 Poster: A snowHead
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Thought I'd give France a go for 2 days skiing around 12-14th Jan.
I'd fly into Geneva. Any recommendations which ski resort ?
I haven't been skiing for years also so I guess I'd need a lesson.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Hi
Morzine is only an hour & 15 transfer from Geneva.
The PDS is a great ski area in the right conditions & the town is spot on.
Was there last January & had a fantastic 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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Chamonix is pretty close to Geneva, and has plenty of short stay accommodation.
You may even get a lesson in the Brevent ski area (walking distance from town centre).
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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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Flaine.
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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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Ditto Flaine area (Morillon 1100, Samoens).
More snowsure than PdS. Also better quality skiing, longer slopes, more vertical.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Not sure I'd say Flaine was any more or less snow sure than the PdS - considering I had a great week skiing Avoriaz the opening week of 2016, the year French weather 'forgot' to switch from Autumn to Winter. Regardless mid-Jan you can expect all bar the smallest, 'local' resorts to have more than enough skiing to keep you out of trouble for 2 days, at which point it's all down to minimizing travel/maximizing ski time so according to the Internet (https://www.peakretreats.co.uk/blog/archive/ski-resorts-near-geneva-airport)...
- Les Carroz d’Araches (72km/56 min from Geneva)
- Saint Gervais (85km/60 min)
- Le Grand Bornand: (65km/62 min)
- Combloux (83km/62 min)
- Les Houches (92km/62 min)
- La Clusaz (68km/65min)
- Chamonix (99km/70 min)
- Samoëns (74km/71 min)
- Morzine/Les Gets: (72km/79 min)
- Flaine (88km/80 min)
- Avoriaz (101km/95 min)
You're not looking at a peak week so your best option is to book your flights but leave everything else until the week before and see how the winter's gone up to then. If it's stayed warm and wet aim for one of the resorts with lots of higher skiing but if it's snowed every day from Christmas day...
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| Mjit wrote: |
| Not sure I'd say Flaine was any more or less snow sure than the PdS - ... |
Plus it's also not really an apples vs apples comparsion - Grand Massif vs. PdS, or Flaine vs Avoriaz, would be fairer comparison.
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Thanks for replies.
Is there some guide regarding buses from say morzine to the starting ski life / chair. All seems very confusing trying to work out what's what?
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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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| Handy Turnip wrote: |
| Mjit wrote: |
| Not sure I'd say Flaine was any more or less snow sure than the PdS - ... |
Plus it's also not really an apples vs apples comparsion - Grand Massif vs. PdS, or Flaine vs Avoriaz, would be fairer comparison. |
Just look at the snow statistics.
Flaine and La Rosiere in the top-5 largest snowdepth every year without exception. Only the bowl around Avoriaz is high-ish, the rest is low and vulnerable to wet snow.
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I'd go to Les Gets. But, really, any area around there should have decent snow by Jan 12.
Les Gets is good for beginner/intermediate and has a nice town center. Plus lots of tree lined runs to avoid bad visibility.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@Ram80, you have the main Morzine lifts in walking distance (with bus stop nearby), and at the other side of town, a cable car up to Super-Morzine (walk or mini-choo-choo shuttle available). Buses go to various places, e.g. Ardent, Prodains, Les Gets, 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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| Onnem wrote: |
| Handy Turnip wrote: |
| Mjit wrote: |
| Not sure I'd say Flaine was any more or less snow sure than the PdS - ... |
Plus it's also not really an apples vs apples comparsion - Grand Massif vs. PdS, or Flaine vs Avoriaz, would be fairer comparison. |
Just look at the snow statistics.
Flaine and La Rosiere in the top-5 largest snowdepth every year without exception. Only the bowl around Avoriaz is high-ish, the rest is low and vulnerable to wet snow. |
But my point was that it wasn't a relative comparison, not a comment on the statistics in any way.
I could also say that in a comparison of the lower slopes, that Avoriaz has higher snow depths than Flaine in every month of the past 2 seasons. But I do that just to illustrate the point, that numbers can be used in many misleading ways. Flaine has a fantastic snow record.
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| Crosbie wrote: |
| @Ram80, you have the main Morzine lifts in walking distance (with bus stop nearby), and at the other side of town, a cable car up to Super-Morzine (walk or mini-choo-choo shuttle available). Buses go to various places, e.g. Ardent, Prodains, Les Gets, etc. |
I see from the piste map that Les Gets and Morzine are side by side so I'm guessing you can get a lift pass that covers both areas giving you the option of 2 base chair lifts to get up the mountain?
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You know it makes sense.
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| Ram80 wrote: |
| Crosbie wrote: |
| @Ram80, you have the main Morzine lifts in walking distance (with bus stop nearby), and at the other side of town, a cable car up to Super-Morzine (walk or mini-choo-choo shuttle available). Buses go to various places, e.g. Ardent, Prodains, Les Gets, etc. |
I see from the piste map that Les Gets and Morzine are side by side so I'm guessing you can get a lift pass that covers both areas giving you the option of 2 base chair lifts to get up the mountain? |
Yes the morzine lift pass covers the Let Gets area too - alternatively you can get the Portes du Soleil pass which will cover the whole area (650km?) including Avoriaz and the swiss side.
