J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by Dids1

Can't tell you anything about Foux from a personal point of view, but I have a work colleague who goes there every year. They fly to Nice and I think it's not a very long way from there.

Last year they went in late March and said had never seen so much snow.

They're keen skiers and also do other resorts, so there must be something they like about it.

I can't be in contact with her until next Wednesday, but can ask for some general info on the place if you like?

Bongo wrote:Thanks again for all replies you have convinced us to book the accommodation, send off for Tesco Eurotunnel vouchers and book equipment with Extreme Glisse (once I've measured & weighed everyone). However am unsure what to do about...
(i) Ski-school
Emailed both Zig-Zag and 360 with same criteria - have had a reply from 360 but not sure I understand their English which doesn't bode well for the lessons and have had nothing from Zig-Zag.

(ii) Overnight accomodation versus Driving all night.
Originally planning to stay Troyes (which we did last year) but friends have suggested driving all night (2 of us can share driving and kids do still sleep in car) and arrive early hours Sat, crash in hotel lobby for a couple of hours, ski Sat then have a very early night. Another option would be to drive much further than Troyes, still get up early but have a much shorter journey on Sat. Has anyone else tried either of these? Obviously if weather or traffic dictates otherwise we would have to stop - what would be the chances of finding a room in a motel without booking?

Cheers,
Bongo

1. Zigzag might be having their Summer break and reply soon.
We didn't have any problem with English speaking instructors with 360, but not to say they don't have the same staff any longer I suppose. They emails we had were from Steph - we were able to understand them no problem. If not from her maybe she's on Summer break too.
2. The trouble with arriving too early in resort is your rooms might not be ready. You think you can kip in the hotel lobby, but in reality the kids will be fractious and you'll be knackered (been there) Perhaps you could mail the hotel and ask what is the earliest you could arrive?

3. I think the sports shop the person has mentioned in the post above is Intersport, can't be sure though.

Good luck.

Talking of bumping into people...(this is a virtual one) A friend of mine commented on her friends facebook status and there was you, Dave Mac, commenting on the same post! Recognised you from your profile pic.
Not as interesting as yours but a good spot and a coincidence all the same!

Salski,
I remember looking at your photos when you originally posted them. It's a treat to see them again.

I wish even more now that we'd skied Cascades. Maybe one day.

I can tell you loads about Samoens - I've been there 6 times - so you can tell I like it.

We would normally go at Easter as it's quieter, but realise that's it's a bit late his year.

Firstly, roads - We've tried a few ways - and found the best time was Sunday. Saturday is really busy and driving through Friday night we found exhausting. Worth it though if you can manage to share the driving.
Do the A39 motorway (I think head for Dole)
It's not a bad drive though, just 15 ish miles off the autoroute.

I am afraid we only tried once at half term as the slopes were just far too busy in Feb half term. But we went in 2007 when the snow was very poor, so there were a lot of slopes closed, which of course made those open more crowded. With good snow and most slopes open it would probably be no worse then most busy French resorts.

The Perce Neige and Dahu get very busy and cut up at the end of the day, so avoid them and use the Marmottes, which has recently been downgraded to a red. The gondola gets very busy, but the queues move pretty quickly. During that busy half term week we drove up to Samoens 1600 a few times and left the car there. It meant that you beat the people on the gondola who were heading up to Tete de Saix. However, this was before the new lifts were put in for 2009/10 season.
There are 2 new chairs taking you up to the Tete de Saix and we noticed that it was a much quicker run over to Flaine this year than in previous years.

We've been to Neige et Roc (2006 Easter) - it's lovely. We stayed in the Hotel - the food was excellent.
There's a small pool which the children enjoyed. One night there was a fondue/raclette party evening which was fun. The hotel is a very short walk out of the village and there are some lovely shops there. There's a large supermarket out of town in the direction of Taninges if you are self catering it would be cheaper to use this.

We take our own skis, but last year having 1st time boarders with us we rented from Extreme Glisse, it's right next to the gondola and you can leave skis/boots there overnight.
There's a ski bus that goes from right outside N&R, but also a very large car park that we always drive to as the gondola is about a mile out of town.

We used the Ecole 360 for snowboard lessons last year. Private lessons (for boarders) worked well and the instructor was good with our 2 14 year olds. i can't comment on ski lessons, but there are a few schools round about - Zigzag and ESF being 2 others I can think of.

My favourite skiing in the Grand Massif is Les Carroz, but you can't beat Flaine for the wide open runs and usually good snow. We've never been lucky enough to ski Cascades from Flaine to Sixt as it's never been open when we've been there. I've heard it's worth a go, but can get bit monotonous towards the middle section. But, the scenery is said to spectacular - as it is off the top of Flaine.

There's very little in the way of nightlife in Samoens, as in a lot of french villages, but there's lots of bars and cafes in the village. We've not eaten out a lot there, so can't recommend anywhere I'm afraid. We spoke to some people who said the Louisiansa pizza restaurant was very good.

I realise you are tied to half term but it's worth noting, for anyone reading this that Samoens has fantastic offers at Christmas and Easter where children under 12 get a free service with every adult paying. I got a price list from Neige et Roc the other day and kids under 12 got free pass, skis, hotel board and lessons as long as an adult had the same!
The dates are very specific, so you'd need to check the website www.samoens.com

If you want more info please ask, I've got a flickr folder with photos from last year and can let you have the link if you wanted to send me a private message

There's an ice rink and the local ice hockey team play there - Wednesdays I think.
With your 6 day lift pass you get the benefit of a free day in Portes De Soleil. You need to go to Prodains lift in Morzine to get your day pass.
We've only done that once though as the Grand Massif will keep you occupied for a week.

If you do decide to go there I hope you love it.
Good luck. Enjoy.

Brilliant (should I say Sick)

Hi Snapzz,
I know we've discussed this before...but I can't remember what the outcome was..When do your schools actually break up next Easter?

Ours break up 8th, so we could be in resort on the 9th.

I would recommend Val Thorens for skiing at that time as we went a couple of years ago and had excellent snow still.
Granted when it did snow it was raining a bit lower down (St Martin, Les Menuires) but higher up the mountain we had lovely fresh snow, and it was -20 on the glacier.
The road between Les Men and Val Thorens was actually blocked by snowfall on the 11th April for a short time.

We often go to Grand Massif in the 1st week April, but I don't think I'd go even a week later as the snow disappears very quickly once it does start to melt and it was not much fun by the time we came home this year - the 10th.

There are obviously other resorts that would be good at that time, but I am just speaking from my experience.

Dids

Went there about 10 years ago with small kids. Really liked it. We used the kindergarten for the children and they enjoyed it, although there weren't too many English speaking kids there. Their skiing improved greatly.
Town is lovely, though it was New Year and noisy at night. It has a great atmosphere and the bars are lively - nothing like French nightlife at all.

Skiing was good, we skied from Rohrmoos too, you get a bus up and it takes about 10 mins. I get the impression the 4 areas are better linked than when were there, so it can only have improved.

I would go back.