Les Deux-Alpes-What's the attraction

A snowHead

GUys

I am fairly new to this website and you appear an honest bunch, so i would like your opinions on LDA?

I visited with my wife 3 years ago for a 2 week stay and was shocked by the fact that we both felt we had " out-skied" the resort in 3 days! I have skied many resorts prior to my visit to LDA that claim a much lower sized pisted area and we had a full week of sking different runs and enjoying. LDA, to me, has a handful of decent runs and lots of flats interlinking the various areas(lac noir, la tourra, glacier etc). Very little quality fun skiing was to be had.

After the 3 days we hired a guide out of boredom and skied St Christophe and La Grave which i have to admit was wonderful. After this we hired a car and travelled to Alpe D'huez and Serre Chevalier of which, we felt, had a had far more interesting terrain to be skied.

We also purchased ski boots on our arrival from the more "reputable" stores in resort( i will not name and shame!) and had nothing but problems with them. Whenever we returned with problems very little was done to resolve the issues and even at the end of our stay when the bootfitter and owner were exhausted from our visits we asked for a "goodwill" refund even at a small % of what we had paid only to be told" we don't give refunds". I have now learnt my lesson here and would only ever buy in the U.K as guarantees are offered from the point you purchase(the best advice i could ever give to be re-assured).

The mountain restaurants were nothing above mediocre in quality and high in price. I did, however feel the restaurants in resort more than made up for choice and quality, Tribeca and the Bel Auberge become highly recommended in my eyes!
The nightlife, i was equally impressed with.

I am writing this all as you folks appear "pro deux alpes" and would like you all to convince me to return as i would dearly like to experience the positives that i have clearly missed out upon.

Most resorts have more alpine charm. Some don't but more that make up once on the planks( tignes & flaine ofr example)

Over to you guys to install my confiodence in this supposed major resort!!!!!!! Tue Jul 24, 07 13:40

A snowHead

letitsnow, expect a horse's head in your bed anytime soon. Laughing

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

letitsnow, Hi, I think a lot of what you say is true (although I havnt purchased boots there so cannot comment).

I have twice visited for the PSB (pre season bash in November) and only skied the glacier, I returned with friends for a full winter week (and wasnt bored, Easiski took us places of interest! - many of them on the flatter parts doing interesting things on one ski and through off piste forrests).

I was amazed how much fun can be had with good friends and a limited area glacier ! Many of us are here for the skiing and that means much more than just getting miles under the bases. In a smaller area, you are always bumping into (not literally) other Snowheads (thinking of the PSB) and the opportunities to play and learn are fantastic.

I spent a few days as a non skier in the summer (Damaged knee last season) and the place keeps growing on me. The mountain restaurant situation is more than made up for by the accessibility of the town for lunch.

I think the place is a proper town, not a 'ski station' and that gives it a soul, something you dont find in the 3 valleys.

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letitsnow, Well - I've lived here for 15 years, and am not yet bored by the terrain. I can always find somewhere good to ski, and as you say LG and St Christophe are just next door. BTW you do realise that there are more than one route down both don't you? Also, how many lines did you ski down the face? Down the Pied Moutet? Down the Fee? There are an infinite variety.

Thank you for diverting this thread in which I am desperately (in danger of going under) trying to sell my old apartment! rolling eyes

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Hi

I skied the "y", the valentin, le diable, la fee, pied moutet( front and back), les cretes, lac noir, the glacier.

Don't get me wrong, it's not the worst resort i have skied( i may have been a bit too negative in my first write up!) but i stll think 200 km is somewhat exagerated- For example you have 2-3 pistes running parellel off the main t-bars which give exactly the same sensations skiing down them.

Although you have lived in 2 alpes and worked on the mountain, surely if you were a holiday maker you would not return to 2 alpes on aregular basis if you had a choice? How do you rate alpe d'huez and serre che as they are your local competition for custom?

As i said before, i understand the attraction of the town as it is vibrant with plenty to do.

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I spent a week in L2A a number of years ago & don't think I did anything more than scratch the surface. Big lift closing storm the first day helped plus generous overnight wind most nights to keep windblown pockets fresh.

That said I've spent a whole season in a relatively small (by European standards) Canadian resort and only had one or 2 truly bad days (caused more by rain than anything). This was the same place I heard British punters moaning about the small number of blue runs. So its horses for courses.

