 Poster: A snowHead
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Hi folks.
After 6 years in les gets i'm looking at going for a week in St, Jean D'aulps as it seems much better value. We drive out each year so driving to morzine to be in the centre of the PDS each morning won't be an issue.
Anyone got any tips for the village, where its best to drive to etc?
Thanks
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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jayc, welcome to  I have stayed quite a few times in SJA (a friend used to have a place there). Lovely village but you do ahve to drive to resorts yes. There is skiing in village but very limited and not linked.
You can drive to Morzine or indeed Les gets and base yourself from either of those. Morzine closer of course. However I think the best place to drive to is through Montriond, pass Bout de Lac to Les Lindarets. Here you can take the Ardent (?) bubble up and access to Avoriaz, Chatel or over into Switzerland. There is a big car park right at the lift and a good apres ski bar for a quick drink before you head off home. It is quicker than going to Morzine and lift quieter generally.
In terms of village the Auberge restaurant used to be fab. Haven't been for 5 years 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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jayc, hi 
I liked it loads, very pretty....Most chalets in SJA will drive you to the lifts and collect you if you don't fancy driving for any reason.....I agree about the Ardent bubble too, that seemed much the best way when we were there.
We stayed in Chalet Shufu
http://www.lechaletholiday.com/
- really nice, lovely people, great food. We also ate at a place called Le Coq in SJA which was super, especially when you're a bit cheesed out (british run, nice curry) and a more traditional French place called L'Amandiers which was very good indeed despite slightly scary decor.
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jayc, stayed there last at a year at a friends appartment , there was 6 of us so we had two cars .
we tended to eat in SJA and only went out one night in morzine , boring i know.
The drive too Les Lindarets was fine only 10 mins or so even in bad weather . We hope to be going back this Feb for a few days.
Oh and welcome
Give me a pm if I can help anymore , I was only there for a week but i may be able to help
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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 for the replies!
Will will be driving out and doing self catering so we will have some cars out there and the tips on the restaurants are much appreciated.
Looking at the 1st week in march. Lets hope the snow is better than it was this year at that time
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Have to agree on Ardent if you're driving. Seems to be a very convenient access point going towards Chatel or Avoriaz. In fact I've done the complete PdS loop from there 3 times.
Last year, Ardent bubble was not running a few mornings, and the excuse we were given was that the cars had frozen on due to the snow cannons. As we were only being dropped off/collected, the Super Morzine bubble was also handy (just need to block the road for a minute or so).
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Just to revive this one.
We have 3 kids to put in ski school. Now previously they have been to les gets esf where they keep them occupied till lunch and the blokes can have a good ski in the AM. The ladies dolly about in the chalet or village and we all meet up for lunch at mid day.
Where would be best to get the kids in ski school? It needs to be somewhere easy to get them too, easy for the ladies to meet us for lunch but also have good skiing scope for the afternoon so I'm thinking of ruling out the st jean resort.
Morzine looks good as the kids will get a morzine/lesgets lift pass so lots of runs for the afternoon and its on the bus route from st jean so the ladies can meet us for lunch.
Any thoughts?
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Hi Dan,
Chalet is sorted but tahnks for the offer. Will defo check out those restaurants.
I'm not really worried about the buzz. A nice quiet village is cool with me. As long as it has a hand full of bars and restaurants the non skiing wives will have something to do while they are not sun bathing
ESF in les gets have always been great but its just too far from st jeab to justify. I think the morzine one will be the best as I really enjoy the terrain in and around morzine/lesgets (especially the back of the Mont Chery).
Just waiting on the ferry companies releasing the 08 fares and I'll get that booked too.
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I'm sure there is ski school at the top of the ardent bubble which is the best way into the PDS. From SJA you don't want to fag into Morzine and then have to fag round to avoriaz before you can get on any decent runs. Ardent bubble saves an hour I reckon.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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There is an ESF school in St Jean too just at the bottom by the telecabine. This is the one that I have used and because it is a quieter resort I have found them to be great. Great place for the non-skiers would be Lac Monriond in the winter when it's frozen over - nice restaurant Le Bout de Lac right on the edge with sun terrace and if adventurous they can cross country ski round the lake or walk it. Very pleasant!
