Messages posted by : andymol2
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Isn't Sauze in the Alps?
Lots of snow making so they were skiing in the first week of April last year although the low runs into the town had closed. Would I go in the first week in April again - probably not but by all accounts the bumper snows many experienced in 2012 had missed the Milky Way yet they were still going thanks to the snow making. I would say March should be fine. |
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Snow depth is one thing but if it's melting....
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I'd concur with Gaz - much of the Portes Du Soleil is relatively low so can suffer when it warms up which in turn forces everyone to the high ground and the runs above Avoriaz and above Ardent get very crowded with lots of novices struggling to ski in the melting pudding which gets churned up on the narrower runs.
Early March fine, but late March one of the higher altitude resorts would be a better bet. You can get lucky and have fabulous snow in April but the reason the cost of the accommodation is less is because it's less snow sure. If you are coming all the way from Brazil to ski you don't want to be disappointed by lack of snow so go high. |
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If you a re staying in Sauze the ski pass usually gives you 1 day in Montegenevre - if you want time to explore that full it may be better to bus it over and spend the day there.
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Another thing to bear in mind is wet feet.
Moisture is lost, as sweat through the skin. Your boots are plastic and so much of it gets trapped in the boots. Damp socks & liners will allow heat to be transferred quicker from your feet to the cold outside. Drying the inside of your boots overnight will help which is much of how boot warmers work. Dry socks will help too. That's why I take 6 pairs (that & the stink factor is reduced too). Some take one or two pairs of socks & leave them stuffed in their boots overnight. |
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There are still a few old chairs - the ones that don't slow down for pick up so have to run slowly and perhaps too many button lifts for less confident skiers.
Later in the season the only way out of Sansicario seems to be two drag lifts as the skiable routes out lower down tend to close. (Strange as some of the lower runs in that area are served by modern chairs - perhaps they don't want you to leave!) With a limited amount of investment the Sauze / Sansicario / Sportina side could be an early intermediates paradise.(With enough skiing to suite higher abilities too) |
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I think it may have gone - went last April and it wasn't where I recall it being from a few years ago. |
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I think direct travel are US owned - and they have a slightly different interpretation of on & off piste. In Europe we tend to interpret on piste as the strip that is strictly marked as such whereas you get the impression that in the US they have ski areas, with pisted runs and unbashed areas but they don't have the clear distinction of on & off piste that we have so their policies are worded differently. I'm with them for that reason as some of the UK insurers take a very strict interpretation of what's on & off piste - like the bumps and jumps that are deliberately created at the edge of pistes for us to play on are outside the poles thus off piste. The same with the drop at the side of the piste into a car park or chalet - it's off piste but not necessarily an avalanche risk but marked as off piste because it's someones garden or chalet entrance. |
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