 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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Jennyski, We have just returned from St Gervais, and although it wasn't HT week, I understand it is not much busier then, than it is any other time. We never queued for any lift, for longer than a minute or two, often had completely empty pistes to ski, and all in all, it was very civilised  I did have clients there last Feb HT week, who were used to the 3Vs in peak weeks, and couldn't get over the difference. The town has a lot going for it too, with a very French atmosphere - really not touristy at all - and reasonable prices. Only an hour from Geneva too, mostly on motorways. PM if you need any more info
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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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Anniepen, Thanks for that, passed through St Gervais in the Summer last year and thought it was very pretty. Will investigate that a bit more I think. Is there a good range of pistes? Im a blue cruiser whilst the rest of my gang are red/black piste bashers!
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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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Jennyski, There IS a good range, but as we ski with the children now, we tend to stick to the same handful of green, blue and occasional reds. We found St Gervais in the summer, when it is glorious, but my gang are already saying they would ski there again. The area is huge and we only touched a fraction of it, so I'm sure your other people would be happy too
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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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Anniepen, the same area is also easily accessed from Megève, which has access to other areas besides.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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La Giettaz is another option that is also part of the 445km Evasion Mont Blanc (including Megeve). It's amazingly quiet because it really is a lovely alpine village, not a resort, but provides access to lots of different areas. These small gateways to the larger ski domains are also really good value - buying a day pass from the kiosk in La Giettaz is cheaper than buying exactly the same pass anywhere else in the area. The ESF is also really cheap (a week for kids is only 85 Euros and adult one-to-one tuition is 40 Euros for 1.5 hours).
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laundryman, I know but we found accommodation in Megeve much more expensive than St Gervais, when researching
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Jennyski, We've just returned from a week in Saint Gervais at half term and it was excellent, but not as described above. It was extremely busy. Possibly not as busy as other places but still busy none the less. We were staying at Le Grand Panorama apartments which were right next to the main lift up from the village to Le Bettex, the entry point to the main ski areas. The queue for this lift was huge, some mornings over 40 minutes. Coaches from all the local villages arrive here from about 8:20 onwards and there were hundreds of people. Even on the day we got to the lift just after 8:30 (when it opens) the queue was still about 20 minutes. And the follow on lift from Le Bettex up to the top was about 15-20 minutes as well. It usually took about an hour to reach the top of the mountain.
Once there, the queues out and about were not usually as bad as that, the biggest was about 20 minutes at the popular places but if you go further afield (its a big area!) you can find little gems with little, if any queues. Ski school was fully booked all week, you MUST book this in advance. We got the last couple of places for our two in the afternoon (would have preferred mornings) and their lessons didn't finish until 5:30. And the queues to get back DOWN to the village were again quite large (about 20 minutes) - there is a red run to ski back down but it was in a terrible state, with 2 road crossings, ice and rocks, not an option for most people.
All in all though we had a wonderful time, if you want more details let me know.
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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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Laax was ideal last week.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Used Italy for far too many (to remember) school trips at half term and the Italian resorts were never THAT busy. Certainly less so than France
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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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Jennyski, La Thuile was pretty empty at half-term three years back (stayed in La Rosiere but the Italian side of Espace San Bernando was definitely quieter). Serre Chevalier wasn't too bad a couple of years ago, and - the Sunday apart - Folgarida was fine last week.
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Selva wasn't too crowded last week - never had to queue for more than10 mins for a lift and most - esp Away from the sella rondA circuit we usually skied straight on to
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You know it makes sense.
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Valloire.
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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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| Jennyski wrote: |
| We are considering a ten dayer in Breckenridge as we fancy ski in/ski out. Anyone been there recently?? |
It's been a while since we were in Breck, but it and nearby Vail are probably the busiest North American resorts that we've visited. That's a major factor in us not having returned, especially as half term in the UK usually coincides with President's weekend in the USA. Most North American resorts are blissfully quiet during our half term, though. For example, Jackson last week had its busy moments but it certainly wasn't overcrowded.
What kind of skiing are you looking for, and are you willing to look beyond Europe? The ideal resort will vary hugely according to your preferences.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Jennyski, I went with my family and a couple of others to our place in Morillon a couple of years back and was very pleasantly surprised at the lack of queues and how civilised it was. If I didn't rent it out we would have been back there this year. Having said that, I have just returned from half term in San Cassiano in the Dolomites and, apart from a first day queue for the gondala, there were few other queues that we encountered. So, I'd recommend both.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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My own recommendation to avoid half term crowds is to stay away from the French resorts. Other countries do not have the same half term and the French are too proud to ski outside their country.
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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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Lots of good suggestions thanks 
Jonny Jones, Yes we are currently investigating Breck, we've done Banff a will consider any options really. I just dont like overcrowded motorway busy pistes!
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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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Jennyski, it's a very long journey (normally two changes of aircraft in each direction), but Big Sky is well worth a look. Plenty of ski in/out accommodation, and incredibly quiet trails with, unusually for North America, extensive intermediate skiing on perfectly groomed runs. There's no shortage of tough skiing, too, if your group has a few experts.
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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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"and the French are too proud to ski outside their country"
While generally true about any form of holiday taken by the French, I noted last week that about 10% of the skiers in Passo Tonale were from France (the rest were from Italy, Denmark and Britain)
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FAQ
