 Poster: A snowHead
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I am planning a trip hopefully departing on January 3rd and need some help on choosing the resort.
Our requirements are,
self catered accommodation with Monday arrival to sleep 6 adults, 3 twin rooms would be ideal close to lifts, town or both
Snow Sure
My friend and I want to spend 3 or 4 days guided off piste (do any companies offer this?)
Flying into Geneva (purely to take advantage of easy jets prices £40 return)
Any advice will be gratefully received
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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stiv24, for how many days? You might find that what you gain on cheap flights you lose on the difficulty of finding the right accommodation. there are plenty of experts on off-piste guiding on this forum (I'm not one of them). You should have absolutely no problem hiring a guide for 3 or 4 days. Not cheap, of course. On the other hand, the beginning of January is not ideal for off-piste - snow cover could be a bit sketchy.
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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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pam w, we are only going for a week and half the group want to go to Morzine. I have found a couple of chalets which will accommodate us but they don't sound like they are near the lifts.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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stiv24, I guess Morzine is an option, but I'd check carefully how snow-sure it is around that time of year (I don't know, but from memory it's not the highest..).
My first thought on seeing self-catering, near Geneva and off-piste was Chamonix. You're still not certain of good snow at that time of year, but you can get pretty high.
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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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stiv24, GVA is not ideal for LDA, but I'm sure that I could find you accommodation Mon- Mon at that time of year, (In fact I can think of one SH who has an appartment that would suit). We have a huge off piste area and guaranteed skiing with the glacier that we are currently skiing on now. It is early for most of the major off piste routes though, unless there's masses of early snow like 2 years ago. However there should be enough to keep you happy for a week even early in January. Let me know if I can help. 
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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This might not be quite what you are looking for but because of when new year falls, the TOs have some great deals flying out on the 3rd of January for 5 nights.
For example, Crystal are offering 5 nights self catering in Avoriaz costing £435 per person self catering including flights from Bristol, transfers and room supplements assuming you share 3 studio apartments between the 6 of you. The flights are at 6.00 am so you should easily get 4 and a half days skiing in at a fraction of the cost of a normal week. There are other resorts available and I think the other main TOs are doing similar deals.
Hope that helps.
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We went to Le Grand Bornand a few seasons ago. It wasn't a huge ski area but we were going for the first time since having our first daughter and with my sister in law, and we were sharing the childcare, so wanted somewhere we could easily meet up at lunch time and switch over.
We hired a really nice 3 bed apartment but not twin room I think it was 1 double, 1 twin plus 1 room with bunk beds which was quite small through Owners direct (http://www.ownersdirect.co.uk/france/FR2036.htm) which suited us perfectly and was a short walk from the lifts. It is also short transfer from Geneva.
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Thanks for the help so far
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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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| pam w wrote: |
| On the other hand, the beginning of January is not ideal for off-piste - snow cover could be a bit sketchy. |
This. By definition, off-piste is over rough, unprepared terrain and needs a lot of snow cover. If the purpose of your trip is guided off-piste, you might want to start crossing your fingers pretty hard.
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... mmm.... PDS maybe ?
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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With Christmas falling on a Saturday this year, you may have more chance finding a Sunday to Sunday rental from 2 Jan to 9 Jan (and even if you only use it for 6 of those nights, will probably work out cheaper then hotel etc.). Also if you fly back late on Sunday evening you can still get a full days skiing in...
Have you considered 4-Vallees in Switzerland? 90 mins from GVA, pretty sno-sure, amazing off-piste and if you don't stay in Verbier, no more expensive then anywhere else...
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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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Looks like compromises need to be made!
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stiv24, for off piste I'd go with Chamonix or Verbier over PdS. Better terrain and higher. Verbier is expensive but Le Chable or Nendaz are cheaper options with quick access to Mt Fort. Assuming reasonable snow the Tortin and Chassoure itineraries should be open by then. Alternatively in the Chamonix valley Grands Montets (Argentiere) is high and has lots of great terrain. Good options at Le Tour and Brevent/Flegere as well for a bit of variety. Usually too early for Vallée Blanche unless there's lots of snow in December.
Don't write off your chances of good off piste in January. We were skiing knee deep powder in the Attelas couloirs in Verbier in November 2 years ago. You just to be lucky and keep your fingers crossed for a decent dump of snow just before you arrive or during your stay.
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