Who’s going skiing and where 2019

[Dakkon]

Al Murphy said:

An early start for me on Sunday heading to Ruka, Finland. It looks like they’ve had a steady dusting of snow and conditions are good, it’s certainly cold there consistently seeing temperatures down to -20C !

What snow activity tracking apps can you recommend? I’ve never bothered with one before but after some
discussion with the rest of my group I’m curious to track the mileage I cover during the week.

Thanks,

Al

I use ski-tracks, its pretty decent for tracking statistics during your day, just be mindful that any of these tracking apps will use the battery more.

[young_bairn]

honest_delboy said:

That's me bottom left, Les Contamines last week.

Thanks to the fella who suggested speedyboarding for GVA on a Sunday, saved my bacon.

Two questions :

Carte Neige - Do you need it if you have travel insurance ?
Goggles - Any luck finding ones that fit better with a lid (Anon Thomson)

I was lucky enough to be chauffeured by a Chamonix resident over to Les Contamines 10 days ago. What a great area!

[RC1807]

p1stonhead said:

Off to Flaine next week.

Any good tips / thoughts about whats good and whats not? Never been to Flaine before.

Flaine's been our resort of choice for a few years, mainly as it's easy to drive to. It's not a pretty place, being 60s concrete. It's at the end of the road, literally, up and over the Col, down into the valey being a dead end!

It's well connected to the region's smaller resorts, Les Carroz, Morillons ... I've not once bothered to take the long blue run from the top of Flaine to Sixt (?) as I always thought it would be a pain to get back from ... although I may go for it when I'm there next month
https://hiver.grand-massif.com/skimaps

For nightlife, it also depends where you're staying, given Flaine is built rather on terraces around the valley, the main town (using that term loosely!) being at the bottom.
There's a pub (Le Perdrix Noire) and a couple of restos on an upper level, where our usual rented accomodations are. Food at the Perdrix is pricey, and, if I'm honest. not that great....their takeaway pizzas are good though!
We prefer the "Brasserie des Cimes" in the town for evening food, and The Wite Pub for beers and music.

A couple of good places to eat on the slopes:
Epicea - it's almost at the bottom of the slope
Le Blanchot - halfway up the mountain from Flaine where a number of pistes converge (open area)
Have a look on google maps, it should be pretty clear

I hope you have good snow!

Bon ski!

[EddieSteadyGo]

RC1807 said:

<snip> ... I've not once bothered to take the long blue run from the top of Flaine to Sixt (?) as I always thought it would be a pain to get back from ... although I may go for it when I'm there next month

It's a super nice run into Sixt. Very long (one of the longest in Europe IIRC), easy blue. It's called the 'Cascades', due to the waterfalls at the bottom. Also there is easy offpiste at the side of the run too.

At the end of the run there is a short button lift. I'd plan to do the run before lunch, then book a table in the restaurant at the bottom. Then enjoy a leisurely afternoon before getting the bus back to Samoens, where you can catch the Grand Massif Express back up onto the mountain.

[EddieSteadyGo]

RC1807 said:

A couple of good places to eat on the slopes:
Epicea - it's almost at the bottom of the slope
Le Blanchot - halfway up the mountain from Flaine where a number of pistes converge (open area)

Just to add to these suggestions, if you are looking for a really nice restaurant, book a table at La Luge à téran. I would highly recommended it (we had our Christmas day lunch in there - superb!)

You get to it by skiing over the Samoens side of the mountain. It is about half way down. Worth booking though in advance, as it will often be fully booked on a weekend or busy weeks in the year.

[p1stonhead]

RC1807 said:

p1stonhead said:

Off to Flaine next week.

Any good tips / thoughts about whats good and whats not? Never been to Flaine before.

Flaine's been our resort of choice for a few years, mainly as it's easy to drive to. It's not a pretty place, being 60s concrete. It's at the end of the road, literally, up and over the Col, down into the valey being a dead end!

It's well connected to the region's smaller resorts, Les Carroz, Morillons ... I've not once bothered to take the long blue run from the top of Flaine to Sixt (?) as I always thought it would be a pain to get back from ... although I may go for it when I'm there next month
https://hiver.grand-massif.com/skimaps

For nightlife, it also depends where you're staying, given Flaine is built rather on terraces around the valley, the main town (using that term loosely!) being at the bottom.
There's a pub (Le Perdrix Noire) and a couple of restos on an upper level, where our usual rented accomodations are. Food at the Perdrix is pricey, and, if I'm honest. not that great....their takeaway pizzas are good though!
We prefer the "Brasserie des Cimes" in the town for evening food, and The Wite Pub for beers and music.

A couple of good places to eat on the slopes:
Epicea - it's almost at the bottom of the slope
Le Blanchot - halfway up the mountain from Flaine where a number of pistes converge (open area)
Have a look on google maps, it should be pretty clear

I hope you have good snow!

Bon ski!

ta muchly!

