 Poster: A snowHead
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So, first time in Les Arcs last week for the AxsMob and we had high hopes for a great week. Initial reactions were mixed though, as the 1800 'village' is a bit drab (spelled 'concrete carbuncle'), but the pistes are great and arc 1950 is almost pretty. We were staying in Chalet Chantel C, from MyFrenchChalet. Cheap but clean and comfortable, with true ski in/out as it's right on the Chantel Piste. The snow was getting a bit thin for the last 100 m but that's to be expected in April. We did see several skiers go straight across the tarmac road, which had no snow  I guess they were on rental ski's but it made me cringe
Lift system was a bit mixed, some nice fast 6 packs and the gondola up from 1950/2000 is very fast, queues were almost non-existant, but a couple of lifts (Plan Bois for example) had signs saying '5 minutes to the top' at the entrance when the reality was closer to 15 Axsette #1 caught her ski on some snow getting in this lift and was nearly dragged off it. The lifties didn't seem to notice!
But minor niggles aside, we really enjoyed the place. Most surprising was the lack of crowds. The 1950 side was moderately busy, but over at Vallandry the pistes were almost empty. Which is odd because for us they were far and away the best runs on the hill. We really enjoyed Belette and Rhodos and the trees in between. The weather was about as good as it gets, fresh dumps on Tuesday, followed by three days of seriously warm sun. I have sunburned ears  
Anyway here's the pix:
Mrs Axs and 2 Axsettes coming down Belette. Pretty quiet for easter!
View down Belette. Again not too many folk about
Les Rhodos up:
and down, not a soul in sight!
The trees between Rhodos and Belette were fun:
although as you got down the hill, the snow did get a bit thin!
We didn't make it over to La Plagne, maybe next time, but here's the connection:
And I had to snap these boarders all lined up across the piste! (good job it was VERY wide) :
As a responsible parent I demonstrated the correct approach to gettting down the black ecureuils safely (Axsettes were NOT impressed )
And my favourite view on the mountain (missing it already!):
Great trip, great place, so what happened to the Easter Crowds???
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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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Nice photos.
BTW, that sign at the Plan Bois lift does (or should) read that it's replacement (new 6-pack to be installed this summer) will take 5 minutes to the top, rather than the 15 minutes it currently takes.
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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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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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AxsMan, Great pics - I'm often suprised how quiet Rhodos is - lets keep it to ourselves, eh??  Were you still able to cross Maitaz & go down Barmont to the Grizzli lift?
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geri, Yep, Barmont was open and in good condition, as were Balnchot, Aigle and Ours  the last few hundred meters down to Vallandry / Plan Peisey were very slushy by 3.00, but still skiable. The whole Vallandry side was some of the most enjoyable skiing I've experienced. But as Martin Nicholas pointed out, maybe I should keep quiet about it. Perhaps I should call it 'Resort X' or would that confuse it with an (in)famous resort in Switzerland?
Pic is Blanchot, underneath Grizzly
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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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Hi AxsMan,
Can you tell me any more about Chalet C as that is one of two apartments in that building I have booked for next Feb!
We will be travelling with a baby (see "Am I mad?" thread), will these apartments be ok? Also, a number of our group will be looking for bars/restaurants etc...are they within walking distance?
Great tips and pics by the way....I am excited already!!! 
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smudger, I own an apartment in the same building as MFC's Chalet C. The building, Le St Bernard, is on the outskirts of Arc 1800 in the Alpage du Chantel development. There is one restaurant just a few minutes walk away in one of the other buildings at Chantel, other apres ski venues are in the centre of the resort which is either a short but steep 10 minute walk down the piste or use the free intra-resort shuttle which runs from Chantel to the centre of Arc 1800 (I think it runs every 20 minutes, until late). If you follow the link in my signature you can see some more info and photos about the Le St Bernard building.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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smudger, Rob knows more about it than me, but here's my take.
Apartment was comfortable and slightly larger than I have come to expect from french alpine apartments. Two double bedrooms and a double sofabed in lounge to sleep 5 of us worked reasonably well. Equipment was good with dishwasher but no microwave. Everything was well kept and clean. Bath and shower were good. Towels and bed linen were provided, but towels were pretty minimal. (one small 'body' towel each) I would take a decent bath towel each if going again.
Location was fine for skiing (literally ski in/out) but the 'short walk' to the nearest restaurant is up the hill, about 5 minutes. The bus stop is also up the hill so again a short walk required. As Rob says the free buses run every 20 mins from about 8.00 am until 11.30 at night so no problem there. To move between different parts of the resort (such as Vallandry to Arc1800) you may need to catch two buses as the 'main' bus goes between the centres and a smaller shuttle actually goes up to the Chalets. This is not a big deal but can involve a bit of a wait. Bars and restaurants are all down the hill. Easiest for apres is to ski down to the centre, then either ride a bus up to the apartment or ride the short Chantel lift up and ski back down the Chantel piste as it runs right by the apartment blocks. There is also a small supermarket down the hill which has pretty much everything you need if you want to eat in.
Chalet St Bernard (and I assume the others) has ski lockers in its basement but these were a bit inaccessible so we just left our skis in our car which was parked outside. You aren't allowed to walk about inside the (carpeted) building in ski boots (fair enough) so we changed into our boots in the lobby (stone floor). Keeping them in the room meant they were warm and dry every morning.
Apartments were warm, (too warm we turned most of the heating off!) but also a bit noisy. Walls were typically thin and you could hear neighbours walking about, shifting furniture etc. Fortunately we didn't have particularly 'noisy' neighbours but I could see this being a problem if a group were a bit loud. If your baby is a light sleeper / early riser your neighbours will probably suffer!
Overall I'd say the chalet was good value and we enjoyed our stay. As we mostly ate in (this was our 'cheap ski trip') the distance to bars etc was not a big issue, and the proximity to the slopes was a real plus. Would I stay there again - yes. BTW for skiing we found the Peisy/Vallandry pistes the most enjoyable (if you like cruisy reds & blues with lots of tree-lined runs. Oh one last point, the buildings are all no smoking indoors. We had one smoker with us but she was able to use the balcony as the weather was very warm might not be the case in Feb!
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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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AxsMan, The smokers amongst us use the balcony regardless of temp!
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AxsMan, agree with everything you say, although one slight correction: the ski locker room is one floor below the piste level rather than in the basement (one residential floor below that, then two levels of underground carpark). The walk from the ski lockers to the snow involves one small set of stairs, as can be seen in this helmetcam video  I think we must be lucky in our apartment position (at the end of a corridor on one side of the building) as I've never noticed any noise from neighbours. Outside of the school holidays it's very quiet there as relatively few owners rent their apartments so often the building is 50% empty.
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You know it makes sense.
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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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Thanks AxsMan, and rob@rar,.
The apartment sounds perfect. We'll just have to hope that we don't have a "squealer" and maybe purchase ear plugs for the neighbours if we do!
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Poster: A snowHead
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Keep up the good reports about Les Arcs - I have people I am trying to convince that we simply *have* to go there for a group holiday.
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