 Poster: A snowHead
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Hello All,
Thanks in advance for your help!
The other half and I are hoping (weather & £ permitting!) to get a last minute deal to the alps for the 2nd week of april (7th / 8th onwards).
We're both early-ish intermediates (this will be our 3rd week skiing), and after looking around online quite like the look of Montgenevre.
Really wanted your advice / thoughts on the resort (and suitability for our ski level) and also on how snow-sure the resort is come April vs any other resorts in the alps?
Cheers
jellemr
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Not sure about snow quality at that time of year, but ideal cruisy runs for beginners and early intermediates, you will be able to travel quite a bit without boredom setting in and of course on the area lift ticket you open up several other resorts to boot, might be worth checking out the altitude and historical snow data if noone else comes along on here to help. You may find your better off making your base resort more central to the area then in the case of under par snow it will be easier to bus to the best conditions.
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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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hi lilywhite, thanks for the response.
i think we're going to leave it until the last minute and then hopefully book somewhere with good snow....sounds like montgenevre would be ideal though, weather permitting.
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Montgenevre is likely to have the best conditions in the Milky Way area anyway that time of a 'normal' year. Should be better than average this year barring no unusual weather disaster So a good choice. Season locally routinely runs to at least 3rd week in April. Fun
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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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you will have a great time, if you can go before Easter ie march 25th a week in hammeua is only £206 at the mo with some tour ops
we went 1st week of April 2010 and had great snow conditions + it snowed alternate days to top it up, the week before had been a bit warm according to the rep and the Tibaud side was sdlushy in afternoon sun, but thats the only risk you take.
Every morning the Gontrans sector will be groomed and in excellent condition, we would do several runs up there before coming back to village level for lunch.
Our standard was similar to yours and we loved the long greens, blues and odd red, also we went the valley way to Claviere one day without any problems.
Enjoy
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Thanks for the advice....I understand that skiing in April is never a certainty, I was just trying to gauge whether Mongenevre would be more or less "snowsure" than other resorts......we went to Courchevel a few weeks ago (4 day trip with Ski Olympic - highly recommended!) and loved it and would happily go back, again snow / price dependent.
Cheers
jellemr
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Enjoyed a good week with the family there in mid-April last year when there was pretty much no snow anywhere so with what they have at the moment I really think it will be ok for early April this year. It's one of those resorts where the snow record is pretty consistent. Just be aware that parts of the Milky Way (the Italian part) do close earlier than some of the slopes in France each year (10/4/12 I seem to recall from memory).
My favourite accommodation there http://www.peakretreats.co.uk/ski/montgenevre/mgm-apartments/chalet-des-dolines.htm although Le Hameau des Airelles is very good too, so is Hotel Anova. Chalet Blanc that we don't feature is good too but maybe a bit pricey in my view.
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thanks for the tips xpeak, good to hear that you think the snow "should" be as good there as anywhere...
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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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Friend was there last Easter in a campervan. Lower runs were a bit ropey from what he said, but they were able to ski right back to the van still. Easter was late last year also. I guess Les Duex Alpes is the closest guaranteed snow to Montgeneve due to the Glacier up top. Les Duex Alpes is inverted (blacks are low down). That said, I'm betting they would be ropey by April anyway.
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veletron, there are six pisted black runs in 2Alpes, only three of which are below Cretes at 2100m. On a normal year (ie not last season) you can reasonably expect all of them to be open at Easter.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Fair enough. I had thought the lower blacks would be getting ropey by Easter. (Was there this Jan) My main reason for mentioning the low-down blacks was that these, together with the horrid long/narrow green are the only routes back to the bottom, and thus the resort may not suit some lower intermediates. You can of course download on the cable car.
I thought 2Alpes was superb. Only mentioned it as an Alternative to Montgeneve since its higher.
Nigel
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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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Montgenevre is a great resort for confidence building. Last year's heatwave didn't improve the snow anywhere in the Alps. Two years ago in Mid-April the snow was absolutely fantastic and lasted well into May.
