 Poster: A snowHead
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I find that I have only eight rooms out of 19 sold for next week. It's Christmas week in the best snow we've seen in 10 years, for God's sake, what's going on? 
Somebody get on www.rocketski.com and book the hotel Provencal in 2Alpes please, before we have to spend Chrizbit week rattling around a half empty hotel. I have no idea what the price is like, but with only two selling days left it surely has to be a bargain. I've got a really good chef, and while the place certainly isn't five star it's warm, comfortable and dead close to the red eggs.
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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 curse of poor snow from last season I fear. Some of our Austrian correspondents are saying the same thing. Quieter slopes for those of us who are heading to the Alps this weekend I suppose.
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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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rob@rar, can't they see the bloody webcams??! Besides, our two other hotels are more or less sold out - what's wrong with mine? I could get paranoid.
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Lizzard, your reputation precedes you? 
I think Christmas is a hard time for lots of people to make last minute bookings as they will have made family arrangements some time ago, perhaps when they decided to avoid an early holiday because of the hyped media coverage of poor snow last season.
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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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.....and right next to the Super Venosc chairlift (if that side of the mountain is open yet!) 
You will have to drop in for a coffee.
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R32, it hasn't been open yet, but not for lack of snow - I suspect they are saving a lot of the mountain for Christmas and New Year.
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Lizzard, That will be perfect timing!
Didn't realise you were that close to us! You are welcome to come and help us install the new bathroom if you get bored
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R32, I am terribly disappointed to say that in between working and boarding I am unlikely to find enough time for major building works. Gutted. 
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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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Lizzard,
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Lizzard, we are having a similar disappointing Xmas experience - as are many others that we hear about. Which is doubly irritating as if we had a hundred apartments we could have sold them all twice for New Year week. Obviously a week will make all the difference to the snow 
I think it's a combination of at least three things:
* Last years badly reported season leading to a disinclination to book early
* Christmas being a "family"/social time so if you are on the fence regarding booking, it's a lot easier to not do so
* Christmas being a Tuesday
Hopefully next year will be better as Winter is back to normal and early snow can be guaranteed, again.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Lizzard, the problem appears to be flights, I just checked the rocketski site and can't get flights...
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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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nbt, I have just looked at that as well. Possibly it serves us right if we can't even get the paying punter to resort in the first place. 
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You know it makes sense.
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This all make sense now. It is possible to get H/B deals for £146.00 from Belfast!!!
Looks like I made a good decision this year
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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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Time's a tough, too. I think uncertainty last year, plus the prospect of a less (economically) good year to come and Christmas + skiing just feels a little too much. I must admit we considered it, but fear of paying a lot of money for poor conditions meant that we didn't bother. And so now we have family and guests coming so can't change our plans even if we wanted to.
Surely it's nice not to be too busy at Christmas (in one sense at least - although I appreciate the loss of revenue can't be good).
Have a happy one!
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Poster: A snowHead
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johnnyh,
Ditch the inlaws!!!!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I told the old man that I'd seen some fab Christmas ski offers and he said he couldn't see any reason why anyone would want to be away from home at Christmas - so it's the same old feeding the ungrateful mother-in-law routine - SIGH! At least she goes home after "The Queen" to sleep it off, but it means someone can't drink till she's gone, so they are ok to taxi her ladyship back home.
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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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Working?
We are/have become a 24hrs society with less flexability and holiday times especially seasonal holiday getting shorter, and with snow conditions very unpredictable over Christmas/New Year perhaps folks prefer to wait to book hols when they feel conditions may be more favorable later in January.
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| Lizzard wrote: |
I find that I have only eight rooms out of 19 sold for next week. It's Christmas week in the best snow we've seen in 10 years, for God's sake, what's going on?
Somebody get on www.rocketski.com and book the hotel Provencal in 2Alpes please, before we have to spend Chrizbit week rattling around a half empty hotel. I have no idea what the price is like, but with only two selling days left it surely has to be a bargain. I've got a really good chef, and while the place certainly isn't five star it's warm, comfortable and dead close to the red eggs. |
See this post from Nov.
