 Poster: A snowHead
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Posted on the La Tania FB page 2 hrs ago
Suggests that the planned action has been cancelled
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Changed our eurotunnel to tonight from Friday. Overnight in Reims and then down to SF for tomorrow afternoon.
Eurotunnel quiet. Bumped to earlier crossing…..
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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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Somewhere in the Solent, it's a bit lumpy (and that's not just the Pina Coladas)
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Booked for the Eurotunnel 6:36 but was put onto the 5:26 and all loaded ready to go. Fingers crossed it’s not too wet
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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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Safe travels to everyone heading off - remember, better to stop and book into a hotel than end up in a ditch trying to get into resort!
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Assuming there is a hotel left. But yes, still better.
15 min delays at tunnel but seems busy but ok
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Good luck everyone. Not skiing this year but remember how useful this thread was.
Good luck!
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| Quote: |
Assuming there is a hotel left
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Good point!
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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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@Origen, indeed they will all book up quickly if things go bad - it's a case of monitoring news and social media and taking an early call further out from resort.
I say this knowing full well I'd push on and hope for the best 
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| Quote: |
I'd push on and hope for the best
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Yes, I probably would too! But only if the car had good chains and I was quite confident in fitting them. And accessible snacks and water. And plenty of fuel (to keep engine running and keep warm if we got stuck).
Given a snowy forecast, and the reports from the last snowy weekend (which wasn't a very busy one) that snow socks were not acceptable a 2WD car without chains (regardless of the type of tyres they have, as chains are likely to be compulsory) would be well advised to stop.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Tunnel busyish at 1030 when we arrived but more to do with people arriving early. Passports slow but nothing too crazy. Once through passports preboarding queues were tiny. Mrs W to drive to the shell station at Sommesous, then refuel and driver swap aiming for Abondance valley for 2130 all being well fingers crossed. Weather patchy rain some heavy but we’ve had a month of getting used to that!!
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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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At tunnel now 1630, check-in is 1-2 cars deep so not that busy. Passport control both UK and French were fast, no more than 5 cars deep.
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Just stopped in reims on the way home, my gosh the traffic going the other way was horrendous. Nose to tail most of the way from the A40 to reims . Slopes are going to be busy next week.
Absolutely wonderful snow in les gets today, were out for first lift as we had to leave town at one. Must have had a big dump over night
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You know it makes sense.
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Great trip down from Bezanne to Sainte Foy … light traffic… minimal snow on roads up from BSM….good decision to overnight Thursday and get ahead
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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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Drove down from Rotterdam following the overnight ferry from Hull. The A8 was absolutely rammed, half of Holland seemed to be transiting south through Germany.
Overnighting an hour or so past Stuttgart in the Swabian Alps. Earliest breakfast tomorrow & hoping to miss the worst of the traffic past Munich.
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Poster: A snowHead
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I wonder how it’s all going? Hope everyone can ride the wave of aggravation, stress and drama of half term transfer days and gets there safely to enjoy some epic snow
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@jirac18, I'm wondering too!
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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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Just arrived at the tunnel! Train on time. Traffic looks light as far as Dijon... Hopefully, light traffic tomorrow morning as far as Aillons Margeriaz and then onwards to the Maurienne. So far, the plan is working 
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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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We set off from Zweibrücken at 8.30am...we stopped for 20 minutes for macdonalds. Traffic towards Austria is horrendous (to us as we don't normally travel atvthis time of year). The satnav is lit up like a Christmas tree showing the delays. We've seen a few Brits along the way...very unusual...anyone on here?
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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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How’s the A40 after Dijon anyone?
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Chambery to Les Menuires was busy but moving fine at 0600hrs this morning. Road up to Les Men completely clear but secondary roads in resort were hard compacted snow. Didn't lose traction with all season tires on.
Hope it's not too bad for those still on the road 
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Got to the tunnel at 11, offered the 11.43 train instead of the 3.45 we had booked, had to pay 48 upgrade so took it, M25 busy but never stopped M3 was blocked after the A303 turn off sp took the A322 onto M4 ,never used that before , virtually the same distance. That's skiing done for another year 
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Very tame thread this year
Not sure that’s good or bad news !!!
