 Poster: A snowHead
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Hi all,
Just back from my first skiing holiday - had an amazing time and am well and truly hooked! Being a beginner and having no previous experiences with which to compare the holiday, this report will probably be of limited use to you seasoned skiers, but here goes anyway...
Our holiday: There were just the two of us - me (beginner skier, though had been learning in the UK since the summer so knew the basics) and my OH who is an experienced snowboarder. We chose Alpe D'Huez as it seemed to tick the boxes for both of us (lots of green runs for me, plus other things to do if I wanted a rest from skiing - which seemed like a good idea when we first booked back in the summer but turned out not to be the case! - and enough difficult runs/off piste for him). I'd say the resort is ideal for mixed ability groups.
Basics and accommodation: We went with Crystal and stayed in Chalet Telemark, which is in the old town, near the bottom of the bucket lift/'yoghurt pots'. It was only a couple of minutes' walk to this lift, which took you up to the Rond Point des Pistes (access point for the main lifts) and took about 10 minutes - felt painfully slow at times but avoided a walk up a hill with ski equipment! We paid ~£600 each; lift pass and ski hire were extra but we got a third off both at the time of booking. The chalet room was basic but clean and comfortable (all rooms are en suite) and the open plan living area was nice to relax in, with great views over the mountains. The chalet hosts were lovely and food quality was good - we were also lucky in that all 18 people in the chalet got on well! I'd recommend taking earplugs if you are a light sleeper, though, to avoid being woken up by noise from outside. We flew with Easyjet from Liverpool and had no problems with flights or transfers. I have my own boots, but hired skis through Crystal from Skiset near the bucket lift – my 'economy' skis seemed fine (though to be fair I wouldn’t know any better if they had been rubbish) and the shop gave me an extra morning’s hire for free, which was a nice touch.
Lift system: I have nothing to compare this to, but the lifts in general seemed good - there is a very extensive network and I personally rarely had to queue except for the bucket lift in the morning (allow enough time for this if you are in ski school as a few people ended up being late for lessons). My OH found that the queues for the DMC (main cable car up) and Marmottes lifts could be pretty bad first thing in the morning, simply because they were the only options to get up above the 2100 level and then onwards - but they were quick once you were on them, and there were lots of fast chairs around. Warning for beginners - there are a few old button lifts and being used to the button at the Chill Factore snowdome, I soon discovered that the ones here are a different beast, moving at twice the speed and nearly pulling your arms off at the beginning - needless to say I fell straight off the first time  but they were OK once you knew what to expect (and the ones serving the main green runs could be avoided by skating to the Bergers area as there are a couple of good fast chairlifts there)! I enjoyed the famous 'scare chair' that goes to Auris - wonderful views as it descends into the gorge. On the other side, access to the top of Signal is currently via a slow and cold chairlift, or alternatively another evil button lift that's actually faster than the chair - apparently these are due to be replaced soon by a new fast chair. My OH, being a boarder, managed to avoid the drag lifts for the majority of the holiday, as there are enough alternatives.
The terrain: This was wonderfully varied. I spent most of the first couple of days on the green runs - of which there are loads in the bowl just above Alpe D'Huez and Bergers. They do get quite busy, but are so wide that it was usually not a problem. For nervous beginners, I'd recommend heading over to Auris. This area seemed a lot quieter in general and I did a couple of runs without seeing anyone else the whole way! Also, the views were spectacular - I progressed to some lovely blues and reds here later in the week. My OH found the off piste excellent in this area too. Other runs I enjoyed included the Petit Prince blue down to Villard-Reculas (though this was busy) and the blues around Montfrais/Vaujany - e.g. Chalets - again, the views were stunning. I believe the off piste was also good here. My OH did the Sarenne black a couple of times and liked it (even as a boarder on the flat bit towards the end) - more fantastic views were to be had – the Tunnel seemed to be shut most of the time so he missed out on that unfortunately. We both tried the 'night skiing', which is on Tuesdays and Thursdays on the Signal run, graded blue but apparently more like a red, and free with the area lift pass - this was good fun and the floodlighting means excellent visibility. All in all, it is a massive area and I would think that there is plenty for anyone to do.
