 Poster: A snowHead
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just found out today, when trying to book lift passes, that half the resort we are going to on 10th april will be closed ! we booked into montgenevre expecting all the links to clavier to be open. turns out the italians are going home on the 10th leaving us with just the limited area of montgenevre. we are used to sking large areas like 3V and PDS and paradiski. We dont think montgenevre alone will be enough to occupy us for a week. TO had offered to move us to serre chevalier or alpe d'huez. not keen on either of those resorts but not sure what to do. its an area we are not too familiar with and we have other considerations such as child care and kids lessons and suitable slopes for kids. We also dont want to be travelling around as we have to get back to pick the kids up. really after some advice
once we have explore montgenevre i suppose we can have a trip to serre as its included on the lift pass and also out to sauze (provided its still open - TBC tomorrow). TO has apologised and are doing everything they can. have offered to drive us to Sauze for skiing if it is still open and have offered full refund if we cant find a solution. problem is we have booked flights to grenoble with easyjet and these are non refundable so even if we wanted to buy another holiday we are limited as to where we go due to grenoble flights. anyone with experience of the area who can offer advice on how easy/far it is to go ,by road, to sauze and serre and even ADH ? all a bit of a muddle as we had ESF lessons and childcare all sorted as well. !!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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backhojo, I've stayed in Sestriere late in the season, no problem there as it's high. Did a day trip to Montgenevre, it didn't take long to get there on the bus at all, Sauze would probably be quicker still. There wasn't much snow in Claviere as it's pretty low, but Montgenevre, Sauze & Sestriere were fine.
Serre Chevalier has some really great skiing, plenty to keep everybody happy for 2 weeks.
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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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Goto Alpe D'huez, it's crackin'!
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backhojo, Take the Serre Chevalier offer. Alpe d'Huez will be boiler plate/slush at that time of year and SC has had more snowfall this season. Driving around to other resorts all the time will be a non-starter if you have kiddy arrangements to consider.
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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 really like the Montgenevre area. It has lots of good off-piste and tree skiing. I am not clear what will be closed - will it be the 2 low altitude lifts connecting the Montgenevre/ Monts de La Lune area to the rest or much more? Which areas are affected? Claviere, by the way, is only about a mile along the road from Montgenevre and only a bit lower. I would have guessed the Serre Chevallier villages were lower, though I haven't checked.
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Yes, I just checked, Montgenevre village is about 500 metres higher and Claviere about 400. It generally has the best snow of the area.
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snowball, I think that the Claviere sector seems to close much earlier than Montgenevre, meaning no link up with the rest of the area.
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We went to montgenevre last easter and the snow cover was amazing, fresh snow several days and hardly anyone else there!. It is also a very good resort for children.
Is it the whole of claviere that is shut or just the higher link to montgenevre? If the latter you could ski down to claviere on a cross country track and get a taxi back or maybe walk back to the lift that goes up to serre thibaud. You'd also be able to do the day in serre chevalier.
If claviere is completely shut maybe it would be better to change resorts and go back to mg another time.
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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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clavier, sauze, sestriere and basically all the italian milky way resorts are all claiming to close on 10th april. TO has spoken directly to lift companies and tourist offices and they are saying they will make a decision at the end of march if they plan to expend their season but at the moment we have to work on the assumption they will be closed. they might only open at weekends in april apparently. TO has offered to drive us around in their minibus so we are thinking we might stay put in montgeneve and go to Serre for two days and PSV for another. The cahelt in Serre look well situated in that you can ski in and out but at 1400m in april I am wondering if this might not be possible. also what state will the lower runs be in ? Montgenever is 450m higher and that has to be less of a risk for snow cover. will mull it over for a day or two.
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backhojo, we've usually been able to ski back to 1400m in Serre in April. Skiing is far better than in Montgenevre too, especially if you don't have Claviere to ski to. Top lift in SC is higher too.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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backhojo, what are your reservations about Serre Chevalier (apart from the altitude of the chalet)? Maybe some of the SC experts on here could allay them for you. I'm certainly no expert but we had a week there and found the skiing brilliant. I'd definitely recommend it (subject to childcare working out of course). I wouldn't have thought it would be difficult to organise new ESF lessons at this notice for that week either. Will the TO reimburse you if you've paid any deposits?
