 Poster: A snowHead
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Driving out on Christmas/Boxing Day, have hopefully booked little one into the creche (if the cheque arrives on time). Just wondered if any of you have used it? What are your thoughts?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Had no idea there was a creche there! Is that the ski school for the very young 'uns? If so they're often to be seen in a segregated area by the debutant slope, under the main cablecar up from Morillon. Children seem to be enjoying themselves - one little rope drag IIRC. Don't have kids so no idea what the crèche is actually like though. Will however be skiing from Morillon 1100 over Christmas and New Year. 
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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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Apparently there is a creche there too, littlest one is too young to ski (18 months), but I think it is with the kindergarden bit as there is the option to try them on skis.
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| Beks1969 wrote: |
| Apparently there is a creche there too, littlest one is too young to ski (18 months), but I think it is with the kindergarden bit as there is the option to try them on skis. |
Used it for both my children, good both times just hard to get a space if late booking. Staff are very good some english speaking if required, children enjoyed a good atmosphere and came out happy. It has a dedicated small ski area for infants so no other ski traffic, older children go to main learning area just outside this garden. As described by other post this is the main creche at morillon 1100 just under the telecabine arriving in the village. Last visited March 2009 and have quite good knowledge of area if you need to know more.
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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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Hi ski3 that's great thank you. Have secured a booking so am now just wondering what it's like really. The little one is pretty laid back and I'm not too worried, she pretty much eats anything and everything too! Will they take them outside much during the day? Also what was the snow like? This is the lowest altitude we have stayed so am unsure what to expect. 
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Friends of ours used it with their children. Their experience was not good - children were dreadfully unhappy about it.
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My children are similar in that they eat most things and will try new food (for me that's part of a holiday). I feel that the process of leaving them is the same anywhere in that they may react differently to being looked after in a strange place. Our experience has been that the care was firstly proffesional, they assume that children can be very much involved in activity with or without parents, environment is positvely towards helping the children enjoy themselves. Practicalities; they normally expect you to take slippers for indoor use, also outdoor clothes as they have a snow garden area in addition to the infant ski facility (my son recalls the tobogganing).
Regarding the snow; we have always been able to ski back to this station even in the poorest years, we've previously headed to high places also but this is one of the few places I would trust for good snow at this altitude. All the local immediate slopes are tree line north facing so whatever snow they get they seem to keep. The wider area is a very benign one that may appear less demanding but make sure you explore all the far reaches as it has some of the best skiing I have found. there are some busy bits that you have to pass through but also many fabulous bits. If you are a first time visitor it would help to be shown around for a day.
Restuarants are mainly around the lift bases but there are some very good examples.
We have skiied this area form most of the villages and believe morillon 1100 is one of the best for young families, son now six started here, daughter 3 has begun basic skiing, we're big fans particularly accesability around the village. Are you staying at 1100? are you self catering
We are planning to visit in March 2010, Can't wait to get there!
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Hi ski3.
We are indeed self-catering at 1100, and can't wait to get there too!! Slippers is a good tip. Glad they get to play outside too, went to Les Arcs in Jan when baby was just 9 months and she just loved the snow (good girl!!), loved being pulled around on the toboggan. Elder daughter is almost 7 and really enjoyed the skiing in Jan, fab that we can now ski with her in the afternoon after her lessons.
My husband had his first ski holiday at Morillon, many years ago... so that's one of the reasons we're heading out there, he loved it and he'll be keen to show me round I guess, if he can remember...
Thanks for your help, very much appreciated.
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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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Hi beks1969
It's great to hear someone else enthusiastic about skiing with a young family. I can't quite believe that it was such a short time ago that I carried my son home from maternity ward and now I'm skiing with him, he was six in May so skied most of morrilon + les carroz at 5 and three quaters, not a boast but a tribute to gaining confidence on the really accesible slopes in Morillon. The green "marvel" i think, is one of the best slopes bar none for gaining confidence with a long very gentle gradient and low traffic. I would say that reaching Flaine is definitely out of reach for young legs stamina wise but you'll be unlikely to run out of things to ski local to Morillon, which makes it easy to get back if tired. I'd rate the run down to the valley from 1100 to be more challenging for a learner but you may be directed there as the ESF use it, Marvel is far more kind to anyone building confidence (if I've got the name wrong, it's easy to find on the map being the only green run down to the 1100 station).
