 Poster: A snowHead
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Found some great accomadation and decided to now drive to Les Arcs 1800 at xmas.
Im thinking of blasting it out from calais in a day but the wifes not to keen.
I was planning to get to calais at 4-5 am and going for it.
Has anyone done this before or do you reccomend that we have a stop over?
Im driving a modified Toyota Hiux Surf ith All terrain tyres etc.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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surfstar, easy journey just long, autoroute all the way to within a few kilometres of Albertville, no need to stop it'll take about 10-10 1/2 hrs.
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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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surfstar, If its just you & your wife, you should do it in about 8.5hrs from Calais. That would include a couple of quick loo & petrol stops (combined). We do it a couple of times each season to Peisey/Vallandry. With small ones on board, I'd recommend an overnight stop for the sake of your sanity - it is a holiday after all 
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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| David@traxvax wrote: |
| surfstar, easy journey just long, autoroute all the way to within a few kilometres of Albertville, no need to stop it'll take about 10-10 1/2 hrs. |
Thanks Dave. I there generally snow on the ground at 1800 that timne of year. Thought you may know as you just over the valley
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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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| geri wrote: |
| surfstar, If its just you & your wife, you should do it in about 8.5hrs from Calais. That would include a couple of quick loo & petrol stops (combined). We do it a couple of times each season to Peisey/Vallandry. With small ones on board, I'd recommend an overnight stop for the sake of your sanity - it is a holiday after all |
Geri, fair point, the son and mum in law will be in the back so i think an overnighter would be best for sanity
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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surfstar, There's a sticky at the top of this topic regarding stops en-route. You should find it helpful
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Do it in one. You'll be there by tea time and see the last skiers coming down. (We did it a few years ago)
Were you planning to leave the car in Bourg St Maurice and take the lift up?
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Yes agree with everyone. Easy in a day geri, even with a little one! We get 05.50 train and are in Montalbert by 5/6pm (depending on nappy stops) and in the bar by 7pm.
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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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Ive booked euro tunnel to do it over night. Our apartment is available all day on our arival so would rather get there AM than late PM. Plannig to drive all the way up, will it be snowy then?
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surfstar, where in 1800 are you booked? The road up from Bourg St Maurice to the main part of 1800 is cleared very quickly if it snows, although if you arrive in a blizzard you will need chains.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| rob@rar wrote: |
| surfstar, where in 1800 are you booked? The road up from Bourg St Maurice to the main part of 1800 is cleared very quickly if it snows, although if you arrive in a blizzard you will need chains. |
Staying in Paradiski, in the Aiguille Grive Apartments next to Charmettoger chair lift. Thinking id better get snow chains anyway just incase
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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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surfstar, yes, you should carry snow chains. If the road is snowy the local police can (and occasionally do) turn around cars and send them back down the hill if they are not equipped with chains.
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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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I will bear this all in mind, thanks. Need to arrange some ski school for wife and Mother in law now
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Poster: A snowHead
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Drive we've done many times - tend to leave early on Friday and stay near Dijon. Another early start will see you in resort midday.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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surfstar, don't worry if there isn't snow, you're close enough to La Rosiere, Tignes, Val d'Isere etc., but I'd be suprised if there wasn't snow although we do often see instructors from other resorts in early season. provided you don't arrive on a sundayy you can buy snow chains in Super U in BSM. The road up to Les Arcs can be tricky but as you've got a 4x4 the Gendarmes will let you through even without snowchains, in 6 years we've never had to use snowchains on our 4x4.
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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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Just to bring this thread back to life. 3 of us are going to les arcs 1800 in my car, a Seat Ibiza from uk, on the 27th Feb for a week. Just trying to scope around and find the best ways of completing this challenge. Two of us are going to share the driving. Should we blast it all in one? Also, how much can we expect to pay overall? We are travelling from Leicester. Can I expect it to be a hairy ride up to 1800? Because that is something that I seriously dont want.
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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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| Louis84 wrote: |
| Can I expect it to be a hairy ride up to 1800? Because that is something that I seriously dont want. |
It very much depends on the weather at the time. The resort is good at keeping the main road up to Arc 1800 clear of snow, but if you arrive in the middle of a blizzard you are likely to need snowchains (as you would if driving to any of the high altitude resorts in that part of the Alps). I drive to Les Arcs quite a lot and can think of two occasions when I needed to fit chains before getting up to 1800, although I usually have winter tyres fitted so with regular tyres it would have been necessary to use chains a few more times than that.
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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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Ok But what car are you driving? It seems most of you guys are driving cars that could easilyhold up against that kind of journey, 4x4 etc. The other thing im trying to work out is, is there a cheaper option? how much on average all together does it cost to get to the resort? I've read there is around 100 Euros on toll roads, although have no idea how much petrol costs. Would it be cheaper to get a flight? Or infact do the whole journey by bus?
