on collection, that it has a vignette on the windscreen. Sometimes, intermediaries quote a low price but the car isn't winterised, or you have to collect/return from Ferney. If the Hertz quote is competitive, it's worth joining the free Gold Club loyalty scheme before booking and you'll often get an upgrade and a free 2nd driver, plus there's a Gold-Club-Only section at the Hertz desks, which can be useful if it's busy.

The Geneva Airport landing page for car rentals has links to their ~.ch pages. which sometimes have rates/offers not visible from the ~.com pages.

If you haven't collected from P51 before and want a guide, I wrote a Guide to Car Rental Collection at GVA which also includes details of how to 'escape' from P51 and get on the road to Lausanne-Martigny. Go to the link here and download the [LTZ2] 'Geneva Airport to La Tzoumaz Car Hire' PDF.

A snowHead

Thank you LaForet.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

After the announcements today would The following be a fair summary of the situation affecting the Canton of Valais?
From 26/12/20 it is the intention to open ski resorts but restaurants are closed for sit down eating. Take aways are open.

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We have a place in Grimentz and restaurants remain open. Max 4 per table. Masks to be warn to the table. Anniviers.org and valais.ch worth keeping an eye on as they are actually the Canton/Commune speaking as opposed to national press etc. NB UK residents must enter before year end or will have difficulty unless a deal is concluded with EU.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Sierre restaurants: Brasserie Le National, Restaurant Anniviers, Pizzeria Capri: all decent. Best restaurant in town (Didier Courten) is in the Hotel Terminus but is pricey. The brasserie is probably a better bet: Atelier Gourmand.

Have a great trip.

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@chrisJersey, +1 Didier de Courten G&M 19/20.

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ChrisJersey thanks we may pop up to your Restaurant.

After all it is free

Sadly due to Tier 4 in London I will be cancelling my trip. Very disappointed.

Thank you all for you help and advice. Next target is mid Feb but I will be booking at the very last minute. Best wishes to all the Swiss ski areas that are opening.

Tom

Help!!

Sierre

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