 Poster: A snowHead
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We have been coming here for 10 years or so, and have had to be 1/2 term skiers for 10 years before that.
I've never seen it so quiet.
No queues at all.
My wife said it is as quiet as a weekend she was here with some girlfriends at the end of january.
I know that there are tough times out there in the economy, and people are spending less.
Add to that the strength of the Swiss franc.
But even so....it is really quiet!
So what about where you are SnowHeads?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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We are in sainte foy, 1st time half term and in s f . Not much queing but I think that's normal here!
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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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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Bear in mind that some resorts have twice as many runs open as last year; Morillon/Samoens/Sixt for instance.
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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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might not mean anything but when i was in austria a couple of weeks ago there was a high percentage of swiss cars parked about.
think CH may be too expensive for many right now
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Quick report from les arcs, it ain't too bad. The worst bit is 0930 at the transarc lift, it's the time all the ski schools are scrambling to get to the top. Then again about 1330. Once that rush is over the ques are 2-3 mins.
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It's relatively quiet in Saalbach. Minus 20 at the beginning of the week and 90km winds and a blizzard today have kept many people indoors, but instead of all of Europe arriving at once, this year there are only Danes and Brits in Week 7, with the Dutch, Austrians and Swedes not coming until next week.
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ricfrench, aren't you at Rob's place? Likey?
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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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Very quiet in the Portes du Soleil. Literally no queue all day today - not even 30 seconds.
Talking to a couple of restauaant owners they reckon it's because the local arera is on holiday but it will be busier when Paris (and the Dutch) arrive next week.
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Reckon the strength of the Swiss Franc is keeping allot of people away, particulary those in the UK.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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We went to Austria for a long weekend recently from ZRH simply to get much more bang for our buck. Simple hotels coming in at £30ish a head a night don't look such good value when a few years later they're £80+.
I know the Verb crowd is traditionally not very price sensitive but it's got to deter the aspirant a bit.
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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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Grand Massif is busy, possibly more than last year.
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fatbob,
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We went to Austria for a long weekend recently from ZRH simply to get much more bang for our buck. Simple hotels coming in at £30ish a head a night don't look such good value when a few years later they're £80+.
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I must at the bottom of the food chain as I used to pay about 25 to 28 Euro per head for Austria B&B. Last year I was ripped off to hand over 30 Euro per head B&B in Neustift to ski Stubai Glacier. If I have to pay anything near £80 I expect dinner and ski pass to throw in as I did in 2010 to stay in a pension in Flachau with the Ski Amade pass (free to 25 skiing places) for less than 68.5 Euro per head HB per night.
Visitor numbers can vary between resorts. This season the crowd was reasonable in Gstaad, Lenk, Adelboden, Pila and Zermatt but dead quiet in Monte Rosa and Saas Fee in late January.
Zermatt is a good way to tell the how busy the Alps can be. It was quiet in late January but that could be due to the avalanche that stopped the trains trapping visitors not able to get in and out of the resort the week before my visit. Zermatt seems to be always well attended by visitors.
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You know it makes sense.
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Zermatt is busy but nowhere near as busy as I was expecting. Not really lift queues except 9am etc. Been dead the past few weeks too!!! Seems to just be the mega rich holidaying at the moment 
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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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rungsp, we're in nendaz right now, kids doing race training nearby, never skied verbier at half-term before but having skied left to collons/veysonnaz etc and right to verbier, would agree that no crowds nor queues to speak of!
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Poster: A snowHead
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Alpe D'Huez not stupidly busy (no more so than Christmas) 10 min queues at usual pinch points but no real crowds anywhere and no problem getting a table for 10 seated immediately at mountain eateries. Pretty much every piste & lift are open which clearly helps too. May change next week as mentioned above when Paris & the Dutch arrive.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Hi. Is anyone skiing in the Hocking area in Austria ( Maria Alm) this half term - if yes, is it busy. Was thinking of Austria for next Feb half term as thought it would be quieter than French resorts. Will check the Dutch and Austrian holidays for next year. Thank you
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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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Paris having holiday next week will make a difference in France
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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I think most people are at Chill Factor e at Manchester instead. It was rammed yesterday afternoon!!
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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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Will update on the espace Killy in next few days! Has to be said, there were a lot of French visitors in Primark today, so here's hoping they're all over here visiting and didnt feel like using the mountains this holiday 
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Basil, Were you in the same Grand Massif as me, I thought it was the quietest I'd ever known it at half term in the 5 years that we've been skiing there. Obviously the conditions are brilliant and the whole area open but with only the Brits and one French zone it was just about as good as it gets for half term.
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Having done around a dozen half terms in Chatel this seemed like the quietest of the lot.
Very few queues on the piste (just the odd pinch point in Avoriaz) or restaurants.
The lower car park at Pre La Joux that usually fills from 09.45 didn't seem to get any use at all.
It appeared to be a happy combination of the first week of French holidfays (so only 1/3 on holiday and then mainly the local areas), no Dutch (arrived yesterday), abundant snow (so lower smaller resorts were popular) and the economy.
The bit of motorway between Vevey and the E end of Lake Geneva was rammed yesterday with cars heading for the Rhone valley resorts so it looks like this is the busy week.
On the occasions that I mentioned to the locals that there seemed to be a lot of Brits about the common response was "Heureusement". Nice to feel wanted!
Have to check above factors fr next year which is probably our last.