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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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Alp d'Huez is a great resort but will be slushy that time of year, a huge area will still be open though. Serre Chevalier is also a nice area with tree runs a plenty although a little low for my liking (I like long runs). I'd take the TO offer of moving to either resort (AdH  )
The resorts you mention brings skibound to mind, is that the TO? If it is go to AdH and stay at Vallee Blanche (not Belle Aroure) it's their flagship hotel. V nice!
Finally AdH is the closest transfer to Grenoble out of all three, extra bonus!
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| manicpb wrote: |
| Alp d'Huez is a great resort but will be slushy that time of year, a huge area will still be open though. |
The reason I, and others, say it'll be slush is due to the amount of sun the place gets, nothing about altitude. Skiing in the sun is what April skiings all about!
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You know it makes sense.
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| Hells Bells wrote: |
| backhojo, we've usually been able to ski back to 1400m in Serre in April. Skiing is far better than in Montgenevre too, especially if you don't have Claviere to ski to. Top lift in SC is higher too. |
what about for kids - looks like they have to go up the mountain for nursery slopes in SC wheras in Montgenevre they are closer to home ?
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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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i've had some awesome powder days in ADH in April, just to counterbalance these bold statements that it "will" be slushy
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Poster: A snowHead
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| manicpb wrote: |
Alp d'Huez is a great resort but will be slushy that time of year, a huge area will still be open though. Serre Chevalier is also a nice area with tree runs a plenty although a little low for my liking (I like long runs). I'd take the TO offer of moving to either resort (AdH )
The resorts you mention brings skibound to mind, is that the TO? If it is go to AdH and stay at Vallee Blanche (not Belle Aroure) it's their flagship hotel. V nice!
Finally AdH is the closest transfer to Grenoble out of all three, extra bonus! |
no its not skibound. I dont want to mention their name as they are being incredibly helpful. They pride them selves on a personal service and they are mortified that they have made this oversight. They are very experienced in these resorts and its the first time they have closed so early.
we have ruled out ADH as we went there 2 yrs ago plus not keen on taking the risk with south facing slopes. WTSSB reports suggest it can be very slushy and many people on here share that view
that leaves us with Montgenevre and Serre. I think we will end up spending a couple of days in each resort plus have a trip out to PSV or even risoul. I guess in that case it doesnt matter too much where we base ourselves as montgenevre. and SC are only 15mins apart
our reservation about SC is the set up of the three base areas strung out along a main rd and the relatively low hieght of the bases. however I take the point that there is more extensive skiing there
childcare / ESF is not a problem as TO works closely with both resorts and should be no prob to move booking across. will give it some thought overnight and come to a decisions soon.
thanks for all your comments - keep them coming if you have more to add. its much better than reading professional reviews - cant beat the opinions of real skiers who have actually been there !
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I was in Serre Chevalier two weeks ago and I would say go there. There hadn't been much snow for 3-4 weeks before we were there but the pistes were still in great condition, similar to other resorts I've been in after a couple of days without snow. The pistes themselves were really interesting and we didn't ski them all in a week tending to stay around the same area for a day. The villages are strung out along the valley but so what? We had a car and visited each village and they all had enough to keep you amused at night and enough shops, ski hire etc. The only reason to visit a village other than where you were staying would be for the novelty. I wanted to stay in Monetier but couldn't find an apartment within budget so we stayed in Villeneuve which I was perfectly happy with. The commercial centre was a bit comcrete looking but the main street with all the restaurants on was lovely. We also went to Chantemerle and Briancon and I would happily stay in either. It was very warm when we were in Briancon, we sat out for lunch in the sun without jackets, but the piste down to the village looked in good condition althoug probably a bit slushy.
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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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backhojo, kids will love it if they are skiing 'up the mountain' . The ski school meets at the bottom usually. They will be taken up by gondola rather than chairlift, and the nursery slopes up there are great. Magic carpets etc. You can usually ski the nursery slopes in Monetier at 1500m in mid-April.
