 Poster: A snowHead
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Hello Collective
I'd like to do a Warren Smith course in Verbier in January, but the cost of accommodation in the main town is proving prohibitively expensive. Who would have thought it! There are studios in La Tzoumaz that come in around £80+ a night, which are more in my reach, but I don't know if it's a bit risky if the course is in Verbier. They start at Ruinettes at ten, and I'm wondering if the link over is reliable. I've looked for places in Le Chable, but there don't seem to be any small apartment options there. The main hostel is fully booked and the other one only has dormitories. I was even thinking of staying somewhere further away near a train station, Martigny maybe, but there don't seem to be many places to stay there either.
Can anyone advise? Am I missing a trick looking for places to stay? Is it viable to stay in La Tzoumaz and get to and from Verbier every day?
Thank you!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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You should be able to make it to Ruinettes by 10 in January. It’s about 40 minutes not counting queues which should be minimal in Jan. The gondola from La Tzoumaz is reliable. The old one from Savoleyres back less so in case of high winds.
Another option to check below Le Châble is Sembrancher which is on the train line to Le Châble (also Bovernier)
You could also try Cabane Mont Fort which is up at 2400m above La Chaux. The food is good and views are great.
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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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Thanks BobinCH. That’s reassuring about the gondola from La Tzoumaz. I’ll check out
Sembrancher and Bovernier too. I like the idea of accessing from Le Chable, as I’m guessing the gondola runs back into the evening. Cabane Mont Fort looks interesting too!
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@eversolazy We have an apartment in La Tzoumaz and I'd agree with @BobInCH - the gondola to Savoleyres is pretty reliable and usually opens 08:45 in the morning and you should be able to get to your 10am start with some margin for delays. As mentioned, the old gondola back up can be prone to stoppage in high winds, albeit that's fairly unusual.
Have you contacted any of the rental agencies in La Tzoumaz, or the Tourist Office there? As an apartment owner, we often get asked if our place is available for season rental and we'd expect to give a 30%+ discount on the weekly price for that. You may find a small studio owner would be happy to get an up-front single payment as opposed to uncertain weekly bookings. Our rental agent is Carron Immobilier - they have season rental pages, and there are various others listed on the Tourist Office website. Even if the agencies have season rentals on their books, it doesn't mean other owners won't be amenable to the possibility.
Our rental website has maps of the village showing where everything is, which you might find useful when looking at how near accommodation is to the lift (we don't do season rentals, so I'm not pushing our place to you). The downloads page has the same in PDF for you to download.
As mentioned, Le Chable in the valley is another option, and while the time to get into central Verbier from your accommodation there won't be much different than from La Tzoumaz, the gondola down to Le Chable runs a lot later than the one up to Savoleyres. There's a hostel inside the télécabine building by the railway station called the Mt.Fort Swiss Lodge which other SnowHeads have used and reported favourably on. And it's obviously well-placed for excursions by train to places like Martigny, Lausanne and Montreux etc.
I assume that you've checked whether the Maison de Ruinettes hostel up the mountain at the Ruinettes Station is operating next season? If not, it certainly is worth checking as it's right on the piste half way up the mountain. The only downside is that obviously, it's not like being in a village in the evening with bars and cafés etc. to go to.
Last edited by You need to Login to know who's really who. on Sun 17-07-22 11:44; edited 2 times in total
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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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There are lots of AirBnB in Le Chable, but they don't usually appear until Sep/Oct/Nov time (when thoughts start turning to skiing again and workers who rent an apartment for the season consider renting out a spare room) - the big advantage of Le Chable is that the first lift is around 06:00 in the morning and the last lift down from Verbier is at 23:50.
La Tzoumaz is a lovely place to stay, but if for example you want a beer after skiing with anyone from your course in Verbier, then you may be looking at your watch nervously to get the bus from Medran to Savoleyres and then the lift up (which from memory closes at 16:15 in January) before skiing down to La Tzoumaz.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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LaForet I'm only going to be there for a couple of weeks, so feel free to push your place!  Seriously though, I think Le Chable is looking like a better option. I'm guessing most of the people skiing with WSSA will be staying in Verbier so it would be nice to be able to socialise without having to worry about getting the last lift back. I'd not heard of Maison de Ruinettes, but I'll investigate.
oui4ski That's interesting about rentals not appearing on airbnb etc until later in the year. I did wonder why there were so few available in Le Chable. I think I'll get booked up on the course and hold fire on the accommodation for a couple of months. I was just a bit worried that the limited number of budget places that there were would get snapped up if I waited.
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I have been on the WSSA courses in January and have stayed in Le Chable each time as a little cheaper. As people have said, it allows greater freedom in having drinks with your group afterwards and the travel up to the start of the course each morning is easy with small queues if any, preferable to having to come over from the other valleys and worrying about time. I’ve found accommodation later in the year via booking.com, but check out WSSA FAQs or email them as they do offer some ideas and discounts on accommodation.
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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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ficklefisher Thanks, that's what I was hoping. I like the idea of getting the train to Le Chable, and also not having to battle across Verbier in the morning to get the gondola. How have you found the courses? I have to say, I'm quite excited to give them a try.