More UK punters have been pre-booking North America, due to perceptions of better snow.
As a result, vacation prices to the Alps have generally been falling this year.
Of course, the current, below-average North American Winter will drive some back to Western Europe next year. Swings and roundabouts:
http://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?t=32302
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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 think Linds has a good point. If you have limited paid leave, and limited funds for family holidays, going skiing at Christmas is really not too clever a plan. This year snow is exceptional but generally, as people on this forum keep saying, Christmas is not the ideal time, by a long way. I do feel for NewSkier and her ungrateful MIL. I have mine coming this Christmas, and she's a very nice lady who will be very appreciative of everything, but my sister, who is a brilliant cook and far better than me at festive meals, got nothing but moans from her MIL every Christmas for 20 years. I think they set her adrift on an ice floe in the end.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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Lizzard, you are not alone - its the same story here in Austria - I thought everyone was disappearing to France! New Year week we could have sold about 6 times. We still have rooms available - and we have fantiastic snow!!!!!
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It's incredible, Chamonix is dead. My transfer buddies haven't started working yet. A sad thing to think, the season starts with the BS that is Xmas.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Headplant, Not this year, last xmas was great, i was hammered at work, really hammered. 
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Whitegold, not sure which european company is feeding you the "below average North American winter", the information I am receiving from resorts and people in them is that most had a slow start (i.e. not opening in mid-October), but are now well above average.
...but, on second thoughts, let's keep up the misinformation as it will make next year even quieter for those who make the trip.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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SMALLZOOKEEPER, Have a few for me this year, I haven't had a good Christmas for some year I'm glad someone is keeping the traditions alive. 
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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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Having ski'd the last 3-Xmas, I have to admit to falling into the "will leave it later in the year next time" category.
With 3-kids and both of us having jobs, unfortunately I don't have the flexibility or funds to drop everything and go. Well strictly speaking "I" do, but may not go down well
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Having skiied the last 8 Christmases, and always having plenty of snow to ski on, I wouldn't do anything else 
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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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NewSkier,
So you can't have a drink until you've driven your husband's mother home - how does that work?
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Poster: A snowHead
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Just been looking at the live webcam thread http://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?t=31719
Hardly anyone around on any of the views. No-one at the lifts, no-one in the restaurants, no-one on the slopes (or almost no-one) must be fantastic for those fortunate enough to be there right now 
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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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I haven't done an exhaustive search, but a quick look at some of the better known ski hol cos seems to suggest some very limited availability if one wished to fly out on Sunday 23rd for example.
Perhaps the "availability" isn't getting out to the market place?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Lizzard, you in the Provencal this time ? I stayed there 2x this year already. Got any cheap availablitly for New 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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Marcus, I think the bottleneck might be flights, judging from what was said earlier in this thread. For anyone ready to jump in a car and drive out, there looks to be some super opportunities available. I am stuck with mince pies, mother in law and trying to find festive fare for a vegetarian non-wheat eater.... hope there's still some snow come early Jan.
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Hi All,
pam w, i think you might be right....
I decided last wednesday to spend last weekend in VT given the great snow that't fallen. Only problem was the flights, even though I live in Manchester, to get a direct flight last Friday I had to drive to Doncaster!
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philw, welcome to snowHeads
I'm sure yours and pam w's assertion is likely true. I don't suppose the various Channel crossing options will reflect the last minute option either. I haven't looked, but I guess there will be a seasonal upswing in the cost to cross.
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I had bit of a look yesterday for one of these 22nd Dec trips and really there was nothing from an airport that suited me and very little choice at all. The vacancies are not really making it to the web sites as real 'last minute' deals - Some good ones for early Jan though but that is not really 'last minute' to me
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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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DebbiDoesSnow, haven't looked at New Year yet - saving it for AFD shift on Sunday. I think we might be quite full though.
We now have all of 20 people for Chrizbit.
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Lizzard, If it's any consolation there are very few people around the la Plagne area today, some of the mountain restaurants are not opening until tomorrow, the 3 we went into today the staff outnumbered the customers in all of them!
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FAQ
If I had the cash I would pay you a visit but unfortunately not this year or next. 