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Louis84, I have just had my credit card bill in for recent trip to Les Arcs Tolls were £132 and fuel £325. This was in a 7 year old diesel Freelander. Additional insurance and Breakdown costs added another £60.
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Louis84, a perfectly ordinary car will get up there fine - you need to know how to fit chains quickly if necessary (because if you don't, and your hands freeze before it's done, it's miserable). You don't need a 4 x 4 to get to a mainstream resort with decent roads - and when you look at the price which kevinrhead paid for fuel, you can be grateful you've got a less thirsty vehicle! We have very ordinary cars, have spent the last 7 winters in the mountains and never got stuck yet. Most locals, and the builders who work up here all year round, drive small cars.
One issue to be aware of, though, is that will be an exceptionally busy time - you can expect mega, mega, traffic both getting to and from the resort. There are various threads about the optimum time to arrive and leave, which you might find helpful (search on driving half term). As for cost, it depends what you're comparing it to. Probably cheaper than expensive air fares for three, but more expensive than reasonably cheap ones. But transfers are never cheap, and need to be costed in. Normally you could easily do that journey in one, with two drivers, but with peak traffic it'll be a looooooooooooooong day. If you could drive down on Friday, stay overnight very nearby (you'd need to book a hotel) you could get up to the resort really early and have a lovely quiet transfer day ski. If you can't, best bet is to arrive late - not before 6 - 7 pm.
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| Louis84 wrote: |
| Ok But what car are you driving? |
Either the cheapest, smallest hire car I can get from Geneva airport (Swiss hire cars come fitted with winter tyres as standard) or my larger, and less suitable for snow, Peugeot which is also fitted with winter tyres. Given a choice, the small car with narrow tyres is a better option for driving on snowy roads than a larger car with fat tyres. Never driven a 4x4 to a ski resort, it's not necessary providing you have snowchains with you (which are mostly redundant if your car comes equipped with winter tyres).
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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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ringingmaster, Had not done the calculation until now so went back and re-checked and making allowance for fuel we used between fill up and depature and what was probably left in tank on return true cost fuel probably nearer £285 but that still means we were only getting about 30mpg ( roofbox and ski rack probably not helping). 
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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well that sort of price range doesnt sound too bad at all, considering there's three of us. Did you also include the ferry crossing or tunnel crossing in that price?
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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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Louis84, No did not include crossing not sure exactly how much it was as used Tesco points to pay. From memory i think it would have been about £112-120 (tunnel crossing)ferry would have been cheaper.
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You know it makes sense.
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| Louis84 wrote: |
| One quick Q about my tyres. I'm getting my snow tyres next weekend. I have decided that I only really need two snow tyres on the front (front wheel drive). Is this common sense and money saving, or would I need them on all four? |
Not a good idea. In fact I'd say a pretty bad idea.
If your rear tyres have significantly less traction you could easily find your car trying to do pirouettes on roads which aren't really wide enough for such fun and games. Stick with regular tyres and be prepared to fit snowchains, or get 4 winter tyres and reduce the possible requirement for chains. I don't think 2 winter tyres is a happy medium.
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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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A local garage did actually advise me that I only need the two front tyres really. My rear tyres have around 90% of tread left on them they are practically new. I'm by no means intending to go speeding round snowy bends. People replace single tyres all the time so treads are usually different anyway. Also, the garage does 'wheel balancing' when it fits the tyres so I have presumed that this what balances the car out. I intend to take it extremely easy. But I do see where your coming from. I'll wait and see if anyone else has actually done it with 2 snow tyres on the drive wheels. Personally, I think it would be fine
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Poster: A snowHead
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Louis84, OK, best of luck. I think your local garage is talking dangerous nonsense, but I accept that I'm no expert (although I know from first hand experience the dramatic difference in traction between winter and regular tyres). Replacing single tyres with a different brand of the same type of tyre I would say is considerably different from mixing different categories of tyre.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Having better braking on the front of a car than the rear is in general extremely dangerous. Indeed it is a requirement of the UK homologation process to have rear bias, and why tyre manufacturers recommend that you put your best tyres on the rear of the car.
http://www.michelin.co.uk/michelinuk/en/car-4x4-van/less-worn-tyres-rear/20070314172074.html
I doubt the laws of physics care if this is caused by better grip levels on snow, rather than efficiency of the brake system. Rally cars bias the brakes to the rear to be able to easily push the car sideways. If you don’t have the skills and responses of a rally driver, then don’t.
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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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well, I stand fully corrected. Thanks for that very helpful link. I will now do what rob@rar originally suggested, and go for the chains. Whilst eating my foot . Cheers
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FAQ
Wrap up warm on that lift - it can be slow & stops a lot in my experience 
. I imagine a lot offirst time drivers like myself tend to ask the same questions. 