 Poster: A snowHead
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Strike does not affect Meribel Mottaret save that it seemed busier than normal (if that is possible).
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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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Can anyone recommend an off piste guide that operates in Val Thorens or Les Menuires? thanks
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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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| alexcarter wrote: |
| Can anyone recommend an off piste guide that operates in Val Thorens or Les Menuires? thanks |
See page 12 of this thread
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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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Does anyone have any experience of what resorts are like with the world championships taking place? I see they are in Courchevel then Meribel next week while I'm due to be there. I hadn't realised that before booking and am just wondering how disruptive they are likely to be? Does anyone know? Will loads of lifts/pistes be closed and will there be consequent congestion on other key lifts? Or will it be a relatively ringfenced area of the domain that will be closed so there will be plenty of space to go around them?
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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@monkey, the biggest problem (for those who drive to resort every day) is normally parking... Other than that there shouldn't be much disruption to regular ski activities - some races are on the Eclipse (ex-Jockeys) piste in Courch (which is already shut off for training etc) and some on the stade in Meribel (which is normally 'racers-only' anyway...).
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@offpisteskiing, thanks for that. Those pistes should be easily avoided (indeed I can't remember the last time I actually skied on either of them)!
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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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| monkey wrote: |
| Does anyone have any experience of what resorts are like with the world championships taking place? I see they are in Courchevel then Meribel next week while I'm due to be there. I hadn't realised that before booking and am just wondering how disruptive they are likely to be? Does anyone know? Will loads of lifts/pistes be closed and will there be consequent congestion on other key lifts? Or will it be a relatively ringfenced area of the domain that will be closed so there will be plenty of space to go around them? |
I'd highly recommend planning to ski over to La Tania on the 16th (Men + Ladies DH) ... you can perch yourself on one of the Bouc Blanc deckchairs with a cold pint of beer to watch the race. There's now a tunnel under the Eclipse piste so I wouldn't anticipate any disruption to your ski plans / experience.
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Probably worth pointing out that there will only be 25 or so racers in each event so they will be over quite quickly, if people do want to watch then they will need to check the times.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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I've just got back from five days in Meribel. You can see that the access to the Chaudanne is a bit limited as they've put the spectator viewing stands up there:
https://www.les3vallees.com/en/live/webcams/meribel?webcam=webcam-meribel-chaudanne#webcam-list
It might be better next week once its up, but it's been a bit of a building site all this week... with scaffolding contractors. Also noticed some big TV trucks parked up outside the Olympic centre that must have arrived yesterday. Agree about La Tania and Bouc Blanc. That would be a fantastic location to view! Think the races start at 10am both days. All lift stations on the Chaudanne were operating as normal and think just the racing piste is closed.
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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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I guess there will be some disruption in the area the following week once the racing has ended.
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Hey there, does anyone have any insight over when Val Thorens will be open until this year? There is some conflicting information online.
I am thinking of a very late season trip on the last weekend of April/May bank holiday weekend (have been in mid May before and it's been slushy but fine).
But the VT website says closing weekend is 22 April... any ideas?
Thanks in advance!
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You know it makes sense.
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@cav, I can't believe it's 22 April - first week of May normally.
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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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Poster: A snowHead
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@cav, Good idea, it'll give you piece of mind.
I'm 99.9% sure it'll be the 8th May though, no chance that they'll close the same time as the other 3 valleys resorts.
I think they may have shut about that time last year due to Covid, so I assume someone has done a poor copy and paste job when doing this year.
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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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On the lifts yesterday it was saying 8th May
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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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To pull the trigger on a trip for myself, wife and kids to Val Thorens/Les Arcs arriving 16th April? The lack of snowfall making me nervy of booking up.
Tbf we wont be looking for off piste. I ski on-piste blues and occasional red and the wife and kids will be taking their first lessons to just beginner slopes required.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| NewSkiingDad wrote: |
To pull the trigger on a trip for myself, wife and kids to Val Thorens/Les Arcs arriving 16th April? The lack of snowfall making me nervy of booking up.
Tbf we wont be looking for off piste. I ski on-piste blues and occasional red and the wife and kids will be taking their first lessons to just beginner slopes required. |
As Layne says, don't be nervous. I've been to VT many times around the same time, in good years and not so good. And the whole ski area is generally 100% open. I've even been in early May, and skiied the whole area. There's enough of a base there now to last, but you've also got over a month for it to dump down a few more times. We're off on the 9th, and can't wait!!
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offpisteskiing,
We are in Val Thorens for a couple of weeks until the end of the month.
We have our touring kit with us and are thinking about hiring a guide for a day. Do you think something like the Glacier de Gebroulaz descent would still be in good nick?
