 Poster: A snowHead
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Five blokes taking 5 sons to Valloire on Jan 6. Kids have only had one week previous, adults all experienced. We have been watching the weather and like everyone we're a bit concerned at the lack of snow (only 5 slopes open in valloire at the mo') If the worst comes to the worst we are considering plan B.... the Orelle lift up to V.T, where hopefully conditions may be better but we are aware that the runs back down are fairly difficult reds...does anyone know if our boys will be able to ride down on the lift ?and how far Valloire is from the Orelle lift?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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andyjc, there is now a blue run that comes from the top of the Roseal (sp) chair in the fourth valley haven't done it myself but it looks OK. I don't think you can go down the chair from the top but you have to go back down the gondola to Orelle - to my knowldege there is no run down to the valley floor. However be warned the run from the Fourth Valley into VT is easy (was turned from a bad black into a mediorce black about two years ago) and I don't know if you can take the Grand Fond funitel down into the easier skiing. Sorry can't be more help.
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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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There's about 25km from Valloire to Orelle.. the lift is actually at Francoz a bit further up the Maurienne. Precious little snow on that side of the valley from what I saw the other day, Mont Brequin etc were pretty thin on the south side, but there might just be enough up at the Plan Bouchet to ski. Only pain is you have to go over the Col du Telegraph to get down to Orelle which means and up and down both ways, but unless it snows the roads are currently as dry as bones.
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Oh, ok so we can park up at the Orelle lift and go up to VT and then catch the lift back down at the end of the day? 25km doesn't sound too bad.
Can't think of a better plan b..unless anyone else has any suggestions...other than cancel and go to Canada. (def' for next year).
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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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andyjc, there is a blue (Gentianes) down into Orelle from Funitel Grand Fond now. Getting down into VT avoiding Chamois (which is now marked red IIRC) means poling across to the top of the Funitel. Flat to a little uphill in places - took me about 15 mins, could be tricky for the kids. Keep 'em going with the promise of a nice cruise from there down Niverolles, Plateau, Lagopede and (yum!) Gentiane, which is a gently rolling motorway under the Caron bubble.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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Oh, ok so we can park up at the Orelle lift and go up to VT and then catch the lift back down at the end of the day? 25km doesn't sound too bad.
Can't think of a better plan b..unless anyone else has any suggestions...other than cancel and go to Canada. (def' for next year).
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There are plenty of other resorts worth visting in the maurienne valley with slopes nearly as high as Vt such as Bonneval sur Arc,La Norma and valfrejus why go to the busiest places such as the 3 vallies when your Valloire lift pass will give discounts at many other resorts,a recent report on snowheads by Davisof gave details of conditions at Les Karellis which looks a lot better than Valloire is at present also there is still plenty of time for snow to fall- the season is only just starting have faith.
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| tomf wrote: |
| There are plenty of other resorts worth visting in the maurienne valley with slopes nearly as high as Vt such as Bonneval sur Arc,La Norma and valfrejus why go to the busiest places such as the 3 vallies when your Valloire lift pass will give discounts at many other resorts |
There is a lot of wisdom in what you say. So far some of the best conditions in France are either side of the Galibier pass which has had a couple of dumps. Valloire didn't look too bad from la Grande Chible last Saturday and Valmeinier might be quite good being higher and more north facing (they are linked). Your other suggestions are worth following up. I would definitely check on websites after christmas as they are almost certainly holding back slopes for the Christmas week.
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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 am off to la Norma on saturday for a week with a mixed albility group and was hoping to vist a few resorts in the area as we enjoy the smaller quieter places ,would Les Karellis be worth a vist as i hadnt considered it untill your superb off piste report with video ,we are also planning an afternoon at Bessans for ski de fond has anyone ever been as again it looks superb.
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| tomf wrote: |
| I am off to la Norma on saturday for a week with a mixed albility group and was hoping to vist a few resorts in the area as we enjoy the smaller quieter places ,would Les Karellis be worth a vist as i hadnt considered it untill your superb off piste report with video ,we are also planning an afternoon at Bessans for ski de fond has anyone ever been as again it looks superb. |
La Norma has good conditions apparently, according to a friend who was there on Saturday. Good is relative mind. There was a lack of snow on lower slopes at les Karellis so it might be a bit limiting. Good higher up though. I'm surprised the ski de fond is open at Bessans.
Here is a photo from yesterday of the slopes at la Norma
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Thanks for the info -where was the photo taken ? ,apparentley Bessans has 60kms of cross country open which surprised me as well although it is slighlty higher than La Norma at 1750m,we where booked in to go to pralognan over the new year but coundnt get flights which is how we have have ended up at La Norma ,Prolognan looked good for beginers and had the advantage of been near La Plagne and the 3 valleys also it has a decent amount of cross country,however looking at the present snow reports it looks like i have hit lucky this time.I am right in thinking that with the majority of the wind been from the south recently that the north facing slopes have benefited from snow been redistributed from the south facing slopes on to the north facing slopes ,is this what explains the depth of snow looking good at altitude at the moment
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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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andyjc, As tomf, mentioned, there are plenty of other options in the Maurienne valley (Bonneval, Val Frejus, La Norma etc) all of which would provide enough terrain for a couple of days each if necessary.
The Orelle option would take just over an hour from Valloire to the top of the gondola, from there you could stay on the Orelle side (The blue is pretty gentle) or walk round the funitel station and drop into Val T for the day.
But by the 6th Jan Valloire and Valmeinier could be under lots of snow, so you may not need to travel anywhere.
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tomf,
The x country at Bessans is excellent and it is on a flat part of the valley which I would imagine holds its snow very well. It was still very white a couple of years ago in a warm April.
andyjc, The chair from the top of the Orelle area back down to the midsation cannot be ridden downwards as I discovered when I broke a binding but the run down isn't to difficult. I would though agree with the others that the upper part of the Maurienne valley in particular Valfrejus are reporting reasonable snow depths and may be a lot quieter than Val T. The drive up the valley is beautiful as well.
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You know it makes sense.
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Thanks everyone, as I said it is a plan b and hopefully there will not be a need to go skiabout. I do like the idea of the other resorts as a plan b though and I believe a Maurienne Valley pass can be purchased? Our boys would just have to learn the hard way (no ski school)like many of us did!
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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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This looks better and better,cheers.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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The only problem with the Maurienne Passs is that you have to use it in different resorts, ie You cannot have two days in the same resort.
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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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We will just pay for a day pass,at least we can go where we like then, if Valloire is poor we can nip down the road each day, Valfrejus seems to be ok higher up.
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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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We will just pay for a day pass,at least we can go where we like then, if Valloire is poor we can nip down the road each day, Valfrejus seems to be ok higher up.
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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'm not in to my own messages or anything! ******* computer.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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If you have a 5 day or more pass from one of the resorts, then you can just pay an upgrade when you visit another resort in the valley (11€) or this has been the case over the last 4 years so presume still the same deal.
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FAQ
No snow since the 24th Jan and temps at around +5-10C but the valloire maintainence crews are doing a superb job, when we left it was just starting to get properly icy on the lower slopes, upper slopes still ok although pretty much everywhere slushy in the afternoon. I was enormously impressed as they are working with what looks like about 0-10cm at the bottom and no more than 30-40 at the top. ~60 of ~80 slopes open, the reds and blacks taking the brunt of the closures. The link to valmeinier is in good condition (best in resort in fact as thats the shady side) and was open all week. Low visitor numbers really helping I think - we never queued all week and often had entire runs to ourselves!
