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January "quiet" week

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
I was wondering if anyone could tell me what dates would be quiet this year in French/Italian resorts? My in laws live in France and the wife wants to go for christmas, selling the concept to me by saying why don't we go skiing the week after? I looked at the dates and thought that there would be a quiet period after new years day as Tuesday 3rd Jan schools in France and Italy would go back. I tried ski-2 in Champoluc and was told this was one of the busiest weeks of the year and very expensive. I'm confused as we did the same thing 2 years ago and got a 4 bed chalet in isola 2000 for half what it would normally cost. Anybody able to let me know of somewhere high and snowsure for a shortened week break which won't shred my wallet? I was thinking Cervinia/MonteRosa in Italy or Tignes in France.
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
The 1st week in Jan each year is the busiest week in all Italian resorts (eg 1st Jan to 8th Jan 2012) as the schools are off then so the whole of italy (or so it seems) go skiing. It's even busier than than Christmas or New Year. The cost is "slightly" less than New Year, but not much.
The 2nd week is very quite

The best way to see which week is quite in any resort in europe is to look at the lift pass costs. The quite weeks will always be cheaper then the crazy weeks. There is a link to lift pass costs on most tourist info web pages.


Last edited by Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person on Sun 1-05-11 7:55; edited 2 times in total
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
I think one of the main Russian holidays spans the first and second weeks of Jan too.
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I definitely need to look at France instead then, we were supposed to go to Alagna a couple of years back but missed out when my wife got ill and i wanted to try it, but over 1000 per person for the week seems a bit steep. French schools go back 3/1/12 so I should have better luck there
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rggdxb, that's New Year's week and possibly the busiest of the season. TO and apartment changeover is generally Saturday so the world and its dog will be skiing from Jan 1 to 6. Any resort which attracts a lot of Russian/Eastern European business will be fairly busy the week after as well. Given that French school hols finish on Jan 3, I'd pick a smaller resort with mainly French customer base.
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rggdxb,we are offering short breaks from 3/1 to 7 or 8/1 (depending on which property) in order to 'regularise' the calendar after the odd Christmas/New Year changeover days. This is to avoid clients travelling on Christmas Eve/Day or New Years Eve/Day - it's the 2nd year we've done this and it worked very well. Prices are lower as the duration is shorter, plus flight prices can be lower too as they are weekdays

As above though, parts of the 3V can be very busy with Russians although it doesn't seem to effect us too much in La Tania Very Happy
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Quote:

The best way to see which week is quite in any resort in europe is to look at the lift pass costs. The quite weeks will always be cheaper then the crazy weeks.

? I don't think that's true all over - lift passes don't change from week to week in our (French) area. But you can certainly look at apartment rental prices and get an immediate idea (ie a local agency, accessed from any resort website).
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pam w wrote:
I don't think that's true all over - lift passes don't change from week to week in our (French) area.

Hmmmm, I'm saying nowt on that. Madeye-Smiley details wink
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Wayne, your argument on that thread amounts to Val Thorens is more expensive than Folgarida (no shît, really?) therefore the whole of France is more expensive than anywhere else in Europe. Which is fallacious.
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Lizzard wrote:
Wayne, your argument on that thread amounts to Val Thorens is more expensive than Folgarida (no shît, really?) therefore the whole of France is more expensive than anywhere else in Europe. Which is fallacious.

No. My point on the other thread is about France (or French business owners) taking the mickey - coz they can - and asking why people continue to go there.
I didn't mention lift pass costs - that was a thread drift, but hey ho, that's the nature of the interweb
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Anniepen can you send me some details or a link? Sounds like what I'm looking for, that was what I was hoping to find companies that wanted to fill that week and get the calender running weekend to weekend again. Thanks.
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rggdxb, see the link in the signature of her post.
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rggdxb, will PM you with my direct email achilles, thanks Very Happy
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
Quote:

I'm saying nowt on that

Puzzled What's that supposed to mean? You didn't say nowt, you said that lift pass prices change according to which week of the season it is and that this provided a guide to which were the "quiet" weeks. That might be true in some areas, but certainly not all. I thought it was worth a factual correction so as not to send the OP off on a wild goose chase.
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
We tend to go away in the second week of January each year. It is invariably the cheapest week after mid-December and before Easter. This year the cheap week will be week commencing 7th/8th Jan, however beware many companies running odd dates the week before/after Xmas and New Year, because nobody seems to want to run transfers or flights on Xmas Eve, Xmas Day or New Year's Eve and Day this year, which are both on weekends.

