 Poster: A snowHead
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Hi all,
After waiting dangerously for last minute trip on 5th Jan, and having no luck at all with getting any sensibly priced offers to Ischgl (really wanted to try), I do believe we have stumbled upon what seems like a very good deal in Val....
Chalet Saffron though Crystal finest, right in the centre - 4 star - £529
 - Has anyone stayed here before, any feedback?
This will be my first holiday trip to val d'isere although I have skied over from Tignes before, I'm pretty confident on blacks and venture carefully off piste, my OH is fine on reds. just hoping she will be ok with the dreaded 'face' at the end of each day?? Any advice?
Also really looking for advice re ski hire, we both have our own boots, but always try to hire skis and try different ones depending on conditions, last year was my first venture onto semi 'fats' (volkl kuro) in the ski welt, loved them both on and off (was particularly good dumpage the week we were there mind), and would love any advice on friendly ski hire shops who don't mind a few changes during the week. Happy to pay for 'superior' rental.
Finally any other general tips/tricks/eateries/drinkeries/best areas to ski etc would be hugely appreciated....
PS do understand the often discussed hooray henry debate regarding the resort, I'm sure we'll be fine and find some 'ordinary' places to drink !!!! 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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neilkav, you'll love it,
For ski's Strawberry seem to have a good write up but i've never used them.
Depends what you want after your days ski but Morris bar is good for the live music and happy hour although still not cheap beer, there is a pub called La Face which is really cheap straight after skiiing and the prices go up as the night goes on until the Happy hour is finished
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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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Curtains,
The ski shop you're thinking of is "Snowberry" which is at the Rond Point, where the free buses turn after driving through the tunnel under the nursery slopes.
The Moris Pub is near the tourist office on the ground floor of the Moris Hotel.
Cafe Face is the bar where the prices go up progressively through the evening. It's opposite Dick's Tea Bar.
neilkav,
Besides take away food the cheapest (value for money) place to eat on the evening you have to eat out is the Moris Pub, they do good burgers chilli nacos etc. However you need to get there early (7pm ish) because all of the workers will be there eating cheaply.
There are far too many bars, restaurants etc to list. I'm sure that you will enjoy Val d'isere compared to Tignes.
The Face although a black run is pisted every night and not as difficult as the other blacks in the resort. The Face can get hard to ski at the end of the day because moguls will develop on it as the day progresses. There is no shame in catching the Olympic Gondola Lift down from the top of the Bellevarde back down to the centre of Val d'isere. You will often find that you will end up at the bottom of La Daille at the end of the day and you simply catch the free buses back to the centre of town. The bus queue can get a bit long at about 1700 hours when the Folie Douce Bar (on the slope above La Daille) closes and lots of drunken youngsters come off the mountain to go home. Just have a vin chaud in the Rose Blanche Bar (Wooden chalet building) by the La Daille bus stop and wait for the bus queue to dissipate.
Your tour operator will normally reccommend a particular ski hire shop and all should allow you to swap your skis during your stay. They will also have listings for restaurants and bars etc.
On Monday the market stalls appear near the tourist office. The town normally pedestrianises the high street between the 2 main roadabouts in the centre of town and provides free street entertainment probably on the Thursday evening.
You'll miss the Ice Polo which is being held on the 15/16th of January. The polo ponies have studded horse shoes fitted to grip the snow/ice.
Get hold of a free copy of the "Mountain Echo" (the Moris Pub will have copies) which will tell you all of the unofficial things happening during the week you're there. The tourist office issues free copies of "ValScope" listing the official activities.
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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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just hoping she will be ok with the dreaded 'face' at the end of each day?? Any advice?
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My advice is enjoy your days skiing, then download in the lift. "Face" can get icy at the end of the day and is full of people who absolutely should have downloaded in the lift. Some skiers seem sufficiently uncertain of their manhood as to feel threatened by the idea of downloading in a lift. Your OH will probably be more sensible. "Face" is quite black at the end of a busy day, with tired legs.
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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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and if she does fancy doing it - I'd suggest doing it around 11 am, and if it seems easy then, by all means go for it at 4 pm, when it will seem (and probably be) quite a lot harder.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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You don't need to do The Face.... unless you're on top and can't get over to one of the other areas in time. We did it once during our week there but we liked Fornet so much that we just ended up going over there for mid-afternoon and just pottering around up near the most evenings as a last run. If you are on Rocher de bellevarde then you can always go down into La Daille or do the santons/epaulle du charvet back into town... EDC is a bit of a mogul hell mind and Santons is very narrow. The La Daille option is best...
Last edited by You'll need to Register first of course. on Sun 30-12-12 12:20; edited 2 times in total
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Thank you all for your sound advice, we will defo be either downloading or doing the other areas as suggested, I believe its all pretty civilised in terms of getting around on buses.
I will almost certainly have a go lol, and probably look skywards towards her on the lift to make sure shes watching me prove my manhood......and then almost certainly go and clout a whole set ofl french ski school kids..... 
Getting excited now, really looking forward to it......cheers again.
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neilkav,
The worst 2 runs in the Val d'isere area are the 2 from the bottom of the Fontaine Froide chairlift back into the centre of Val d'isere:-
Epaule de Charvet - a BLACK run which is never pisted!!! It starts off as a flat path then it gets steeper and steeper (Epaule means Shoulder, and it's shaped like one going from the neck down to the elbow). This run even after a good snow fall will have big icy mogulls under the surface.
Santons - a BLUE run is a very narrow valley that follows below the path of Epaule de Charvet. Often closed because of the danger of avalanche from the valley sides. This is a horrible run in all but the best sunlight and soft snow conditions. It's normally very crowded and icy and in the shade.
Avoid these 2 runs especially when you're tired at the end of the day. Either ski down to La Daille using Diebold and Vert and get the bus to the town centre or take the Olympic Gondola down to the centre.
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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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Santons - a BLUE run is a very narrow valley that follows below the path of Epaule de Charvet. Often closed because of the danger of avalanche from the valley sides. This is a horrible run in all but the best sunlight and soft snow conditions. It's normally very crowded and icy and in the shade.
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Santons is a marvellous run you can do GS turns around the timid and has a DH tuck practice from just above the last turn, ensure you look out for the net that they sometimes put out to spoil the fun of making it to Club med without skating.
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The cafe/restaurant at the bottom lift station of the olympic bubble does a lunch special for about €12 with a yummy individual tariflette, salad and a vin chaud. I'm not usually one for a heavy French lunch, but this was superb.
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