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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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MrDan, You're so right!! We stayed next to the lake in Les Sapins and that restaurant was really nice. It's a lovely walk round the lake. I know I've asked on another thread, but do you know who owns that big empty school house next to the lake?
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marmalade, I'm not sure I know the one your talking about here, is it in the small hamlet at the Ardent end of the lake ? If so I think it is used in the summer (there is a lot of camping there, school trips etc)
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You know it makes sense.
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Les Albertans is the small hamlet, just remembered the name
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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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Hi marmalade, not overly sure to be honest. If it is the large place at the bottom end of the lake (Opposite end to Le Bout de Lac) then it was pretty busy last week. Not sure if it is a 'Clos' like somewhere where the kids can go for summer school? It is right next to where they were hiring out the kayaks for the lake.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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marmalade, sounds like a good idea to me! What a great location. Funny, we walked past it only last week and commented on how rickety the fire escape stairs looked on the outside - not sure if I'd fancy navigating those  There's a similar building to that in La Grande Terche which is a Clos and we met some of the teachers last week who were hitching up from St Jean. Turns out they run summer schools for underprivilaged kids from Paris/Boulogne/Lille who have no fathers due to death or being absent due to prison - first time these kids have seen the mountains! Quite humbling really. Great to see the fun they have in the snow when about 50 of 'em set to in snow shoes in the winter!
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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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jayc - I'd third (fourth, fifth and sixth) the recommendations for L'Amandier. Bout de Lac and Clin D'Oeil are also excellent. Bar National in St Jean also has great pizza.
ashton parker - is right, the Montriond ski school operates out of the Linderats bowl.
If the children can already ski then it's none too difficult to get them up and over to Avoriaz - where there's the a choice of ESF or the (primarily British) Avoriaz Ski School.
Speed Ferries is always worth a look for the crossing.
andy - is right - the Ardent bubble had a few bad (some very) bad days last year - but is generally reliable and IMHO the best base to start from.
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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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| Quote: |
summer schools for underprivilaged kids
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Darn those underpriviledged kids - spoiling my money spinning ideas 
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Thanks for all the help guys. We now have 2 chalets booked in St. Jean and the bro in law and his buddies are down the road in morzine for the same week so it should be a blast.
Just waiting on the ferry companies releasing pricing for 08 and we'll be all booked.
Oh yeah down speed ferries this year on a little summer jaunt. I swear everyone on the boat except the staff and myself were being sick. It was a rough as hell and the poor little boat was being chucked around everywhere. Coming back was fine but the wife isn't so keen on using them again!
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jayc 
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jayc, we have just had the same thing happen on Speed Ferries a couple of weeks ago. We knew it was going to be a rough ride when the captain announced it was 'a little bit choppy out there' and the staff came round with something in a big bag - I thought, oh great, freebies - nope, sick bags by the dozen . It was quite funny listening to everyone starting off in happy holiday spirits, people necking the beers and being all happy. By the time we docked you could hear a pin drop (apart from the sound of the engines!). Not a good trip and a lot more hassle than getting the EuroStar in my opinion. It was cheaper though. An 8 hour drive after being flung around was not the best start!
Glad you are on your way to St Jean though. They have 7 new snow canons for this season which is fantastic news!!
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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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Is there a way to acces SJA from morzine or ardent and get back to morzine by bus? Seems like an interesting ski area to visit but we stay in champoussin if we go to the portes du soleil area.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Thanks @DJL Looks like a bit of a hassle. the area is on the skimap of les portes du soleil so I would've expected a better connection by direct shuttle to the pistes of SJA
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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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@DaveC, +1. If we dont go to PLJ / Happy Valley, then on both sides of the of Col de Graydon is normally excellent and largely untracked.
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@Gillesski, given the way I believe revenues are shared I'm amazed there's a bus at all!
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You know it makes sense.
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| under a new name wrote: |
| @Gillesski, given the way I believe revenues are shared I'm amazed there's a bus at all! |
It's probably the amount of skiers in that area that makes Avoriaz have much higher revenue than SJA. If there were a better connection and more incentive to go to SJA, maybe more people would do that.
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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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| Gillesski wrote: |
| If there were a better connection and more incentive to go to SJA, maybe more people would do that. |
It's kinda nice that people don't.