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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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@robs1, with respect, arriving almost 5hrs for your booked crossing is why it’s often such a cluster.
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Roads down the valley to Mayrhofen were extremely busy this afternoon. Local residents in hi-viz jackets were stopping any cars without local plates from taking the side roads to avoid the jams. Understandable.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| Badbobby wrote: |
| @robs1, with respect, arriving almost 5hrs for your booked crossing is why it’s often such a cluster. |
If you have a 550 mile drive in potentially bad weather timing can go awol, we also intended to leave sat morning early but due to the weather forecast we left earlier, I booked the original time as it was the first cheaper slot , not sure why as most who left resort sat wouldn't arrive till later, I've rarely seen the French side as quiet when we arrived, probably only 25 cars parked outside the terminal, just time for a quick wee and into the passport queue.
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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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| Badbobby wrote: |
| @robs1, with respect, arriving almost 5hrs for your booked crossing is why it’s often such a cluster. |
If Eurostar’s new T&Cs were a little bit more tolerant of late check-ins then perhaps their customers who are driving from the Alps wouldn’t build in a very large margin for the very possible severe delays in getting from the mountains to the Channel. I gave myself plenty of time for things to go awry on the drive to both my Calais-Folkestone crossings so far this season, as I didn’t want to be in a position where a late check-in might mean paying again for my crossing.
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@rob@rar, Surely Le Shuttle not Eurostar 
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You know it makes sense.
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| chocksaway wrote: |
| @rob@rar, Surely Le Shuttle not Eurostar |
Ah, yes, quite correct. Multitasking never a strong point.
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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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@rob@rar, but you don’t have to go to the terminal. They have always let you change the booking for a fee. I have used it for years. But you could park up an hour away and change it then by phone or online before you arrive. I’m not bitching - I do get the fear of not wanting to miss, but arriving at the terminal without having already changed your booking is surely causing more issues.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Dover was busy Friday night but it was moving welI. Joined the que about 50 meters from the entrance at 22:50 got through with 5 minutes to spare after arriving 90 mins before my departure  I was a bit complacent having been over 2 hours early the last 3-4 times at the same time of day and getting through faster. 2 hours is about right on busy days like this.
Took the Passau way to avoid Munich and arrived south of Salzburg for 4pm check in yesterday. Had 1 short delay for a rolled Czech Skoda Octavia to be recovered between Frankfurt and Nurnberg but it was uneventful other than that. Much easier than my drive to Innsbruck via Munich I did on the 27th dec.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| Badbobby wrote: |
| … but arriving at the terminal without having already changed your booking is surely causing more issues. |
In my experience when things are problematic at Calais it’s always been after the terminal that the bottleneck or hold-ups occur, typically passport control or a problem with the running of the trains. I’ve never had a problem reaching the terminal and parking my car, even on very busy days. Then I just wait until I’m called for my train. Typically on those days I’ll spend more money in the terminal facilities, so Eurotunnel won’t be unhappy that I’ve arrived ahead of schedule. On the other hand, there have been countless times over the years when I’ve arrived ahead of schedule and Eurotunnel have been happy to put me on an early crossing free of charge, including a very quiet Tuesday last month when I was offered a train 2 hours ahead of my booking. On those days I’m an extra happy customer, with no inclination to look at prices for ferry crossings.
If Eurotunnel wanted to dissuade their passengers from arriving early because they were contributing to chaos at the terminal they could (a) stop offering early crossings if it’s quiet, or (b) refuse to let you check-in ahead of schedule, so you can’t enter the terminal complex at all.
Is it still possible to change your crossing time on the day, via their app, free of charge for economy tickets? I’ve done that in previous years but vaguely recall that’s no longer an option.
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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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@rob@rar, £20 to change plus (as always) any price difference
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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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| holidayloverxx wrote: |
| @rob@rar, £20 to change plus (as always) any price difference |
Thanks. I think it’s the admin fee which is new. Previously I’ve brought my crossing time forward by a couple of hours as I’ve driven north across France, once the satnav has suggested a reliable estimate of my time of arrival at Calais. Happy to do that if there’s no charge, but seems pointless to pay.
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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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@rob@rar,
| Quote: |
(b) refuse to let you check-in ahead of schedule, so you can’t enter the terminal complex at all.
