 Poster: A snowHead
|
First post but I've spent the last year reading the forum and thought it was time to contribute.
Belle P;lagne
02-09 February 2013
Les Constellations Apartment Apartments, Crystal Ski
Group A couple. Me with 2-3 weeks experience (1 week Arinsal, a few days in Tignes and a handful of days in Scotland) + husband who has been skiing since a child.
Transfer out Early Thomson flight from Gatwick to Geneva. Absolutley fine, our biggest hold bag was a bit heavy at 23.5kg but the check in guy ignored this which was nice. Arrived at a packed Geneva airport around the same time a s a load of other UK charter flights. Transfer took just over 3 hours including a stop at Moutiers. Snowing most of the way with the road up to la Plagne full of cars putting on snow chains, huge bottleneck at Plagne 1800 caused by a stuck car. Rep on the bus was very friendly and we were able to get Carre Neige added to out prebooked lift passes.
Apartments Really nice, was expected a French shoebox, but for 2 of us there was plenty room. We were in the smallest type C studios. Included a set of bunkbeds at the front door, small corridor with a few cupboards, clean bathroom with shower over bath. Well equipped kitchen with 4 rings, microwave oven with grill, fridge, dishwasher and loads of pans, crockery and cutlery. The studio also contained a kitchen pack with cleaning products, dishwasher tablets and cleaning cloths. Decent sized table which could sit 5 and 2 sofas in the living room which we used as beds. TV is included and even has BBC1 which was nice in the evenings. Small balcony with views over to Mont Blanc which was great. We were in the Andromede building, so just across the piste to the Spar, with ski hire and a pizza place right next to reception. True ski to door, with just a few paces from the ski room to the slopes.
Boot room Ski room was fine, individual lockers for each apartment and a locked front door. Not a lot of space for putting on boots, but we just did that in the apartment. Locker would have been tight for more than 2 sets of skis though.
Hire kit We had prebooked ski hire through Crystal and were given a voucher for Skiset which was next door. I don't know a huge amount about skis and in the past have found that ski hire places just seem to ask beginner or intermediate and chuck you a set of skis. This time was different, the guy asked a lot more questions and suggested a pair of 145cm skis, the shortest I have ever used. We both have our own boots so can't comment on their boot fitting. The guy also told us that if we had an issues or wanted to change skis to just come back and it would be no problem.
Lessons I had never had any lessons before and had been taught by my husband. Last year in Arinsal I was pretty much able to ski anything pisted but was pretty slow, nervous around steep slopes and in general found the whole skiing thing a lot of hard work. I decided this year to get some lessons but did not fancy being in ski school for half the week. Prior to arriving I booked a 2 hour private lesson using Oxygene out of Belle Plagne. I got Nico as an instructor and he was fantastic. He was positive about my current technique, saying it was not bad for having had no lessons, which my husband loved. The lesson was great, after an initial look at my technique we had a bit of a chat and a few drills followed. Nico had an excellent command of English and a relaxed teaching style. It was always a chat, some diagrams in the snow, him demonstrating then me having a go followed by feedback. 2 hours later I had the biggest grin on my face, steep sections of blue runs skied without fear and a red run completed. The lesson was so good I ended up with 2 more lessons during the week, again with Nico. This lessons included my first moguls, the start of carving, my first black and my first ever off piste. We did some skiing through the trees on the way down to Montchavin and on deep virgin snow down from the Arpette lift. Totally amazing, I will definetely be having more lessons next year.
The Pistes La Plagne is blue run central. Some easier than other, some flatter than others. There was so much snow during the week, pretty much snowed everyday. I had picked the resort as it seemed perfect for me to get a load of kms under the belt and improve my technique. We spent most or our time in the bowl on the runs down to Montchavin. I found this a really nice area where you can interlock a variety of runs with some skiing between the trees.We headed over to les Arcs for a day which was enjoyable. The runs of the Roche di Mio were also good. I preferred Inversens and les Sources to the le tunnel which has a really bad flat section before the tunnel. We did not get to Montalbert or Champagny, but its always nice to have things to go back for. Heading down the Bellecote and blue runs after the rop tow at Arpette could be quite busy.
The lift system I had read reviews of the lift system being poor in la Plagne. Some of the lifts are pretty slow, indeed sometimes we found it quicker to use the drags as they were faster then the lift next door.
We did not queue much, the bottlenecks seemed to be on the Roche di Mio gondola at Bellecote, thought not early in the morning. The Collossos chair in the mid afternoon and the Grand Rochette gondola. We got round this by avoiding those lifts at peak time and had no issues.
The resort TI was impressed with Belle Plagne. It had everything we needed for a week. Two Spar shops which gave us all the food/beer required for a weeks self catering. There were 2 bars which we only frequented during happy hour (4-7) which had beer at 4 euros. We are not really party animals, prefer to have a clear head for the following days skiing, so our apres was in usually in the apartment. Few beers whilst cooking dinner. We also did not spend much on the slopes. The occasional hot choc, coke or beer over the week would probably have been more with the afternoon lessons we usually just came back to the apartment for lunch.
Weather Pretty much snowed all week. Had a few sunny spells and the last day was blue sky. Some poor visibility at times but we managed ok, just one incident with a women sking straight into me from behind but no damage done.
Tour Operator Crystal were fine. Lift passes were delivered at 0830 on the Sunday. Welcome meeting was fine. Reps came round to the apartments either in the morning or ealry evening a couple of times during the week. Friendly enough but we did not need them for anything else.
Heading home Picked up at some ungodly hour and driven back to Geneva without incident. Thomson manage to sit my husband and I at opposite ends of the plane, but not an issue for such a short flight.
Overall I loved la Plagne, the snow was excellent, the runs just what I was after and the private lessons opened up a whole new world of skiing. Totally got the bug now, think next year we will use the overnight Eurostar to get 8 days in, plus it appears I have 5 days holiday with no plans - 2 weeks skiing here we come![/b]
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
Great first report, looks like it will be the first of many! Welcome to snowheads 
|
|
|
|
|
|
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?
|
roguemazza, welcome! Nice report, sounds like somewhere I would enjoy, you got me thinking! 
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
|
yes - a good report (thinking of La Plagne for a last minute booking....). Thanks !!
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
roguemazza, another welcome to snowHeads and nice report 
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FAQ
