 Poster: A snowHead
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Hi all,
I'm optimistically planning a weekend skiing for 2022. I did the following in January 2020 and ideally I would do the same again, however the ski train is not confirmed for 2022.
2020 Trip
Friday - Full day working, overnight ski train to Bourg St Maurice
Saturday - Ski all day in Les Arcs (carrying all my stuff) check in to hotel in Bourg for one night
Sunday - Check out of hotel, ski all day in Les Arcs (carrying all my stuff), catch 19:30 TGV to Paris, taxi to hostel opposite Gar du Nord
Monday - Early train to London, full day working.
Is there any way I can replicate this in 2022 without the Eurostar ski train?
The best I can think of is:
Friday - Full day working, late Eurostar to Paris, stay over near Gare de Lyon
Saturday - Early TGV to Moutiers, taxi to Brides Les Bains, Ski a half day afternoon in Meribel/3V (carrying all my stuff), bus to Bourg St Maurice, check in to hotel in Bourg for one night
Sunday - Check out of hotel, ski all day in Les Arcs (carrying all my stuff), catch 19:30 TGV to Paris, taxi to hostel opposite Gar du Nord
Monday - Early train to London, full day working.
Any advice/suggested improvements would be great please!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@Henwc, what's wrong with flying?
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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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I'm open to flying, the train worked in 2020 because of the Friday overnight but if that's not running flying may be better.
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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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@Henwc, I dimly recall that the Paris to Briancon sleeper train is still operating, so if Serre Chevalier appeals you could have a look at that as an option.
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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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Thanks, I'll seriously look into that because I am going to a UCPA family week in the Spring at Serre Chevalier with my son and he hates coach transfers so it could be double useful.
Update - It's still listed as running on some travel websites so it might be a great idea (and miles more comfortable than the Eurostar overnight ski train), I had assumed all the sleepers were canceled but I may have been overly pessimistic.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Take some holiday and relax a little
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@Henwc, next season there's scheduled to be a 21.05 LHR GVA flight on BA on Friday nights (as well as the old 19.15), which is a potential alternative if you need a late option to get a full days work done. You could either stay in GVA on arrival, or get a transfer to somewhere 60-90 mins away and arrive 1.30am local.
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Thanks the LHR flight might be possible, I'm 90 mins north of London but I think the timings add up ok.
I get the point about taking some holiday, this is very much an extra on top of some longer more relaxed trips but I might be able to grab an extra day or two.
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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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Get the earliest flight to Munich on Saturday morning. Drive to Soll which is about 70 minutes and fly home late Sunday night or first thing Monday morning.
Or the same for Geneva or whatever airport you can fly to early and back late.
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| maddness wrote: |
Get the earliest flight to Munich on Saturday morning. Drive to Soll which is about 70 minutes and fly home late Sunday night or first thing Monday morning.
Or the same for Geneva or whatever airport you can fly to early and back late. |
Thanks - I hadn't thought of Munich because I wrongly assumed a longer transfer time, with the volume of business traffic there should be plenty of Late/Early flights. I'll look at Geneva too, PDS is a good option from there.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@Henwc, In any searches I’ve done sort of recently Geneva’s far and away the best.
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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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@Henwc, Look at Milan or Turin for a quick trip to Gressoney or Champoluc as well. We have done that for a weekend's skiing before
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| under a new name wrote: |
| @Henwc, In any searches I’ve done sort of recently Geneva’s far and away the best. |
Thanks, is Morzine/Les Gets the best option close to Geneva if I want a short transfer?
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You know it makes sense.
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| Henwc wrote: |
| under a new name wrote: |
| @Henwc, In any searches I’ve done sort of recently Geneva’s far and away the best. |
Thanks, is Morzine/Les Gets the best option close to Geneva if I want a short transfer? |
Or Chamonix - they’re both about an hours transfer
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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| johnE wrote: |
| @Henwc, Look at Milan or Turin for a quick trip to Gressoney or Champoluc as well. We have done that for a weekend's skiing before |
Thanks, would those need a hire car for the transfer? It looks like Turin is about 30mins closer.
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Poster: A snowHead
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@Henwc, with all of these I'd start with the airline schedule and work backwards. Can you get in very late on the first night, and out on a very late flight back on the Sunday? IME the best tool by far is Google flights (or possibly ITA matrix, but that is pretty painful to use) as you can do multiple start/end points to explore the schedules.
