 Poster: A snowHead
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been looking at the piste maps for alpe d'huez and feeling really daunted by how huge it is.
few questions i have if anyone can enlighten me
1) getting from hotel in centre of resort (just south of the ice rink) to a piste - according to the brochure the bucket lift is 3-4 mins walk. is there a massive queue for this at 9am? can't quite see how every skier in the resort can get on it at the same time! is there any ways of avoiding this - without having to walk. i can ski in my boots but not walk anywhere in them, esp not while carrying 3 pairs of skis.
is it possible to ski out of the village or back to the hotel afterwards??
or are there lockers by the main gondolas, so we could walk on our soft boots and change into ski boots once we get to the lifts?
2) what runs would you suggest we start out on to get our bearings? quite happy on blues and ok on red unless really icy. is there a best set of slopes for morning vs afternoons etc with diff sun / snow conditions? when we have the kids with us in the afternoons the plentyful greens look fine, and as they all end in the same place not much risk of getting lost.
thanks
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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blueberry, if your not far from the ice rink then i was gonna suggest that its not too far a walk(uphill) to the main lifts/pistes but seeing as you might struggle having to carry lots of skis then i'd aim for the baket lifts-now there is a central piste that more or less runs alongside the basket lift through the town which means you can sometimes join nearer to your accom and ski down a little to the next basket lift station.
As there are different get on/off stations along the length of the basket lift then it isnt that bad usually for queues tho that depends on how busy the resort is and which week your going-if the queues for the baskets are bad or your like me and prefer to keep[ your skis on then you can take that central piste past the bottom of the basket lift across a bridge to ski onto a short chair that then links you to another chair(slow though) that takes you across town and drops you off in les bergers area.
There are lots of easy greens and blues on the lower part of the main mountain above les bergers and back towards the DMC gondola too.You need to ask someone else about morning or afternoon conditions as i've never took much notice of that kind of think unless its extremely cold in the shade then i just look for a bit of sun. Hope some of this helps anyway.
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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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thanks
we are going new year week so rather concerned the whole place is going to be packed.
any quieter slopes to head for would be useful to know about.
that's great there's a piste through the village too, at least we will be able to ski nearly back on return.
cheers
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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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Quieter at Auris and Vaujany, especially early in the week when no-one has found them yet.
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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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| Atomic_Mick wrote: |
| As there are different get on/off stations along the length of the basket lift then it isnt that bad usually for queues tho that depends on how busy the resort is and which week your going-if the queues for the baskets are bad or your like me and prefer to keep[ your skis on then you can take that central piste past the bottom of the basket lift across a bridge to ski onto a short chair that then links you to another chair(slow though) that takes you across town and drops you off in les bergers area. |
Is that bit new - I don't recollect having that "drop down option" about 5 years ago but then they seem to have got rid of the crappy 2 person chair from the middle of the Vieil Alpe sector.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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If you are in Hors Blanc or Pieres Vacances you can walk down the hill across a car park and pick up a chair. This is far quicker than the buckets. However all the main lifts radiate from the DMC. When we stayed in Hors Blanc a couple of years ago they had a mini bus to the DMC. If you are in either of these hotels you can ski back part of the way behind the town, but will probably have a 200m walk at the end. ADH is a great resort imo have a good time.
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| blueberry wrote: |
...we are going new year week so rather concerned the whole place is going to be packed.
any quieter slopes to head for would be useful to know about. |
We stayed in Oz en Oisans (over the ridge, very good links with the main bowl) for new year 07/08. I'm allergic to queues and we specifically chose to go back there for this 2nd time because the queues across the whole area are generally good, lifts reasonably fast and the skiing is good. Of course you'll find some queues, particularly at key times around the main resort. But we never queued for more than 5 minutes (and that was in the main bowl to get a key end-of-day lift back up to the ridge at peak time in the afternoon) and most queues were less than that.
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On the first day I used the Lobster Pot. Day two onwards I utilised the Ski Bus. They arrive frequently stopping at various locations near to the Ice Rink. This was two years ago, so If my memory serves me correctly there are two coloured bus routes. Both go upto the main slopes above Berger where the Main Ticket Offices are but you need to know what Bus to choose, which is near to your residence. Bus is much easier with 3 pairs of Ski in hand. Enjoy
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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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blueberry, At 9am on the Sunday morning particulalry there will be a queue for the buckets. It opens at 8.30am though so you can get on it eariler if you want. From where you are staying you have a choice of walking to the bottom (down hill (ish) or the mid-station which is up hill). Although the queue may appear a bit longer at the bottom than at the mid station it is probably actually quicker to get on as all the lifts are empty at that point. The other alternative which might be better for you is to walk past the sports centre over to the Les Bergers chair lift which is a slow chair but rarely has a queue at all. If you don't fancy walking all the way over to it you can pop your skis on a the church car park (100m or so from your hotel) and ski down to the bottom of the 2 man L'Eclose chair lift (which also rarely has a queue). This would be my preference I think. There are no lockers by the main lifts but depending on which hire shop you are using they may be happy for you to leave your skis in the shop over night and your shoes there during the day!
For getting your bearings on a lovely long blue run I would head down to Villard which you will see on your piste map. It is a really nice run and perfect for getting your legs going again. Definitely venture out to the villages like Auris and Montfrais to avoid the crowds on the main DMC section and if you are on the green runs in the bowl above the town take the drag lifts rather than the DMC to avoid queuing. There are some lovely green and blue runs at the far reaches of Auris which can be reached by taking a series of chair lifts to avoid anything difficult if you wanted to take the children somewhere different towards the end of the week.
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