 Poster: A snowHead
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Hi all,
I'm looking for some suggestions of easier and more confidence building pistes at Les Saisies. I would really appreciate any thoughts anyone has.
A bit of background:
I managed to convince my partner to come for a first week on snow in Flaine earlier this year. She'd done a little on dry slope a very long time ago but never on snow. We went for a session at Hemel before going away and she managed to ski down from the top of the main slope reasonably confidently before the end of the session.
Once we got to the mountain though she was quite intimidated by the drop, both off the edge of piste, and where the piste become steeper and it 'drops away'. We spent the first few days enjoying the greens at the bottom of the main bowl but she quickly got frustrated by repeating the same few short routes over and over. We tried doing a rather ill-fated trip up Tete de Verds in order to try the bottom of Serpertine but it was clearly overwhelming and really shook her confidence for the rest of the week. As a result she's decided she isn't happy on blues and will only consider greens.
I tried to encourage her that maybe a bit of instruction might help if only to get pointed in the direction of suitable new pistes but she wasn't interested because she "just wants to have a nice holiday" rather than be there to be learning which I can understand to an extent.
We ended up having a good enough time that I've managed to convince her to give it another go provided we were able to find somewhere with a greater amount of easy pistes and we've settled on Les Saisies. We're due to go in the second week of January to stay at Amaya- hopefully the spa in the hotel will be a good back up if the skiing doesn't work out so well.
I'm still hoping that I can win her round to some instruction but failing that I was hoping to have an idea of the easier blue pistes to coax her onto and an idea of sensible progression to help build her confidence. If there are particular ones to avoid that would be useful too.
If anyone has any recommendations/advice, they would be very gratefully received!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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There is a a few almost in the village itself, with a magic carpet back up and a few further up.
There is a Very helpful snowhead PamW who is the Les Saisies expert who I am sure will be able to help.
We stayed in the Amaya last year. You will be delighted with your choice. There is an ESF meeting point very close but I think it’s for the little ones.
I assume you are self catering, there is/was a fab pizza truck a few minutes walk around the corner.
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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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@Arrow, welcome to snowHeads and I think you've chosen a perfect resort for your partner. I've been to both Flaine and Les Saisies and would say the blues are generally much more straightforward at the latter. In January it'll be quiet too - almost certainly quieter than Flaine at the same time - which helps with confidence building.
Around Les Saisies some of the greens are pretty long and I would start on those (Carrets, Blanchots).
Top of Blanchots green (also visible and easy: Coqs blue left foreground, plus Tetras blue & Verdets green either side of the drag in the background)
Moving onto the blues I would say the easy ones are (from memory, but also checking on topo maps):
1. Everything on the Bisanne (right) side of Les Saisies *except* the top half of Chevreuils and perhaps Ecureuils, next to the Palette drag.
2. On the Chard du Beurre (left) side: Tetras and Coqs are basically of green gradient.
Easy Rhododenrons blue from Mont Bisanne (also visible: fairly easy home runs from Chard du Beurre (centre background); steeper home runs from La Legette (right background)
Slightly steeper but still not difficult:
1. Trolliers from the top of Chard du Beurre to the Brichou chair is a nice long run (longer than it looks on the piste map), returning via the top of the Grattary blue and Plan Corbet green.
2. Other blues around Chard du Beurre: Vardache, Legette, Ruine, Borlat
3. If your partner's lift pass includes Crest Voland, this is an excellent long and undemanding circuit: Bisanne chair - start of Rhododendrons blue - Choucas blue (avoiding Chevreuils) - liason Crest Voland green (exceptionally long, not steep, but narrow) - Cernix chair (also opens up a couple of greens from this point) - Baches blue - Nant Rouge chair - Covetan chair
Of normal blue gradient:
1. Almost all the other blues in Les Saisies, except...
These are the blues I would avoid or be wary of:
1. Fretes from La Legette (probably the only blue in Les Saisies which should be red)
2. Chenavelles from the same place - the steepest part can be avoided by using the variant starting from the bottom of the Coqs drag instead
3. Chevreuils on the Bisanne side - prone to being icy (due north facing and relatively steep)
4. La Chapelle from Chard du Beurre at the end of the day - a busy run and I suspect might get a bit mogully
Beyond the local Les Saisies pass, the blues in the other parts of the Espace Diamant (Crest Volane, Notre Dame de Bellecombe, Flumet, Praz sur Arly) are generally tougher, so I wouldn't take your partner there until she is happy on the local blues.
