 Poster: A snowHead
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I'm limited to Christmas week for skiing this year, not the ideal time to go, I know! Which resorts should I short list? Looking at tunnel and driving down, so nothing too far with kids.
I don't want to be stuck in lift queues, well as best as can be managed during this busy time. Don't need a huge resort, looking to go for lesser known/smaller resorts that will be relatively cheaper for apartments and lift tickets. We're a family of 4 with two kids, age 4 and 7, who can both ski a little (1 and 2 weeks experience). Adults are good skiers but holiday not so much about us. Ballpark £1k for accomm.
So far, I've thought about Grand Massif, Val Cenis, Les Sybelles? Last year, snow was not great at this time of year, I think, so worried we'll end up mud skiing.
Help!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Will happily recommend Val Cenis, Valloire or Valmeinier. All family friendly resorts within easy drive of Calais as motorway all way to the last 15 to 30kms depending on which resort. Accom and lift passes are cost effective with plenty of skiing to keep you occupied for the week. They are off the radar of most brits so tend to be much quieter and are also pretty good for snow cover at that time of year…as we ski each of those at that time each year.
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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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I'm afraid lift queues are somewhat inescapable - though being in ski school is a good way to avoid the worst. In Les Saisies, which might suit, you could get a small apartment for a little under £1000 but it might fall into the "rabbit hutch" category, with a sofa bed for adults and bunks in a "coin montagne". A place with two separate bedrooms, so nobody on a sofa bed, would be close to £1800 - £2000. Plenty of places are conveniently close to ski school meeting places. There are no guarantees for snow - but Les Saisies usually has the best snow in the area and the village base is at 1650m. We were there last Christmas (and will be this christmas too). Fingers crossed!!
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You might get a shoebox apartment in Avoriaz for that budget. The resort is 'snowsure' and not too far to drive.
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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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I am looking at shoe boxes in Les Coches that are 650 Euros at the moment. I would be surprised if you couldn't find something slightly cheaper in the places @andmelffion mentions.
Somewhere else we went to down there is La Norma.
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I'd say the driving convenience is secondary to the proximity of the apartment to ski school meeting place, as presumably both kids will be in ski school and being able quickly to go back to apartment for lunch (take favourite lunch stuff with you) will save a fortune. And a lot of waiting!
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If you are on a budget I would suggest doing a spreadsheet of all the costs as lift pass prices can vary significantly. Les Saisies would be a good option but also worth looking at Val Cenis which is cheaper or maybe Sainte Foy if you don’t mind a smaller ski area.
I think you might struggle to get decent self catering accommodation under £1000 in Christmas week. It might also be worth checking to see if the ferry is cheaper than the tunnel.
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| You might get a shoebox apartment in Avoriaz for that budget. The resort is 'snowsure' and not too far to drive. |
The risk with Avoriaz is that everyone staying in Les Gets and Morzine wants to ski there too if they don't have good snow.
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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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Thanks for the helpful replies. Maurianne valley resorts are getting the thumbs up, are they likely to be moderately snowsure? I know there are no certainties this early in the season. Avoriaz is a risk and not the cheapest for accommodation or lift pass, so I've discounted it for now.
We've actually been to both Les Saisies and Ste Foy with the kids, so was looking for a new resort. Loved both of these resorts for kid friendly, fun skiing that didn't break the bank.
I love a spreadsheet so will definitely be looking at costs and accommodation convenience once I've got some resorts short listed.
Should I look at Les Sybelles or is it not a good bet? Val Cenis is getting some votes and cost/convenience looks workable. Valloire/valmeinier has some options too. Any thoughts on Les Kerallis? La Norma might be ok, but ideally need more than one or two blues for my 2 week skier. Any other resorts I should look at?
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| carettam wrote: |
| Any thoughts on Les Kerallis? |
Only had one day there but I liked it.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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I think Val Cenis is a good call. We were there last Christmas and lift queues were minimal as far as I recall. The one lift that usually had a big queue was Solert which you had to take if wanting to get to the highest point and views over Lac du Mont-Cenis. We had a really nice 2 bedroom apartment at Residence Les Melezes right next to the Vieux Moulin lift which was €1150 booked direct with the residence. There were cheaper options but liked the location. With the young children though you may want to stay further up the hill towards the village where there always seemed to be a lot of families and children playing out in the snow after skiing. Very friendly family oriented resort and we did not hear much English spoken all week. The lift passes are also very good value.
