Who's going skiing and where? 23-24

[Speed 3]

We're off to the Grand Massif for xmas, party of 8. We should have been there for last xmas including our eldest's 18th but Macron closed the border 2 days before departure. Luckily the chalet owner allowed us to move the booking to this year without penalty. Was hoping for some big dumps by now as last xmas was mega ironically. Hopefully the temps will drop over the next couple of weeks. We're self caterers so no stress on that front.

Also booked Kitzbuhel for a long weekend for wife's 50th in March. Never skied Austria so looking forward to that.

I would also normally be going to Sauze with the boys in January but 3 trips in current economy seems excessive, plus I'm working in the US a bit over the winter. Might be a last minute call if my Osteopath, Accountant and wife agree

[//j17]

UTH said:

The_Doc said:

UTH said:

I've got 4 out of my 8 confirmed as happy with the trip I've put forward, hopefully the other 4 can confirm today and we'll get booked. Meribel, 18th March for a week, a lovely looking private chalet with a hot tub. Only slight drawback is it's not catered, so that's added cost, but life is expensive these days so I guess we can't complain too much.

I hear that there are far fewer catered chalets around, with loads going B&B only because you can't get the UK staff out there easily to staff them...

Yeah that sounds about right, this chalet looks very much like the sort that would have been catered as standard, so maybe they've changed tactic. No big deal, we can fed for ourselves.

I think another major factor is the Covid risk. Over the last couple of years catered chalets got hit harder than most.

The first year they spend all the money recruiting staff/sorting their accomodation/travel/training/etc - then 2 weeks into the season everything locks down and you're left having spent money but with none comming in.

Then last year you do all the same only for a guest to arrive one week (hopefully not knowing) with Covid. That's at least going to take the chalet staff out for 2 weeks, so you need to pay for them to isolate somewhere/keep them fed and watered and pay for some temp. replacement chalet staff. You're also looking at the cost of a deep clean as a minimum and maybe having to leave the chalet empty for a week.

Swap to self catered and you save a lot of cost/risk.

[UTH]

//j17 said:

UTH said:

The_Doc said:

UTH said:

I've got 4 out of my 8 confirmed as happy with the trip I've put forward, hopefully the other 4 can confirm today and we'll get booked. Meribel, 18th March for a week, a lovely looking private chalet with a hot tub. Only slight drawback is it's not catered, so that's added cost, but life is expensive these days so I guess we can't complain too much.

I hear that there are far fewer catered chalets around, with loads going B&B only because you can't get the UK staff out there easily to staff them...

Yeah that sounds about right, this chalet looks very much like the sort that would have been catered as standard, so maybe they've changed tactic. No big deal, we can fed for ourselves.

I think another major factor is the Covid risk. Over the last couple of years catered chalets got hit harder than most.

The first year they spend all the money recruiting staff/sorting their accomodation/travel/training/etc - then 2 weeks into the season everything locks down and you're left having spent money but with none comming in.

Then last year you do all the same only for a guest to arrive one week (hopefully not knowing) with Covid. That's at least going to take the chalet staff out for 2 weeks, so you need to pay for them to isolate somewhere/keep them fed and watered and pay for some temp. replacement chalet staff. You're also looking at the cost of a deep clean as a minimum and maybe having to leave the chalet empty for a week.

Swap to self catered and you save a lot of cost/risk.

Makes sense.
I have asked if they do offer a catering option on request as I think it was mentioned on the website, but I imagine that'll probably ramp the cost up more than we'd like really.
Not that it's a big problem, lunches are the main event, usually we're quite well lubricated by the evening so some cheap homemade stuff or pizza in town will do.

[timlongs]

UTH said:

//j17 said:

UTH said:

The_Doc said:

UTH said:

I've got 4 out of my 8 confirmed as happy with the trip I've put forward, hopefully the other 4 can confirm today and we'll get booked. Meribel, 18th March for a week, a lovely looking private chalet with a hot tub. Only slight drawback is it's not catered, so that's added cost, but life is expensive these days so I guess we can't complain too much.

