 Poster: A snowHead
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Hiya,
I'm looking at options for a ski/snowboarding holiday next March, now that we're postponing our US trip.
There's a few things we're considering (including the Inside Out trip to the Dolomites!!), but need a bit of advice regarding one of our ideas.
We've got friends/family in Lausanne, so were thinking of combining a couple of days visiting them, with a proper snow holiday. We can get cheapo Easyjet flights to Geneva, we'll probably go Friday 2nd March, come back Saturday 10th.
We can get around in CH by train (or get lifts with the friends/family!) but would want to head for a resort (on 3rd March) within around 1.5 hours of Lausanne, and not too far from Geneva. I've been looking at the Alpes Vaudoises area (covers Leysin, Villars, Les Diablerettes and Chateaux d'OEx) - which seems pretty snow sure, but wondered if anyone had any other recommendations.
Basically we're an intermediate skiing/snowboarding couple, looking for a variety of runs - some challenging, some easy. Not really fussed about the Apres Ski scene, just looking to spend a whole day skiing, then chill out with food and a warm sofa!
We could also do with some advice about which accommodation to use (either in the areas above, or somewhere else entirely) - again we've got a few options, but if anyone has any recommendations they would be gratefully received.
We'd prefer to do a hotel or apartment rather than a chalet. First choice would be a half board hotel option, so we don't have to cook. The price has got to be right with these things though - if we're in a hotel and have no self-catering facilities then we don't want to be spending more than £600. If we're in a half board hotel the budget would be more like £1000.
If self-catering then I wouldn't want to pay more than £400, depending on what facilities are in the complex.
So far I've found a half board option in for £1530 including lift passes to the Alpes Vaudoises area. Staying at Hotel Le Grand Chalet in Leysin. That seems reasonable... it's ski-to-door and very close to the train station. Outdoor hot tubs etc 
Any ideas/suggestions/recommendations/horror stories gratefully received 
Would also consider the French resorts if it's not too much of a faff with transport etc (though have done France a few times).
Cheers in advance for any help
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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 Emmeline,
I've spent a lot of time in the Lausanne area in recent seasons, travelling to resorts by train. It's a brilliant base. One of the most fun trips is catching the boat across Lake Geneva from Lausanne to Evian then a short bus or taxi ride up to the little known French resort of Thollon which is a dream of a place. Amazing views of the lake, some brilliant slopes, and very cheap ski costs (day lift pass around 20 Euros).
Another brilliant excursion is Rochers de Naye which is accessed by an hourly train from Montreux. A handful of skiers jump get off the train then have the mountain to themselves for an hour - a huge contrast to the lift queues and frequent risk of mid-piste collisions that you get in the big resorts these days.
Apart from the places you've mentioned, you've also got Champery in the Portes de Soleil, about 1.5 hours from Lausanne. The cable car is right next to the train station.
You probably already knew but the Swiss offer a combined rail and lift-pass package from most stations giving you about 30% off the price of a lift pass making it a lot more affordable.
There's a new-ish map of the Alps showing how to reaach resorts by train (which I helped to produce).
You can see a sample of the map (with the area you're looking at) here:
http://rogerlascellesmaps.co.uk/SkiRail_Product_Information.aspx?area=SkiRail_Product_Information
Hope that helps.
N Neige
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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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PS Stayed in Chateau D'Oex last time I was in the area. There's a fairly basic (but decent) hotel right by the train station called Buffet de la Gare. It's pretty cheap by Swiss standards - something like 50 Francs per room and loads of nice restaurants near by, and 5 mins' walk from the cable car. Skiing in Chateau is limited but pleasant (tree-lined) and was v quiet when we were there. The local train is free (during the day) with a lift pass so you can travel to tons of local resorts in the Gstaad area.
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+1 for Champery and access to the PdS. If you not planning to have a car then you may find Leysin a bit small for a week and the other AV resorts aren't linked to it.
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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'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Emmeline, you mention France - don't forget their school hols don't end until 10 March. Would be great to come across the lake for easy access via Evian but....... 
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Emmeline, we stay very near Ours Blanc and it always seems popular. It's certainly in a good position. A friend of mine stayed there with her husband a couple of years ago and was impressed (particularly with the food IIRC) 
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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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Lou, Yeah? Well that's good news - hopefully the Swiss couple will be up for an English invasion around that time in March Had to look up IIRC - not very good with 4 letter acronyms! Good food is always a winner in my book - sounds like it might be worth the extra couple of hundred for the facilities and la cuisine!
