 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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Declared interest - I too own in Les Arcs.
Now, I'd like everyone to stop praising the place and go away.
It's rubbish. It's awful. Please listen everyone who hasn't been there before: its not worth it. Stay away and don't get sucked in. What on earth could possibly attract you? You'll be far happier elsewhere.
No: leave it to those of us who like to punish ourselves, week after week, year after year. Powder field after groomer, steep after mogul, park after tree: I ask you, where's the fun in that?
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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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JimW, you must work for the Tourist Office...in Tignes.
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I too like the skiing in les arcs, but I am not sure that is what the OP was mainly about.
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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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| PJSki wrote: |
| JimW, you must work for the Tourist Office...in Tignes. |
Tignes has been fantastic today. Great pistes, awesome powder & stunning scenery, as the clouds drifted in and out and the sun shone through.
But please don't come i preffered it last week when it was nice and quiet 
p.s Tignes has planted thousands of trees over the last couple of years but most of them get destroyed by idiots skiing/boarding through/over them.
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stewart woodward, isn't much of the Tignes domain above the treeline anyway?
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| pam w wrote: |
| stewart woodward, isn't much of the Tignes domain above the treeline anyway? |
the trees wont grow above about 2200m i think. Considering the height of tignes, they simply wouldnt grow.
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Let's be fair.
3 Valles - 600+km fully linked piste with 200+ chairlift. It is the biggest in the world
Les Arcs/La pagnes - 425km Pists total. Each side can take days to cover. What about the 2km vertical drop from Aiguille Rouge 3226m to Villaroger at 1200m? one of the biggest around.
Tignes/Val D - Another 300+km piste huge domain with 3000m+ summit to guarantee snow
La Rosiere/La Thuille - Experience of non-stop skiing in two countries. Not many around.
Valmorel - Anybody try to ski to the far end of St Francis LongChamp and back in the same day? It also has more green slopes than other places in the Alps.
The above 1600+km piste can be covered within a 20 miles radius with the centre at Boug St Maurice!
For worst skiing experience just coincide your visit with a French school break. For really sickening experience choose the venue at the biggest skiing resorts like Plagnes Centre, Meribel or Les Menuires. If you have a dead wish to run into people then please at 4:30pm turn up at any of the bootlenecks while everybody is rushing back.
Tarentaise can be a different world if you go there at off-peak seasons. It is big enough to for you to disappear in whatever corner you wish to and still able to enjoy the infrastructure. If you go there with a car, that allows you to access any quiet chairlift station, and pick the quiet time to visit then Tarentaise can be the most satisfying place to ski. If you want scenery just take the chairlift to the highest point. If you want Alpine charm drive to the nearest village that tickle your fancy, leaving the in-resort architecture out.
It may not be a favourable place for a regular visit but can any real skier claim to have seen the biggest Alpine resort without visiting Tarentaise?
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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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skisimon, 
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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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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Agree they're not stunning, but like most places they have their nuggets. I know people who have done several seasons around Les Coches and are still fiinding new lines off piste.
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I think both Porte Du Soleil (650km) and Dolomites (1200km) claim more piste lengths. They are per region. The closest second fully linked domain should be the Italian Sella Ronda with a published 510km and 205 lifts. One can go round the the fully linked Val Gardena/Alta Badia/Arabba/Val di Fassa both clockwise and anticlockwise. Some of the Dolomites resorts are so far apart that it is impossible to ski two different resorts in the same day. PDS has 5 sections. It would be hard pressed for a skier to do 3 sections in a day by getting bus rides between them.
If Tarentaise oversold itself by 50% the PDS must have oversold 200% because many of the Swiss small resorts are dominated by drag lifts spreading over various mountains. Personally I don't think PDS is in the same league as Tarentaise or Dolomites. None of its 14 resorts like Les gets, Morzine, Avoriaz, Campery, Torgon, Chatel, Champoussin, La Crosets or Morgins stands out as a large resort, say 200km, and Abondance is closed because no profit was made in the last 15 years!