If you go to Geneva, then there's a lot of options (St Gervais, Les Contamines, La Clusaz, Morzine, Les Gets, Samoens, Flaine, Chamonix, Les Houches, Argentiere, Verbier (just - Le Chable a few minutes quicker). Many of those have minibus transfers available.
Finally, worth thinking about reliability - does it matter if your plane is cancelled and you miss work? For some people (me) that's entirely manageable, for my wife it's untenable. If so, avoid the minor airports with very few flights e.g. Chambery.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@Henwc, Considering you will be arriving fairly late in the evening a hire car is really the only option
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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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| Henwc wrote: |
| johnE wrote: |
| @Henwc, Look at Milan or Turin for a quick trip to Gressoney or Champoluc as well. We have done that for a weekend's skiing before |
Thanks, would those need a hire car for the transfer? It looks like Turin is about 30mins closer. |
Turin would also give you access to Sauze d'Oulx and the Via Lattea.
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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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| twoodwar wrote: |
| Take some holiday and relax a little |
+1
| Henwc wrote: |
Ski a half day afternoon in Meribel/3V (carrying all my stuff), bus to Bourg St Maurice, check in to hotel in Bourg for one night
Sunday - Check out of hotel, ski all day in Les Arcs (carrying all my stuff) |
Seriously, all that carrying of one's own stuff all day malarkey is making me feel tired. Aren't there lockers at BSM station or am I out of date on that?
Aside from that, I have been there and done that kind of thing many times by air and even driving but (a) a few times the weather has been terrible so almost a waste of effort and money (b) it's absolutely knackering (c) no hotelier really wants to sell just a Saturday night and (d) a package week can be not much more money.
| maddness wrote: |
Get the earliest flight to Munich on Saturday morning. Drive to Soll which is about 70 minutes and fly home late Sunday night or first thing Monday morning.
Or the same for Geneva or whatever airport you can fly to early and back late. |
Better to get the Friday night 19:55 BA Heathrow-Munich, arrive in resort late but having missed the traffic. Stay 2 nights (which makes it more likely you'll find somewhere), have hotel look after your stuff and let you freshen up after skiing. Leaving resort Sunday afternoon however, along with every Munich inhabitant, to make a flight can be a bit stressy - the last BA is 20:20 so should be plenty of time under normal circumstances. That flight combo is £93 in Jan at the mo.
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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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How about Innsbruck? Lots of free buses from Innsbruck to a handful of resorts. Stubai Glacier being about an hour or so… & the furthest! - or simply ski overlooking Innsbruck in Nordkette. Schlick & axamer lizum 15-30mins on a bus & Kuhati near an hour
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Fly to Nice on Friday night. Get the early Saturday morning ski bus to Isola 2000. Return the same day and have a cracking meal in Old Nice. Sunday have lie in and chill at the beach, check out the marina,
and eat some moules mariniere. Fly home. Job done.
Okay, only 1 day's skiing, but so much more.
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Could you take the late Swiss flight to Zurich on the Friday evening and then the early Monday one back? Then maybe train to Flumserberg area?
I've always fancied doing something like this but never managed it.
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Samoens worked well for me for transfers from Geneva. It's worth considering car rental for anywhere as it's only 2 days and can be less than a transfer.
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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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@Pruman, Thanks, I don't mind the carrying really, mainly because I travel pretty light apart from the ski gear that I am wearing anyway. I agree the weather is a factor (I was pretty lucky last time with two cold, sunny January days and good snow). Munich is a good idea particularly late season where if I do relax it a bit a couple of evenings in Munich will be lovely. I'm not a regular driver in the UK so I'm probably not keen on driving for my transfer but I think there are some good train links from Munich.
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@Mr.Egg, Thanks, I agree Innsbruck as a location is perfect (I have a week there booked for this winter already). Finding evening flights back is difficult at the moment but I guess there might be more in the winter.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@HilbertSpace, Thanks I'll check this out, a bonus would be that my passionately non-skiing wife might actually be prepared to go on this one!
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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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@sugarmoma666, Thanks, Zurich will have plenty of late/early flights and I guess if I could probably get a couple of hours work in at Zurich airport on the Monday (assuming the lounge has decent Wifi). I'll also look at Flims Laxx (a bit further but it's on my bucket list). The direct train from the airport to Visp opens up the southern glacier resorts too (I wouldn't mind going back to the youth hostel in Saas Fee), although I need to check out how late/early the train runs.
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@andybomb1, Thanks, Le Grand Massif is probably one of the best options from Geneva for a short transfer, I think the easiest for me would probably be to go to Les Carroz and catch the lifts up from there.