As for the villages, it is easy to travel between them by ski bus if you need to.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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| backhojo wrote: |
| I dont want to mention their name as they are being incredibly helpful. They pride them selves on a personal service and they are mortified that they have made this oversight. They are very experienced in these resorts and its the first time they have closed so early. |
I think you should mention their name as the one thing I have got from this thread is how good your TO are being. It's not that a problem has occurred, it is how the problem is dealt with that matters and your TO get 5 gold stars for reacting as they have.
I wouldn't hesitate to book with a company that responded like this when a problem arose.
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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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Backhowjo - how old are the children in your party? If you have any 4 to 6 yr olds or beginners I would strongly recommend booking them into ski school in montgenevre. There are two new telemix lifts which we found ideal for our just 5 yr old who was very small sitting on the chair lifts. She was able to go up in the gondola cabin with her ski school group. There is also a large beginners area at the foot of the slopes in montgenevre (I think it had a moving carpet). Once the children are able to link a few turns they can ski on a green from the top of the mountain. My son who was 8 and on his 3rd yr of ski school skied down a black in his lesson (ESI silver) and was thrilled with his achievement. I didn't do the black but suspect it is a reddish black. Anyway Montgenevre is a great resort for children.
I think you would find at least 3/4 days skiing for yourselves too. We have skiied in the large areas such as les arcs, la plagne but are planning to go back to montgenevre as we enjoyed it so much and when it snowed we had runs to ourselves. If you can ski a day or two in serre chevalier as well I'd have thought you'd have a great holiday.
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Have skied in serre che two out lf last 3 years. Very easy to ski around and back even from one end to another. plenty of long runs involving 1000 metre vertical I would imagine slopes get slushy in april but doesn't it everywhere when its warm in april. Don't think montgenvre skiing is appreciably higher though the village itself is higher. 15 mins from montgenvre to briancon but a bit longer to chantlemerle
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snowymum, problem is skiing other areas is quite difficult if your kids are in ski school.
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If they are happy to offer you two free 'away days' to compensate I think you'll be fine. We are used to large areas too and SC kept us happy. You could easily spend 3-4 days there with no concerns at all, even if you are used to the mega resorts. One day in AdH, one day in Montgenevre (a lovely area) job done. Pick whichever chalet you like the look of best imo aj xx
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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The most local lift pass for Montgenevre is Clavier and Montgenevre. Montgenevre without Clavier would be tiny - I was assuming you would also get the Monts de La Lune area too, which is over the ridge (and over the border) from Montgenevre and above Clavier. If this area is not available you probably should try to move if you can.
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| snowball wrote: |
| The most local lift pass for Montgenevre is Clavier and Montgenevre. Montgenevre without Clavier would be tiny - I was assuming you would also get the Monts de La Lune area too, which is over the ridge (and over the border) from Montgenevre and above Clavier. If this area is not available you probably should try to move if you can. |
its a bit odd - you cant buy a 6 day pass for montgenevre...only a 6 day for monts de la lune....however as the clavier part is closed then they sell you a monts de la lune pass for 6 days but give 20% discount.
We have two kids - one (4yr old) who has just passed Ourson and will be in Flocon this time and one (7 yr old)who is in 3*. Youngest has skied down a green (Ahem..more like a blue and red in places) in La tania and can do linked snowplough turns. Eldest has skied icy red runs in Courchevel - if it wasnt for the fact that he is so little and doesn have the physical strength and stamina then I think he has the technical ability to go into bronze level but instructor didnt pass him at 3*. i have heard lots of good things about montgenevre ski school and am hoping he will get a better pupil / teacher ratio this time as well which will help.
As for the "difficult to go on away days with kids in ski school" - shoudlnt be too bad as we have them booked into "mini club" which includes lunch and afternoon childcare so in theory we drop them at 9 and collect at 5. Only issue might be eldest who will want to come out with us as lot - tricky if we are 45 mins down the road in PSV !
