That's great thank you, one last question if I may ask - have you got any recommendations for a reasonably priced ski hire shop close to the tracouet gondola station? We are staying at the cristianina appts opposite. Many thanks
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
@james75, I was skiing in Verbier today - excellent snow and nice and quiet.
It was just as well it was quiet as the only access at Medran to the bubble lift seemed to be up the tiny little elevator at the side of the building due to work on the new lift so there was quite a queue forming. Luckily I came up from Le Chable so bypassed this
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?
james75 wrote:
That's great thank you, one last question if I may ask - have you got any recommendations for a reasonably priced ski hire shop close to the tracouet gondola station? We are staying at the cristianina appts opposite. Many thanks
My mate with a chalet there swears by Neige Adventure, the big place on the bend below the lift station. If you say you’re staying at Chalet Chambord and Nick sent you you may get a discount.
And there’s a good (Aussie!) boot fitter there called Travis just in case
@james75, I was skiing in Verbier today - excellent snow and nice and quiet.
It was just as well it was quiet as the only access at Medran to the bubble lift seemed to be up the tiny little elevator at the side of the building due to work on the new lift so there was quite a queue forming. Luckily I came up from Le Chable so bypassed this
I think the new lift is still only open at weekends until Xmas. It’s doubled the capacity so looking forward to no queues at Medran this season!
On Sunday there was a 45 minute wait on the way up from Le Châble and a good 30 mins to get down at the end of the day! Some friends were railing about the injustice of it. Seems the lift capacity can’t be increased as it passes too close to residential buildings like the W!
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
A few family skiing vids from last weekends powder
After a week wall to wall sunshine wasn’t sure what to expect this weekend. The cover is still good, pistes are in great nick and the off piste is still decent and chalky on the north facing stuff. Nice to get up Mont Gelé in December.
Quick frontside lap shows it’s a bit variable where the sun has kissed it
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
4V experts.
Potentially moving our trip from Meribel in Jan to Nendaz (waiting off until nearer the time before actually pressing any buttons!)
When returning from other areas within the 4V's back to Nendaz at the end of the day, am I reading the piste map correctly that from Plan du Fou to get back to Nendaz, at some point you have to ski a black run?
Looking at the map, looks as though you can ski a black/itineray from Plan du Fou or take the cablecar/gondola, then black run down to Prarion, although there seems to be some kind of a hiking trail?
From Prarion looks as though a lift back up to Tracouet then red/blues down to Nendaz.
Am I correct here? How tricky are the blacks? No issues for me, but girlfriend has only skied 15 days....
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
@rambotion, thanks, just seen a more up to date piste map, which has a gondola from Plan du Fou right down to Prarion, taking out any worries of black runs.
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Ski the Net with snowHeads
@swskier, Steep and can be icy/ busy but taken steadily should be OK.
If staying in Nendaz look out for Hotel Etagnes next to the lift station, great food and pretty lively apres, Dutch guy Onno owns it, good fun.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
@Markymark29, thanks for the tips.
Apartment we've found is a good price in the Ambassador block just round the corner from the lift, so sure we'll pop in if this plan ends up going ahead.
Annoyingly, the apartment has no cancellation policy, so can't book it until last minute when we know what's going on, so just hoping it'll still be available when/if we rebook.
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.
@swskier, unless the snow is really nice and grippy...DOWNLOAD!
There is an off piste way down, and a piste. The piste has a very black section because it gets very polished.
I would suggest you pause near the cable car and watch the progress of other skiers and then decide to ski it or download...because if it is nice it's really nice...but if it is polished and hard it's evil.
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
@swskier, good character test for the gf
You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
Private lesson on the cheap
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
@BobinCH, i've told her we can look at it up and down on the first day, then make a decision. Worst comes to worst, we'll (she) just just get on the lift down, not the end of the world.
Fingers crossed BoJo doesn't F*** it all up for us! I'm not particularly confident we'll get away at all in January at this rate.
Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
@swskier Here is the area you're talking about, viewed from La Tzoumaz.
