 Poster: A snowHead
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We went to Andorra again this year, Arinsal. From what I'd heard around the village last year I was expecting to be stood around for ages in lift lines, for lunch, for an après or two afterwards. All total rubbish. The two worst days were Monday morning which is group lesson grading day, when they filter off all the people that think they are intermediate, when in reality they are first timers, that was a bit of a nightmare. Saturday morning was the next day that was a little slow to start. All the Spanish and French day trip bladers turn up at around 1030. The rest of the time was fantastic. Big snow dump Monday and over Monday night gave us chance to fresh track a black gully run, and a nice long red. Brilliant day, not busy at all. On a GPS note, that day gave us 19 miles of skiing, we hit 45 mph( not kph) and around 19000 ft vertical(not Inc lifts).
So halt term not a problem for us!!
May be next year though, off to Les Arc. 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Flights - Liverpool/Geneva: no delays there or back.
Transfers - Geneva/Tignes: no major issues due to drivers local knowlege (NB, Ski4fun transfers - very reasonable prices too)
Resort - Tignes: as busy as I've seen it in four years of 1/2 term there.
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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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Last monday up the gorm, windy and low vis morning so no-one turned up, was good fun when you could see where you were going
Last tuesday up the gorm, good weather all day and the world turned up, had to stick to white lady/m1 to avoid people and the uplift was painful.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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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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I agree that Les Gets was as busy as I have evr seen it, lifts were not too bad, except getting out of the village.
This was because the ESF do more slots at half term, so the lessons for kids were 9-11, 11-1, and 1-3 so 9-30 was busy as was 11-11.30 and 12.30-1.30 then 3 o'clock onwards!
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Went to Les Deux Alpes with Mark Warner. First time in LDH, first time doing a half term week, and first time with MW. I was fully expecting queues and crowded pistes. Consequently I was rather pleased to spend very little time in lift queues and have plenty of space on most pistes.
The hotel was well served with a lesser used chair up in the mornings, avoiding the queues on the more popular gondola routes up. The nursery and easy blue lifts/pistes looked to be busier, but I only experienced this when I first took my son out for the afternoon and wanted to double check his abilities before venturing too far. Other than that, the only busy bit was the black (Valentin) back into the village at the end of the day. Green route back was shut due to lack of snow, but despite warning signs and 5 lifts to download on many people seemed to try and get down the black when, how can I put it politely... they we over estimating their skill level!
To top it off Sunday changeover meant efficient transfers with no traffic, as well as a day of Saturday skiing where the resort was literally deserted while most people battled the peak season traffic. This was also a great chance to get my son trying some steeper terrain without him being worried by people from above all the time.
Final tip I came across, if you fly from Birminham (also a first for me) park at the station and use the (free) little train to the airport. Parking was cheaper than pre-booked long stay, and no messing with busses, the train dumped up directly into the terminal.
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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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Hitch free apart from near mutiny of Russians at Verona airport due to additional security measures on all UK and Russian flights (which unfortunately accounted for 90% of all flights). International rugby meant Gatwick baggage handlers took 75 minutes to offload our luggage on return but that's an entrenched practice so fully expected. Lift queues minimal apart from at ski school start time.
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Would totally echo the comments above. In LDA for the week, uplifts were busy in the morning but getting to the red egg for about quarter to 9 pretty much meant being in one of the first lifts up. Apart from a few bottle necks on narrower parts of some blue runs (can't remember exactly where) the slopes were OK. The days where visibilty was poor the pistes were pretty much deserted.
Also heading up the vallee blanche side and then down and around via cote meant the first chair with no queue at quarter to 9 and some great deserted slopes as a quick warm up.
Valentin down was insane though, being the only run open back to the village everyone seemed to decide to fling themselves down it, even the netting at the top, the big black very difficult run signs and the notice on every lift recommending taking the lifts down didn't seem to put people off.
I never get to ski in the quieter times though so probably am more used to busy pistes, the saturday we left we did a half day and it seemed deserted...
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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I don't agree about Montcahvin at all . We stayed just up the hill in Les Coches .
Left Colchester at 5.00 am on Friday in hotel just north of Chambery at 5.00 pm , good journey no delays , left hotel at 7.30 am arrived in les Coches at 8.45 am , boarding by 10.30 am .
Despite the predictions we would be boarding on grass the pistes were in great condition , and then it snowed on Sunday and again Tuesday and again thursday , what more could you want .
I did see the sign for a 45 minute wait at Inversens so avoided it and kept out of bellcote as much as we could but even when we did have to go into Plagne bellcote the wait was 10 minutes max at peak times .
The slopes were a little busy at home time , but not at all icy , Les Coches is a great sattelite resort with just 1 x pub to speak of , so not much night time activity but easy and good access to the whole of paradiski .
what a great little resort . We will be back
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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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Went to Flaine / GM leaving Friday, stayed overnight at F1 (Lieven in the north) then arrived at resort Sat early evening (usual delays at A40 tunnels and peage). Ski-ing was good - fortunately we had snow which improved pistes dramatically. Queues generally OK except DMC which we avoided. Left Friday evening to avoid traffic, stayed overnight at Poulet de Bresse Etap (near Bourg) and got to tunnel late afternoon. Very slow progressing through check-in and passport control - the French side is hopeless (I know it's busy but it could be better organised).