Or do you have suggestions for any other routes that would be worth trying (in a day) from here?
I know we could do with some snow but your off piste photos inspired me the other day  .
We've done a fair bit of touring over the years but always go with a guide in the Alps. (We've done some moderate DIY, unguided stuff in Scotland).
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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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Hi all - some advice please.
Coming out to VT on the weekend and wondering which slopes you’d suggest are the least icey/most shaded? I’ve heard that some slopes are icey at the moment given lack of recent snow so are there any runs to avoid that typically are icier than others?
Much appreciated!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Are conditions for the WC final in Courchevel/Meribel tomorrow not going to be terrible with the mild conditions. What a shame.
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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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@NoMapNoCompass, The staff for both Courchevel and Meribel are good at dealing with warm conditions. I guess they can't move the races earlier because of the TV coverage but they can use more salt.
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| andyhawkes wrote: |
Hi all - some advice please.
Coming out to VT on the weekend and wondering which slopes you’d suggest are the least icey/most shaded? I’ve heard that some slopes are icey at the moment given lack of recent snow so are there any runs to avoid that typically are icier than others?
Much appreciated! |
Hi Andy, it last snowed on Monday 20th (I was in the 3Vs that week) but the on-piste snow has remained in good condition throughout the last couple of weeks. It looks like you'll be experiencing spring-like conditions if the current forecast holds. Snow (predominantly on south-facing and low runs) will start to soften from say 11AM onwards (all this will vary depending on aspect, steepness, altitude etc), will then get slushy and will start refreezing in late afternoon and as the sun goes down. So if you're out and about between 9AM and 11AM (see above caveat) expect pistes to be hard and in some cases icy (Martre + Sitelle into Mottaret being a good example). But as soon as the snow starts to soften, conditions would be lovely for 2-3 hours. All this is a massive generalisation and I'd have thought that most of the blues and reds in VT will be in great nick. A good tip is to start skiing on pistes that face the sun in the AM as these would be the ones to soften first (no point making a list of these, just follow the sun). Mrs F is out in VT at the moment and she's having a lovely time. Coverage is great, the restaurant terraces are welcoming and the sun is shining. Enjoy.
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You know it makes sense.
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I must apologise to @franga and others when I quoted the La Tania website in saying that 'There is no longer any bus service between Courchevel or La Tania to Méribel or Méribel Village.' I have discovered that this is incorrect. The S65 still runs on Monday to Friday, as per: http://www.latania.co.uk/resort/BusPDFs/2022/MoutiersBus.pdf , although the Meribel departure and arrival times are not given. The last departure from La Tania (near La Targa restaurant) is 17.25 without prior reservation.
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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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| Mike S wrote: |
| I must apologise to @franga and others when I quoted the La Tania website in saying that 'There is no longer any bus service between Courchevel or La Tania to Méribel or Méribel Village.' I have discovered that this is incorrect. The S65 still runs on Monday to Friday, as per: http://www.latania.co.uk/resort/BusPDFs/2022/MoutiersBus.pdf , although the Meribel departure and arrival times are not given. The last departure from La Tania (near La Targa restaurant) is 17.25 without prior reservation. |
No need to apologise Mike!
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Poster: A snowHead
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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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Meribel today was loads of fun. Slow but soft. Having a great trip.
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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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@abusfullofnuns, good to hear !!
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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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My wife has had to miss her flight today, and will be flying in late afternoon tomorrow. I have the car, but don’t really want to have to drive all the way to GVA to pick her up. Is there a good train option to easily get her a good part of the way here?
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| Pejoli wrote: |
| My wife has had to miss her flight today, and will be flying in late afternoon tomorrow. I have the car, but don’t really want to have to drive all the way to GVA to pick her up. Is there a good train option to easily get her a good part of the way here? |
The short answer is it depends.
It's possible to get the train from Geneva airport to Moutiers, but journey time varies between 3 and 5 hours.
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3 Valley transfers still showing shared transfers on their website … might be worth contacting them?
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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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Thanks all, given how I’ll my wife was (probably Noro - I’m hoping I’m not next) she preferred the train rather than a bus ‘just in case’ …..
Looks like she can get a 6.42 from airport via chambery to Moutiers at 9.33.
I was going to pick her up at Albertville, but the traffic in today was horrendous with whatever they are doing just before Moutiers. I thought the satnav had played a blinder when it took me off and down the D roads, but I then spent literally an hour going four hundred yards through the last village before rejoining.
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The train leaves Geneva Airport at 18.19. There should be far less traffic on Sunday, particularly in the evening, as most changeovers take place on Saturdays.
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FAQ