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

fatbob, exactly, each to their own. I like Serre Che (obviously), but don't dislike Les Deux-Alpes. I've only spent a half-day on the slopes there in the winter, so couldn't really comment either way. The terrain in a resort differs a little from season to season anyway, depending on snow conditions.
'

After all it is free

letitsnow, So you've only skied the pistes that are marked then? Why don't you actually try to explore the terrain before slamming it??? It wouldn't make any difference if I was a tourist. The reason I've stayed is because I think we have it all here, and there are more than 220 Kms of piste - so what if some are similar?? If you're a good enough skier you can make the same run different many times. Perhaps you should consider that apart from Chamonix we have the biggest off piste area in France (not counting LG). Clearly you haven't discovered the resort at all, but have merely followed piste markers. You could do at least 200 different lines down the face in good snow conditions - you don't have to stick to the pistes. Pied Moutet - so many routes especially in fresh snow ........

Obviously I'm biased, but then so must Damian Albert, Fred Morass and so many other top freeriders be. rolling eyes

easiski, your argument about lines could apply to lots of resorts.

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letitsnow,
I have just returned from a trip which included a weeks skiing on the glacier in the summer. I have also skied there in the winter several times on day trips. I guess no two people will agree on what constitutes an ideal resort, for me Serre Che is my absolutely favourite resort but I have always hugely enjoyed my trips to LDA. What is great about it for me is that there is a scenic grandeur with the Haute Alpes that is lacking in many French resorts particularly in much of the Tarnetaise. The skiing certainly never bored me with different ways down the many side runs. The lift system seemed to close later than most so you could keep skiing till late in the day. The vertical height of the skiing ensures that you will get good snow somewhere but that there may well be a variation in conditions to keep you on your toes. The only quibble I would have with the skiing is that there are not a lot of trees which I like, though there is always La Grave for that.
Sorry you had bad luck with the boot shop, the hire shop which we used could not have been more helpful.

I would definately give it another shot it is certainly a resort which I have every intention of returning to.

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bh1,
If the pistes have some width and there is access and room to explore off piste I think it applies to any resort which is why I reckon length of piste is a poor guide to resort quality. You have to have decent terrain with the hope of good snow to make a resorts skiing worthwhile though

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letitsnow, my first season was in L2A in '95/'96 so whilst I've forgotten lots of it I'd say you're probably a little bit mental. wink

For me I would understand if you had praised the skiing and found the town a little 'unremarkable', in a purpose built, French kind-a-way.... :ducks:

A little bit of advice if you found L2A boring, NEVER come to Verbier...

Can we have some examples of other places you have spent 2 weeks and enjoyed the skiing?

You know it makes sense.

letitsnow, I think the pro -L2A feelig is more in relation to groups of snowHead

people arranging to meet there because of up-to-date info on conditions and resort in general (plus glacier resort so good chance of skiing), not because lots of people think it is better than other resorts.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

letitsnow, IMHO there is so much more to skiing than ticking off the runs on your piste map. Perhaps try having a lesson and learning some new skills. I would be quite happy trying different things on the same run for half a day. We are going back to a small resort with alledgedly dull skiing for the fourth time in 4 years Very Happy

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Frosty the Snowman,

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

boredsurfin, The only thing I shall be signing is the credit card slip in La Rascard Toofy Grin

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letitsnow, I would agree with you. I went in late April. I was looking for an alternative to Tignes. However, one side of the mountain was closed . As I was sticking to pistes, I found it limited in the same way as you did.

Unlike parlor I thought the town was pretty good. I enjoyed the bowling alley at one end and I loved the outdoor swimming pool. It also had a good cinema. 'Rain Man' was the big film at the time, so you can see it was some time ago. I have not felt a need to return. However, I have had lessons in Val Thorens with easiski which I would thoroughly recommend. So, if people were going to LDA for easiski lessons then I could see the point. In the same way, I only went to Verbier to do a Warren Smith course. I had read reports of Verbier and did not think it was for me - i.e chalets, not particularly well connected by lift, poorly signposted, but off piste for hot-shot types.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

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boredsurfin, I dont think my £750 limit would be enough

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

Latchigo, sorry, I may not have explained properly, it's a good town, but ugly. Not as bad as others, but then again I live in a chocolate box.

After all it is free

parlor, I agree it's not chocolate box - but surely you can't put it in the same category as Tignes, Flaine, Avoriaz, Val Thorens, Les Menuires and all those other purpose-built monstrosities. The higgledy-piggledy-ness of the town is it's saving grace (IMO)

While talking to the SCGB rep (for many years) in Val T about residents, I was astonished when he said there were about 1500 in Val T. It turned out that he was talking about winter seasonals, not residents - we have about 2,200 actual year round residents here which is what gives it the "villagy" atmosphere.