Perhaps too enthusiastic about staying here! but we've had such good times and that's what memories are made of.
Oooh, and just as you leave the start of the main 4 man chair in 1100 as you past the first pilon, there is a little restuarant (possibly "Le Beu") that serves fabulous croc-monsuer etc that is easy to miss as you ski back down.
If you ski Flaine and need to get back to collect from ESF then it's only 2 lifts and total of 40mins return, much faster than getting there as the lifts going out are slower. Hope this helps.
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Marvel is indeed the green run from the top of the Sairon 4-man chairlift, and is reputed to be possibly the best green run in the Alps.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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My 3 year old loved chasing her 5 year old brother down Marvel last March
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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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Hi mfj197
Loads of small chutes alongside the piste that are safe which my son loved. We've stayed quite a bit in Verchaix both winter and summer at Chalet Isabella, (a very family freindly place to stay run by young family also "skisamoens.co.uk" nice views and more sun on that side of the valley but hard to beat the convenience of staying on the snow especially with small children. We have enjoyed this valley a lot and will keep returning.
Hi Skimummy, also there in march and wasn't it stacked with snow mmmmm.I don't think there are any risky bits on it at all, just ideal. We also liked the Red above Les carroz from top of gondola along the ridge and down through the slalom race area, plenty wide enough to teach traverse decent to beginers.
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Marvel sounds 'marvellous'!! The kids don't really have a choice!! I'm not giving up skiing... luckily they love the snow x
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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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Hi m00958
The earliest I've been there is first full week of jan post new year and snow was fine to 1100. I think you'd be unlucky if no snow as we've always skied to this level during all visits, hope it's ok this season.
Le Buet is right at the far edge of the area! about 100mtrs from main chair lift. If you put a compass into the the base of the chair lift with 150mtr radius you'd probably draw a circle round all of the 1100 station facilities / accomodation, this is what makes it so good for families.
You can ski in/out of Let Buet and to ESF meeting next to the chair, also down to the creche (piste from chair down through tunnel under road) small drag lift behind creche brings you back up to Le Buet area again.
Our son went to ESF this year, not for a full week. They spoke english to him (instructor was the brother of olympic gold medal downhiller "Antoine") slight confusion as I took him without ski poles and they presumed he was lower ability than he really is, then aged nearly six. I took a couple of loops past his group to see what activities they were doing, all seemed fine and It's the first lesson i think he's really enjoyed so no complaints from my point.
I'm gradually learning more french but the people here are really tolerant of me mangling their language and always really helpful. ESF office staff really good at discussing skill etc so i'ts worth chatting to them to get what you need.
If you have a mixed group some of which are't skiing, then you still need a pass to get back up from the valley if you ride the gondala down to base level. you can enter the "down side" with no pass so you need to take one with you to return or pay for a day pass to get back up!!
There are enough shops at 1100 to keep you going but some people do shop for food in the valley prior to ascent. 2 supermarkets are about a 20 min drive from 1100 station.
You do need to be equiped for snow if driving to 1100, We bought snow chains in Champion supermarket for use on VW touran 45euros ish, they do have a reasonable range for conventional cars and they're legally required for this area. Don't know what your experience is, but if you're going up you can just get stuck but if you are trying to come down it is truly scary without them on snow, don't even try it.
La Combe restuarant cooks some of the best pizza anywhere, if you want to eat when they open in the evening at 7.00 you'll need to book before but it's worth it.
Morillon may not be the most glamorous place when compared to some of the fanciest places but it is probably my favorite for family skiing, come to that if you poke around all of the area available there's some of the finest skiing anywhere. Shhh don't tell too many people!
Hope this helps, any thing else I'm happy to post. Bye.