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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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@Ram80, You can certainly get a Portes de Soleil pass (covering EVERYWHERE in the PdS), but being an Avoriaz fan I'm not certain whether Morzine/Les Gets have separate or combined passes, or both.
If you're in Morzine, and near the main lifts, it's unlikely you'll get a bus round to Les Gets - given it's a quick ski away - unless you're going to a lesson meeting point.
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Poster: A snowHead
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@Crosbie, the Morzine local pass covers Les Gets too
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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In the PdS you can get either local area passes that only cover one sector of the full PdS pass that covers all. The Morzine-Les Gets pass only covers the hills between the 2 towns, so all lifts out of Les Gets but just the Pleney/La Crusaz/Nyon lifts on the (I think) west/Les Gets side of town. The Avoriaz pass covers the Super-Morzine gondole out of Morzine and the Ardent/Prodains gondolas (via the free "M" and "A" busses respectively). A PdS pass covers all lifts.
You can get a bus between Morzine/Les Gets but it's a public, rather than ski bus. That said only about €1.50 single and comes in useful if the Morzine-Les Gets area isn't open, either due to lack of snow or, more often because you've stayed for one bottom-of-the-psite beer too many and the lifts have closed!
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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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For such a very short trip renting a car is likely to be cheaper than a taxi and will give you lots of options. At this stage renting accommodation right in resort just for a couple of days might be tricky, but nearer the time things might be available, as you've chosen a good low season week. Get some flights now, when they are still relatively cheap, and see how things work out. If everything lower down is melting Avoriaz and Flaine might be busy - and you could then drive to the Tarentaise.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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If you're solo, for comparison to hire car costs I'm paying just shy of £100 for shared return minibus transfers between Geneva and Morzine.
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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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| Mjit wrote: |
| If you're solo, for comparison to hire car costs I'm paying just shy of £100 for shared return minibus transfers between Geneva and Morzine. |
Try the omio site. According to that you can get a return bus Geneva to Morzine for £43.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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I try and buy a ski pass for avoriaz at https://www.skipass-avoriaz.com/en/
I select dates and add to cart, the basket shows a red icon, I then click to go to basket but it says your basket is empty?
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Difficult to get less than 7 nights accommodation in Flaine - mostly apartments rented for one week or more. So for the GM, for 2/3 nights, I'd go for Samoens which is also the quickest to get to and has quick lift access into the GM.
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@Mjit, that's a very useful list until you actually consider how you're travelling (and @Ram80, all very well until you discover it's one bus a day...*)
To the limited extent I've paid attention, your best GVA-to-resort transfer infrastructures for a short weekend are (in order) Chamonix, Morzine-Avoriaz-LesGets, Grand Massif.
If you haven't skied in a long time (but you haven't said what a "long" time is, nor how good you thought you were at the time...), Chamonix probably isn't your optimal choice. I'd be looking at Morzine, somewhere central, and a lesson (or two) on the top of Pleney.
* I have no idea how many buses but I'm making a somewhat educated guess
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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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| under a new name wrote: |
@Mjit, that's a very useful list until you actually consider how you're travelling (and @Ram80, all very well until you discover it's one bus a day...*)
To the limited extent I've paid attention, your best GVA-to-resort transfer infrastructures for a short weekend are (in order) Chamonix, Morzine-Avoriaz-LesGets, Grand Massif.
If you haven't skied in a long time (but you haven't said what a "long" time is, nor how good you thought you were at the time...), Chamonix probably isn't your optimal choice. I'd be looking at Morzine, somewhere central, and a lesson (or two) on the top of Pleney.
* I have no idea how many buses but I'm making a somewhat educated guess |
Yeh I choose Morzine, Avoriaz to be exact. I'll stay on the beginners green / blue area and see how it goes. Haven't skied since 1994 at school. I was about intermediate at the time, old straight skis only.
Been doing some squats, swimming and running, light weights so hopefully enough.
Regarding transfers from Geneva to Morzine, the Omio app / site shows buses run by swisstours and Alpy transfers. Buses leave at 7.20am, 2pm, 4pm, 7pm. €44 return. So I hope this site is correct. Pick up outside terminal 1.
I'm just trying to buy passes atm but can't get the lift pass site to work. I wonder if it's because I don't have a hand free card number .
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| Mjit wrote: |
| If you're solo, for comparison to hire car costs I'm paying just shy of £100 for shared return minibus transfers between Geneva and Morzine. |
For what it is worth we paid £53 each for return transfers to St Gervais last week, with Alpybus. It would have cost less (but taken longer and need to fit with their timetable) with Flixbus or the train. I am surprised it costs that much more for PdS.
I think there are a number of resorts where it would be worth checking hotels for 3 night stays, but would be easily accessible and with a couple of weeks notice you could almost certainly book lessons. Use @Mjit's list. Looking for less than a week's accommodation is probably the most difficult., but you do also need to check transfer prices. For someone just getting their ski legs back almost any resort would have suitable terrain.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| Ram80 wrote: |
I'm just trying to buy passes atm but can't get the lift pass site to work. I wonder if it's because I don't have a hand free card number . |
Yes
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FAQ