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You know it makes sense.
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@Henwc, Flims/Laax is great skiing, but I don't think it's as easy to reach by public transport from Zurich. It looks like for Flumserberg you can catch a train from Zurich to the base station of the cable car at Unterterzen on the banks of the Walensee. I've only seen the Walensee from transfers to resorts beyond there, but it looks like a stunning setting for a ski resort. As you can see the slopes from the road along the bank of the Walensee, I'm assuming you get a good view down from the slopes in the other direction. Maybe I should look into this option more carefully myself 
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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How about last Swiss flight to Zurich on Friday night, then train to Klosters. Plenty of hotels close to cable car
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Poster: A snowHead
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From Zurich airport, Engelberg is 2h15min by train , one change in Luzern, leaves airport @ :38 past the hour, last one at 8:38pm; Andermatt a little longer, with more train changes. Check SBB schedule.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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For me in the past, I’ve gone to Innsbruck for long weekend.
Have to admit we’ve pushed it to 3.5 days - early Easyjet flight from Gatwick on Thursday, taxi to hotel (only 15 euros), minibus from Hotel for group to Axamer Lizum (15 euro each) for afternoon skiing. Free ski bus back.
Friday to Sunday take free ski buses to whatever resort we fancied, including Stubai Glacier. Really depends on weather. If low cloud, Schlick 2000 and ski through trees.
Monday, mid day flight back.
Of course as Innsbruck runway is so short, planning falls apart if there’s fog  as they drop you in Munich and coach to Innsbruck.
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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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What about Covid testing? Won't you need a PCR/LF to come back to the UK? That is what has put me off organising a weekend trip this season.
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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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Have done St Anton a few times after flying into Zurich. Stay in Zurich or somewhere close on the train route to St Anton. First train from Zurich arrives just before lift opening. Store gear in locker at St Anton station and go skiing immediately.
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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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@Henwc, best stick to Geneva or Zurich for the range of flights.
What about staying in Chur, about two hours from Zurich airport by train and with hotels near the station? There is a narrow gauge train up to Arosa or a well-served postbus route to Lenzerheide (linked resorts) and you could put a tick on your bucket list by taking the postbus to Flims for the second day though you would probably have to bale out early to get to the airport.
For Geneva the issue will be the transfer options arriving late evening, if you don't want to hire a car or use an expensive taxi. One thought would be staying in Le Fayet in the valley (accessible by train from Geneva, and many of the Chamonix transfers will drop off there); you could catch the bus up to St Gervais for a day around Evasion Mont Blanc, and you have the option on the Sunday of skiing Les Houches via the Tramway du Mont Blanc.
Just thoughts, I haven't checked the actual train times.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| FrediKanoute wrote: |
| What about Covid testing? Won't you need a PCR/LF to come back to the UK? That is what has put me off organising a weekend trip this season. |
That's my thinking at the moment too. Did it twice this summer for two different weeks away, but the hassle factor was such that we thought - not worth it for a weekend. Snowfall in November/December may well cause that opinion to be quickly reversed though.
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| Quote: |
What about Covid testing? Won't you need a PCR/LF to come back to the UK? That is what has put me off organising a weekend trip this season.
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Looks like for a Friday evening to Monday morning trip, you could take a LFT on the Friday lunchtime and use it for both UK exit and entry (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-testing-for-people-travelling-to-england). Still need to do the day 2 PCR test, but no risk of getting stuck overseas.
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Thanks all, I agree loads of Geneva and Zurich options including potentially some quite interesting resorts - I'll check them out. I was hoping that I could get away with a single test.
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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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Currently have a trip booked to VT in December - anyone know if we can get a UK approved test whilst there? Info from the VT website says you can get an antigenic test in a couple of places but I am too think to know what that is.
Antigenic test:
at the Val Thorens medical centre, without appointment from Monday to Friday from 9am to 11am and from 3pm to 5pm
at the Val Thorens pharmacy, Monday to Sunday from 10am to 12.30pm and from 3.30pm to 6pm, by appointment
at the Pelvoux medical practice in Les Menuires, by appointment from Monday to Saturday morning
at the pharmacy in Saint-Martin-de-Belleville from 9am to 12.15pm and from 3.15pm to 7pm from Monday to Saturday morning
Fingers crossed the requirement will be gone by then anyway
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@Ruddster, numerous other threads on here about this, but in short, you can do UK approved antigen tests over video call and get the certificate emailed to you. I've used Qured which worked well. You take the test kit with you from the UK.
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FAQ