I hear that there are far fewer catered chalets around, with loads going B&B only because you can't get the UK staff out there easily to staff them...

Yeah that sounds about right, this chalet looks very much like the sort that would have been catered as standard, so maybe they've changed tactic. No big deal, we can fed for ourselves.

I think another major factor is the Covid risk. Over the last couple of years catered chalets got hit harder than most.

The first year they spend all the money recruiting staff/sorting their accomodation/travel/training/etc - then 2 weeks into the season everything locks down and you're left having spent money but with none comming in.

Then last year you do all the same only for a guest to arrive one week (hopefully not knowing) with Covid. That's at least going to take the chalet staff out for 2 weeks, so you need to pay for them to isolate somewhere/keep them fed and watered and pay for some temp. replacement chalet staff. You're also looking at the cost of a deep clean as a minimum and maybe having to leave the chalet empty for a week.

Swap to self catered and you save a lot of cost/risk.

Makes sense.
I have asked if they do offer a catering option on request as I think it was mentioned on the website, but I imagine that'll probably ramp the cost up more than we'd like really.
Not that it's a big problem, lunches are the main event, usually we're quite well lubricated by the evening so some cheap homemade stuff or pizza in town will do.

It has been a double whammy of brexit and French/whatever employment law being implemented. Gone are the days of bringing staff out on a UK minimum wage contract and making them work all hours and included accom etc.

Now you have to have get a French visa, then a French contract where you can work max 35 hours a week.

Regardless in France at least (I live here so my area of knowledge) you can get private chefs for pretty good money if you split it between all of your group. Or check out Huski and they deliver pre-cooked meals that you just need to bang in the oven. The meals are cooked in a big pro kitchen here in the Alps then delivered to you.

[UTH]

timlongs said:

It has been a double whammy of brexit and French/whatever employment law being implemented. Gone are the days of bringing staff out on a UK minimum wage contract and making them work all hours and included accom etc.

Now you have to have get a French visa, then a French contract where you can work max 35 hours a week.

Regardless in France at least (I live here so my area of knowledge) you can get private chefs for pretty good money if you split it between all of your group. Or check out Huski and they deliver pre-cooked meals that you just need to bang in the oven. The meals are cooked in a big pro kitchen here in the Alps then delivered to you.

I’d never heard of Huski until yesterday when the chalet company suggested them. It looks very good!

Edited by UTH on Tuesday 15th November 08:14

[Greshamst]

I remember someone on one of the other ski threads talking about their resort of choice as it was the quickest they’d found to be able to get on the slopes, from london. Short flight, and airport was near the resort. Don’t suppose the poster recognises this and can remind me? I feel like it might have been Spain but can’t remember.

My best friend is having a tough year and can’t afford to go this year. But I’d quite like to take him for a quick couple of days. We can’t do Austria.

[UTH]

Greshamst said:

I remember someone on one of the other ski threads talking about their resort of choice as it was the quickest they’d found to be able to get on the slopes, from london. Short flight, and airport was near the resort. Don’t suppose the poster recognises this and can remind me? I feel like it might have been Spain but can’t remember.

My best friend is having a tough year and can’t afford to go this year. But I’d quite like to take him for a quick couple of days. We can’t do Austria.

London to Chamonix is pretty quick, based on the fact Geneva to Chamonix is a pretty short trip.....

[Petrol Only]

A week in Val Cenis first visit for me. So if anyone has been before recommendations would be most welcome

Followed by a week in Tignes Easter holidays.

I'd really quite like to get another week in march. Will look for late deals. very excited as I've not been skiing since 2019. Having managed at least one week a year for the previous 15 years. Effing COVID

[Gio G]

Greshamst said:

I remember someone on one of the other ski threads talking about their resort of choice as it was the quickest they’d found to be able to get on the slopes, from london. Short flight, and airport was near the resort. Don’t suppose the poster recognises this and can remind me? I feel like it might have been Spain but can’t remember.