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It appeared to be a happy combination of the first week of French holidfays (so only 1/3 on holiday and then mainly the local areas), no Dutch (arrived yesterday), abundant snow (so lower smaller resorts were popular) and the economy.
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yes, that sounds about right. Anyone heading to France this weekend having just been looking at the English half term might be in for a bit of a shock. 
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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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Just got back from les orres (fab last minute deal) and no lift queues to speak of definitely seemed quieter this year, at my children's school only about half the usual suspects were going away skiing this year due to cost!
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Just heading back from a fab week in les Menuires.
This is the first time we have gone at half term, because we couldn't go at our usual New Year slot due to my work.
Anyway, the whole of the 3V's were much quieter than we usually experience at New Year, which even given the holiday schedule was much better than I expected. The area was mostly Brits and French.
We drove down the mountian about 4pm yesterday and the line of traffic on the hill and the huge que on the road between Alberville and Moutier suggests this week will be far busier.
Many thanks to Phillipe from Prosniege for a great off piste experience with my son and I yesterday.
Can't wait for Easter to come now!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Just back from Chamonix and it was not to manic there either.I think the Brit half term was a week earlier than the main French regions but there seemed to be more Brit cars on the road home and we all spent over an hour on the approach to last toll on A26.Jam was about 5 km long and having a toll tag did not help at all this time,but it did make getting through at the tunnel customs much easier due to lack of traffic.
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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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it did make getting through at the tunnel customs much easier due to lack of traffic.
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DonC, I don't think it was a lack of traffic at the tunnel it was the extra UKBA booths (almost twice as many) that made the difference. We went A29 to Amiens and then A16 via Boulogne to dodge the toll queue at the top of the A26. Adds about 40km I think but if it saved a 5km queue (radio suggested 6-7km) it was a good trade off.
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You know it makes sense.
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We are just back now so had to check Snowheads and think of the next trip! Tunnel didn't have much of a queue as all the UKBA booths were open as DJL says. As for toll queues.. I got a tele doofer before we left which meant around Riems the black Range Rover doing 100+ mph passed us twice as we skipped the queues and we met up again in a petrol station a little later. 'Our' queues looked quite short compared to those mentioned by DonC as they only had 20-25 cars at most. Saw plenty of queues yesterday afternoon going the other way though.
Anyway back on topic... We were in the Maurrienne valley. Ski base was Val Cenis and used the new Eskimo pass to Ski Vafrejus, La Norma and Aussois for a day each. No queues except twice (1) at Val Frejus for the 6 seater chair to the top and that queue was only a few minutes and (2) at the Val Cenis gondola when a queue magically appeared as we turned up. By the time we got a seat there was hardly anyone behind us.
The whole experience made me quite like half term skiing. Yesterday was brilliant as the Val Cenis was almost empty.
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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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Was in Val Cenis last week as well. The guys at MGS were complaining that they had to queue at all because it was half term! Still max queue was 10 mins for the Gondola usually just as the French were finishing lunch at 2.30. Otherwise resort was not too busy at all largely down to the staggered holidays from what everyone was saying. All of Paris did seem to be heading down the Autoroute Blanche as we were heading north.
A brilliant week was had and thanks to the guys at MGS for finding the quieter and untracked areas in the afternoon along with our ESF 'guides' who clearly enjoyed some 'freeskiing' rather than teaching! Anyone else experience this clampdown on companies ski guiding this year where the local ministry has insisted that you be accompanied by the ESF?
Slightly off topic again, that queue on the A26 was upto about 8-9km by the time we hit it at around 7.30 on Saturday night. Good planning to have half the booths out for 'improvements' over half term. 5 mins late for check in then mean't a further 90 mins delay all in all meaning 3am arrival in Cheshire rather than the before midnight hoped for! Anyway, next year is now booked.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Next year my daughters school has half term as 11th-16th but it looks like the French holidays are the week after that again - have I got that right? We're looking at driving to Les Arcs but we'll probably try to get some of the way on the Friday if we can
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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mikeh, depends which bit of France as they have half term over 3 weeks, but it is often busy the Paris week
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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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Crafty Bison (http://www.bison-fute.equipement.gouv.fr/diri/Accueil.do?langue=en) is a very useful site to find out what's going on French holiday/traffic wise. Last week was ok-ish at La Plagne, as long as you kept out of Bellcote out of the mid morning/late evening - at one stage Arpette and Colussus queues crossed..... Mind you, it was quite fun working out ways of avoiding big waits, like swinging across tot he Champagny valley to get from Montchavin to Centre. But the traffic piling down on Saturday while we were on our way back (Paris, Belgium, Holland started holiday) was truly epic. If I heard the APRR traffic news correctly, at one point they hit 100Km of jams - 40Km coming up to Lyon, alone.
That A26 queue was 4Km at 15:00 when we hit it, and it wasn't going to get much better......
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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mikeh, next year the French holidays are 16 Feb - 17 March so yes, that half term is before they start.  This year the two coincided but the Paris holidays (the worst by a mile) are this week and next - hence the ridiculous traffic coming south.
Next year looks like a very, very, good year to head for half term to a French resort where no British TOs go (ie the majority). I don't know what the holiday situation in Italy or Austria is but again, head to a resort off the TO map.
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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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Didn't look quiet today on the Chamonix webcams!
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thanks, chrisb, Ham, pam_w - we're thinking France but at the moment Les Arcs is favourite
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