I can afford to speak out because unlike the chalet owners I have no commercial interest in any of the resorts. For a place like Whistler that claims to be the largest in North America its size according to my estimate is comparable to Tignes/Val D, as the American resorts count their space by area while the European resorts are by piste length. There is simply no place on earth that is bigger than Tarentaise allowing one to ski 1600km piste in a circle of 20m radius.
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You know it makes sense.
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I skied all of the PdS areas in one day, actually, I skied them all (apart from Les Gets) twice, because when I got to Morgins, I had to turn around and get back to Avoriaz and Morzine by the way I had come because the Morgins-Avoriaz link was closed...
Fully agree that its parts don't add up to a 'great' area, because they're all simply 'nice'... nothing special, different or large at all, and dare I say, a little bland at times. Still, I had a great week based out of Morzine.
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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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Chris Bish, it may be another thread, but I'd be very interested to hear about how you got on in Wengen.
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Poster: A snowHead
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skisimon,
Must admit I never made an attempt even I drove there every time.
Could you describe the route you took to ski the 14 resorts of PDS twice in a day (less Les Gets, presumably once)?
I understand the 14 resorts are
Massif 1 : Les get, Morzine which is linked by bus to Avoriaz chairlift TC Super Morzine
Massif 2 : Avoriaz, piste linked to 2 point to Massif 5 and one point to Massif 3
Massif 3 : Down to Col de Bassachaux to Linga, bus link to Super Chatel which pist linked to Torgon and Morgins
Massif 4 : Has 3 stations of La Chapelle D'Abondance, Super Chatel and Torgon. Only the last one is piste linked. First two by buses.
Massif 5 : Covering Morgins, Champoussin, Les Crozets and Chapery with 3 piste links to Avoiaz
There are two separate isolated areas within the piste map of PDS called Abondance (adjacent to but not La Chapelle D'Abondance) and St Jean D'Aulp, which is quite far from the other resorts. The distance from Les Gets to St Jean D'Aulp is 9.3 miles. St Jeran D'Aulp to Abondance is 12 miles. Abondance to La Chapelle D'Abondance is another 3.3 miles, all by Buses.
If one skis 75% of 650km PDS twice, say starting from 8am to 5pm with one hour lunch break then the average speed will be 0.75*650*2/(9-1) = 121kph or 76 mph. If one does only 50% of the piste and go through it once the average speed is still 40kph or 25mph.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Have to admit that I forgot completely about Champery and the Abondences, which I didn't ski. I also only skied a run per area, simply so that I could get to the next one.
Fully agree that the linkage is poor compared to many of the 'super resorts'.
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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 had to check in the dictionary to see that extirpated meant what I assumed it did . . .
Anyway, purely on skiing grounds I wouldn't say they're over rated (or 'cooked').
I could see how their popularity with the British market dulls their appeal. One of the great things about going to smaller, lesser known (at least to the British market) resorts is escaping the 'British' tag and behaviour.
Architecture. Hmmm . . . I'd rather go to Zermatt than Les Menuires. It's a consideration but not the prime one when considerating a trip.
So overall, for me the answer is no. If you've been skiing a long time, seen it, done it etc. may be the 'factory' nature of those places means the appeal pales bur 'overcooked', no.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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kevin mcclean, La Rosiere is not owned by Val D'Isere, the lift system is owned by the same company that run Val's lifts, there is a difference and having just got back from La Rosiere I believe the lift company are doing a great job, pistes were superb everywhere, no delays, no significant queues and no breakdowns.
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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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pam w, I have put some thoughts about our Wengen week on the Junfrau thread in Resorts.
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Ok David, it's what I essentially meant but I take your point. Nice place La Rosiere-everyone seems nice and sober and unpretentious and unprecious and unaffected and......
You know what I mean.
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I think that some people are being rather too harsh on the Espace Killy. As said earlier, out of season is best. It has a superb high capacity lift system with very few bottlenecks and a great variety of runs and a real sense of travelling along the valleys when you go from Tignes to Fornet and back.
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Edited because what I had written made no sense 
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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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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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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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gwaelod, you can't see it from Aime itself!
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You know it makes sense.
