Serre Chevalier

oops yes realised my mistake....obviously drank too much san miquel in the past..i did mean ski miquel of course...i skied there in '95 and 2005 and loved it so hoping for another good one, we had a private off piste lesson with eureka ski in monetier and thought it was great, really learnt a lot. it retains a lot of charm as the villages are still traditional, although val d'isere i like but its very expensive and full of groups of british blokes! we did have a good week there though last january

Tony_H,

You ask about Villeneuve and if any good. I'm guessing that you know by now there are four biggish ski areas. Villeneueve and Chantemerle are the two middle ones and the two best. The top and near the top of Chantemerle is one of the best ski regions in the world I.M.H.O. Villeneuve always surprised me as being more popular than the nearby Chantemerle, especially in the top half of the mountain, where slopes get thin to the Monetier side.

Villeneuve (or La Salle des Alpes) is joint 1st best part of S.C. to stay in with Chantemerle, or 2nd best after Chant., who knows? Strangely, although Briancon is the highest city in France (I read somewhere recently, in Europe), it is much quieter, though much more charming and much more rewarding for someone who is not a resort only fan. Monetier is really, really quiet at nights but the new spa resort centre has opened (at 10 to 20 times the size it was last year). Accommodation prices are going up. Last year, staying in Monetier was a really, really quiet affair, and nice (very unlike the 2 next along towns of the 5 - St. Chaffery is quiet too, but if driving or getting a taxi Briancon is v. close, and its only a 25 minute walk from Chantemerle).


Skiing wise: Villeneuve, Chantemerle and Monetier are great, whatever your ability, for the gorgeous green, winding slopes. They should always be tried after a red or black, even blue, to remind you you are in the fresh mountains, in lovely, foreign scenery. Actually, the greens can be rarely touched. If you have a flask of coffee, you might enjoy all of it on a green without seeing a person. It can be rare to find yourself skiing with others or many others through the miles of undulating, relaxing, pleasant green slopes. But I really feel Serre Chevalier will be catching on very soon in terms of popularity. I realised enjoying the greens is a substantial part of what skiing is about - enjoying the mountain and not fretting - as well as experiencing what your technique is on steep slopes.

Briancon has both reasonable and moderate slopes, and fast, undemanding intermediate skiing, but only one of the greens (near the top) that the other 3 areas have.

You seem to be an experienced skiier and so you would benefit from the Nordic area in Monetier. You go right (facing upwards) rather then left at the top of the lifts, and just find your own way through the miles of extremely steep slopes around here. I' m really not quite solid intermediate yet at all (have been beyond that, but am far from it now). So it frightens me to see the leagues of ski impressions on the unpisted laden, sometimes sheer cliff mountains as you go up the Monetier lifts. It's black and black.

And you are required to have a transceiver for any Serre Chevalier area where you go off piste, whether the 'more welcoming' off piste areas of Briancon or these intimidating areas which run for miles and miles at Monetier. (Not just a 'reflector' - it's not enough).

factual wrote:



And you are required to have a transceiver for any Serre Chevalier area where you go off piste, whether the 'more welcoming' off piste areas of Briancon or these intimidating areas which run for miles and miles at Monetier. (Not just a 'reflector' - it's not enough).

Would you mind quoting, or linking to the local Ordnance that specifies this requirement.

Thanks
:D

The web site doesnt' seem to be up and running this year yet. I don't know why - I think it was by this time last year.

It was www.serre-chevalier-ski.com

I've got various error messages this year. I'm thinking maybe it's my computer - I get messages sometimes that I don't "have access" to this site, recently!

If you need to know this try emailing the tourist office at Serre Chevalier or Briancon (www.ot-briancon.fr). As far as I am aware, from looking last year, you can buy Avalanche Transceivers for around 60 pounds minimum, online and for example around Serre Ch's shops, maybe less elsewhere like Ebay, Amazon, I don't know. I guess that it's obvious - it's about being located if you fall and can't get up.

The usual site is up and running - serrechevalier.com, but it was not much on the site I listed above last year.

I've only skied there for a day, we were there of a day trip from Alpe D'Huez I think. A couple of Ski Miguel reps hosted us for the day, they were brilliant.
As much as I enjoyed it and would happily go back, it wouldn't be anywhere near the top of my list of French resorts to visit.
Don't let this be the limit of your exploration of french skiing, because you'll miss some of the best skiing in the world if you do.
As for the rudest skiers, that would have to be Germans in St Anton. (My favourite area, I think)
I can't say I've ever had a particularly bad experience in France, I tend to ski during quieter weeks, perhaps that makes a difference?

I've skied france for the last god knows how many years and all the French that I have met have been polite with the odd grumpy bugger thrown for good luck but don't you find that anywhere.
I think our french cousins are very similar to us that's the problem, 1066 etc.

factual wrote: As far as I am aware, from looking last year, you can buy Avalanche Transceivers for around 60 pounds minimum, online and for example around Serre Ch's shops, maybe less elsewhere like Ebay, Amazon, I don't know. I guess that it's obvious - it's about being located if you fall and can't get up.

The usual site is up and running - serrechevalier.com, but it was not much on the site I listed above last year.

Okay, I have looked at the official website, and see that they have an ARVA park, but can see nowhere anything to verify your statement that wearing of transceiver is mandatory off piste. How is this enforced? Particularly in France, the local Mayor's sometimes do make local laws which affect the ski areas, but I will post this enquiry on pistehors.com, and see what turns up.

Transceivers for £60 in the shops :shock: Which brands? I got my Ortovox from a retailer in the French Pyrenees for £160 several years ago, and that was quite a competitive price. Personally I would not buy one from ebay, as it would then need to be sent to the maker for function testing, which would probably negate any "savings".

I didn't think the requirement for the A. T. might have changed for this year. Don't know. It was in place last year (and as far as I remember before that) and was enforced - wardens around the mountain asked me if I was going off piste and did I know it was not allowed unless I have a transceiver. To be honest, I can't remember if I saw the rule last year before I read the rules which are given in the literature when you buy a skipass.

There are some off piste areas forbidden altogether in S.C. (particularly Briancon) - many resorts don't bother to do that - leaving it up to the skiier to ski where wanted or jump off the mountain if they want.

I have asked in the past, about the Recco Reflectors which are relatively cheap and also come free on some outdoor jackets. These were not considered adequate.

As you can't find the rule this year, it's a good idea to contact someone and ask - the Office Du Tourism is a good start and should answer the enquiry or direct you to the company who run the slopes. Prices may be dearer, actually, I was mentioning the cheapest I saw around a year or more ago at about 60 pounds.

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Edited addition: Yes, I'm wrong, as I remember, that was a price for an Ebay / similar transceiver. Sorry about that. The prices were much more. I remember now some people told me that 100 pounds would be the cheapest but it would be very hard to find a transceiever at that price. Re: using an old one / buying second hand - it is right that it should be tested first. If the transceiver works O.K. and you know that, fine, but it's hardly worth risking it, and there may be a requirement that it's new, recent or recently checked anyway for to use the slopes, I don't know. Maybe a ski warden could tell you if yours is transmitting when you arrive - it's likely - it's normal to say you want to make sure before going off piste. However, if you contact the resort in advance to ask about this, they may say they do not provide this service and the transceivers should be professionally checked first.

If you find a regulation about this year and the requirement for having an ARVA (as the French say), please post.