At the top right is Plan du Feu [A]. The initial section [1] is designated an itieraire and usually forms a mogul field which leads to a black [2] down to Prarion [C]. They originally kept the drag from Prarion [D] up to the old base station [B]. This enabled you to ski the black [2] if you wanted, without having to do the itineraire [1]. But it's not shown on my 2020 map so they may have removed it.
Below is the view from Plan du Feu [A] looking down to Prarion [C]. The old télécabine in the photo' has now been replaced by a gondola #61 all the way down to the chair #57 at Prarion [C] which takes you back up to Tracouet [E]:
The photo above belies just how steep the initial itineraire [1] is - here is a telephoto shot which is much more representative (covering the oblong area in the first photo').
The Plan du Feu Café is the 'crinkly' roofed building. The télécabine in the shot is now replaced with the new gondola, with the new gondola station in the building to the left of the café.
I'd say it's pretty certain that your girlfriend will opt to take the new gondola back down. I've never done the itineraire because it's too steep for me to enjoy it, but the black is relatively benign as blacks go, and even as piste-only skiers, we have happily skied that by taking the drag up from Prarion. In any event, you can take a look as you ascend up to PdF from Prarion.
One thing I would definitely advise against is taking a novice down Chassoure. This is a l o n g, l o n g mogul field that is in The End of the Relationship category if you forced a novice partner to do it. But again, you'll see what it's like on the way up from Tortin to Lac des Vaux, on the #119 télécabine.
The #71 chair goes from the Siviez car park up to the Tortin gondolas, which are the entry points to the Verbier areas via #1 Col des Gentianes and #119 Chassoure. For a novice re-finding their feet, I'd recommend first doing the run down back into Siviez (you hop off the #71 before it does the final section to Tortin) for a while, and then go up to Lac des Vaux, where they can do repeated cycles down to the lake then the chair #116 up to Attelas then 'round again, taking a break at the Attelas café as and when.
Last edited by Poster: A snowHead on Tue 21-12-21 18:49; edited 4 times in total
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
@LaForet, thank you, very in depth and helpful!
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?
It is a nice big wide mogul field though. Especially once you get past the rocky bits!
Forgot to mention: the more open pasture above [C]-[D] has much bigger trees in it than the surrounding pine forests. These are huge larches (mélèzes in French), up to 12 metres in circumference which are one of only 3-4 remnant groups of Alpine larch forests surviving from the last Ice Age.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
@LaForet, From memory there is also a restaurant with a very sunny terrace near your number [3] (you pass it about 2/3 of the way up on the chairlift) too!
Forgot to mention: the more open pasture above [C]-[D] has much bigger trees in it than the surrounding pine forests. These are huge larches (mélèzes in French), up to 12 metres in circumference which are one of only 3-4 remnant groups of Alpine larch forests surviving from the last Ice Age.
Fantastic bit of info, TY.
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Good deal for 179chf for an adult
After all it is free
After all it is free
swskier wrote:
4V experts.
Potentially moving our trip from Meribel in Jan to Nendaz (waiting off until nearer the time before actually pressing any buttons!)
When returning from other areas within the 4V's back to Nendaz at the end of the day, am I reading the piste map correctly that from Plan du Fou to get back to Nendaz, at some point you have to ski a black run?
Looking at the map, looks as though you can ski a black/itineray from Plan du Fou or take the cablecar/gondola, then black run down to Prarion, although there seems to be some kind of a hiking trail?
From Prarion looks as though a lift back up to Tracouet then red/blues down to Nendaz.
Am I correct here? How tricky are the blacks? No issues for me, but girlfriend has only skied 15 days....
Just returned from a 4 day ski in Nendaz. No need to ski a black to return to Nendaz. Gondola download followed by a chairlift back up to the top of the Tracouet and then Blue or red down. Wife and youngest daughter downloaded and myself and eldest daughter skied the black down. If you time it right, you can get some great footage of you skiing down from the gondola - did this for GCSE skiing footage. Looks quite spectacular together with footage following her down the black).
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.