Easy way to spot cheap weeks, see this link on Iglu's site - you look at the dates and prices and can see when is cheap. Note that the particular resort and accommodation are chosen at random, but will be representative on the whole of all packages. http://www.igluski.com/meribel-mottaret/chalet-leopold_p26035?holidayid=32757256 worth noting that there's deals on 2 for 1 lift passes on some accommodation options on the Iglu site at the moment, worth researching.
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Quote:

We tend to go away in the second week of January each year

Until we got our own place we always did the cheapest January week. It was quite satisfying driving up the hill on transfer day, with traffic at a standstill for miles on the way down. Little Angel On one occasion when our coach had to stop to put on chains before Moutiers the queues going the other way were particularly impressive.

Yes, it's not the snowiest week of the season but statistically speaking it's snowier than the ridiculously expensive week which precedes it.
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
I always go last two weeks of Jan.

It's almost two weeks for the price of one.
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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?
I was planning to go to La Ros 1850 3rd week Jan/12 (15-22) but the chalet we normally stay is fully booked.

I am now thinking of going the 2nd week Jan/12 (8-15). What do you guys think about snow conditions (I know that we haven't got a crystal ball, but...)?
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The snow conditions will be exactly the same the week before. One week will make no difference.
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Monium wrote:
The snow conditions will be exactly the same the week before. One week will make no difference.


This is some kind of corollary to the 'slippery slope' fallacy.

Geddit?
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Hi rggdxb,

If you are going to be with the in-laws for Christmas and want a cheap week tied to that, then I'd recommend the week before Christmas.

Dates will vary from company to company dependant on what days they are doing for Christmas, but you'd be looking at something like 13th - 20th December or 16th - 23rd December.

It's quite early still so you'll need to choose a snowsure resort somewhere high up, but that shouldn't be too hard for that week. Typically prices are cheaper than the beginning of Jan and you'll have a good choice of options as that week rarely gets full.

Happy holidays!
Heather
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
In Russia the statutory holidays this year are from January 1 to 9, inclusive. So even the second week of January should see more Russians than usual on the slopes.
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
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Quote:

If you are going to be with the in-laws for Christmas and want a cheap week tied to that, then I'd recommend the week before Christmas.


+1. the OP mentioned Tignes, which would be a very good choice for that week.
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We always find the 2nd week of Jan really quiet. No waiting at lifts, straight on. That's the Espace Killy.
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I'm a fan of 2nd week in January, generally.

Mind you, been looking at some options and some of the prices look decidedly "un-quiet week" like Puzzled
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Yep, second week of January will - on average - be better than pre-Christmas, in terms of snow. But for the OP that could make for rather a long Christmas stay with the in-laws.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
Other good thing for this January - investigate longer trips if you've got the time off to do it. Many companies have set up midweek to midweek trips for December because Xmas and NY are on weekends, but they have to fix that in January to put the travel days back to Sat or Sun. If you find a deal for second week of Jan, you may well find that there is a 3-4 day trip available the end of the week before. If you put in a cheeky offer you might get the extra few days for a bargain price because you don't need the extra flights and they may struggle to fill a Wed to Sat holiday otherwise.
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we go a different place every jan, usually either of the last 2 weeks, and its usually empty.. say that season before last we went to Serre Che on New years day for a week and that was empty aswell..and we were expecting loads of russians at grenoble.
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 You know it makes sense.
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papasmurf, no, I think that would be Chernoble.... wink Skullie
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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I also agree about the week before xmas! Our place never rents and we tend to go out there for it! Back to work for a couple of days graft and then off to Norway and time with the "out laws"!! Bring on the winter!
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
We're offering short breaks of varying lengths in two different resorts throughout January and the season which might help you too - prices are inclusive of Geneva transfers to keep the cost down and you can find details on our website www.mountainsunltd.com/short_breaks . As mentioned by many the first couple of weeks in January is generally cheaper in terms of accommodation (or a package if you use an operator) BUT in all the resorts we operate from the lift pass price doesn't go down until the very end of the season ... Also have week long availability in the Dolomites, but as someone mentioned best to wait until 2nd week in Italy for the crowds to completely leave the mountains. Hope you find what you're looking for!!
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