 Poster: A snowHead
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Orgainsing brothers week long stag do (terrible I know) in Verbier or Chamonix for 12 guys - late March/April - we have a free chalet in eithor to choose from due to a lucky connection - all advanced ski/boarders, prefer live music pubs to clubs - what do ya reckon?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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What a terribly tough decision. I have an intuition that Verbier is possibly a bit more of a party town. But, they're both big name alpine destinations I can't see how you'd go wrong with either. (I also think I prefer the skiing in Verbier - although it's hard to beat a good day on the Grands Montets...).
I'd be more worried about the long term effects: liver damage, alcohol poisoning, etc. I mean, most people survive stag nights as they only last a couple of nights. But a week long one?
Will you be taking your own strippers? I don't think Verbier or Chamonix have lap-dancing bars...
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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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dg3, got to be Chamonix, more bars, livelier and easy to get to.
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dg3,
You lucky bug, my mate's stag is this Saturday in Portrush, N.I.
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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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Chamonix.
(but only if Portrush is beyond your budget)
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cheers guys - seems cham is nudging ahead - have to say it's my favourite - had a particularly awesome long weeknd this march - in the MBC, chicken wings, rolling stones band, copious amount of fine home brewed lager and great people. Don't worry david Murdoch we're also taking two doctors and a dentist (but no strippers - a tad too L plates and handcuffs methinks - we'll stick to dressing the stag in fine 80's ski gear for the duration....)
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I will confess that as I started my reply I realised I had very little knowledge on which to base my answer!
So now I'm curious.
Having had one week in Verbier which was fun, lots of powder down the face of Mont Gele and the odd weekend/day trip to Chamonix, why David@traxvax, Wear The Fox Hat, so firmly in the Cham camp?
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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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David Murdoch, because I think it would be a great place for a stag weekend.
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Wear The Fox Hat,
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because I think it would be a great place for a stag weekend.
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But we're talking a stag WEEK here! 
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Wear The Fox Hat, clearly! But a few more details would be appreciated  Why so much more so than Verbier? In my admittedly very limited experience I had a lot of fun there.
...just interested in the reasons behind strength of your recommendation. Versus Verbier of course, not Portrush. Although Portrush has its own charms...
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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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David Murdoch, I vaguely remember parts of a long weekend I organised with a few work colleagues about 5 years ago. There was a guy on that trip called Adam Holt. Maybe he can remember more...
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David Murdoch, because I have a deep and abiding hatred of Televerbier who I believe are the worse lift company, without exception, in the Alps. I have fond memories of Verbier, the Offshore bar, Le Pub, etc but it doesn't come close to Chamonix, which has to be one of the world's great alpine destinations.
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You know it makes sense.
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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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For a stag week - Verbier. I think you will find a higher proportion of fit women...for the mates not the stag, obviously. Chamonix, I think, is a little more male dominated.
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Poster: A snowHead
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David@traxvax, Televerbier - why so bad? Chamonix undoubtedly a top alipne destination but top stag week destination? Don't know...
beanie1, that was my impression (based on admittedly limited experience of either 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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David Murdoch, I must admit it's been a while since I was there, but I used to go to Verbier fairly regularly. Televerbier, IMO,had for years the most expensive lift pass in the Alps. Their service in return was (is?) crap, those old slow gondolas coming up from Le Chable, the equally old slow gondolas on Mont Fort etc. What did they do to relieve congestation and queing, put up signs in the gondola station saying you've now got a 45 minute wait. They're also idle, the last time I was there at the end of season we had a dump of snow, great we all said, this will last till the end of the season and it would have done with some sensible piste management, but nothing, not a piste bully to be seen, result all the snow was blown around and dissapated within a couple of days. Coupled with their general unhelpful attitude and the expense of the place I decided I'd sooner spend my money in France. I rate Chamonix, my sons lived there for a while and got to know the town well, it is still a working town and although some parts have had an invasion of Brits, there are more than enough other nationalities to keep it interesting. There are some super bars and restuarants, some of the best in the Alps, a far greater choice than Verbier.
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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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Gotta be Chamonix, for the following reasons ( I organised my brothers stag do there 2 years back)
a) it's flat!! Verbier has too many hills to wander up/down in the middle of the night after a few beers!
b) close to Geneva airport, hence plenty of taxi etc options to get to/from the resort
c) Personally I think it has more bars/restaurants than Verbier
Main downside is getting the bus in the morning with a stinking hangover!
regards,
greg
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David@traxvax, fair enough! Understandable pov then!
