 Poster: A snowHead
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Hi folks
In need of some urgent advice as time is creeping on and I have nothing booked yet. I am looking at these two areas for my trip next Feb (half term unfortunately), and am not sure which to choose. I have read the theads about layouts etc of the Milky Way, which is kinda making me lean towards Tignes maybe... I am looking for info on
* Decent snowboard area... we are 4 intermediate level snowboarders and like lost of terrain to play in...
* Price... It is bad enough we are going in half term so don't really need to break the bank anymore...
* Accessibility... We would rather somewhere which is easy to navigate and not have to worry about closures of lifts, connecting runs due to lack of snow and we are boarders so the less flats the better...
* Apres... We are getting past the whole party till we drop thing now but nonetheless, we still like a good beer or several... 
Thx loads in advance for all your help.. One final thing... Where would you fly to to get to the Milky Way?
Thx folks[/list]
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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AlpineAddict, You'd fly to Turin for the Milky Way.
My reservations about the Espace Killy would be how busy it would be at half term and the cost. I would have thought the Milky Way wins on price and being the quieter over half term. However for kilometres of well linked pistes the Espace Killy wins hands down. Having said that they are both cracking ski areas.
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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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Agree with what's been said about EK at half term, but it's one of my favorite areas, and my boarder mates all rate Tignes as the best in the Alps. Milky Way will be slightly less busy, but it's quite disjointed with more flats than EK.
On balance I'd say EK, but Milky Way if you're particularly price sensitive.
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I have been to the Sauze D'Oulx once and Espace Killy (Tignes and Val) a couple of times, all within last three years (I skied at Espace Killy and skied and boarded at Milky Way).
On price I would agree with the above that Espace Killy will be more pricey although worth shopping around for deals as always (e.g. http://tignes.co.uk/106_Le_Home_Club.htm)
In terms of accessibility I personally found the lift system in the Milky Way to be older / slower / less well integrated. Signage is also poorer. For example, staying in Sauze and getting to Sestriere is not as straight forward as moving around Espace Killy (with a long boring cat track or more enjoyable off piste down the backside into Sestriere). As a general statement I found the quality of infrastructure in the Milky Way to be equivalent to a lower tier and slightly under invested French resort.
In terms of Apres both are good. I found Val D I'sere to be great, quite young though which may or may not be your thing. I went to Sauze with my girlfriend and that was spot on for us. Can't really recall Tignes...
I enjoyed both areas, although I would go back to Espace Killy before Milky Way, and if I went to Milky Way would probably stay in Sestriere because it is more central for the ski area.
Hope that help.
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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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Haven't been to espace killy so cannot comment on that. I would not particularly recommend Claviere for a boarder. We encountered a number of short uphills when we skied over there from montgenevre. Montgenevre would be fine for boarding I think but you would be a long way from the rest of the milky way so you would probably be better off in sestriere as frogman says.
One advantage of the milky way is that it would probably be a lot less crowded at half term.
As christopher says turin probably the best airport for the milky way or you can get fast train from paris to Oulx.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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So form what I can gather... EK seems to be the favoured but likely to be more expensive and busy... tbh I am willing to pay for a better area? Everything I read about the Milky Way seems to say it is nice, but disjointed and better if you had wheels...
Thx again
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snowymum, I can reccomend the TGV from Paris to Oulx and there is an onwards bus to Claviere, Montgenevre and Serre Chevalier (not in the Via Lattea). But if you were going to Sestriere, Sauze d'Oulx or Sansicario you'd need to prebook a taxi.
Turin airport is an hour and a half away at maximum from all the resorts on quiet motorways. Easyjet, Ryanair and British Airways all fly their in the winter.
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christopher - I have already taken the tgv to oulx and then resalp to montgenevre. We did that this time. The train/bus combination worked well when we arrived but less convenient for the return journey as the train left oulx at 9am and bus was not scheduled to arrive at the station until about 15 mins before..we therefore used a taxi for the journey back from montgenevre to oulx. The TGV was fast and scenic but it appeared they used their oldest rolling stock for this line as the carpet was in pieces in second class outward and on return loo out of order (in first class). My son borrowed a computer football game from the buffet for 2 hours and that gave us some peace!