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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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Les Karellis is a nice family friendly resort with some gentle skiing, not the largest area so depends on how much area you want to cover but some nice gentle slopes that your kids would enjoy. Easily reachable by leaving the motorway at St Jean de Maurienne and then only about 20 mins up the mountain. They put lots of events on over the Xmas period. We’ve skied there a few times and thoroughly enjoyed it and will be back for a day or 2 there this Xmas time.
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You know it makes sense.
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Interesting @afterski, maybe ChatGPT is useful for something.
I had wondered whether to propose Les Contamines when I saw the original post but didn't have the experience of Val Cenis etc to compare, or indeed know the accommodation costs. It is small in terms of pistes (about 100 km from memory) but has a good snow record, and for improvers it has some extremely satisfying blue runs. An easy drive from junction 21 on the A40 autoroute.
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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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I've used it for some quite complex charting using public API calls pulling data from a number of different providers.
It is really quite powerful if you bother to "talk" to it and refine each output a few times.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Les Contamines is great but ski in ski out not easy, some of the drags aren't suitable for kids and the route home means many download. None of which are complete killers but....
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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 agree - there are much better choices.
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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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@Layne, not saying there aren't better choices.... but the only drag lift the kids are likely to need to take is the one serving the beginner slope. And the OP didn't ask for ski in ski out which I agree is not an option.
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@j b, they may not have asked for ski in ski out but with two kids age 4 & 7 proximity of accommodation to lifts/ski school should be a consideration.
I mention the drags through bitter experience with my young children. They are not complete beginners so I am sure they will be using other lifts/slopes to the beginner one. I certainly did with mine they were a similar age/experience.
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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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Pyrenees? Andorra tries hard to make snow well before Christmas.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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The only places you are fairly certain to get good snow are very high, such as Val d'sere/Tignes, Les Arcs, Trois Vallée.
Ste Foy which has been mentioned as a possibility, has the advantage that as you will have transport, Val d'Isere/Tignes is just up the road and the back door to Les Arcs (Villaroger) is literally just across the valley. It would most likely have its own snow too, but you would still be OK if it didn't have enough.
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Val Cenis in the Haute Maurienne is a good resort and gives you the possibility to visit the other resorts nearby (La Norma, Val Frejus, Bonneval Sur Arc etc - there is a lift pass which includes this) if you have transport or use the buses. There is also the Maurienne back door to the Trois Vallée which may not be covered. However it is not very snow sure at that time - though I am more aware of the off-piste and given that it is almost all North facing, there will probably be things to ski.
Edit: I have since heard of someone going in early January and finding no snow to ski!
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So Val Cenis looks to tick all my boxes except there might not be snow? I had thought that with it being high and north facing, we'd have something to ski on, even if artificial?
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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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| carettam wrote: |
| So Val Cenis looks to tick all my boxes except there might not be snow? I had thought that with it being high and north facing, we'd have something to ski on, even if artificial? |
Have been to Val Cenis the last 3 Christmas periods and had plenty of snow and will be there again this Xmas…obviously no guarantee on snow but neither does anywhere else unless super high
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| carettam wrote: |
| So Val Cenis looks to tick all my boxes except there might not be snow? I had thought that with it being high and north facing, we'd have something to ski on, even if artificial? |
Nowhere is guaranteed snow and pre snow making days I've had really poor snow in January in Tignes. However Val Cenis would be a pretty good bet.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@carettam, Val Cenis has a good snow record and slopes up to 2800 metres. It should be ok at Christmas on the higher slopes at least. The village is at 1400m i think so potentially precipitation could fall as rain lower down in mild conditions but you could always take the gondola up to start higher.
I’d say the drawback of Val Cenis is that it is all north facing so might not get much sun early season. Whilst we enjoyed trying Val Cenis, I prefer resorts like Montgenevre and Les Saisies where there are also south facing slopes. Nevertheless Val Cenis has a nice off the beaten track feel and is good value all round.
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