I don't know Chamonix terribly well - maybe 5 days max on Grands Montets and a wee VB day - but interested to hear about bars etc. as the better half's sister and husband recently started a small apartment biz there (2 mins from Aig. du Midi lift). So off out there next weekend and hopefully a lot more exploration over the winter. One can't have too many places to stay in the mountains can one?
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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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David Murdoch, That'll be near the Chamonix Sud complex, good location as lots of bars/restuarants in that area and not far away from main square. My younger son worked in La Terrace which is owned by a subsiduary of Mark Warner, one of the main hangouts in Chamonix, loud and crowded.
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david@traxvax, you mentioned cham easier to get to than verbier (last season we did it in an hr after a top mornings skiing so know it's spot on)....in your experience how much of a pain is verbier if done independently - self-drive (2-4hrs?)
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dg3, self drive from Geneva in about 2 hrs is achievable, use the M-way to the north of Lac Leman as far as Martigny then follow the signs for Verbier, nice drive and if the weather is good some great scenery, views of the Lac etc.. Alternatively you can take the Autoroute to Chamonix then drive through Argentiere and over the col to Switzerland, maybe a bit longer and you'll need to check that the col is open.
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many thanks david, less than I thought.
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Just as an aside. Why are stag dos not just nights or even weekends but now weeks! I personally think that the whole thing has gone mad. How many people will be able to afford to come along to a weeks heavy drinking in either Verbier or Chamonix? I know that if I was asked I'd have to decline. I suppose it's just gone the same way as the cost of weddings which are verging on the obscene - I know some people who are funding their own wedding who do not own their own house, have a knackered car etc etc but their forthcoming wedding is pusing £20k. Madness.
David@traxvax, I agree about Televerbier. When I went in 1994 I vowed never again. The lift system was decrepid, took them ages to open any lifts when it snowed, signposting was a joke, b*****y expensive and they gave us a refund on our glacier extension (never open) in Verbier vouchers - b*****ds. Hated the place!
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This is starting to tie in with 'the cost of love thread'...it makes me worried for when I get older 
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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btw I wouldn't stay in Chamonix Sud for a stag do, not enough bars to keep you going for a week, and the all nighters are mostly in Cham town.
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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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like you chris I think week long stag/hen do's are obscene and definately wouldn't want to pay to go on one....but then my brother got engaged, my cousin got a free chalet opportunity, we got the green light from our better halfs, cheap air fares aplenty and way hay...suddenly it seems like the best idea ever...there is something very appealing about ski, drink, eat, drink, party, sleep, ski....repeat...with all your buddies.
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Skiing sounds secondary here which is a real shame....but if that is the case then Verbier as it is just a bit better organised lift wise....
By that I mean no messing about between the main areas of Grand Montet, Du Midi etc.
If it was skiing I would say Cham but then it is years since I was last in Verbier and....well its about time I went back...but something just keeps on saying.....can I put up with the town....? A bottle of Vodka in the Farm cost £65.00 in '87.... still you make friends very quickly...!!!! They will see you coming..!!!
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You know it makes sense.
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JT, allowing for inflation and currency exchange that bottle of Vodka is probably around £300 now.
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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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David@traxvax,
Well, we were drunk and they saw us coming....!!!!
They used to do this thing where if you had a bottle behind the bar you would get free entry and we thought it would save us money over two weeks. Only we had so many people 'befriend' us that we drunk it within an hour.... Like I say we were drunk...!! Must have been trying to impress a chalet girl...!!!!
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Poster: A snowHead
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Last time I was (allegedly) in the Farm I think it was 200 chf for a bottle of vodka. Call it £90.
Expensive?
Well...how many shots do you get out of a bottle?
You also get limitless free softdrink mixers to go with it.
I'd bet that if you drank that much in almost any bar or nightclub in Chamonix, Verbier (or London) it would come out somewhere close.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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David@traxvax,
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I must admit it's been a while since I was there, but I used to go to Verbier fairly regularly. Televerbier, IMO,had for years the most expensive lift pass in the Alps. Their service in return was (is?) crap
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I've said it before but I'll say it again! That's like me saying that La Rosiere is a series of creaky old drag lifts based on my visit three years ago before the new lifts were put in. Nip across some time, I think you'll be impressed by the investment in recent years. Massive new six man chair in savolyeres, only 8 minutes from Le Chable (800m) to Les Ruinettes (2,300m), new gondola in tortin, improved signposting, new snowmaking, and this summer a new "chondola" (combined chair and gondola to be nice to our boarder friends) linking ruinettes and la chaux.