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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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Hi m00958
That's only a small learner drag so no trouble, but creche is only a short walk anyway (you guessed it about 100mtrs from sairon)
Directions for Champion are; there are two roads along the valley, the one through morillon village and the other parallel to it on the other side of the valley, Champion is on this one. You go from Morillon toward Verchaix, cross the river to roundabout, turn right toward Samoen village, Champion is on the right along here. It's only about 3km from Morillion so quite convenient. Your plan for Cluses will suffice though.
We have stayed quite often in verchaix and the chalet owners always say they get to ski early to mid december before the christmas rush so snow seems to arrive about 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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Snow now all the way to the bottom of the valley (600m), which is a big change from the last couple of weeks. The earliest I've been is over Christmas about 7 or so years ago, and the snow wasn't particularly great. Seeing as we were driving every day from Verchaix we ended up going to Samoens 1600 rather than Morillon to get to slightly better snow, but now I think we'd drive round to Flaine if that is the case. However I think that was a particularly bad year.
The Champion in the Giffre valley has been taken over (by Carrefour if I remember correctly), but I'm not sure if it still says Champion on the outside. I'll ask my folks as they came back from the valley yesterday. It's still pretty much the same fare though.
Yes, Marvel can be good fun even for more advanced skiers. One day when it was really quiet myself and a friend straightlined the whole thing in the tuck position - and our legs were burning like never before when we reached the bottom! Only do this when it's empty though, as it could scare the usual Marvel clientele. There are also good little excursions off the side and between the trees. Sairon is good although later in the day the bottom half can get a little busy and cut up. The run to the right of the Sairon chairlift (Chalet) isn't bad, and there's an entertaining little gulley between it and Sairon near the top under the chairlift. Also 7 Freres is a nice run which is normally quieter.
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Our clients regularly use the creche at Morillon 1100 it has worked well for them so we are always happy to recommend. It is also great value especially compared to child care offered by UK ski holiday companies. Do make sure you book in advance though. Payment arrangements are a bit of a pain but in the end it works.
Le Buet apartments are in a great location. They are very simple but greeat value so they get booked-up extremely early as many people come back year after 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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Glad to hear the positive feedback on the nursey, and Le Buet.
You mention:
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Payment arrangements are a bit of a pain but in the end it works
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What are the problems you speak of?
We did find it difficult to get hold of someone over the Summer to get a place booked, and then there was some confusion over the deposit. They accepted a £100 cheque from us. I assume they will tear that up when we get there, and I'm hoping that we can pay by credit card for the whole balance. Do you, or anyone else, know if that's the case, and if we can pay by credit card?
We've used the nursery in Oz en Oisans for the last two years, which is excellent, and they just let us pay the whole amount by credit card (they didn't even ask for a deposit)
Thanks in advance for your help.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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Because it is a public creche they don't take deposits by phone on credit cards or any cards for that matter as far as I know. They normally only take cheques in Euros but we have an arrangement with them for our clients whereby they accept ££ cheques as a booking deposit. If they have received your cheque and confirmed booking I guess you may be ok.
The whole amount can then paid by card on site.
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Thanks for the info.
They sent us a letter of confirmation a few weeks ago.
It would appear they have cashed our cheque. Checked my bank account and that cheque has been cashed. Would rather they had kept in case, and let us pay the whole balance by card. Would probably have been cheaper for us that way. Oh well.
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The earliest I've been is over Christmas about 7 or so years ago
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Probably January 2002 - snow was certainly not good throughout the 3 Valleys, when we went the (cheap) week after new year.
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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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Just to confirm, the Champion supermarket near Samoens in the Giffre valley is no longer a Champion - it's now a Carrefour with no indication of its previous name. It's not quite as big as the Carrefour in Cluses, but it's not bad at all.
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mfj197, thanks for the info. Think we'll still stop in Cluses as we'll be driving right passed it.
Does the road up to 1100 ever require chains? We haven't pre-booked any with the car hire, and wondering if we should get some while hiring the car.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Yes, we'll be stopping at Cluses in the afternoon on Christmas Eve as there's more chance of it being open than the one in the valley!