[RC1807]

EddieSteadyGo said:

It's a super nice run into Sixt. Very long (one of the longest in Europe IIRC), easy blue. It's called the 'Cascades', due to the waterfalls at the bottom. Also there is easy offpiste at the side of the run too.

At the end of the run there is a short button lift. I'd plan to do the run before lunch, then book a table in the restaurant at the bottom. Then enjoy a leisurely afternoon before getting the bus back to Samoens, where you can catch the Grand Massif Express back up onto the mountain.

thanks Eddie... fingers crossed it's open when we're there!

[Speed 3]

p1stonhead said:

Off to Flaine next week.

Any good tips / thoughts about whats good and whats not? Never been to Flaine before.

We stay in Samoens and get over to Flaine whilst the kids are on lessons. Can't say what the accommodation and entertainment is like in Flaine but the skiing is fab. The Flaine bowl is perfectly orientated with all sorts of runs and the Grand Massif area is huge. The runs into Samoens 1600 are great although Les Carroz and Morillon can be a bit shady in places. We've not done the Sixt run but sounds like a good plan if you realise how far it actually is. Samoens is a lovely Savoyarde village (very different to the concrete design of Flaine). We drive so haven't experienced ski bus but the routes seem regular and logical.

[p1stonhead]

Thanks all. Flaine sounds like it’s going to be good. Only reason it was chosen really was proximity to Geneva! Sounds like I lucked out on that then!

So excited to get back on the slopes now.

Edited by p1stonhead on Wednesday 30th January 09:28

[Mr E]

That way.

[RC1807]

p1stonhead said:

Thanks all. Flaine sounds like it’s going to be good. Only reason it was chosen really was proximity to Geneva! Sounds like I lucked out on that then!

So excited to get back on the slopes now.

Proximity is why we go there ... easy route from Lux, around Geneva and through the valley towards Chamonix.
Typically a 6h drive on a Sat morning - fingers crossed for our changeover weekend which will be a black Saturday on the French Autoroutes

[interstellar]

Am thinking my weekends snowboarding is about to go tits up!

Live in Dorset and are supposed to be flying out of Heathrow tomorrow at 7am.

5 of us going and we can't really go early so changing flights now is not an option but snow is due here from 2pm and Heathrow from 7pm.

Only out there until Monday night so fingers crossed we get out of Heathrow tomorrow morning but I doubt it!!

Edited by interstellar on Thursday 31st January 13:13

[Marcellus]

In Flaine - if you want some good food on the slopes then there's Gers Restaurant which you get to either by dropping down Gers Bowl or Cascades (stop at a right turn T junction about half and ring for drag sleigh back to it).

Always was good reasonably priced food, the downside being that you need to continue down Cascades and then get teh bus back along to Samoens to get back into the Grand Massif.

[flight147z]

Should be booking my second 2019 trip this weekend - Engelberg in Switzerland at the end of March. First trip this year will be to the Dolomites a couple of weeks before that.

Anyone been to Engelberg? Attracted by the altitude at that time of year. The Titlis Glacier is ~3000m

[MikeGoodwin]

Lecht and Glenshee next week fopr the 2nd time, if we actually can ski. resorts are a bit pathetic when you look at these images but will have smiles non the less.

Bit gutted really as I want to go properly to France (maybe Val Thorens). Saving up for next year. Will read back over the thread, anywhere to go end of Feb thats not a mob house or finaicially ruinous?

[brickwall]

Am off tomorrow for a week. Slightly worried about my evening flight to Geneva (BA cancelled the 7pm today, and two flights tomorrow are already showing as cancelled)...

[interstellar]

Am off tomorrow for a week. Slightly worried about my evening flight to Geneva (BA cancelled the 7pm today, and two flights tomorrow are already showing as cancelled)...
[/quote]


You should be ok. I was on a flight at 7am to Geneva tomorrow morning and its cancelled and now its chaos. Four in our group. One has a 740am flight to Geneva via Munich so gets there 3 hours later which is not bad but they have put the other three of us on flights that land in the evening via zurich and then our transfer cant get us for 3 hours so we will 12 hours late....

....that's if all these flights go, on time

not likely to happen

Edited by interstellar on Thursday 31st January 22:33

[AndrewT1275]

Fattyfat said:

Heading to Pamporovo at pretty much the end of season in March. Never skied before....

Any tips?

Have a lesson before you go and once you get there have a lesson with Petar Todorov at Interski. Excellent instructor.

[marcosgt]

Off to Kirchberg tomorrow - Boy, there's a LOT of snow there at the moment!

Can't wait as last year was the first in over 25 years that I didn't ski!

M

[joema]

We did Pas de La Casa last week. Pretty much a whiteout for the whole week with brutal winds and over a metre of snow except for our last day on Saturday which was blue sky. Seemed like a decent area with lots of off piste bits to play on so would go back I think.

Plotting a mini trip to Chamonix if the house buying gets finished soon...