Thuile in Notre Dame de Bellecombe 1350 is one of the steeper blues - steeper than most of the blues around Les Saisies
Hope that helps a bit!
Last edited by Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see? on Mon 14-11-22 1:02; edited 2 times in total
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@Arrow, welcome to Snowheads.  You have some excellent advice already. I was in Les Saisies a few weeks ago and looking at the extensive lift changes which have been installed! I would stick to Saisies - the long run (5km) through the forest to Crest Voland is lovely with good snow, but those narrowish tracks can freak out people who are nervous, the snow at lower levels before dropping into Crest Voland can be patchy, and there is plenty to go at in Saisies - and cheaper lift pass.
I agree that Chapelle can get a bit mogully.
I would add the Planay down to the new gondola in Bisanne 1500 - the only gondola in the Espace Diamant - a very scenic run down, and a super piste-side restaurant, the Refuge, to have lunch before skiing down to the gondola and back up the top of Mont Bisanne.
Really, there's loads, and an easy way down from whichever lift you go up.
BUT: it sounds as though your wife really does need to take a couple of lessons. It's nowhere near as intimidating as it sounds - I could recommend a lovely French guy who has been a hit with lots of my family and friends, ranging from really good skiers who he's taken off piste, to a lady in her 70s who was a very nervous (verging on paranoid) beginner who tried to persuade him to let her take a few swigs from a hip flask on the chair lift.
Where are you staying?
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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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The Mont Bisanne (South) side of LS is a bit like a swimming pool, easy beginners end to the left and as you go further to the right the pistes slowly get steeper and more testing. You can't go wrong really.
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Thanks everyone for replying so quickly and such a warm welcome. 
Wow @denfinella, thanks for such an amazingly exhaustive breakdown. This is absolutely perfect. I think we're likely to get Espace Diamant passes because they seem to be on sale for cheaper than just Les Saisies at the moment so we should have the option of going down towards Crest Voland. Following @pam_w's advice though I guess it may be worth seeing just how confident my partner is feeling towards the end of the week before departing on that particular adventure.
Cheers for the heads up about Chapelle getting mogully, I don't think she'd be too keen on that. If we were to make a trip down to Crest Voland to try out the greens over there, there seems to be a blue run from Le Col that joins the bottom of Chapelle. I presume that route would cut out the bumpy bits and provide an alternative to the longer green. That being said we'll probably be more than sufficiently entertained in Les Saisies itself.
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a very scenic run down, and a super piste-side restaurant, the Refuge, to have lunch before skiing down to the gondola and back up the top of Mont Bisanne.
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This sounds great, nothing quite like good food to motivate!
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I could recommend a lovely French guy
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Yes, please! I suspect it will be a bit easier to sell the idea when the instructor comes highly recommended.
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Where are you staying?
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We'll be staying at Residence Amaya just out of town a bit.
@harrim51 good to hear Amaya was good pick, and thanks for the tip about the pizza truck - good to know!
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The Mont Bisanne (South) side of LS is a bit like a swimming pool, easy beginners end to the left and as you go further to the right the pistes slowly get steeper and more testing. You can't go wrong really.
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Great, that sounds perfect, hopefully it will be a good way to dip a toe in at the (slightly) deeper end!
Thanks again all, starting to get very excited to go!
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My recommendation for an instructor would be Stéphane at the Glisse Passion ski school. He really is a very nice guy and will help her feel as relaxed and comfortable as possible. He's popular, so don't wait too long to book a couple of private lessons.
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I'm stunned at @denfinella's knowledge of the pistes - I skied there 16 winters and couldn't reel them off like that - I often don't notice the names of pistes! Ski around with my eyes closed.