Back to sunshine for the next few days. Time to slay some pistes with banana boy
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Hi all,
Is there a free bus from Nendaz to Veysonnaz? Some posts seem to indicate there are but I cant find anything official outside details on a summer bus?
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
There's a regular commercial bus connection, but only by getting the #B362 down to Sion Station, and then the #B364 back up to Nendaz. I put in from 'Haute-Nendaz (télécabine)' to 'Veysonnaz (télécabine)' using the SBB Timetable. it looks like on a weekday, there's one connection that's more direct, where you just get off the downhill bus not far out of Nendaz and then cross over to the uphill bus: this takes under an hour.
But as you say, there may be a navette that's run specially by Télénandaz, and won't be shown on the SBB site.
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.
LaForet wrote:
There's a regular commercial bus connection, but only by getting the #B362 down to Sion Station, and then the #B364 back up to Nendaz. I put in from 'Haute-Nendaz (télécabine)' to 'Veysonnaz (télécabine)' using the SBB Timetable. it looks like on a weekday, there's one connection that's more direct, where you just get off the downhill bus not far out of Nendaz and then cross over to the uphill bus: this takes under an hour.
But as you say, there may be a navette that's run specially by Télénandaz, and won't be shown on the SBB site.
Thanks, will have a look when we get there at the weekend.
I guess rather then ending in Veysonnaz, can head back up the valley and get bus from Siviez back to Nandez.
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
If you're based in Nendaz, then the №6 Navette shuttles between there and Siviez.
So if you're returning from an excursion and find yourself at Siviez and want to call call it a day, you can get that instead of going Siviez>Plan du Feu>Prarions>Tracouet>Nendaz.
If you want to go out to the Veysonnaz Sector from Nendaz, then there are the tedious Greppon Blanc drags up from Combatzeline to negotiate but that'd be first thing. So it's not like it takes most of the morning to get there and you should have plenty of time to ski the area and not get caught out by the lifts shutting. The route back from there is fine, but perhaps a bit longer than the map implies thanks to perspective. Although the final Red down from Combatzeline to Siviez is steep (but wide). If you have novices in the group, then plan the day so they have enough energy left to tackle this.
For an intermediate/expert, doing the Savoleyres Sector from Nendaz is entirely practical as long as you start off promptly in the morning. You might consider starting the return after an early lunch if you wanted to avoid range anxiety.
Verbier Sector is even closer but I suspect skiing here is where it'd be easy to lose track of time and then find you're stranded: the key link to not miss is the chair #118 up from Lac des Vaux to the top of Chassoure and the télécabine #119 down to Tortin. At Tortin you want the #71 to still be running - or you've a long walk on the flat to the top of the run down into Siviez. So basically, to wok out the Nendaz return deadline from Verbier, note the time the #71 closes when you take it up in the morning, and then work your timing back from there, with the obvious margin, and also note the close time of the #119 and #118 to make sure they're not closing ahead of the #71.
You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
Does anyone have any experience of using Alpybus for a transfer from Geneva to Verbier? Or indeed any other shared transfer? I know you can get a train but it also involves a gondala ride and not sure I fancy that with my snowboard bag and other luggage
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Minion1980 wrote:
Does anyone have any experience of using Alpybus for a transfer from Geneva to Verbier? Or indeed any other shared transfer? I know you can get a train but it also involves a gondala ride and not sure I fancy that with my snowboard bag and other luggage
Yep I’ve used Alpine Express and it worked well. There can be a bit of a wait in Geneva if you come at a quiet time as they want to fill the buses. The train is a nice journey but you’ll have to change at Martigny and Le Châble so if you’re hauling luggage the bus is probably easier
Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Great to have some fresh snow and sunshine for a change. Warming up the legs on Mont Fort
@BobinCH, thank you so much good to have a recommendation and yes a bus is much simpler when carting around large luggage, just trying to find accommodation now, it seems only really poor apartments are left for 22nd Jan.
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?
Minion1980 wrote:
@BobinCH, thank you so much good to have a recommendation and yes a bus is much simpler when carting around large luggage, just trying to find accommodation now, it seems only really poor apartments are left for 22nd Jan.
