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Goran M.

Goran M.

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Plenty of snow in La Thuile, temperature 37F at the base and light snow/mix. It was warmer today and rainy at the base but all snow up on top. Lot's of closures today, they were afraid of some trees falling over the lift cables. Looking forward to tomorrow.
Travel was very uneventful, customary punctuality from Swiss, easy transfer from Geneva airport, Aosta Express (same company known as Chamonix Express in France) does a very good job of seamlessly transferring skiers from Geneva Airport. Actually it was 2 mini bus rides, from Geneva to Les Houches (8 of us in mini bus, about 70mins.) and another mini bus was waiting just for me to take me to La Thuile - private transfer in a way. Drop off at the hotel 2 1/2 hours after landing in Geneva. Cost is 48Euros/$57
 

coskigirl

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Plenty of snow in La Thuile, temperature 37F at the base and light snow/mix. It was warmer today and rainy at the base but all snow up on top. Lot's of closures today, they were afraid of some trees falling over the lift cables. Looking forward to tomorrow.
Travel was very uneventful, customary punctuality from Swiss, easy transfer from Geneva airport, Aosta Express (same company known as Chamonix Express in France) does a very good job of seamlessly transferring skiers from Geneva Airport. Actually it was 2 mini bus rides, from Geneva to Les Houches (8 of us in mini bus, about 70mins.) and another mini bus was waiting just for me to take me to La Thuile - private transfer in a way. Drop off at the hotel 2 1/2 hours after landing in Geneva. Cost is 48Euros/$57

Oh, this is bringing back memories. I only spent a day at Courmayeur and a day at La Thuile/La Rosiere but quite enjoyed my time there. On mountain at Courmayeur I had the best pizza I've ever had at one of the on mountain restaurants. I wish I could remember the name.

Ruins.png La Rosiere from poma.png Pizza.png
 

James

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coskigirl

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Is that a picture of the place? What other info can you give us on this Pizza restaurant?

No, sorry, those are WWII ruins at La Thuile.

The restaurant was mid-mountain. Large deck out front but I had to eat inside because I hadn't made reservations. I ended up sharing a table with a lovely British family. Oh, just managed to find a comment buried on my FB. It was La Chaumiere.
 

Pumba

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Hey All,

Due to the lack of snow out West, I am starting to think of changing my ski plans for this season. I've heard that skiing in Europe from the East coast can be more affordable than a trip out West, plus there's the cool "glamour" factor, cultural experience, etc.... I'm on the MCP, so my target destination would be Chamonix....I am looking to take lessons. A multi-day clinic would be ideal. I'm an upper-intermediate/lower advanced skier, depending on the day. Can any of you point me to good schools/instructors in Chamonix? ...If I do go ahead with this thing, I'd most likely fly from NYC to Geneva. That seems like the most direct route....

Many Thanks!

k
 
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Goran M.

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Hey All,

Due to the lack of snow out West, I am starting to think of changing my ski plans for this season. I've heard that skiing in Europe from the East coast can be more affordable than a trip out West, plus there's the cool "glamour" factor, cultural experience, etc.... I'm on the MCP, so my target destination would be Chamonix....I am looking to take lessons. A multi-day clinic would be ideal. I'm an upper-intermediate/lower advanced skier, depending on the day. Can any of you point me to good schools/instructors in Chamonix? ...If I do go ahead with this thing, I'd most likely fly from NYC to Geneva. That seems like the most direct route....

Many Thanks!

k
JFK to Geneve is just bit over 7 hours. Not much longer travel than to Whistler or Tahoe/Mammoth.

I will ask around when in Chamonix next week how much are the ski schools/clinics. I am eyeing 3 day clinic with the last day descending Vallee Blanche. Keep in mind that MCP allows only 2 days at limited area of Chamonix Valley. And no 50%off consecutive days. MCP passes for Chamonix do not include Aguille du Midi
I might take clinic in LaThuile for 3 days and do Valle Blanche with access from the Italian side (Punta Helbronner), hotel owner highly recommends that.

Watching RAI news now and that avalanche in Sestriere does look scary. One can tell by just looking at the snow that frequent change from snow to rain back to snow does create some unstable snow pack.

January is the cheapest month, many resorts run special rates for ticket/hotel package.
 

Pumba

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JFK to Geneve is just bit over 7 hours. Not much longer travel than to Whistler or Tahoe/Mammoth.

I will ask around when in Chamonix next week how much are the ski schools/clinics. I am eyeing 3 day clinic with the last day descending Vallee Blanche. Keep in mind that MCP allows only 2 days at limited area of Chamonix Valley. And no 50%off consecutive days. MCP passes for Chamonix do not include Aguille du Midi
I might take clinic in LaThuile for 3 days and do Valle Blanche with access from the Italian side (Punta Helbronner), hotel owner highly recommends that.