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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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| Arrow wrote: |
| Cheers for the heads up about Chapelle getting mogully, I don't think she'd be too keen on that. If we were to make a trip down to Crest Voland to try out the greens over there, there seems to be a blue run from Le Col that joins the bottom of Chapelle. I presume that route would cut out the bumpy bits and provide an alternative to the longer green. |
The route you describe would indeed cut out the steep parts of Chapelle, though I'm not sure exactly how easy it would be to find the start of that piste (if it even exists). Might involve a walk across a big car park.
Another option would just be to go early in the day. There shouldn't be any moguls at that time. You can also use the Liaison Periots-Covetan piste to avoid the top half of Chapelle (though that doesn't entirely remove the steeper sections).
If your partner is feeling confident later in the week, I would definitely try to give the long green from Bisanne to Crest Voland a go. The only difficulty is its narrowness - remember it is only a green so not at all steep! We did it when freshly pisted after a snowfall, and the scenery was stunning with all the snow on the trees.
I echo pam w's advice to find an instructor.
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Yes, that run is lovely in fresh snow. Magical. If you start from the top of the blue there's a "schuss or skate" decision. Though it's a few years since I skied there and things might have changed. Some people I took down there got tired legs because they kept checking/snowploughing on the same side through nervousness.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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We have been a few times to Les Saisies and stayed in Residence Amaya last season so it is all fresh in my mind. It is a beautiful ski area.
Amaya is very nice particularly if you have an apartment looking towards the village. It has a good pool etc. The ski room is luxurious and leads straight onto the piste.
You have a choice of two easy circuits to warm up first thing. You could ski down to the Carrets chair take it back up and ski down again. however it looks very slow. We skied past the Carrets chair and under the bridge to the fast Legette lift. From the top of there you can take the gentle blanchots green down to the Mont Bisanne lift. Take another fast lift Mont Bisanne up and enjoy many gentle pistes below Mont Bisanne facing the main village. NB when you get to the top of the legette be sure of following the sign to Blanchots to avoid accidentally going down the Girolles red which has a steep section.
Le Planay down to Bisanne 1500 is slightly harder than the blues on the other side of Mont Bisanne - potentially this is due to the fact it is south facing and the snow quality is not quite so good at the bottom..but this is marginal. If you ski down to Bisanne 1500 be sure to take the left turn at the bottom or you will have to take your skis off and cross a road to the gondola.
Thinking back to the top of La legette there is another good blue which goes down to the roche blanche chair.
From the top of Chard du Beurre Tetras and Renards are fairly cruisy but you might find a few moguls at the very top just as you branch onto Renards. The only way we found to ski la chapelle piste was to start at the top from Chard du beurre. It is fairly gentle at the top. There is a short steeper section near the restaurant. We went early season and it did not seem that mogully. I would ski it late morning when the snow is likely to be at its best. I would recommend stopping at the restaurant half way down the piste. It looks nearly new and the food is very good with waiter service. It has wonderful views towards Mont Bisanne.
I expect your wife would manage the route to crest voland via either the green or la chapelle..give it a go a few days in when she has got her confidence up on the wide gentle pistes in the village. If its icy first thing wait until about 11 before going over there. Crest Voland has some nice blues but some older lifts and a few drags. Don't take her down the red chardons as it looks gentle at the top but has a steeper narrow section. The run back to Les Saisies is not difficult but towards the bottom it is in the shade and can be a bit icy early season so maybe aim to come back to Les Saisies by 3.
I would also recommend doing the runs and lifts leading to the Sommet de l'espace diamant and maybe the blue in the bellasta area.
I have also skied in Flaine a few times and I would say there is a lot in Les Saisies that is easier than the blues in Flaine. Les Saisies is more family and beginner orientated and tends not to attract people skiing too fast for their ability so I think your wife would feel a lot more confident in Les Saisies.
Do send me a private message if you need any more info on Amaya etc
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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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I realise it's been a little while, but I just wanted to thank everyone again for all the great advice. I've really enjoyed going through it all and trying to scour the internet to for pictures and videos of all the runs you've mentioned.
I'm feeling very hopeful that this time around we'll be able to really get a sense of distance travelled without it being too intimdating.
I think the loop around Carrets/Blanchots will go down a treat and the idea of trying out some of the easier blues you've all suggested is being taken much more positively! If the snow is good lower down then I think the long green down into Crest Voland will be a really hit as the gentle narrow tracks through the trees were some of her favourites in Flaine.