Mine is available 22nd to 27th at the moment and can do you a deal going direct if that’s of any interest. Details in my sig
@BobinCH, thank you so much good to have a recommendation and yes a bus is much simpler when carting around large luggage, just trying to find accommodation now, it seems only really poor apartments are left for 22nd Jan.
Mine is available 22nd to 27th at the moment and can do you a deal going direct if that’s of any interest. Details in my sig
Wow that looks amazing what a beautiful apartment! Alas I am travelling alone so a bit out of my price range, I do appreciate the offer though, thank you. I'm desperately trying to organise something at short notice due to the current rather ridiculous restrictions France has placed on UK tourists as I've already got accommodation and transfers booked to Les Arcs for the week. The saga continues! I've found a place in Verbier that looks suitable but there's no cancellation option which concerns me.
If you're based in Nendaz, then the №6 Navette shuttles between there and Siviez.
So if you're returning from an excursion and find yourself at Siviez and want to call call it a day, you can get that instead of going Siviez>Plan du Feu>Prarions>Tracouet>Nendaz.
If you want to go out to the Veysonnaz Sector from Nendaz, then there are the tedious Greppon Blanc drags up from Combatzeline to negotiate but that'd be first thing. So it's not like it takes most of the morning to get there and you should have plenty of time to ski the area and not get caught out by the lifts shutting. The route back from there is fine, but perhaps a bit longer than the map implies thanks to perspective. Although the final Red down from Combatzeline to Siviez is steep (but wide). If you have novices in the group, then plan the day so they have enough energy left to tackle this.
For an intermediate/expert, doing the Savoleyres Sector from Nendaz is entirely practical as long as you start off promptly in the morning. You might consider starting the return after an early lunch if you wanted to avoid range anxiety.
Verbier Sector is even closer but I suspect skiing here is where it'd be easy to lose track of time and then find you're stranded: the key link to not miss is the chair #118 up from Lac des Vaux to the top of Chassoure and the télécabine #119 down to Tortin. At Tortin you want the #71 to still be running - or you've a long walk on the flat to the top of the run down into Siviez. So basically, to wok out the Nendaz return deadline from Verbier, note the time the #71 closes when you take it up in the morning, and then work your timing back from there, with the obvious margin, and also note the close time of the #119 and #118 to make sure they're not closing ahead of the #71.
Thanks that is all really useful. Should save a bit of time trying to work it all out.
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Minion1980 wrote:
Does anyone have any experience of using Alpybus for a transfer from Geneva to Verbier? Or indeed any other shared transfer? I know you can get a train but it also involves a gondala ride and not sure I fancy that with my snowboard bag and other luggage
Done Geneva to/from Verbier a dozen or more times and it's 100x easier to use the train directly from the airport - very smooth. No advantage to a road transfer as a shared bus will be more expensive, more arduous and take considerably longer. Gondola from train terminus at Le Chable to top of the village isn't a problem with luggage - have done that frequently but if you really don't want to do it there are also buses from Le Chable into Verbier as well as taxis - the bus is also very efficient if sometimes involving a wait at certain times of the day. I would advise the train as a no brainer versus other options from Geneva unless you are driving.
After all it is free
After all it is free
mis-posted, see below!
Last edited by After all it is free on Fri 7-01-22 15:31; edited 1 time in total
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.
Anyone had experience so far in '22 of how the Swiss "2G+" rules work for access to bars/club for apres? The rules say you need to have been boosted in past 4 months but if more than 4 months you also need a negative lateral flow test. I'm due to go to Verbier in March so will be past the 4 months... so wondering how you *prove* the negative LTF. Website for Le Rouge says you can test there but it costs CHF30 (!) and resulting QR code only valid for 24 hours! How is that viable?! The negative LTF required for entry to Switzerland might be valid instead? But that would need to last more than 24 hours! Confused!
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
@Scotchmist, only a Swiss LFT will work for 2G+. They come with a barcode that the Swiss Covid app will scan, and it will then scan green for 2G+. And yes, they only last 24 hours. So you need the Swiss app, and a Swiss test.
FAQ
Poster: A snowHead