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thanks veletron, thanks volfy, i think, based on your advice, we'll probably end up in montgenevre...not in any hurry to book, so will probably leave it fairly late, to ensure snow / price are good.
thanks again all for your comments - much much appreciated!!
cheers
matthew
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You know it makes sense.
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Jellemr - we were also in Montgenevre in April 2010 - remember seeing Cockerhoop in a restaurant one day  . We had never skied as late as April before and couldn't believe our luck when it snowed every other day (at least).
Bear in mind that the week you are thinking of is English and French school hols so there may not be much in the way of last minute bargains. If you don't have to go that week I'd go for 10th March or 17th March - the slopes will be quieter and accommodation cheaper.
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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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thanks snowymum, unfortunately we cant go before that week, and am not sure we should be going any later than then!
currently some decent deals around, but are a little reluctant to book too early in case the snow is poor....
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Poster: A snowHead
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jellemr, I think only one French zone will be on holiday then, and most of them won't be going skiing, so I wouldn't worry about crowds - that week may well be less busy than 10 March, given that that is such a good week for people without school kids.
I can understand your reluctance to book so early for the second week of April - I suspect there'll still be some reasonable prices around, if you leave it a bit later.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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only problem i envisage is how many seats are left on those Thomson or Thomas Cook planes to Turin the Sunday you want to go
In 2010 for some reason the last TC flights of the season from Manchester were cancelled and we got seats on the Gatwick one, it was a very full flight on a cramped 757, coming back was fun as the people with broken limbs were getting the extra leg room seats previously booked by others, one guy about 6 foot 5" could not sit down in a normal seat as his legs were too long
 hi again snowymum
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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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| pam w wrote: |
I can understand your reluctance to book so early for the second week of April - I suspect there'll still be some reasonable prices around, if you leave it a bit later. |
Not if OP definitely wants to go to Montgenevre and definitely wants to go then. Montgenevre is not really a resort where it's easy to get a last minute cheap deal. There is not a huge amount of decent accommodation there (though it's improving) and so the really nice apartments like the Airelles and Dolines do get booked up quickly. You'd likely find something in a 2* hotel or an older style apartment but not the nice new accomm offered by Peak Retreats (and a couple of others). Even Crystal seem to sell out in Montgenevre, rarely have any late deals left there. Also as cockerhoop rightly points out flights to Turin are never the easiest to find.
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Thanks again for all the advice everyone.
We're not dead set on Montgenevre, as I've said it looks great for us, but surely we're better off waiting until closer to the week we're going before booking (due to the lateness in the season - snow issues)? I think it's probably worth risking not getting Montgenevre rather than booking early only to find there's no snow?!
FYI we've seen a few catered chalets with Neilson that look a good standard and are currently reasonably priced for that week.
Cheers
Matthew
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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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Prices change - both up and down. Its also holiday time. Don't leave it too late!!
As I say, my mate skied there last Easter (April 22nd-->), and last year was a poor winter in the Alps. There is much more snow this year, and your proposed dates are earlier. I don't think there is a huge risk in booking early. One can never be 100% sure though!
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jellemr, Great if you're flexible, you can hang on. Neilson chalets probably a decent bet. I would be happy to take a punt on MG's snow in April. Good luck with it 
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thanks veletron, thanks sarah
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think the week you are aiming for will be last week of Neilsons season so the chalet guys will be in good form
that was last week in 2010 and then they were busing them to the bigger french resorts for deep cleaning of chalets in the next 2 weeks
they were not looking forward to that
Montgenevre the ski lift company does not stay open as long as it could, and always opens a week later than some in December
guess that way it has less disappointed people
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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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Well all, just thought I'd let you know that we booked with Neilson (Chalet Soleil), and are now totally excited and counting down the days!!
Thanks all for your advice, fingers crossed that the snow condition remains good!!
Cheers
Matthew
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