My best friend is having a tough year and can’t afford to go this year. But I’d quite like to take him for a quick couple of days. We can’t do Austria.

Skiing somewhere like Morzine in France is super quick to get on the slopes. Less than 2 hour flight to Geneva and 1 hour transfer to the resort..

G

[Amateurish]

There's a variety of French resorts about an hour from Geneva. I've done London - Morzine in 5 hours door to door.

[Whoozit]

Greshamst said:

I remember someone on one of the other ski threads talking about their resort of choice as it was the quickest they’d found to be able to get on the slopes, from london. Short flight, and airport was near the resort. Don’t suppose the poster recognises this and can remind me? I feel like it might have been Spain but can’t remember.

It wasn't me who posted elsewhere, but I grew up skiing in Spain. Barcelona, Zaragoza, Granada, even Madrid have resorts between 1-3 hours drive. Some small local, others bigger. But if time is the key factor, it's hard to beat flying into Geneva then doing a 60-90 minute transfer to any one of dozens of the French Alpine ski resorts.

ETA - also Andorra could be worth looking at.

Edited by Whoozit on Tuesday 15th November 09:18

[JQ]

Greshamst said:

I remember someone on one of the other ski threads talking about their resort of choice as it was the quickest they’d found to be able to get on the slopes, from london. Short flight, and airport was near the resort. Don’t suppose the poster recognises this and can remind me? I feel like it might have been Spain but can’t remember.

My best friend is having a tough year and can’t afford to go this year. But I’d quite like to take him for a quick couple of days. We can’t do Austria.

It’s not necessarily about proximity but about flight times.

We fly to Munich (business flight) in the evening and fly back on a 10pm flight. Means we don’t need a day off work on the day of the flight out and get to ski the full day on the day we return. Makes for a very efficient trip, despite a 2.5hr transfer. This then gives us numerous resort option in Austria.

As such, I’d be looking at the flight times and destinations from your local airport to France, Spain, Italy, etc.

[UTH]

JQ said:

Greshamst said:

I remember someone on one of the other ski threads talking about their resort of choice as it was the quickest they’d found to be able to get on the slopes, from london. Short flight, and airport was near the resort. Don’t suppose the poster recognises this and can remind me? I feel like it might have been Spain but can’t remember.

My best friend is having a tough year and can’t afford to go this year. But I’d quite like to take him for a quick couple of days. We can’t do Austria.

It’s not necessarily about proximity but about flight times.

We fly to Munich (business flight) in the evening and fly back on a 10pm flight. Means we don’t need a day off work on the day of the flight out and get to ski the full day on the day we return. Makes for a very efficient trip, despite a 2.5hr transfer. This then gives us numerous resort option in Austria.

As such, I’d be looking at the flight times and destinations from your local airport to France, Spain, Italy, etc.

I'd say a bit of both. Geneva to Val Thorens is a hell of a lot longer than to Chamonix, but I agree that you could possibly fly to an airport with a shorter flight time to cut down the overall travel time.

[RC1807]

Decided last night to join a couple we're friends with in Serfaus in March.
It'll make a lovely change - 4* hotel instead of self catering!

[skilly1]

Any recommendations for Austria. 2 First time skiers (9 and 12) and 2 average skiers, but not too fussed about blacks, we like long tree lined runs.

On the cheap side and would like some decent après ski and a bit of a town.

[JQ]

UTH said:

JQ said:

Greshamst said:

I remember someone on one of the other ski threads talking about their resort of choice as it was the quickest they’d found to be able to get on the slopes, from london. Short flight, and airport was near the resort. Don’t suppose the poster recognises this and can remind me? I feel like it might have been Spain but can’t remember.

My best friend is having a tough year and can’t afford to go this year. But I’d quite like to take him for a quick couple of days. We can’t do Austria.