I quite like the untracked powder fields, the friendly family feel of the plateau, the lack of lift queues, the lines in the trees, the backside of the circuit to the Roc of Hell and Bergerie.
Why would you wan't to change that ?
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Poster: A snowHead
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@Gillesski, but then e.g. Avoriaz, Chatel, Morzine might get less money ... hardly an incentive? Not sure how much influence the PdS central organisation have on it though. Down to communes who'll just see cost centers.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I think people choose to ski/holiday in St Jean BECAUSE it’s not a big connected station with the associated crowds, busy pistes etc., It was certainly why we picked it for our children’s second ski holiday, with our friends and their children, on their first.
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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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Welcome to snowHeads @Montan,
| WindOfChange wrote: |
| Gillesski wrote: |
| If there were a better connection and more incentive to go to SJA, maybe more people would do that. |
It's kinda nice that people don't.
I quite like the untracked powder fields, the friendly family feel of the plateau, the lack of lift queues, the lines in the trees, the backside of the circuit to the Roc of Hell and Bergerie.
Why would you wan't to change that ? |
That's true, but for the longevity of the resort it might not be that good...
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Given that the PdS money is mainly based around pass sales, and a small % based around passages thru the lift barriers, the ease of access would not affect it that much, as for every skier / boarder you attract from elsewhere, you also facilitate St Jean based skiers using other resorts, so I think you'd get a zero net gain.
What the lift company has done is to develop a much better relationship with the Mairie and the ESF.
Furthermore they have invested to improve the facilities.
There was the new drag on the backside of the plateau, the new chair lifts on Tete, the remodelling of the circuit and new lift halfway, a new piste this year returning to the station on the other side of the Telecabine. They have invested in scooters and mountain karts this summer - the karts are very popular and here's why:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CR8b3v4l2QD/?utm_medium=copy_link
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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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Looks like it sould be possible to link up to the Abondance area - but that's not that well connected to the rest of the PdS either. Would probably boost both resorts but probably not enough to cover the costs to build and run. For that you'd probably need to also link across from StJ to Les Gets - but looks a lot harder to do that, terrain wise.
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| Mjit wrote: |
| Looks like it sould be possible to link up to the Abondance area - but that's not that well connected to the rest of the PdS either. Would probably boost both resorts but probably not enough to cover the costs to build and run. For that you'd probably need to also link across from StJ to Les Gets - but looks a lot harder to do that, terrain wise. |
Looks near impossible and would just go through what is now untouched nature.
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| WindOfChange wrote: |
Given that the PdS money is mainly based around pass sales, and a small % based around passages thru the lift barriers, the ease of access would not affect it that much, as for every skier / boarder you attract from elsewhere, you also facilitate St Jean based skiers using other resorts, so I think you'd get a zero net gain.
What the lift company has done is to develop a much better relationship with the Mairie and the ESF.
Furthermore they have invested to improve the facilities.
There was the new drag on the backside of the plateau, the new chair lifts on Tete, the remodelling of the circuit and new lift halfway, a new piste this year returning to the station on the other side of the Telecabine. They have invested in scooters and mountain karts this summer - the karts are very popular and here's why:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CR8b3v4l2QD/?utm_medium=copy_link |
Interesting, thanks for sharing your insights. Is St Jean a good area for expert skiers? Does it have good powder?
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@Gillesski,
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Does it have good powder?
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... every 2nd Tuesday between January and March.
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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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There has been talk of linking the Chavannes side of Les Gets to Mt Chery for a long time with a gondola over the village but that hasn’t happened. I think SJD is perfect as it is.
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@Pamski, yeah, can't see any possibility of a direct link to SJdA
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FAQ
). Gorgeous in the summer and winter. It is a small resort and from our comments from guests it is not the kind of place where people go if they are looking for the night life and rowdiness - but then again, not everyone is! And if you do decide for a little bit more 'buzz' then Morzine is only 10 minutes drive away anyway. Access to Avoriaz is easy if you have a car and still pretty simple if you don't as the free navette ski bus will take you to Montriond or Morzine and you can go from there. The ESF school there has suited me ust fine - I know some people have some criticsim with ESF on the whole and I daresay it is not for everyone but the lessons I have had from there have been brilliant.
