 Poster: A snowHead
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To reduce the "fatigue" factor I'd think about going to the same place most of the time. In my experience kids don't have the same very low boredom threshold as some adults who consider skiing the same piste more than twice to be a waste of time. He will get to know some favourite pistes, and some favourite place for lunch or a hot chocolate and will enjoy visiting them again and again. And you might be able to hook up with some instructors for a few private lessons now and then. If you can do the PDS some affordable valley accommodation and a rental car (they are cheap for 3 days, even in Gva) will make it possible to get into a familiar routine. The times you are going should make parking in-resort doable. Breaking new ground and re-inventing the wheel every weekend will be tiring.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Whilst doing my first season we had a bloke doing something similar in Meribel, so here goes:-
Rent an apartment for the season. Drive out at the start of the season with all your kit, including clothing etc, and do the big shop of dry goods (cleaning stuff, tinned food, pasta etc) on the way. End of season drive out & pick your stuff up. This will mean you fly out with only hand luggage. Use apartment for weekends, Xmas-NY, half term, Easter.
I'd recommend Geneva, and an apartment in one of Grand Massif, Portes du Soleil, Haute Maurienne Vanoise, 3 Valleys, Paradiski or Espace Killy. All would be doable from Geneva airport by road transfer companies, and some by train.
Probably the easiest by train would by les Arcs - train to Bourg st Maurice & funilcular up. I'd assume you would be able to get a loyalty discount on road transfers, especially with a Brit firm.
Can't say for other places, but tignes.co.uk have seasonal apartments, but they get taken quickly, as in from now on.
The further you are from civilization the quieter the resort will be at weekends - too far for the weekend warriors (apart from yourselves!).
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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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Should have added, the bloke who did it in Meribel drove out for Xmas/NY, then left his car at Geneva airport, using it at weekends when he flew out. Drove back to UK after Easter.
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| C_mackenzie wrote: |
Shared shuttles are a bit limited for late weeknights outside of peak weeks, but it is a short drive and hire cars can be pretty cheap for 3 days.
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Yeah there are way more shared shuttles going to Morzine than to Avoriaz - particularly midweek. Alpybus latest bus from Geneva leaves at 9.30pm I think and will drop you at Prodains lift which runs late for pedestrians = closing 9pm weekdays, 10pm Sunday, midnight Fri and Sat.
Car certainly provides max flexibility but I think if we are arriving lateish in Geneva, then we will want to hop straight in a private transfer and get going to a relatively close resort ASAP....
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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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@AliAfro, unless you’re doing private transfers, the shared ones are a bit variable, due to no fault of the companies. You’ve got people with skis that get off the plane late, someone ending up at the back of the infamous latenight Geneva passport queue, delayed flights onto a shared bus, multiple dropoff points etc. The fastest option is a private car waiting in the pickup zone, next is rental car, then shared minibus. It’s hard to explain how valuable you might find the 30-60 minute savings after a day of school/work, a late flight and a desire to just get to resort.
I’ve had shared transfers with three of us in the bus and no waiting, and ones where we’ve waited two hours for delayed flights then had an extra hour dropping people off in obscure chalets. I never use them any more for weekends, and always rent a car.
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A couple of other options that haven't been mentioned (I think).
Fly to Turin and ski in the Aosta valley. You should be able to get accommodation in Aosta (gondola direct to Pila). Not sure though if there are good transfer options other than driving. There is ( or maybe was) an Aosta valley pass; the pass is more expensive than many others, but you'll probably recoup that through cheaper accommodation/food/coffee
Fly to Zurich and several options where you can get to resort, or nearby by train. E.g. Flumserberg, Engelberg, Andermatt, Flims or Arosa (maybe stay in Church). Not sure if any do good rates on season passes. Drawback is the first 3 mentioned get busy at weekends due to proximity to Zurich
Fly to Geneva, and options by train in Valais. E.g. Villars, Champery (part of PdS), or maybe Le Chable (gondola to Verbier). Again, maybe no good season passes, but probably not as busy at weekends as some of the Zurich options
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Slight curve ball: are flights to Oslo an option?
Skimore Oslo is very easily done on public transport, with excellent English spoken everywhere.
Personally, I'd rather be placing my trust in an excellent public transport system (as I've done with my Magic Pass in Switzerland this season) than the faff and stress of hire cars for short trips.
Also, are BA flights to Geneva a bit like easyJet's where last one of the day is at greatest risk of delay with the plane having already made 3 or more other trips to elsewhere?
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| GuyrillaMonsoon wrote: |
Also, are BA flights to Geneva a bit like easyJet's where last one of the day is at greatest risk of delay with the plane having already made 3 or more other trips to elsewhere? |
BA's last flight is usually a night stop service (crew stay locally and fly back early afternoon the following day). As a result, cancelling it also screws up the next day's schedule, so IME it's no more sensitive than any other flight. In this sense, the traditional airlines are less susceptible to late evening cancellations than the low cost airlines, which generally aim to get the planes/crews back to base each night.
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