Lessons: after recommendations both here and elsewhere, I booked group lessons with Stuart Adamson of Masterclass (3x 2 hours for 140 euros). I found him excellent and my skiing improved a great deal over the week - pesky snowplough disappeared and towards the end of the week I was tackling reds with some degree of confidence! Masterclass take a maximum of 6 people in their group lessons, but there were only 3 in mine. I would wholeheartedly recommend Stuart for lessons, even though he is completely mad - he struck just the right balance between pushing us and encouraging us. His enthusiasm was definitely infectious and I'd often be laughing as I came down the slope hearing him shout, 'That turn was excellent - I could kiss you'!! He was perfect for my level, but obviously Masterclass cater for advanced levels too.
The snow: There was lots of it! We had a couple of really nice bluebird days, but also a bit of a whiteout combined with deep powder (interesting experience for a beginner but good fun and at least the falls weren't painful). There were a few scoured/icy patches on some of the busier runs, but nothing too bad - again, nothing to compare it to, but in general, I'd say the conditions were excellent.
The resort: I know Alpe D'Huez has a reputation for being ugly but it's all relative - the area we were in was quite charming and the views all around are so stunning that I didn't really notice the more unattractive aspects! We literally skied all day every day, though, so I can't say too much about the facilities, etc (the open air swimming pool, free to use with the lift pass, did look very appealing even though I didn't get round to using it). We found everyone working in the resort to be really friendly and helpful.
Food: Being in a catered chalet, we only ate out once in the evening on the chalet hosts' day off, but went to a great little restaurant - Au Montagnard, Avenue des Jeux (in the commercial centre near the swimming pool). It was cosy, very welcoming and served traditional French dishes - you could get 3 courses for 25 euros, though my main course tartiflette was enough to feed 2 people so I'd no room for dessert (had to eat the whole thing as it was so nice) – free Genepi at the end too! We mainly just had drinks at the mountain restaurants, though I had a tasty crepe at Montfrais. The Marmottes restaurant has lovely panoramic views from the large terrace, but we heard from others that it was pricey for food and the quality wasn’t great.
Costs: Food and drink seemed to vary quite a bit. For example, you could get a vin chaud for 3 euros in Le Lac Blanc cafe behind the DMC (and croque monsieur for 4.50 euros), but could pay 5.50 euros in some of the mountain cafes - some people complained about the costs, but it was generally cheaper than I'd expected and I don't mind paying more for amazing ambience/views! As I recall, Gluhwein costs as much at the crowded Manchester Christmas markets and it's not nearly as pleasant an experience...
Conclusion: I really did love this holiday and am already obsessing about how soon I can go skiing again. We will probably try somewhere different next time (just because there are so many places to go - recommendations are welcome!) but we both agree that we would happily return to Alpe D'Huez in the future. As we had a late transfer on our last day, we extended our lift passes and squeezed in an extra morning of skiing at a slightly reduced price – do this if you get a chance, as the slopes were really quiet due to it being 'changeover day'. I actually found myself shedding a tear while approaching the end of my last run, either a sign of how good the trip was or of me having gone mad, or possibly both 
Here is a link to a few images (not sure if this will work): https://skydrive.live.com/#cid=33400DD71C47FAD0&id=33400DD71C47FAD0%21105
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I actually found myself shedding a tear while approaching the end of my last run, either a sign of how good the trip was or of me having gone mad, or possibly both
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Wonderful!
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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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catclaires, thanks very much for this - great report and really useful!
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catclaires, what a great trip report. I know ADH well, though I usually stay in Oz but it was a great read and interesting to hear from a beginners perspective.
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