Anybody know anything Les Aillons - Margériaz Ski

A snowHead

Anybody know anything Les Aillons - Margériaz Ski, its east of Chambery. Looking to find out what the snow might be like in MAr, accom details, etc

Thanks

A snowHead

We were there today. There are actually two ski areas. One at 1400 in the north east facing Margeriaz bowl and the other at the main village of Aillon le Jeune. We were looking for somewhere more day tripper oriented, with little accommodation, to cut down on lift queues. Adult lift pass is 24 euros, 113 euros for 6 days. Could you ski six days?

The summit of the ski area is Mont Margériaz at 1845 meters with the bottom at around 1400, giving just over 400 meters vertical. It doesn't seem much but with shallow pistes the runs are actually quite long. There is a reasonably modern 4 man chair in the center of the ski area but the lifties seem to have trouble running it at full capacity despite a singles line. It also stops on a regular basis to let walkers and snowshoers get on and off (doh, shouldn't they walk?). So it had a queue all day we were there, at holiday times count 5-10 minutes to clear this queue. It is a bit frustrating. However you may be able to take the underused Pre Boudart drag just next to it to access the Golet drag to reach the top of the ski domain. The Pre Boudart has a small snowpark equipped with jumps that will amuse kids and adults alike - however it could have more modules. The Golet, Agneaux and Biolles are three steep drags that lead to the "serious" part of the ski domain with a mix of red and black pistes including two "murs" which might be intimidating to intermediates but are quite short. Probably around 30 degrees steepness. The Lynx black is very pleasant but accessed by a rocky traverse, which is interesting.

Indeed rocks are a feature of the area. It is a giant, eroded, limestone bowl. Off piste can be treacherous with crevasses bridged by snow. Most of the "gouffre" are clearly signposted. The chair leads to a network of pleasant blue runs which quickly wind down through gladed forests. It is almost like a small US resort in that respect. This would be a great area to learn skiing and also good for kids as there is extensive off piste between the trees - provided you avoid the dreaded "gouffre".

"gouffre" or sciallet

The top of the ski area offers views to the south over the Belledonne and Chartreuse mountains and to the north le Mont Blanc is clearly visible. The Bauges mountains are very scenic - a high limestone plateau with steep little "alpine" summits.

6 days skiing would be quite a lot if you were just learning but if the snow is good it could be mixed with skiing in Aillons les Jeunes itself which offers 500 meters of tree lined skiing - great if the weather closes in.

If you have a car there is some great ski touring in the area. The resort itself offers two secured ski touring trails. There are also a couple of extreme north facing couloirs off the summit (Couloir 'Z', couloir d'Onze heures, Golet de l'agneau)

The nordic ski trails were open. There is also dog sledding. Aillons les Jeunes didn't look buzzing for night life but Aix les Bains, Annecy and Chambery are possibilities for the evening, all around half an hours drive.

http://www.lesaillons.com/

Help!!

Anybody know anything Les Aillons - Margériaz Ski

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