There are so many things that make sense about montgenevre except the extent of the skiing for us. I cant explain why but I have a feeling that SCwill not suit this holiday - again no logic reason. its a bigger ski area and more to do but its a niggle staying in a chalet so low down in april and having to come down in the gondola (potentially). I know I am probably wrong and it will be fine !
keep talking myself in and out of each option.
the other factor is that the chalet in SCis curently empty (OK they might get some bookings) but the chalet in montgenevre has a family with 2 kids similar ages booked in so might be more fun for our kids.(also trying not to be influenced by the fat that the other family are actually the owners of the company and I bet the chalet hosts will be out to impress !!!! LOL)
by the way - they are called Zenith Holidays and have been extremely helpful. I spoke to them again yesterday they couldnt stop apologising !
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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backhojo, the Zenith chalet in SC had an excellent review on here a couple of days ago if it helps make your mind up. Whatever you decide, have a good holiday.
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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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The only way back to Montgenevre from the Monts de la Lune area is via Clavier. If Clavier is closed I cannot see how Monts de la Lune could be open - except via the opposite side of the ski area by the small (and very low and often without snow) lift connecting to the low point of the Sestrierre and Sauze d'Oulx area.
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| Hells Bells wrote: |
| backhojo, the Zenith chalet in SC had an excellent review on here a couple of days ago if it helps make your mind up. Whatever you decide, have a good holiday. |
thanks. just done a search and found it.
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You know it makes sense.
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If you want to ski the other resorts on the pass I'd say stay in Serre Che this time as it is more central to all of them. If the Italian links are closed you'll be heading towards the french resorts more than the Italian ones. That ride up the hill to/from Briancon - Montgenevre adds up to a good 30 mins extra travelling time per day = extra time at breakkie/apres ski/spending time with your kids - and its plenty of hairpin bends. Both resorts are great though even Montg alone can be fun but frustrating when its not all open if conditions are good because when it is, it really rocks. You can often ski back to village level serre che late into the season - no 'g'tees but I doubt your kids will be doing it! Don't worry about the low level villages in the valley - you are unlikely to return to village level until the end of the day. You used to get a day in La Grave on the pass too (need to check if that deal still exists) that is definately worth it.
The whole area is great though - much more laid back with a rural french ambience than the 3V type resorts. I worked in both and really rate the region.
Good luck whatever you choose
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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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Stayed in Claviere once. Montgenevre is nice resort and would be happy to spend a whole week just there. I felt it was big enough to spend a whole week there.
I cant say for sure but have the feeling that Claviere could be open around 10 April time depending on snow. I think (but have no evidence) that they would have a variable period where they could either close completey, stay open for weekends, or stay open completely depending on snow depths.
Spent a single day at SC (was included on Milky way pass). Was a really nice and bigger resort. Small compact town areas at several base stations would be good with kids.
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Poster: A snowHead
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| backhojo wrote: |
| Hells Bells wrote: |
| backhojo, the Zenith chalet in SC had an excellent review on here a couple of days ago if it helps make your mind up. Whatever you decide, have a good holiday. |
thanks. just done a search and found it. |
I'm guessing that was the one from me, if you'd like any more details then feel free to pm me. We only did one day in Montg so difficult to tell how well it would hold the attention for a week but we certainly enjoyed the day.
aj xx
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| deffcookie wrote: |
I cant say for sure but have the feeling that Claviere could be open around 10 April time depending on snow. I think (but have no evidence) that they would have a variable period where they could either close completey, stay open for weekends, or stay open completely depending on snow depths.
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you are entirely correct - the Italians are being very non commital and vague. we have to assume they will close on 10th april and anything else is a bonus. if they open on weekends only then we can ski out last day there (we go sun to sun). wond get any skiing on arrival day (10th) due to timings which is a shame but with two young kids who will have had a long journey then the chances of getting out are slim to impossible.
we are leaning towards staying put in montgenevre as we have ESF lessons and kids club all organised but hiring a car (Zenith have offered a reasonable rebate due to us not taking their transfer which will cover 70% of hire car cost). this gives us total flexibility. we can then hav a couple of days in montgenevere a couple in Serre and maybe a day in PSV and then one day floating depending on circumstances / snow. Kids are covered all day from 8.45 - 5 so its feasible to shoot off to Serre for the day. could even have half a day there if we want and just do the runs above one of the main bases
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