Watching RAI news now and that avalanche in Sestriere does look scary. One can tell by just looking at the snow that frequent change from snow to rain back to snow does create some unstable snow pack.

January is the cheapest month, many resorts run special rates for ticket/hotel package.


Thanks for keeping your eye out Goran. Honestly, I have only just started looking at this and the options and scale of the mountain areas is just dizzying....
 

Slim

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Thanks for keeping your eye out Goran. Honestly, I have only just started looking at this and the options and scale of the mountain areas is just dizzying....
I wouldn’t pick an area just because of a few free days on a MCP.

Regular lift tickets aren’t that bad.

Many hotels offer stay and ski free deals too.

If you want to take lessons, you don’t need a huge area, so buying a (cheaper) lift ticket for a small ski area (or limited part of a mega conglomerate) might be the way to go for lessons, especially on busy weekends. Then, on a quiet weekday, spring for the all access pass and go ski miles and miles.

In general I’d say the chance of Austrians speaking English are higher than French, but some of those French areas are real popular with Brits, so they must have some English speaking instructors.
 

James

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There's also a Chamonix thread.
It's a bit confusing at first because it's not like here where the ski area is usually the name of the town. There's actually no such thing as skiing Chamonix, afaik. There is a lift in the town- the Aiguille du Midi. You without question should go up, even if only to look and come back down. To ski up there, you'd do the Vallee Blanche with either a guided group found online or you go to the guide office in Chamonix. It's very easy to get one.
As for lessons, I don't know. I booked one through a sports store down town. Sport 2000 or evolution 2000, something like that. That store completely changed last year, so I don't know.

Chamonix is a valley with the town in the middle. The mountains go up on each sde and at the ends. There's ski areas all over. I would highly recommend a guide or taking a lesson. Take either at Les Grand Montets - one of the main areas down at Argentierre. You can take a free with hotel bus there or take train. Closest area to town would be Brevent. You could take lesson there too likely.

When looking for accomadation, all sorts of stuff comes up including Italy. Put in "Chamonix Centre Ville" Then check the location in goggle maps. I think the town is officially known as "Chamonix Mont-Blanc". So when you see that it's the same thing. All that drove me nuts trying to find accomadation while flying over on the airplane.

If you're looking for cheap hostel type, these are known as "Gites" or "Gite" singular. let me know if you want the name of a good one.

This gives you a sense of the geography:

map2_chamonix.jpg


This shows you the ski areas and where the "Mont-Blanc Unlimited " pass vs the "Chamonix Le Pass" are good for. Note your deal if only the Le Pass, does not include the tram to the top of Les Grands Montets, but includes the bottom. So maybe use it for the other areas first. I don't know if there's other passes.

Chamonix_Piste_Map.jpg


I ran into a group of Brits with their guide in the fog on Les Grands Montets. Thankfully, they let me join as I had wandered off piste. They were part of this org. Don't know if you can just join up in France.

https://www.jagged-globe.co.uk/ski/i/ski+chamonix+day+tours+jim+blyth.html
Or week long trip, looks like a little lower level but it's Feb. these may be the type I ran into. They were just learning to ski AT gear or touring.
https://www.jagged-globe.co.uk/ski/i/ski+intro.html#dates
 
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coskigirl

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I stayed in Pre Saint Didier which is near Courmayeur when I went at this hotel. They were wonderful to me as a single American woman traveling alone. As I left they told me "We had another American here, once." The main innkeeper spoke good English (lots of Brits/Aussies go there) but her father was a real gem. Kept trying to have conversations with me in Italian while I struggled not to speak Spanish with him. Oh, sweet memories.

https://www.booking.com/hotel/it/be...3492a512ddd500d7;type=total;ucfs=1&#hotelTmpl
 

Bolder

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Chamonix is an excellent choice, as it's just over an hour from Geneva. You can easily get a bus or, if you're feeling a bit adventurous, rent a car from the French side and drive to Chamonix (all on highways). That will give you a lot of flexibility -- as others have said, Chamonix is the main town in a valley with lots of different ski stations (one pass will cover them). You could even drive to Courmayeur for pizza, which is what we did one overcast rainy day a few years ago. From the Italian/Swiss side of the valley, the stations are La Tour (more intermediate); Argentiere (mostly harder runs); La Praz (never been there, but accessible from town); Les Houches (good for families and often sunny and pleasant). There's also the Grand Massif (Flaine) farther down the valley toward Cluses; and Megeve ("around the corner" in the next valley."

I have never done the Vallee Blanche but someday...I can't give lessons recommendations but since it was the British who developed Chamonix as a tourist destination there are a lot of native English speakers there.