I would think you may occasionally need chains going up to 1100, but unlikely. It's not a road I've ever driven myself as we leave the car at the bottom and take the telecabine up. I've never needed chains the times I've driven up to Samoens 1600 which is on the same (south facing) side of the valley, although my friend did once. I don't know how often they clear the Morillon 1100 road - marcellus would be your man there and could give far better info than me.
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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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Hello all
The creche always stick to what they say, so if you are clear with them there should be no reason you don't get what you need in our experience. We also found this with the municipal creche in Samoens when we've used it, I think we've always used cash to pay so no experience of cards with them.
They normally clear snow early morning and throughout the day on the road up to Morillon (it's a bus route so gets ploughed routinely) also there is a big powered shovel that is located in the village that clears as required. BUT, if you get on the road in heavy snow between clearances then you will need chains even just in the village. Don't know your experience so may be speaking out of turn, I would place my experience of driving on any surface as high and acceptance of risk higher than most would take but have been stuck a couple of times here and nothing but chains would move it. Going down is not so much getting stuck as unable to stop until you hit something! Chains I understand are a legal requirement in france when you pass the blue sign with a chained wheel symbol and you can get fined for not being equipped even if not used (maybe another contributor can clarify). It's honestly really scary if it won't stop sliding and you can't control it.
A quick tip, as you get to station 1100 they syphon off day trip parking on approach but if you tell the attendant you are resident and name the hotel/chalet they normally let you drive right through. Just follow the road and don't turn off, Le Buet is last on the right just as you are about to pass out the other side of the village.
Can't wait to get to the snow this season, most envious.
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ski3, thanks for the top tips!
Had a nightmare driving out of Les Carroz in March this year. Thankfully my passengers were unaware of just how much of the time I wasn't in control of our decent from the Front de Neige apartments.
Is it possible to park at Le Buet? Or do you have to leave the car in the day trip parking?
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You know it makes sense.
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Hi m00958
There is limited parking outside Le Buet either side of the road which is effectively single track here, just pot luck if you can get a space. The road continues past this point (this is the other route down to valley but usually unploughed) and there are some decent sized layby about 50mtrs from the hotel which I think are unrestricted. It seems normal to drive to your residence and park while unloading without causing any problems and then find somewhere to park. Make sure you get it well clear of where the snow shovel passes so it is unlikely to be damaged. They seem pretty relaxed about practical access for any visitors so it's all quite easy really.
If you have to find space in the entrance park it's only a five minute walk so no big deal if youv'e already dropped your luggage at hotel.
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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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Hello all, chains definitely are a legal requirement in France, and I wouldn't even attempt it in the snow without them, especially with 2 young children in the car. Plus, think about how you might endanger other road users if you don't have them (sorry to be boring...). Please please snow loads in the next couple of weeks, we are driving out on Boxing Day!!!
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Poster: A snowHead
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Would the CarreFour be open on Boxing Day?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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To be honest, no idea! I think you've got more chance of the Carrefour in Cluses being open than the one near Samoens. We're going out on Christmas Eve and hoping it will be open then. It might be an idea to ask on the Grand Massif thread here on snowHeads as the title of this thread talks about the creche at Morillon - so only those with an interest in creches may be reading it. Come to think of it, why am I here!? 
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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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Okey doke
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Hi all, new to this site having been directed here searching about morillon. Also staying at @Le Buet week commencing 2nd Jan so good chance will bump into you m00958!
Does anyone know of the opening / closing times for the chairlift that links betweek 1100 and main village?
thanks,
John
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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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Welcome to snowHeads ju1971uk! It's a gondola that links Morillon up to Morillon 1100, and from memory it opens at 8:45 in the morning (to go up anyway - would be the same to go down I expect!). I can't unfortunately remember when it closes at the end of the day - 17:45, or something like that?
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Hi, thanks for getting back to me. Im sure its going to happen I'll still be down in the main morillon village late evening and the gondalas closed - Ive read somewhere that the bus's dont run up to morillon 1100 (is this true?)how will I get back up - will it be a case of using a taxi service? Any info will be much appreciated.
John
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FAQ
When I was there this year I only skied down to the Sairon chair, and once ate at the restaurant called La Cashta (I think?!). Didn't realise that all I could see from there was pretty much everything.
