J2Ski Holiday 30th January 2016 - Alpe d'Huez

OldAndy wrote:Some words on our 2016 trip to the Hotel Christina, Alpe D'Huez.

27 in total - I counted them out and I counted them all back !!

From two trips to a dry slope to [cough cough] "many years" and an age range spread over 55 years.....
Brilliant trip say all - everything worked as expected with the usual blips - fog in Grenoble delayed a few and either an inability to listen (my view) or lack of clarity on where to get off the transfer bus did confuse a few.

Hotel was ideally situated - a little walk up in the morning, enough to stretch the muscles and back to the hotel on skis at the end of the day. The Christina is an old, tired, hotel and being knocked down and redeveloped. Pretty much everything worked though and the age was made up for by excellent food and a great staff. This time we used a tour company and their resort people earned their money, and saved any of us a headache, particularly with the one who did the knee ligaments/blood wagon/medical centre and special delivery through the airport route!
Alpe D'Huez - my first visit, although many of the group had been before. A good but not great resort would be my summary.
What impressed me the most was the extent of the so called green runs all around the main (1850) resort. Really quite amazing, and not simply a flat bit of gently sloping piste. Beginners, second, third weekers and anyone wanting to ski gentle slopes would have an amazing time on these.
Mind you on the first day, with a white out and over a foot of new snow (well wet concrete really) these greens caused real problems for the most experienced skiers - including the getting lost bit, failure to find the restaurant meeting point (except for 3) and a half kilometre walk back on the flat for some of us :roll:

I will leave any discussion of the high up stuff on the glacier to others. I didn't get there. Snow and wind kept it closed a lot and I am allergic to 40 minute queues. Others managed at odd times and an intrepid three did the tunnel. The view, when asked, of some saisonieres was that conditions on the Tunnel were "not good" !!

I liked the lower runs (Oz-en-Oisans, Vaujaney, Villard Reculas) but snow not good lower down and rain stopped play on one day. Also the Auris areas was great.

Biggest shock was the lift queues in the morning, more than expected in what should have been a quiet week for the resort.

I will leave discussions of Toffee Vodka (and it's effects), Snow Angels and Snow Ploughs, Karaoke debauches etc etc to those more intimately involved..........

Anyway - must dash - 2017 holiday to organise :thumbup: