 Poster: A snowHead
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Just come back from a fantastic week in Le Grand Bornand. Almost forgot about the nightmare journey at the start which went something like this:
Departure date 24th Jan, flight departing around midday North Terminal Gatwick. No queue at check in desk and all seemed to be going very smoothly, then told to expect a short delay as Geneva was closed because of the bad weather. O.k. we thought, we can cope with that! Short delay turned into 6 hours delay by the time we eventually departed at about 6.20 p.m. No announcements from EJ just down to us to keep checking the boards and then finding as every new departure time was approaching so the slot was slipped back again. Even more frustrating was the fact that all the later EJ Gatwick- Geneva flights were apparently going off pretty much on time with ours still firmly delayed.
A guy on the same flight as us claimed that he spoke to the EJ rep who told him that it is better for them statistically to have only one flight delayed rather than try and fiddle about with all the flights that day to get us on an earlier available plane - I don't know how true this is but it certainly was the case that ours was the only one with a mega delay.
Anyway, we eventually departed (only really keeping sane because we had Saturday papers, a reasonably comfy seat and hadn't intended to ski that day anyway) and duly arrived at Geneva. Captain announces that there are no steps/personnel available for us to disembark! - huge groans while we think that this will be for the most about 10 minutes - no, no, 55 minutes later the steps arrive! We all get off and trundle to baggage re-claim. Husband decides to run for the car hire desk to get ahead of the queue leaving me to collect the luggage. Forgot that the trolleys are now 2 euros at Geneva and found out too late that I only had 1 euro coins on me! Grabbed the suitcases, chugged over to claim the skis, got the skis, loaded myself up like a pack horse only for the phone to ring with husband saying "don't bother to hurry as the car hire queue is about a mile long"! I caught up with him eventually and after another hour and a half we finally got our car!! Annoyingly, the car hire desks for Avis, Hertz and Europecar were empty - just ours for Alamo/National which was very busy. We arrived at Le Grand Bornand at about 1.30 a.m. instead of 4.00 p.m!! However, I have to say that the journey from the airport to LGB was very smooth - snow tyres/chains all good (no high vis jacket provided this time though) - new motorway section cost 5 euros I think but was great.
Had an absolutely fantastic week at LGB staying for the first time in our apartment at the Village de Lessy. Loved the skiing area - much more there than we had anticipated. Went over to La Clusaz for a couple of days and once again we were pleasantly surprised at the amount of skiing there is to do. Sun shone practically every day and very picturesgue too.
Going back for half term with the kids and although I realise it will be very busy in comparison I am still hopeful we may find a few quieter spots. We are driving too, for the first time, so will be interesting to compare the 2 journeys. At the moment, having been against driving I am now interested to see how it pans out. We are taking the tunnel on Friday 13th and staying overnight near Dole and then hoping to arrive early on Saturday morning. Will keep you posted!
Loatie
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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loatie, ouch, sounds like a hellish journey.
We flew on Sat morning as well. We were nearing Geneva but were then informed that we were re-routing to Zurich. Half way to Zurich the Captain came back on and informed us that Geneva had re-opened so we did a fast u-turn. Looking at the Arrivals board after we landed it was a sea of red Delayed, Diverted and Cancelled.
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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 made the same trip to Geneva on the 24th, our flight was a fairly early one though (9.55). We boarded on time, only to be told after a while that there was a delay, up to 3 hours! As it turned out, we sat there for a little under 1 hour which was less painful. Amusingly the cockpit was open to all and sundry wanting a look round, didnt think such a thing would occur these days..!
The reason for the delays in the morning at least, was the ILS was broken at GEneva, and it was poor weather so they couldn't fly by eye. They got 1 runway working again with ILS hence it got moving, but seemingly had big knock ons in terms of the resulting delays.
The way back wasn't much fun, Geneva checkin for Easyjet just total chaos, unbelievably slow desks, seeing as half the check in is on a computer self service, surely it can't be that hard- but they made it so.
FLight was then about 30 mins late leaving, no explanation, no estimates - nothing from the woman at the gate. You could see her getting annoyed with people going up every 5 mins asking her, for gods sake - its not hard to make a quick announcement is it!!
Ended up being Gatwick delaying the plane for some reason
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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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loatie, I can sympathise with the journey - we were in Liverpool for Geneva on 24/1, and had the weather delays too, boarded 3 hours after we should have left, but then spent an hour sitting on the plane, waiting for a slot! Never mind, worth it when we got there, and as you say, a great week weatherwise (we were not far from you, in Morillon).
Very jealous of your apartment, but still hope you enjoy it for many years to come!  Good Luck for HT week - it may well be manic!
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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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What were the weather issues? We drove from Norwich (leaving Friday afternoon) arriving in Selva in the Dolomites on Saturday morning 24th Jan, and the weather was absolutely perfect all the way - probably the fastest run we have ever had, arrived more than an hour ahead of schedule.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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RobinS, the best kind of weather issue - snow!!
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| loatie wrote: |
| in our apartment at the Village de Lessy. |
OK rub it in !
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loatie, We flew from Cork to GVA and had a couple of hours delay. So at least the airline was telling you the truth and GVA was closed. We also had a great week!
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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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Sorry kendadj!!! Believe me it's a long story and it's been a long time coming - 2 years behind schedule - so i must admit it did feel quite good to finally be able to write "in our apartment at the Village de Lessy" !!
Thanks Anniepen - I think we'll need good luck - hey ho!
Loatie
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Loatie,
No, you gloat - you've got the right !
Wish I could find some spare money to buy one.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Think you will find driving there a lot easier - although there will be a huge amount of traffic on the road on 14/02 (half of France including Paris on holiday plus many other Europeans). Make sure you get off your hotel at Dole asap on Sat morning - suggest no later than 7-8 am. It's all motorway from Calais then a short drive up to the resort. We have had really good feedback on Le Village de Lessy which opened in December so far http://www.peakretreats.co.uk/ski/le-grand-bornand.htm. Will look forward to read about your February experience.
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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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Think you will find driving there a lot easier
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Hmm. Maybe not at half term; it'll certainly take a lot longer than even that horrible-sounding flight.
Glad you had a good week, loatie. We leave here on Friday, to be out of the Alps before the Saturday transfer traffic. See you for a drink in Emsworth, maybe?
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Sounds good PamW! Have just left la belle Francoise as we speak - spent a very civilised evening eating a gallette a roi (?sp) and a very nice glass of wine provided by Ken - o and spoke a bit of French too!! Hope you're enjoying the snow in Les Saisies. Will try to make the best of the 1/2 term journey.
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You know it makes sense.
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Delighted to hear your feedback on GB and La Clusaz. I have a chalet in GB and ski there several weeks every year and think it is one of the most under-rated skiing areas in the Alps
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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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it is one of the most under-rated skiing areas in the Alps
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second only to the Espace Diamant.  Le Grand Bornand is firmly on our list; loatie has promised to give us guided tour, sometime when we're all out here together.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Loatie, glad to hear you enjoyed LGB. We're also driving down leaving on Friday 13th (!) too. You'll be ahead of us so clear us a path through the traffic please. Staying in Chinaillon and crossing our fingers for lots of sunny days..........
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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It's shaping up for a snowy week next week - should be great for half term. 
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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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Sansnom - hi there! would be interested to know what your favourite areas/runs to ski are?
MazDave - will try to be good trailblazers for you - whereabouts are you staying in Chinaillon?
Loatie
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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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We're in a chalet called Le Moulin - it looks to be the last property on the left as you leave La Place before the left turn for the Vieux Village - half a mile or so from the foot of the Floria lift. I have no idea what this means for getting to the schools/lifts in the morning as we've not been before - it looks flat on the map.....
We'll be easy to spot - two big black Nissan Pathfinders with GB plates.
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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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It is a straightforward walk - but I'm sure there is a skibus stop nearby. To be honest, if you dont fancy the walk (or the kids dont fancy it more to the point!) and cant be bothered to wait for the skibus, there were plenty of parking places very close to the lift departures. Will look out for you!
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