J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by andyoneil

I've been to the 3 Valleys several times and there's nowhere else to match it (not even the EK where I'm off this year again).

I'd take on baord the point about it being less than prettty - but it's a lot better than people give it credit for with a real effort to makwe it more "sympa" and it's never been as bad as Les Menuires or Stalag Luft Tignes.

For pure skiing then it's unbeatable - lack of trees can make it cold but then winters have become so unpredictable that that could be said of anywhere.

My only caution would be to echo the point that someone made about some of the intersections being very busy - my wife got seriously hurt at the bottom of the resort and the run down to Town from the Club Med area is carnage at 4pm

I can't comment on Morzine as I've never been but have heard many good things (though some of the interconnectuion is meant to be less slick than 3V etc)

I want to know which lift it will be - there's some in Killington that are frightening enough (think slow, shaking and going round corners)without grinding to a halt cos some cow's not had enough cud that day!

smartski wrote:
It's frowned upon in my experience. But I'm sure very easy in the larger "chalet-hotels".

Some chalet staff have little enterprises on the side, I think we've paid them about 3 Euro/day for them to make us baguette lunches before.

Definitely not frowned upon in this 10 person Inghams chalet as we did exactly this last year in that chalet at the urging of the chalet staff "it'll only get thrown out" was their cry!

Crystal do a "Mountain Munchies" and charge you for preparing the sandwich but this was DIY (to confuse the thread somewhat!)

Dids1 wrote:Sounds great.
Don't get me wrong. DIY is at the moment a neccessity.
I would much rather go in a group, no cooking, no cleanng, no snow chains etc, etc....
I just find whilst needs must I can do it cheaper because we've been tied to the school holidays.

I have no desire to tell anyone the best way to take a holiday, but if someone asks for advice or experiences and I have any to offer I will.

Which is all that anyone could ever want from these pages :-)

Commiserations on the school holiday tie-in - we have no sprogs so are free and easy on dates, we've lost some great peeps from our group due to holidays - we simply don't want to pay those prices when we don't have to so have to go at different times to friends with kids and/or who are teachers

Hi All

Thought I'd weigh in on this one:

3rd week Jan (so out of school hols) to VDI
Ski in / out accomodation (and that's not subjective - been there and done it)
Chalet board including tea/cakes, cocktails and aperitifs before dinner, choice of two whites and two reds, brekkie and (perhaps crucially) help yourself to leftover bread/meat/cheese/fruit etc for a packed lunch (like other posters I'm not a big lunch eater in the mountains)
Private transfers to/from Geneva
BOGOF on ski hire
BOGOHP on FULL AREA lift pass
Free Ski Guiding (if the test case in Meribel doesn't scupper that)

Booked early as we knew what we wanted, booked for 8 so got a deal

BUT

paid £750 pp from Inghams

now that's cheap by anyone's standards in one of the biggest/best ski areas in the world

so the TOs can be cheap

I won't be "herded like cattle" with my private transfers - though I've never felt that
I have flights at a sensible time from the airport I want (which I can reach in minutes for pennies thanks to Newcastle's Metro)
I dont have to worry about things like chains/tyres/high viz etc for the car
Somebody else does the cooking
Somebody else does the cleaning


All in all - for me and my group, this is a no brainer compared to DIY of pretty much any sort but certainly than going self catering (yuk!)

Just my thoughts anyway

Discodee wrote:

andyoneil wrote:

OldAndy wrote:

NellyPS wrote:
King of cool Mr W 8)

IMHO anyone wearing shorts in the snow would be cold not cool .....
:roll:

Had a morning skiing in shorts once just to prove that we could

VERY gentle slopes and no falls

Oh and no drag lifts (to keep on topic)

The kids always remember a guy skiing in just his grunds in Andorra. I have a photo somewhere! is there a facilty to upload it?

we were in Andorra.......

NellyPS wrote:When we were in Val D a few years ago there was a guy there on his own and he spent his entire holiday with the Ski Club guys - day and night, not sure they were overly happy with that but I'm sure the odd day here and there is acceptable.

And we saw him again this year Nelly - still looked to be all alone

The TO service is great though as mentioned above. Had a fab two days out on skis in VDI this year with the Inghams reps - must write the report I keep threatening!

OldAndy wrote:

NellyPS wrote:
King of cool Mr W 8)

IMHO anyone wearing shorts in the snow would be cold not cool .....
:roll:

Had a morning skiing in shorts once just to prove that we could

VERY gentle slopes and no falls

Oh and no drag lifts (to keep on topic)