J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by jonG

:Dhi guys & gals,
I could sing the praises of Les Arcs all day,after skiing for about 18years and in places such as Tignes & Val,St.Anton,Livigno,Chamonix,serre chevaliere and whistler i decided that Les Arcs was a gem of a place,so much so that i purchased an apartment in Bourg-st-maurice and still get the same thrill every time i go winter or summer alike.

Although some of the architecture is not the prettiest of places the area has a certain charm,and some of the best retaurants in the alps most of which are family owned and run and not commercial enterprises with chefs and staff bused in.

Also within a short distance by car you still have the resorts of La Rosiere,Ste.Foy,Val & Tignes and if you are a little more adventurous the Trois Vallee's resorts about 1 hour or so away.

With the Eurostar/Tgv-Sncf and transfers from Geneva,Lyon,Grenoble and Chambery all within 2 - 2 1/2 hours drive or a little longer by coach it is also very conveniently placed.

A lot of people do not give it a second thought as they set off for one of the trendy mega resorts,but they are missing out,most who go to Les Arcs are converted within a few days....some stay forever
jon.

:Dhi,Daiana,
have had a look on some other forums and have come up with some companies that may be of some use,on the Ski Welt website there is a section called "ski bunnies"...great name? that help single skiers find like minded others for skiing company,also you could try www.pistepals.co.uk and also www.skiline.co.uk and look at thier Ski Buddy section.

As for skiing in scotland i am not sure this would be cheap or not,also the snow may be a problem (lack of maybe).

Fail in that i have a self catering apartment in Bourg-Saint-Maurice which is located a short walk from the funicular railway which goes directly up to the ski lifts at Les Arcs 1600, and have Tues 11th March - Mon 17th March free and also Tues 24th March - Sat 5th April free,if you have no luck anywhere else i would be happy to let you have either period for £150 instead of the usual £300(price is for the apartment only),with a return flight to say Lyon or Grenoble being around £60,return coach transfer to BsM being around £50 - £60,ski hire in the region of £45 - £50 and a weeks lift pass 198euro's(or a daily pass brought each day to suit you could have a weeks skiing relatively cheaply,the only other cost would be food and drink (there are many places in BsM to have a 3 course meal with wine,cheeseboard/biscuits etc for between 14euros - 25euros,also there is a supermarket within 5mins walk of the apartment,for more info just click on my web link).

Also the Daily Mail Ski & Snowboard magazine offers readers trips which are all enclusive and from what i read great fun,but a trip would need to be booked up fairly quickly as they are very popular.

I hope some of this info is of help and wish you luck in you're search.
jon.

:Dhi,
There are several ski hire shops located near the Charmettoger section of Les Arc 1800,most of which are located near the bottom of the Transarc Telecabine,
Intersport ,Skiset Arc 1800 ,Sport 2000 are just some of the many you will find.
As for must see runs the obvious run is the Aiguille Rouge from the top of the cable car in Arc 2000 the run (black at the top) and then varies between black and upper red all the way down to Villaroger in Le Pre some 7km away with a vertical drop of over 2000 metres.Mind you about half way down is Onre's restaurant which is a great place to stop for lunch,and all the way down at the bottom is the restaurant Le Ferme which serves a welcome glass of Mutzig (also if you have transport or do not mind a taxi journey Le Ferme is a very good place for an evening meal and Michelle's wife is an excellent cook),the Aiguillle run can be completed by a fairly confidant intermediate skier.

Other runs worth a look are both the black and red from the Grand Col,also on the Arc 2000 side,there is also a good challenging run from the top of the Les deux Tetes down to Pre-St-esprit,but which ever runs you choose they are all good in the Les Arcs domain,with runs of all grades and for all abilities,once you have been to Les Arcs i am confidant you wil choose to go again and again.

many regards and hope you have a safe,pleasant and enjoyable trip.
jon.

:Dhi,
i must admit i had never heard of Cheveuges(mind you all my experience of france has been the Tarentaise area) so had to look on my old Route 66 Europe software and input ski resorts,and then sift through all the ski resorts in europe until one came up nearest to Cheveuges.

From what i have seen from photo's and t.v documentaries over the years the Ardennes region has wonderfull countryside,and is very scenic.

Sorry i could not give you more info,
many regards
jon.

:Dhi,
i hope you have not booked up for a skiing holiday in Cheveuges,from what i can make out Cheveuges is in the Ardennes region of france on the border with Belgium.

The nearest resort for skiing is Vielsam Baraque Fraiture in Belgium about 90.5km away,the other resorts are located 50km south of Strasbourg some 200 - 230+km away.

many regards
jon.

:Dhi,have been to Serre Chevalliere a couple of times with a company called Ski Miquel (in fact like the company so much have used them for trips to St.Anton a couple of timesand two weeks in Whistler),they offer flights,full board accommadation,fully qualified chefs and transfers and are very reasonably priced for what you get in return,definately worth a look.
many regards
jon.

:Dhi,
glad you enjoyed Les Arcs,many skiers do not give it a second thought as they wind thier way up to Tignes and Val but they are missing out on one of the underated gems of the alps,in fact most people i have met while skiing in Les Arcs who are there for the first time say they will give the trendy mega resorts a miss and are newly converted to the area.

With plenty of slopes of various gradients and the wonderfull off piste routes the area is a match and in some cases more than for many of the other major resorts.Also in its favour is the fact that for those in the know there are many fantastic restaurants dotted up and down the valley within easy drive that are amongst the best anywhere.

For those that choose to go to Paradiski,they are richly rewarded, and some have fallen under the local savoyard spell and never gone home.

many regards
jonG.

:Dhi,in fact a friend of mine suffered in the same way,but only after he had broken his leg on a trip to St.Anton(he was not actually skiing but stepped out of the cable car station and slipped very awkwardly and that was that).
As Ise says it then comes from a feeling of not being in control(or the feeling that you will not be able to stop yourself) due to the gradient of the slope and the pull of gravity pulling you down it,he felt that if he fell over instead of just falling the distance from a standing ski position to the ground,he was actually going to end up in the bottom of the valley many thousands of feet below(which we know is impossible when skiing on piste or most other places) but in his mind that was how far he was going to go.
To help my friend get over this he had to go back to basics and learn to control a gentle traverse across a shallow slope and then to perform controlled stops,also while doing this if someone gently threw a glove or hat to him to catch while traversing this also took his mind off his problem of thinking he was going to end up in the valley below and concentrated his mind on the actual skiing and control aspect.After afew days of this he started to ski more testing runs and is now fine after two or three weeks skiing over the last few years,you may find that the height of chairlifts will not be problem once the other fobia is sorted out aswell. :D
Sorry if i have rambled,but i am sure that this is only a minor set back and your wife will gain the confidance needed to progress.
many regards
jonG.