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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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Steve Sparks, then it's about time,this is suppossed to be the top destination in Switzerland. Any resort that charges extra to access the most intereting skiing on top of an already expensive lift pass deserves approbation. La Rosiere stands up very well to any comparision because the lift pass is great value, there are virtually no queues and we're not caught up in the annual invasion of braying Sloanes. I'm not saying there isn't good skiing in Vebier just that you pay a high price for the privilege, as you do in Courchevel, Val D'Isere or any one of a number of 'fashionable' resorts.
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I love Verbier and have no issues at all with the lift system. It is no longer as expensive as it used to be - the exchange rate with the CHF is good and it compares favourably with any other top ski resort. Nowadays I would consider France an expensive destination.
You don't have to go to the Farm. And quite frankly why would you want to - full of ageing eurotrash. There are plenty of other reasonably priced pubs /bars. Apres ski in the Farinet is legenday - pitchers of beer that seemed very reasonable and a superb atmosphere from about 5pm - I've never seen anywhere else quite like it. Pub Mont Fort is also good and full of real skiers not poseurs.
Our hotel was very good price too - 400 CHF /night for a suite of 2 twin rooms and a bathroon, B&B, very centrally located. Public transport from Geneva is excellent. The train takes about 2.5 hours or so and being Switzerland everything runs like clockwork.
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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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Don't blame me as I last went to Verbier in 1987 so I am well out of date. I love the idea of going back for the skiing but there are too many places in front it. Maybe my perception isn't upto date but if you don't really fancy it, you don't really fancy it. I have a penchant for smaller resorts with varied terrian, with a few off beat routes off the back of somewhere.
I take David@traxvax's point about the smaller resorts being value for money. I tend to look at the access that the lifts to non pisted terrain give you and 200-300-400 kms of piste is irrelevant to me, and little or no queus is major plus. Circus resorts have less appeal these days.
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| David@traxvax wrote: |
| Steve Sparks, then it's about time,this is suppossed to be the top destination in Switzerland. Any resort that charges extra to access the most intereting skiing on top of an already expensive lift pass deserves approbation. |
Just because a load of English go there doesn't make it the top destination in Switzerland. More to the point, the original question called for a comparison between Chamonix and Verbier so if you're moaning about the Verbier pass it's worth mentioning Chamonix operate the most outrageous lift pass scam at Gd Montets I think 
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ise,
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Chamonix operate the most outrageous lift pass scam at Gd Montets I think
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Can you explain that one please?
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snowbunny,
You buy an area pass and then they charge you a supplement to get upto the very top of Grand Montets. Its a pain because you have to queue twice, one for the supplement and another for the cable car. Admitedly the supplement might not take long but the cable car queue can.... The valley is too crowded and they try to justify the cost on this.
I think it is one reason why big Chamonix fans are looking elsewhere. The skiing can be great but just how much will you put up with the rest of it. In my view Chamonix could be going the way of Verbier, fantastic skiing but way too popular...
We haven't been back there to ski for 3-4 years now and can't remember the last time up Grand Montets top station...!!!
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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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JT, Well I can, and have been up there frequently. I don't agree with ise, that it's "an outrageous lift scam"
AFAIK A Chamski pass gets you 2 uplifts from Lognan to Grand Montets. An area Mont Blanc pass gets you unlimited uplift. Unless this changed last year?
BTW I have never queued for the top lift, always straight on 
If a Chamski gave unlimited uplift, then every novice around would be struggling down the Pointe du Vue, that would not be fun.
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snowbunny,
You're joking about never queuing for the top car, aren't you...??
I am pretty sure I have had Mont Blanc passes that don't include the GM but they may have changed it or I might be mistaken.
I first went there in '94 - part from a trip from Megeve to Midi in '88 and I have always paid for the top...
If they were serious about the numbers that then they should not piste a single run up there. But they are quite happy to flood the place and take the money.
Hopefully Monterosa will not go the same way..!!
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