As for accommodations, most French hotels are Saturday to Saturday, but for a single traveler I'm sure you can find something for a shorter period or "odd" days. I would try to stay in the town of Chamonix if possible. There's also lots of airBNBs.
 

Jacob

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I would actually recommend St. Anton over Chamonix.

First, Zurich is an easier airport to get through since it doesn't get slammed by as many budget flights from around Europe as Geneva.

Second, St. Anton is a quainter town, and getting to/from the lifts is easier.

Finally, the ski area is all linked, so you don't have to use buses to get from one part to another.

On top of that, the Arlberg Ski School employs native speakers of a few different languages. So if you're looking for lessons in English, then there's a good chance you'll have a British instructor who's been trained by the company. (I've also seen Dutch and even Japanese instructors working for them.)

Also, you can get to the resort by train, which I find convenient. If your flight is delayed, you don't have to deal with taxi or bus companies to arrange a transfer at a different time from what you originally booked. Instead, you can just buy your train tickets when you arrive and hop on the next train.

Edit: the train ride from Zurich to St. Anton is also incredibly scenic.
 
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James

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Can't argue with St Anton. If you're looking for classic quaint go there.
Getting to Cham couldn't be easier though. Yeah the airport where the van companies are is absurdly small, think LaGuardia, but it works out. If you can, avoid Sat morning.
Also be aware that SUI is not on the Euro. So changing money in Sui is ridiculous. First they convert your dollars to Euros, then to Chf. At least at the airport. Official places in the airport like the post office or as I remember, the transportation zone, (they can book you a van) only take Chf. But the van co's take euros.

The first time I showed up, all the van co's said they were full. I went to the info counter to see about some sort of bus. The lady said she could get me a van. I wasn't about to tell her they were full. I ended up on one of the same co's that said they were full. As I remember though, I needed Swiss Francs, Chf, but could be wrong. Let me tell you, they pack those things! I thought no way would we get everything in that van.

Information counter at Geneva Airport is quite helpful.(Don't think LaGuardia)
 
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Goran M.

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+1 for St. Anton being the resort most conveniently reached by direct train from major airport with direct flights to/from the US. OTOH, in my experience it might be somewhat difficult finding last minute or short stay accommodation in St. Anton.

I think that Geneva has more ski resorts/choices reached within 2hrs. I could be wrong, but it would be interesting trivia question.

It is getting easier to check live time availability of hotels in most major areas since most tourist offices have central reservation system and can post live time availability online. Just a short few years ago it was harder to get any last minute availability (for us who like to travel on a whim).

Skiing in La Thuile today was reduced to few chairs, still major problems with danger of trees falling over. I've seen many tree cutting crews being taken around the mountain. Poor visibility and light snow on upper mountain.
 
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Goran M.

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Rain in Chamonix today and lots of lift closures for the next few days. Unfortunately, it does not look good for Aiguille du Midi ...

Will stick to Les Houches with the thought that any skiing is better than no skiing.

Clarification on MCP:

I did get 2 days pass and surprisingly it does include Les Houches (which is not included in Le Pass) AND cable car to Aiguille du Midi (with storms next few days - no good to me anyway). It also includes Montenvers train. So, not as good as full Mont Blanc Unlimited pass but also not as limited as Chamonix Le Pass. Days do not have to be consecutive and I had to pay 2 (or was it 3?) Euros for the card, refundable if I return the card. Nice souvenir though.
At first look Chamonix seems bit more expensive than Courmayeur or La Thuile. But much more to see and to do on a stormy day when confined to the valley floor.
 

fatbob

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CHX is great and everything but wouldn't necessarily be my choice for a non-advanced skier. For the all-round buzz, opportunity to ski different area and some stunning views/ geography if weather cooperates it works just fine. Plenty of shuttle services from GVA and accommodation for all pockets - consider somewhere like Le Dahu or Couronne in Argentiere if you like to be walking distance to lifts - also bear in mind train for getting about the valley vs crowded buses.

Le Tour is my go to area, quieter, some good intermediate terrain and just not the aggro of Grands Montets or the subpar snow of Brevent.
 
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Goran M.

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I know that Les Houches might have reputation as a "meh" ski area and the least challenging in Chamonix Valley.

But today Les Houches was "WOW" ski area. The only place open in Chamonix Valley and endless supplies of fresh snow coming every second. No area would be open in conditions like this and skiing would be miserable but Les Houches, sheltered by trees and being lower and thus less exposed to gale force winds was at its best today. As bad as it was weather-wise, I feel that I became a better skier today. Tens of runs where my tracks were the only ones visible in 30" of fresh snow.

On days like this - do not dismiss Les Houches !
 

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