IME the peeps who don't like it are the middle intermediates who are limited to the pistes, and really enjoy distance traveling rather than skiing. It's great for beginners and 2nd weekers, and excellent for good skiers. Perhaps the middle people find themselves a bit limited?

bh1, You've seen the pix of the face that I've posted. There aren't many marked pistes on it, and most of those that are are not regularly pisted - ergo: massive amounts of possible lines with lots of variety (open, narrow, trees, gullies etc).

I would have thought that one of the best things about LDA is the huge variety in character of the runs. Val and Tignes don't have very much variety, as as for Val T ............. We have runs in gullies, open wide runs, runs in the trees (you do need good low snow for these), runs in the rocks, many north-ish facing runs, lots of handy little powder stashes.

easiski, what picture, I have never been so would like a link to the face

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ajbaldwin, I put up a pic of the face during the winter in the snow reports. I'm afraid I can't access it handily though due to the computer theft. If you can't find it, let me know and I'll try to do something. In the summer reports I did post a couple of pix showing snowfall lower down which will give you an idea of the width (you can only see about half of it). OK it's in it's summer clothes. It stretches the length of the resort which is close to 2 kms, is all black, and with good low snow gives us fantastic bad weather skiing (also fun ways down the mountain at the end of the day). Very Happy

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Ski out a resort in 3 days.....???? never understand that myself.... Laughing

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this is the pic of the face charlotte....

I went to LDA 2x this year and I will definately go back again.

You know it makes sense.

There looks to be loads of scope there, and I don't suppose that's half of it. How big a mountain do you need? Confused

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

easiski, I remember it being a bit brownish when I was there Very Happy

A snowHead

A snowHead

Having a resident British instructor plus a snowhead transforms LDA. It has a special meaning and it is a place we could identify ourselves with, especially those who have benefited from easiski instructions. I don't know about the others but there is a kind of warmth to ski there even though I never meet easiski yet but I do benefit from her wealth of knowledge.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

kitenski, thank you - that's the one. Surely everyone can see how many different lines you can put down there (if you ski black of course). Puzzled

saikee, thank you. the warmth or village atmosphere comes from it being a real village where real people live I think. Very Happy

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Hi Guys

Thanks for your responses. Some of you clearly are passionate about this resort- Horses for courses as somebody suggested indeed.

I have, incidentally skied the following resorts for 2 weeks and enjoyed:

Zermatt-Cervinia-loved!

Verbier-loved. Spent most of the time with Warren off piste though

Val d'isere/tignes- the best!

Whistler

Banff-heli skiing

Alpe D'huez

Easiski, I skied much more than i noted down and my criticism was of the marked pisted runs not itenaries etc. Particularly when i hired a guide for my wife and i. All i was saying was it did not desrerve it's status (in my opinion) as a top draw resort-I'd place it somewhere in the middle. I could feel the venom dripping off your teeth and onto my keyboard after i aired my opinion.

A friend of mine who lived in 2 alpes for 10 years in a ski shop(Rob says hi!) said it was the people that kept him in the resort for so long and certainly not the marked piste! This is ,of course, commendable and clearly a place seasonnaires feel comfortable with. Maybe one day i'll come back and you can show me what i missed!!!!

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

letitsnow, Don't forget you also posted your comments on my thread about my apartment (which I'm increasingly desparate to sell) so it did appear to be more than a little malevolent! I used to think Val/Tignes was good until I came here. You also made a comment suggesting that as a tourist I wouldn't be happy here - well, I was, that's why I've stayed here for 17 years!

Rob (hi rob), spent most of his skiing time doing race training with Pierre Alain on the Pied Moutet! I don't think I ever saw him skiing otherwise. I'm sure I'm wrong. My point is that we don't claim to be a top drawer resort (you can spend twice as much on Val and 3V for that), we are a skiers resort, for people who really like to ski. Our biggest and best runs are mostly off piste. Your posts suggest you like to tick off pistes as "done" and that's it. If this is the case, then clearly you're likely to be much happier somewhere you can "travel".

There are more than 220kms of pistes (you suggested it wasn't true), in fact they haven't updated the kms since adding another 2 or 3 pistes to the mountain. Many of our black runs are not pisted - bl**dy good thing too - far too much bashing IMO. This does not actually mean they're "itineries", some of them are pisted from time to time. Grand Pente isn't on the map any more, and neither is Posettes - no idea why ....

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Easiski

I have cleared this up with Rob and although he did alot of training with Mr Carrel in his first 3 years, he skied alot with a guy called Colin in places like La Grave, le chine des chevres, st christophe etc and rarely on the "marked pisted areas" of deux alpes.

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

letitsnow, Ah - I remember Colin! I saw Rob at Hemel at the All England - that was a surprise, he seems quite happy. He was very badly treated (IMO) over the shop manager stuff here. Sad

After all it is free

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Les Deux-Alpes-What's the attraction

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