Again, thanks for all your recommendations, advice and pictures, I really appreciate it!
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You know it makes sense.
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@Arrow, hope you and your partner have a wonderful trip. Do report back afterwards if you have the time!
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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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Poster: A snowHead
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Fabulous trip report. Thank you. I posted over Christmas about wanting to find a resort with cruisey blues and good accommodation as I have a husband whose confidence was knocked on some steep sections during our Christmas trip. Les Saises and the Amaya were recommended to me several times. It's high on our short-list now, so I read this thread with interest. It sounds like you're having a fantastic time. Enjoy the rest of your holiday.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@Arrow, thanks for reporting back! Really glad your girlfriend is enjoying it too this time
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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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This week I got a call from my Dad - "Are you going skiing again next January and would you be willing to invite your aged parents along too?". Clearly, the trip was a hit. This all reminded me that I wrote a whole load up that I forgot to post before. Apologies for the wall of text, hopefully it's useful for someone else:
On Wednesday morning the piste out of Amaya was finally bashed and made a big difference. It's still fairly narrow, but much more approachable now. I think with another couple of feet of snow (as would be typical at this time of year normally) a lots of the bumps would be smoothed out and it would be something my mum would be willing to have a go at.
That morning we did that loop as planned, although not quite on the first lift.
Then in the afternoon my girlfriend went home to rest and I went off with my dad to scout out some new routes for the next day.
At this point quite a few runs were still closed due to lack of snow so we tried the loop down round Trolliers, up Brichou and then back via Grattary and Plan Corbet. We approached it from the top of Legette so went down Lazette and initally missed the turning onto Trolliers so went back up the Roche Blanche lift to try again. Lazette was a nice fun run with plenty of undulations. It's steepest at the end and I wasn't sure that my girlfriend would be too keen on it by comparison to where else we had been on the the trip.
Where we joined Trollier it is of very gentle gradient but also reasonably narrow with a bit of a drop off to the side which could be a little intimidating. Had the snow been better I would have considered recommending it to my girlfriend but it was very icy and I didn't think it would be worth knocking her confidence over. The route back from the top of Brichou is probably most intimidating at the first corner after the tracks join at the top of Grattary. It is probably about as steep as the bottom of Lazette but narrower and on a corner. After that though it quickly flattens out to be more of the same as the way over.
Ski school lessons had lined up a little unfortunately to separate us up. The only slot for morning private lessons was 09:00-10:30 and my brother was in group lessons which ran from 10:30-12:30 which meant that we didn't get to see him in the mornings. The 09:00 start wasn't quite ideal as it was the same time that the lifts start so on the first two lessons we ended up taking the bus there to arrive on time and on the last day we decided to ski the green from Belambra to the bottom of the magic carpet lift. When we got there, we found the bottom magic carpet had started before 09:00 but the top one hadn't so we ended up having to walk the last bit up hill to the ESI meeting point which is under the "bridge" section of the top magic carpet. With hindsight we should probably have organised to meet the instructor at the bottom of the magic carpet to save the hassle.
For the last lesson we went up Bisanne to the top to come down. Unfortunately my mum had a fall at the top and twisted her knee a bit. After a brief but thorough check the instructor said she should be ok to ski back down to the accommodation. We went down Bergerie before turning onto the top of Foret and cutting across to Carrets and finally the Access Belambra to Amaya. The top of Foret is a reasonably long section along an incline and I remember Mum found the traverse along rather tiring trying to do it in snowplough. We dropped Mum at home and then carried on down to Legette and up to the top. From there, we took the top of Blanchots before cutting over onto Lazette. Despite my misgivings the day before, my girlfriend decided at the bottom that it was her favourite run so far. I think it speaks volumes to benefit of having a good instructor to help you push your boundaries.
We asked for recommendations on where to go and Louis advised against going down Le Planay as he thought the snow at the bottom wouldn't be great. Instead he suggests Ecureuils and Chevreuils from the top of Bisanne. He also suggested Vardache and Gypaete from the top of Legette.
We didn't end up getting to try any of Louis' suggestions as we had some pretty heavy snow on the last day and didn't really fancy leaving the trees. Especially having accidentally got the last lift up Bisanne into a white-out with my Dad at the beginning of the week.