But a good trip (apart from my wife's strain, reported on this forum).
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Brilliant here. Roads empty so I can get to work in half the time. As for skiing, that's next week. 
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You know it makes sense.
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| f948lan wrote: |
Final tip I came across, if you fly from Birminham (also a first for me) park at the station and use the (free) little train to the airport. Parking was cheaper than pre-booked long stay, and no messing with busses, the train dumped up directly into the terminal. |
how secure is the parking at the station ?. we used the long stay and whilst not cheap it was very close to the terminal and I felt the car was secure. thanks. we are off their again in april so useful to find out about this
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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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| backhojo wrote: |
how secure is the parking at the station ?. we used the long stay and whilst not cheap it was very close to the terminal and I felt the car was secure. thanks. we are off their again in april so useful to find out about this |
Not sure on that one. My car was still there when I got back! People come and go from the station car park a lot which has to help, but I'm not sure there is any security presence on site. Cost was £5 per Sat/Sun and £8 for other days. No need to pre book.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Not bad at all in Wengen providing one was on the way up the hill by 0900, which we were. No traffic jams on the way, because transfers by train. 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| queen bodecia wrote: |
| Brilliant here. Roads empty so I can get to work in half the time. As for skiing, that's next week. |
SNAP!
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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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Miles worse this week. 
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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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| Quote: |
Miles worse this week
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Maybe the Parisians were more easily discouraged by reports of snow than the region on holiday this week?
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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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had to cancel the ski trip so went no where - see other thread 
Hope folks had a good time though
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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backhojo - I leave my car in the Birmingham railway station car park every week (sometimes all week) when I'm working out of the London office - never had a problem - the new multistorey is covered with CCTV and has security barriers etc.
Getting the monorail from the station to terminal 1 is also easier than walking or catching the bus from the airport long stay - quick trip up an escalator - 2 minute journey and you're at the terminal 1 check in.
If you've checked in online & have no luggage its even quicker as you can walk straight to the security check
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| janner wrote: |
backhojo - I leave my car in the Birmingham railway station car park every week (sometimes all week) when I'm working out of the London office - never had a problem - the new multistorey is covered with CCTV and has security barriers etc.
Getting the monorail from the station to terminal 1 is also easier than walking or catching the bus from the airport long stay - quick trip up an escalator - 2 minute journey and you're at the terminal 1 check in.
If you've checked in online & have no luggage its even quicker as you can walk straight to the security check |
presume this is the NEC railway station. ? will check it out. thanks for the info
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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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picked the kids up from school at 11am break on Wed before 1/2 term, tunnel via inlaws to drop off dog then drive o/n to Barcelona for two nights, did the salvador Dali museum and the Picasso museum amongst others, thought Picasso was pants, Dali blasts him into he ground.
Then up to Andorra (Grandvalira) usual long queue on monday that disappeared once the lift opened, then virtually no queues for the rest of the week, red runs virtually deserted, occasionally completely deserted. Apparently most of the UK tour operators have pulled out of Andorra for some reason
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Well I've just had my first experience of 1/2 term skiing and to be honest it wasn't as bad as I was expecting.
Sure, 1st morning ski school turning up was a bit chaotic and there were some lift queues but nothing too bad really.
Also we planned the travel very carefully, went late Saturday and came back v early Saturday so missed any traffic chaos.
Overall a great week, helped by some very timely snow on the Sunday.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Boredsurfing, agreed, we had excellent service from Ski4fun too from Geneva to Tignes (and back again).
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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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tangowaggon, I think most of them went to Arinsal, thought they were intermediate and made me stand around on monday morning for over an hour waiting for them to show the instructors just how crap they are 
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| Mosha Marc wrote: |
Flights - Liverpool/Geneva: no delays there or back.
Transfers - Geneva/Tignes: no major issues due to drivers local knowlege (NB, Ski4fun transfers - very reasonable prices too)
Resort - Tignes: as busy as I've seen it in four years of 1/2 term there. |
Thanks for the heads up .........-queues even worse this week...........
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You know it makes sense.
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sabreboy, glad we could be of service....Boredsurfing,
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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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| Lizzard wrote: |
| Miles worse this week. |
been in meribel and 3v for the week - sure it's been a bit busy - you didn't want to hit chaudanne as the ski school kids setoff, but it felt less bad than the same week in les arcs a couple of season ago - ok so it might be different french weeks to that year, but it wasn't the complete nightmare I thought it might be. Got to be a little creative with the journey planning - 11:30 coffee stop then lunch around 2pm or later, and avoid dropping to the bottom c. 2pm, but other than that it was quite acceptable. Longest queue was probably brulyere's in Les M for about 10 minutes, after having skipped all the higher lifts as they had longer queues..
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Poster: A snowHead
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bertie bassett, but 10 minutes in Les M is worth an hours queue in a normal resort
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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