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A Mate of mine keeps telling me to go to Zermatt, I will definitely give it a go soon.
gwaelod that is one stupendous piece of architecture, just think how many beds that place holds !!, then imagine if the equivalent amount of beds were converted into chalets, there would be room left on the mountain for any piste !!. I am going to a similar place at Easter, Hotel Augille Rouge at Arc 2000. Ski in, Ski out at 2000 metres and you can watch the speed skiing from the terrace, can't beat it.
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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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Poster: A snowHead
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| Kel wrote: |
| but have to agree they are akin to living on a 1960's council estate for a week. |
Undoubtedly there are some hideous examples of architecture in the big French resorts, but there are some rather nice bits as well It just depends on what your priorities are. For some people easy access to huge amounts of skiing and relatively low prices are significantly more important than the appearance and ambience of the village.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| rob@rar wrote: |
| Kel wrote: |
| but have to agree they are akin to living on a 1960's council estate for a week. |
Undoubtedly there are some hideous examples of architecture in the big French resorts, but there are some rather nice bits as well It just depends on what your priorities are. For some people easy access to huge amounts of skiing and relatively low prices are significantly more important than the appearance and ambience of the village. |
That'll be the theme park more commonly known as Arc 1950 I take it, sorry mate I go away 2- 3 times a year and have a wife and 2 teenagers to pay for, 1950 is way out of my leauge.
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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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Or maybe Villaroger, now that is much more like it, trouble is unpredictable conditions late in the season and relatively slow uplift.
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Kel, No brand new place being built just in front of the Olympic torch and flags.....
rob@rar, Bored told me recently that Aime 2000 has been given the French equivalent of protected heritage status....
Last edited by You need to Login to know who's really who. on Mon 31-12-07 18:42; edited 1 time in total
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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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| Kel wrote: |
| That'll be the theme park more commonly known as Arc 1950 I take it, sorry mate I go away 2- 3 times a year and have a wife and 2 teenagers to pay for, 1950 is way out of my leauge. |
No, not what I was thinking of. Arc 1950 is really not typical of the Tarentaise. Villaroger, as you suggested, and some parts of places sch as Le Praz, La Tania, Champagny, Peisey, Montchavin, St Martin, St Foy, Seez, as well as bits of the high altitude resorts such as Courchevel, Val d'Isere, Meribel, Arc 1600 and Arc 1800 are somewhat different from the council housing that I grew up in 
Last edited by Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do. on Mon 31-12-07 18:50; edited 1 time in total
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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| gwaelod wrote: |
rob@rar, Bored told me recently that Aime 2000 has been given the French equivalnet of protected heritage status.... |
They managed to knock down one of the huge ones in Les Menuiures why can't they with this one ... apart from the real estate value. The main offensive issue with Aime 2000 is that it can be seen from miles around in the reverse aspect to the picture. I'm sure like the La Daille apartments it's meant to mimic the mountains. To me it's only a reminder of when the French had their style bypass period in the 70's and early 80's.
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I think I got it now. You guys just hate the cheap accommodations you have to stay there.
Never stay with in-resort accommodation myself. So snow is now, chairlift is chairlift and Les Menuires looks the same to me as Zermatt, except I could take a mountain train to get up to some of the slopes with the latter. Admittedly there are a lot of skiers concentrating at Les Menuires, especially at peak time.
Flaine looks pretty horrible architecturally but I just passed through so it doesn't bother me.
I only judge a resort by its infrastructure and facilities and never assess it by the look of the accommodation I can afford.
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saikee, Well argued. If you don't like the buildings, don't look at them. Look at the mountains instead.
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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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Going off at a tangent, it is not only the French, who are guilty of ugly architecture. Anyone who frequents the Trafford Centre can't have failed to see the Chill Factore (regardles of whether they are a skier or not) The view of the Trafford Centre at night from the M60 used to be quite nice, you can hardly see it now. How they got PP to build it there is beyond me.
Before anyone posts I know it is completely different to building a monstrosity in natures playground of the Alps, but we have still done it in 2007.
But I am not complaining, It's only 25 mins away for me.
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I never thought I would ever hear somebody complaining about something spoiling their view of the Trafford Centre. I actually think the Chill Factore looks quite nice lit up in blue at night, especially compared to the giant green dome of the Trafford Centre with best of all, its owners portrayed as Roman Gods on the inside
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