On the last day we managed our first full family outing, a repeat of our first lesson with Louis. Up Chard du Beurre and down Renard/Tetras with a stop at Benetton for a hot chocolate before continuing on down Blanchots back into town. We finished the skiing of the trip with a rather lovely run down Beaufortain which winds satisfyingly through trees offering an alternative route back to Amaya instead of the wider Carrets.
By the end of it, all my girlfriend was very keen to come back to Amaya and Les Saisies next year. She's also won over on having lessons with an instructor (although she thinks that maybe two lessons would be enough next time). She said that she feels she has the confidence to try and go exploring a bit more next time and feels that there's lots of potential to try something new that's within her comfort zone in Les Saisies. She definitely found the overall appearance of the mountain a lot less intimidating here than in Flaine where it towers above you from the bottom.
Having enjoyed having the lesson with Louis, but not having enjoyed feeling being "the slow one" in the group my mum had one final lesson 1-1 with Louis last thing on the final day which I think she enjoyed. I think she went up Chard du Beurre, then down the top of Tetras and joining on Trolliers. (This time going from the top of Tetras and not taking the long cut through the trees on Renards.) At the bottom of Trolliers they went down onto the "the hard bit" of Lazette before going up Roche Blanche and back down Blanchots, up Verdets and down Sapinette/Sapins back to town. I think this helped to build up her confidence and let her finish on a high.
As for the accommodation, we were very pleased and would happily comeback. The only real niggle was that the flat only came with two keys which wasn't ideal for a room which nominally takes up to 8. An extra key would have suited us, but it was fine as we were able to leave a key behind the desk at reception.
As we were arriving late on the first night I emailed our bakery order for the first morning a few days in advance which although we didn't get an email acknowledgement for, was all sorted for us when we checked in.
We also borrowed a Raclette machine for free from the residence part way through the stay which was no hassle at all.
On check-out day, we decided to make use of the spa while we waited for our transfer which was about lunchtime. We had to leave our bathrobes in the room but staff said we could take our pool towels with us after check-out and leave them in the changing area downstairs when we were done. We actually had the whole place to ourselves which was a nice change as the jacuzzi had always been pretty busy every evening that week. We did find though that the sauna and steam-room weren't hot and there didn't seem to be a way to turn them on. I'm guessing they don't tend to expect many people in there on a Saturday morning.
We tried going to Le Caribou for lunch while waiting for our transfer on the Saturday but found the place deserted - although smelling amazing. The proprietor said that they would have happily served us if we had booked in advance, so that's a lesson for next time.
The transfers both ways were operated by Cham Van having been subcontracted out to Haute Pursuit by Ski Lifts. All very timely, pleasant and easy. I had a look on the Cham Van website to see if it would have been cheaper to book directly, but their website doesn't feature Les Saisies as a destination so it might require contacting them directly.
Finally here's a breakdown of the costs of the trip (per person based on 5 sharing):
Flights £125
Transfer £115
Accommodation £340
Lift Pass £185
Ski Hire £60
Ski Lessons £85
Food £90
This all came to a total per person of ~£1000
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Thanks for that report, @Arrow, and well done on remembering all those names. Snow generally was very poor this year but, as you discovered, Les Saisies generally does very well in comparison to other resorts in the vicinity, partly because it gets a lot of snow and partly because it is much less busy than places like Flaine (which is at the same altitude).
When we first went to Les Saisies (more or less by chance) in 2002, and for some years afterwards, it was rare to hear English spoken. But it's gradually been "discovered" - and not only as a result of my evangelism!!
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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 great, but do any ski holiday operators offer anything in Les Saisies? (from UK).
Or does it have to be entirely DIY?
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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| Quote: |
do any ski holiday operators offer anything in Les Saisies? (from UK)
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Peak Retreats have lots of good accommodation in Les Saisies and their prices include travel by eurotunnel. If you don't want to drive (which is by far the cheapest option for a family) you can fly, but will then need to get yourselves to Les Saisies, either by renting a car or by private transfer.
The fact that it's not a mass tour operator destination is, of course, one of the resort's charms...... 
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