It’s not necessarily about proximity but about flight times.

We fly to Munich (business flight) in the evening and fly back on a 10pm flight. Means we don’t need a day off work on the day of the flight out and get to ski the full day on the day we return. Makes for a very efficient trip, despite a 2.5hr transfer. This then gives us numerous resort option in Austria.

As such, I’d be looking at the flight times and destinations from your local airport to France, Spain, Italy, etc.

I'd say a bit of both. Geneva to Val Thorens is a hell of a lot longer than to Chamonix, but I agree that you could possibly fly to an airport with a shorter flight time to cut down the overall travel time.

Sorry, that's not what I was saying, by flight times, I mean the time of day that the flight occurs.

A trip to Morzine is a short flight and short transfer, but the flight times for us are generally during the day, so 3 days skiing over a weekend would involve flying out on a Thursday and returning on a Monday. 3 days off work and 4 nights in a hotel.

A trip via Munich for 3 days skiing over a weekend for us would involve flying out on a Friday night and returning on a Monday night. 1 day off work and 3 nights in a hotel. One less night in a hotel and 2 less days off work make it cheaper.

I don't know where Greshamst lives but I would consider it more important to find convenient flight times from their local airport than actual journey times. Flights with the likes of Lufhansa and BA will be better than Easyjet and are often not that much more expensive but will fly in the evenings. Could fly into Munich and ski in Germany, say Garmish, which is only 1 hr from Munich. However, I've never been so no idea if it's any good or cheap.

[UTH]

JQ said:

Sorry, that's not what I was saying, by flight times, I mean the time of day that the flight occurs.

A trip to Morzine is a short flight and short transfer, but the flight times for us are generally during the day, so 3 days skiing over a weekend would involve flying out on a Thursday and returning on a Monday. 3 days off work and 4 nights in a hotel.

A trip via Munich for 3 days skiing over a weekend for us would involve flying out on a Friday night and returning on a Monday night. 1 day off work and 3 nights in a hotel. One less night in a hotel and 2 less days off work make it cheaper.

I don't know where Greshamst lives but I would consider it more important to find convenient flight times from their local airport than actual journey times. Flights with the likes of Lufhansa and BA will be better than Easyjet and are often not that much more expensive but will fly in the evenings. Could fly into Munich and ski in Germany, say Garmish, which is only 1 hr from Munich. However, I've never been so no idea if it's any good or cheap.

Oh I seeeeee.

I've finally booked my group on our trip.....as we're booking chalet, transfer and flights separately, it's an absolute minefield finding the ideal flights.
They were ranging from about £65 for horrible times from luton, to £300+ for vaguely acceptable times from Heathrow.

We've ended up paying £335 for flights from Heathrow because of course the original flight price didn't include luggage, so that was another £100 on top of what we'd hoped.
I guess that's the name of the game, anything remotely convenient and what you actually want is going to cost the earth.

[TheLurker]

Heading down to Zermatt this weekend for a quick taster pre season. Was looking good, but seems they've closed all but 3 slopes as of yesterday

I think it's because they're moving the lifts on the glacier ready for the full opening in a week. I'm rather hoping they'll have sorted it by the time we get there or it could be a long way to go to drink beer!

[malks222]

JQ said:

Could fly into Munich and ski in Germany, say Garmish, which is only 1 hr from Munich. However, I've never been so no idea if it's any good or cheap.

went to garmisch for a 3 day trip for the final days of the season and it was pretty reasonable. cheap flights into munich, hire a car and a very short drive to garmisch.

Because it’s a proper town, there’s food/ drink options for every budget and plenty of options. skiing was good too, you have the garmisch classic plus the glacier a short drive. we also decided one day to get up early and head to solden (for better snow as it was probably about 15deg i. garmisch) which was easily doable for a day out hitting a different resort.

[Marcellus]

Val d’Isere and Val Thorens delayed their opening by a week, citing mild temperatures.