 Poster: A snowHead
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Hi all. I am toying with renting a place for 4-6 weeks this coming season. It's an idea at this stage but I have started some research. I have been a few times a season over the last couple of years and have a week in a chalet booked in Courchevel in December. This price of that (£950 excluding lift pass) got me thinking that I could potentially go for for a far longer period for the price of two trips similar to that one I have booked (which I am likely to pay for over the season). I am self employed (sort of) and work from home, and would have to work whilst away. I have been to Les Arcs last year which was a little busy (it was Christmas!) but im told would be less so in January. Mid dec to end Jan or just Jan would be the idea. The lift pass for the area (la plagne included). is about 850 euros for the season (so about 2 weeks worth of a 3v valleys pass). Accommodation is Bourg St Maurice seems a good option given the short funicular ride up. I appreciate it will limit the skiing to that one area but it is quite large. I was thinking of a cost effective way of spending a bit of time in the alps, and at the moment this looks an option. I could also drive down later in the season to make use of the lift pass if I wanted more breaks. I appreciate there may be other suitable areas and welcome any suggestions. I am looking to limit the cost, so whilst other areas maybe preferable it would need to make sense financially. If I did this I would not go to Courchevel, and put that money towards this longer trip. Is this something that others may be interested in, or have any pointers ? It's a little prohibitive as a single traveller, with the better accommodation deals being available where people share an apartment. Thanks in advance.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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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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Grand Massif is worth considering - the season pass there is €621 if bought in September, and if you are renting a place outside of the main holiday weeks then you can usually negotiate a discounted rate, espcially if you can arrange to clean the place yourself, and use your own bedding / towels etc
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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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@HDJ, as pointed out by @GeorgeVII, there's quite a handy thread on this anyway.
But my thoughts anyway....
I did this back in March/April 2023. For me it was actually to train and do some instructor exams.
I started in Saas Fee for a long weekend to take part in the Allelin Downhill race with some friends, before moving to the 4 Valleys, initially in Nendaz for 1 week, and then in Verbier where I had an apartment for a month.
If you book via Airbnb you'll find often that you get a discount for booking a whole month where available. My apartment for the month of April was a short drive from the lift in Le Chable, really spacious, outdoor space, not the sort of small apartment you'd find in a purpose built block such as La Plagne. It cost me £1018 for the month which included a 55% reduction for booking the whole month.
As you say, a lift pass becomes financially effective after around 2-3 weeks usually.
If you're concerned with being in just one place for a season, then consider a pass that covers a number of areas and you could spend a week or so at a time in a place before moving again.
Good examples of these passes would be:
Magic pass in Switzerland
Dolomiti Superski pass in Italy
Aosta Valley pass in Italy
Tirol Snowcard in Austria
Superski card in Austria
SKI AMADÉ ALL-IN Card White in Austria.
You could then take advantage of cheap weekly apartment rentals
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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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We are spending January in Austria as part of a wider travel trip.
We booked our accommodation back in the Spring but used Airbnb to find some suitable places and agree many were offering a discount - ended up booking direct with one as it worked out cheaper for us (and presumably better for them too). We found we saved a lot of money by staying within a short drive of several resorts (we are staying just outside Zell am See is Maishofen) and plan to buy the Superski card that covers plenty of resorts in and around the local area. We need to buy the pass I think before a date in December to ensure we get the discounted rate.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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@TomBH, make sure to check out the ski area at Maria Alm
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@swskier, yes heard lots of good things about Maria Alm. Ski in Saalbach a lot and Zell previously as well. Looking forward to trying a new area or two!
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thanks for all the information and advice guys. Much appreciated. I am digesting!
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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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I've occasionally considered the drive to France and book discounted pot-luck weeks via Sunweb mystery tour.....
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We spent 3.5 weeks in Champagny en vanoise this march. It's a small v quiet village but with direct gondala up to rear area of la plagne. Just down the road is bozel with a bit more going on and about eqi distance distance to going to champagny or courchevel. There's supposed to be 2 red runs down to champagny but we hiked up these as dirt paths....
Personally preferred Les arc Vs la plagne. La plagne gets very bottleneck on runs down nr the centre.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Thanks again for all the information. I have been looking at Samoens. its looks a lovely town, and as ill not be able to ski all the time thats important. I can see from some research that there is a fairly major issue with the lift system getting out of there and into other parts of the grand massif. does anyone know if this is confined to peak periods atm? there seems to be a free bus to the other resorts in the area. its a shame because, as NBT said the season area pass is about £550 if purchased in sept. thats an attraction the means I could put up with some peak days not being worth it, but having a nice old town to fall back on. if its just a pain in the ass most of the time, and that the secondary option via bus/car is time consuming/not much better, then that would be a problem. It's a shame because it seems a large issue is one of the main lifts failing, and another being built in the wrong place! if there is a work around, the pretty, old, genuine town is quite a selling point. Im a bit worried as if im working I may not be able to 'pop out' for 2-3 hours without it being a chore! I guess thats why it's cheaper. it would be lovely to stay in a proper French town and try and learn the language a bit better.
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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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The gondola out of samoens can get very busy at peak times, but there are buses from right by the gondola station to other lifts at Morillon and Vercland - we usually use Vercland anyway
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