I would use the train again for this ski area but it is a pity they seem to have reduced the service to two trains a day in each direction. On the way back one is a little too early (9am from Oulx) and the other is a little late (gets to paris at 11pm - not ideal if travelling with children).
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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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Would agree with all of the above about the differences between the two areas.
If alpineaddict has decided on EK then Tignes is cheaper (relative term) than Val D'Isere.
I found Sestriere slightly lacking in choice of bars etc compared to many other resorts (and certainly Sauze D'Oulx) but that makes it much quieter and very good for families at half term (if that is what you want).
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Hey folks
Hopefully this thread will continue and I'll get some more great feedback on these areas... but thx so far folks
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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If you're all boarders then you'll enjoy the 2 parks that Tignes and VDI have to offer; the one on the Tignes side has the smaller jumps (still sizeable enough though) but is quite long, running halfway down the side of a blue run that goes into Val Claret. There's also a boarder cross course which is a good laugh. The park on the VDI side is really easy to get to from Tignes, only a chair or two from Le Lac or Val Claret. This one has the bigger jumps but less of them as its a bit shorter. Both are well worth checking out, for all level of competency.
Edit; also, forgot to say that in Tignes (Val Claret) is the half-pipe that was used for this year's winter X-games. Although I'll confess my confidence levels were nowhere near high enough to get my going anywhere but slightly up the sides of it, it's bloody massive!
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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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| Dav wrote: |
If you're all boarders then you'll enjoy the 2 parks that Tignes and VDI have to offer; the one on the Tignes side has the smaller jumps (still sizeable enough though) but is quite long, running halfway down the side of a blue run that goes into Val Claret. There's also a boarder cross course which is a good laugh. The park on the VDI side is really easy to get to from Tignes, only a chair or two from Le Lac or Val Claret. This one has the bigger jumps but less of them as its a bit shorter. Both are well worth checking out, for all level of competency.
Edit; also, forgot to say that in Tignes (Val Claret) is the half-pipe that was used for this year's winter X-games. Although I'll confess my confidence levels were nowhere near high enough to get my going anywhere but slightly up the sides of it, it's bloody massive! |
Thx... I think my mind is slowly being made up.... Think the pipe might be step too far for me tho but thx again....
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| Quote: |
EK seems to be the favoured but likely to be more expensive and busy
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I've got an apartment in Tignes - and have also been to the Milky Way (esp Sauze D'Oulx) a few times, comments as follows:
The Milky Way is excellent - but Espace Killy is better, with more reliable, and better quality, snow and a better lift system. I've never skied Espace Killy in UK half term weeks - but have been in French (Feb) school hols. Yes, it does get busy in parts - especially home runs on afternoons but, in general, it's possible to ski outlying areas and avoid crowded runs (eg above Le Fornet in Val D'Isere, above Les Brevieres at Tignes). Lift queues are not a problem though -as the main links are now fast 6 packs etc.
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You know it makes sense.
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| mountainaddict wrote: |
| Quote: |
EK seems to be the favoured but likely to be more expensive and busy
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I've got an apartment in Tignes - and have also been to the Milky Way (esp Sauze D'Oulx) a few times, comments as follows:
The Milky Way is excellent - but Espace Killy is better, with more reliable, and better quality, snow and a better lift system. I've never skied Espace Killy in UK half term weeks - but have been in French (Feb) school hols. Yes, it does get busy in parts - especially home runs on afternoons but, in general, it's possible to ski outlying areas and avoid crowded runs (eg above Le Fornet in Val D'Isere, above Les Brevieres at Tignes). Lift queues are not a problem though -as the main links are now fast 6 packs etc. |
Dont suppose you are interested in renting it out ? 
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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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Thx to all for advice... Settled on Chamonix now and very excited... bin there loads but never to actually snowboard...
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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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Mosha Marc, you should see my threads...I get all the advice and go somewhere else after all. (But often I go to one or more of the suggested places the following year).
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