IYHO (see - I'm getting it!) would the slopes in that area satisfy an intermediate skiier and a good snowboarder who likes to throw a few tricks?
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Emmeline, I don't get that one! Yes the slopes are excellent for intermediate skier and is popular with boarders too. Not quite sure where you go specifically for tricks now - the snowpark used to be on Mont Chery. There is a boarder X on the Chavannes side on the way back down to the village. Must go and check where the snowpark is ...
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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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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look at the Ibis in Leysin - very low budget hotel, about 110CHF a night, I think, but brand new so beds should be comfy and rooms clean - it's a few hundred meters walk (uphill, unfortunately) to the lifts, but not too bad - Leysin is great for intermediate skiiers, and good I believe for snowboarders - there is the Nestle championship there every March, so a good snowpark built up every year - check out the tourist site for dates to either coincide or avoid! We love Leysin - very low key.
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You know it makes sense.
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oops - sorry - didn't see you've already booked in Les Gets ... maybe Leysin next time! Have a super trip
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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 Lausanne to Les Gets the easiest option might be a train to GVA to meet up with one of the airport transfer options down to Les Gets
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Poster: A snowHead
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Crans-Montana, Verbier all pretty close. I was working in Lausanne a few years ago and drove up to Crans for a look around on a free afternoon (no time for skiing sadly).
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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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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bon ski! and leave plenty of time from and back to GVA if you're here during the car show ... there can be mega trafffic ... better yet, take the train
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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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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Wow - well that was an amazing holiday!!!
The travelling was pretty straightforward, though a bit more costly than we were expecting, mainly cos we had to get a Taxi from Lausanne to Ouchy to get the boat across the lake, and the boat wasn't cheap either! Things were more reasonable on the other side though, with the bus down to Les Gets being pretty cheap (though we tried to pay with CHF and were met with amusement!).
The walk from the port at Thonon Les Baines to the bus was.... interesting though - looked like about a 5 minute walk on the map but when we got there it was a very steep uphill climb. We'd got 3/4 of the way up with all our bags and gear and then we saw this tram go by - which we could have got at the bottom - d'oh!!!!!
Les Gets and Morzine were gorgeous, we didn't need a full Portes Du Soleil area pass because there was a huge dump of snow on the night before we turned up, and it was still snowing during our bus ride to the resort.
It didn't snow again for the duration of the trip, but that was fine as there was definitely enough snow - most of the lifts were running and generally the snow conditions were very good. Later on in the day it got a little sticky (it got up to 23 degrees!!!) but that only slowed us down a little.
If I go back to PDS again in March (which I'm likely to) I'll definitely pack far less stuff - not sure if we were just lucky or what but it was definitely t-shirt weather I was boiling like a lobster in my jacket and helmet!
The Ebouille contest was on while we were there so we saw a few comps with freestyle skiiers, doing ramps, rails, jumps, big air etc. There were also live bands, DJ's and graffiti artists etc - all pretty cool really, and not too busy considering. In fact the whole area was just about right in terms of numbers of people - not enough to be queuing for lifts, but enough to have a good vibe
We'll definitely go back to the area in the future, hopefully when the contest is on again, though we also want to try Leysin as that was our original choice, and I found out it's where my cousin met her husband when she was working out in Switzerland, so it's got a bit of family history
Thanks to you all again for your help and advice, we had a wonderfulll time - even if we didn't make the car show.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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Emmeline - so glad it was a great trip. The snow has been fab this year, and it isn't done yet ... We love PDS, but we also are very attached to Leysin. It's a LOT more intimate than PDS, but that's part of it's charm. For one thing, you don't get lost! It's really easy to split time between Leysin and PDS - you can head over to Les Crosets from there, for example, in about 30-40 minutes.
In any event, glad it was all such as success (although I really chuckled over your description of the uphill climb in Thonon - it's really easy to get caught underestimating walks around here by just looking at the map - there can be two points looking really close together but divided by a steep valley!)
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tartegnin, cheers - we'll definitely look at incorporating Leysin in a future trip. Just loved the whole area, and so close to Geneva too (though not loving flying out from there with Easyjet, should have learned my lesson from previous times and got Speedy Boarding!).
Hehe, I'll remember to look at a route in 3D next time  Cheers again.
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