BobinCH Thank you, that looks just the ticket. I missed it on my last search, but I'll make an enquiry. All in all I'm really looking forward to this trip. I've never skied in Switzerland before, and people seem to love the 4 Vallées!
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I’ve enjoyed the WSSA courses, and am doing another one in Feb bumped from last year! Have done WSSA courses in Cervinia but prefer Verbier for the off-piste/itinerary skiing. Good instructors and plenty of excellent terrain, people generally friendly. The first day “ski off” for group selection shatters many nerves! Have got the train from GVA to Le Chable and doing that again next time. Nice bar or two and a good bakery in Le Chable too.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@LaForet, sorry this is off-topic, but I was wondering what‘s the normal public transport route to get to La Tzoumaz? SBB is suggesting train to Riddes, cable car from Riddes to Isérables and then bus from Isérables to La Tzoumaz. Is that usual or is there some kind of work going on this summer that‘s resulting in that route? I couldn‘t find anything online but it feels quite convoluted.
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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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@Gämsbock That route from SBB is the norm for access to La Tzoumaz (described in detail below*): you walk a couple of hundred metres up from the station at Riddes to the TRI (Télépherique Riddes-Isérables) station in the town, which takes you up to Isérables. The bus stop is right outside the TRI station there. Sometimes, you'll have a gap between the TRI arrivals and the PostBus departure. You can make a virtue of necessity and walk the 25m to the Auberge le Mt.Gelé on the right that has a panoramic view and terrace above the Rhône Valley below and have a drink/meal. The PostBus then drives up to La Tzoumaz via the lower route through the village, through the centre, to the Télécabine.
There's a downloadble description of the public transport routes from GVA to La Tzoumaz on our clients' website, on the 'Downloads' section entitled *Geneva Airport to La Tzoumaz by Public Transport. This includes maps of Riddes and Isérables.
I've never quite understood the criteria, but sometimes, the PostBus runs directly between the station and La Tzoumaz, by-passing Isérables. it may be something to do with when the school bus runs, I'm not sure.
The main thing is that the bus timetable is more oriented for residents and students, so there's something of a gap around lunchtime, when no one local would be using it. If you're flying into GVA, then this means you need to be aware that some landing times make for a lunchtime stop in Riddes or Isérables. Personally, I prefer to wait in Isérables and sit in the Auberge le Mont Gelé, or on its terrace, as the views are more attractive.
You can get a taxi up from Riddes if this is too convoluted or you have a load of luggage: the La Tzoumaz Tourist Office keeps an up-to-date list of companies and contact numbers. As it only takes 10 minutes or so to drive from Martigny to Riddes, you may find that it's easier to organise a taxi from Martigny Station. Again, personally, on a return leg, I'd still take the bus+télépherique down to Riddes station rather than a taxi, as the buses usually leave at convenient times from the village e.g. 8/9/10am.
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@LaForet, thanks very much for the detailed reply. I live in Basel, so I‘m considering access more from a „come by train for a weekend perspective“. It sounds a bit too complicated unfortunately (compared to other ski/mtb resorts in CH) especially arriving late on a Friday.
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You know it makes sense.
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@eversolazy You might consider a night spent at the Cabane Mt. Fort, between the Col des Gentianes and La Chaux. You'd be paying twice-over, of course, but it's be an experience to end/start the day from there.
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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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@LaForet, I understand a gondola/cable car from Riddes directly to La Tzoumaz is forseen which should simplify the journey up
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Poster: A snowHead
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@BobinCH I've read that there were plans to move FC Sion's home ground out to Riddes, as they have a training ground there, so they own the land. With the funds from the sale of their Sion ground for prime housing, they would build a new stadium and associated car park, which would double as the parking for a new télépherique up to La Tzoumaz, to connect with the new one up from the village to Savoleyres. But this all seems to have gone very quiet. I'd settle for replacing the ancient Verbier-Savoleyres lift as more of a priority! And perhaps selfishly, we're happy for La Tzoumaz to stay as less accessible than Verbier, to avoid it getting over-developed, like Nendaz.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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We stay at Hotel Gietroz, Le Chable.
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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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LaForet It does look spectacular. I don't think I'd fancy it for a week, but you're right, staying for the one night would be a great experience.
snowball Thanks, Hotel Gietroz looks good. I'll add it to the options.
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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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| LaForet wrote: |
| @BobinCH I've read that there were plans to move FC Sion's home ground out to Riddes, as they have a training ground there, so they own the land. With the funds from the sale of their Sion ground for prime housing, they would build a new stadium and associated car park, which would double as the parking for a new télépherique up to La Tzoumaz, to connect with the new one up from the village to Savoleyres. But this all seems to have gone very quiet. I'd settle for replacing the ancient Verbier-Savoleyres lift as more of a priority! And perhaps selfishly, we're happy for La Tzoumaz to stay as less accessible than Verbier, to avoid it getting over-developed, like Nendaz. |
I heard they were building an IKEA for the Valais in Riddes and the car park would also serve the gondola!
I think the Savo replacement is also now approved although not sure of when it will be in service
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