 Poster: A snowHead
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Off to Val Thorens tomorrow - Just wondered why next week is seen as a quiet one, and the prices of accomodation are lower?
Any ideas?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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last week was less quiet, this week has been quiet as will next week be....all things are relative..
I guess the reason is that New Year was manic....some people ski tag a week onto their christmas/new year holiday and ski which means 1st week jan is busier then people tend to not holiday 2nd &3rd week after all they've just had christmas off and it would seem silly to some to go back to work for a week then go on holiday again then things start to build in February again!
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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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It's no quieter than this week or last week - it's just that after the New Year week French people don't go skiing so much until the half term holidays start (7 February). Also, some kinds of accommodation are suffering "credit crunch" wise.
It looks like you'll get loads of snow next week, and cold and windy weather; take loads of layers and maybe some good books. 
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Hopefully this doesn't affect the apres-ski.....
Who am I kidding? At THOSE prices??? 
Anyone fancy giving a good guide to a first days skiing in Val Thorens for a trio of intermediates? Only ever been to Soldeu and done all the reds there plus a few blacks (but I gather they are probably tame)
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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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SharkEnergy, The first 2-3 full weeks in January are generally the quietest weeks apart from the ones at the very start and end of the season.
There are no public or school hoolidays in any of the countries most ski holidaymakers come from, and it is still early enough in the season for snow cover to be a little unreliable. By the time you reach the last week in January, snow cover is a bt more reliable, and then as you go into February you start hitting school holidays too, and it gets as busy then as it ever does.
It will tail off again then during March - apart from the Easter week in years when that falls in March.
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Oh I hope we dont' get snowed and winded out of any fun! I have a stack of DVDs in case - but that would be a disaster of a trip!!! 
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alex_heney, they're not quiet weeks in Courchevel 1850 though, where accomodation is literally impossible to find, even by professional tour operators.
So I heard somewhere, anyway.
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I reckon Les Arcs is probably pretty quiet though.
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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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SharkEnergy, it has to be said that Val Thorens is very high, and can be pretty bleak in bad weather. But on the other hand, some lower resorts might well be getting rain rather than snow next week - in which case you'll be very glad you're up there! Just wrap up warm - there's plenty of skiing below Val Thorens. I don't know the valley well enough to give you a guide to a first day's skiing - someone who knows it better will no doubt be along soon.
If the weather looks like being really grotty you might do a lot worse than sign up for a ski class. Being with an instructor is excellent in bad weather, especially in poor visibility in an area you don't know well. An instructor who knows the area like the back of his/her hand will keep you constructively occupied, you'll have a laugh, and it will be a good incentive to get out of bed and into your gear on a gloomy morning.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| Quote: |
fresh snow & blue skies for the rest of the week.
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well, stranger things have probably happened. Take LOTS of layers.
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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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| paulio wrote: |
alex_heney, they're not quiet weeks in Courchevel 1850 though, where accomodation is literally impossible to find, even by professional tour operators.
So I heard somewhere, anyway. |
So LITERALLY in fact that ifyouski has a whole list of discounted packages for departure tomorrow.
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due to it being quieter, do any resorts close lifts as they do at the start of the season? I would imagine not, but just wanted to clairfy.
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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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Christopher, no, generally they seem to keep them open - in the 3V "quiet" is relative; it's always busy compared to round here. I spend some pleasant hours at this time of year being the only person on a slope/lift. It's surreal. I dutifully check before starting to see that nobody is coming - but if they are, I'm shocked!!
There's loads of accommodation in Courchevel 1850; crunch time for some fancy chalet operators, I suspect.
Megamum, the weather next week doesn't look as windy as when you were there! That was exceptional.
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Poster: A snowHead
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SharkEnergy,
Who cares? I do alot of my skiing in mid Jan as it's really cheap and generally the snow will be pretty good. OK, the first and last week of the season can be seriously cheap, but then the snow can be seriously shoite!!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Not enough cash after christmas and too soon for January salary (I get paid 26th Jan). Less demand for ski hols so TOs etc drop their prices to tempt you in.
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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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Christopher, The Milky Way resorts certainly do.
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SharkEnergy, make sure you get up the Cime Caron and come down the red Col de l'Audzin. Best run in the resort IMHO - though the real value is in taking the cable car up to that amazing top station. Worth climbing the few extra metres on foot to the viewing point - simply awesome views. Goes without saying really, that you should only do it on a clear day...
It's also worth taking the Boismint chair up, just to see the Caron from a distance.
Lac Blanc is maybe an easier start than Col de L'Audzin. Warm them legs up!
A nice cruisy blue at the end of the day - Pluviometre. Get that in on a return from the 3V if you have the full pass; if not then get the Bouquetin lift up after 3V1 or Plein Sud and do it.
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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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To answer the question (which I assume was real): January is cheap because most peeps don't have money left after Christmas, there are no school holidays and the weather is often not very nice. all this makes it a very good time to ski.
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I always ski during quiet weeks. Either mid-January or mid-March. Not only are the resorts less busy and not full of screaming kids, but the prices are far more wallet-friendly. I've never experienced a problem with lifts/runs being closed other than for poor conditions...
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| Quote: |
the weather is often not very nice.
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But, on average, better conditions than Christmas/New Year, and New Year is rammed. It's good for us that the French, even the ones without kids at school, are creatures of habit. They always go on holiday on the same Saturdays.....
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queen bodecia, Mid march is busy here - high season but not holidays.
pam w, Yes - odd how they all go on holiday together even if they don't need to. 
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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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FAQ
Indeed I can confirm through bitter experience that Val Thorens in dire weather is indeed dire. Its not good even booking an instructor when there are no lifts open 