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i thought this was still the case that they turn you away if you arrive more than 3 hours ahead of schedule?
last time i used ET was easter last year for a non skiing trip with my youngest daughter, we were going to Belgium for the easter weekend, she was mid A-levels at the time but was looking forward to a break, albeit doing a bit of homework in the evening when she fancied it.
anyway, we arrived at Folkestone around 3.5 hours before scheduled departure, on an early thursday evening as i wanted to avoid the M25 during rush hour.
we were turned away and told to come back later, we went to the nearest services for a coffee and loo break, then went back after about 45 mins. we were offered the previous train to our original booking free of charge, but any earlier than that was at a fee, cheapest was about £45.
i declined and just went in to the terminal expecting easter chaos, and rammed to the gills, only to see the whole place near enough deserted, with about 10 cars in the car park, and 1 solitary coach load of French school kids making a dash to the loos/food/wh smith.
even my daughter mentioned that she had never seen the place so quiet
i went to the customer services desk to see if talking to a human may be able to get us on an earlier train for an acceptable fee, price differences when booking were about £10, but to no avail.
it did not make any sense whatsoever to not let us on an earlier train, at a reasonable cost, but i have a feeling that this was when the new T&C's were being introduced (i may be mistaken on this though) and they were just trying to enforce them to the N'th degree.
will be going out in a few weeks time, for a trip to VT, have booked an early evening Thursday crossing again, same as last time, but am hoping to get there early if we can get packed and away sharpish.
will see what happens this time.
i am sure most people build in a couple of hours in to the booked time, especially Uk side, as you are generally dealing with the M25, and can either be straightforward or a complete nightmare, even in the early hours!!!
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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@terrygasson, last month I arrived at Calais more than three hours ahead of schedule and was allowed to check-in. Was offered a train 3 hours ahead of my crossing for a fee, or two hours ahead free of charge. Chose the free option and proceeded to the terminal, which was almost empty with less than a dozen cars in the car park. As it was so quiet I thought I'd head through to train dispatch early in case they'd let me on, was waved through and ended up on the train 3 hours ahead of schedule that I was offered for a fee when I checked in. Smoothest crossing experience in a long time, the benefits of travelling on a quiet Tuesday afternoon in January I guess.
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| robs1 wrote: |
| Got to the tunnel at 11, offered the 11.43 train instead of the 3.45 we had booked, had to pay 48 upgrade so took it, M25 busy but never stopped M3 was blocked after the A303 turn off sp took the A322 onto M4 ,never used that before , virtually the same distance. That's skiing done for another year |
If your normal route is the M3 down to Winchester (J8-9 was the bit that was shut, A303 was open) then diverting north up the A322 seems an odd choice?
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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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| terrygasson wrote: |
@rob@rar, i must admit, i thought about doing that as well, but knowing my luck i would get chucked back to the terminal  |
Which is what I was expecting to happen, but I was just waved through by the staff before passport control. At the point were you are allocated a lane to wait for your boarding time I was put in to a lane by myself, presumably for the train I was ticketed for, and the next door lane has just three cars in it. That lane opened first, then after a couple of minutes my lane opened up and I followed the three cars on to a virtually empty train. This departed on time, exactly three hours before the train I'd originally booked on. Where I can I'm going to avoid weekend Calais-Folkestone crossings if that's typical of how smooth the experience can be.
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| ecureuil wrote: |
| robs1 wrote: |
| Got to the tunnel at 11, offered the 11.43 train instead of the 3.45 we had booked, had to pay 48 upgrade so took it, M25 busy but never stopped M3 was blocked after the A303 turn off sp took the A322 onto M4 ,never used that before , virtually the same distance. That's skiing done for another year |
If your normal route is the M3 down to Winchester (J8-9 was the bit that was shut, A303 was open) then diverting north up the A322 seems an odd choice? |
We live near Trowbridge so using the a322 to get to the M4 was the quickest route and within a mile distance of using the normal route, as the average speed right to junction 17 is probably quicker than the A303 it might have actually been slightly quicker. The signs on the m25 were suggesting a 30 minute delay at junction 8, assuming 3 lanes m3 down to 2 on the 303. Next time I will time it both ways.
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FAQ
