J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by msej449

A lot of the alpine resort are developing their summer biking and 'round July-August they open-up selected gondolas and chairlifts and you can take you bikes up on them. It's not all for MTB (VTT) adrenalin-junkies either: where we ski they have some great 'follow the contour' routes: spectacular scenery but pretty easy MTB tracks. We've done part of the Tour du Mont Fort around Verbier:

http://www.tourdumontfort.ch/intro/en/index.php

which includes downloadable satnav maps and the option of an easy and a more difficult itinerary. I've got photos of me looking massively intrepid in front of glaciers and on mountain tracks, but in reality, I've taken the telecabine up and just been cruising along easy routes, albeit at altitude.

It's nice to cycle 'round the same area that you're already familiar with from skiing, and interesting to see the summer version of where you've skied.

How about flying to Denver for somewhere like Vail etc., then fly back via New York?

Alternatively, San Francisco then drive to Tahoe (say, Heavenly), then fly Reno to New York, the NY back home.

Don't fall prey to the Tour Brochure maps that place the like of Las Vegas apparently close to Mammoth, or SFR not far from Tahoe. The High Sierras can get massive amounts of snowfall that can make driving difficult. I've driven from Denver to Vail all on Freeways in winter and that was enough for me!

I've been contradicted on this but I'd also recommend getting over the jetlag first at your point of arrival i.e. do the NY holiday before the skiing. Having driven from SFR to Tahoe starting at 10am (already there on business) I can't imagine doing the drive after a 10-hour transatlatic flight that arrives in SFR at 3/4pm; picking up the car; and then doing the 4-5 hours in the dark to Tahoe.

Don't get me wrong - I love skiing in the US and have been to Mammoth Mountain, Vail, and Heavenly Lake Tahoe multiple times. It always struck me as perverse when I was out there that Americans I talked to were considering going in the opposite direction to ski the Alps when they have so much great choice and fantastic locations in North America.

But for all of these I was already in either New York or California. London Heathrow to Denver direct is about 12½ hour flight and on an initial search BA would be about £3,000 for return flights in Economy. For an international flight you'll need to plan to be at the airport at least 2½ hours ahead of departure, more if you're distant. And you then have to get through US Customs & Immigration. Then get to your car hire and pick up the car, and then actually drive up a mountain after what, 17-18 hours of travelling and a major time differential? My kids travelled to San Francisco at the same age and were fine, if exhausted. But that was summer and I was already there in my own apartment with a pool etc.

All I was saying is that I'd recommend at least ten days there to make it worth the effort and cost.

ESF just doesn't bear comparison with American levels of teaching - Not only is US instruction in fluent English but much more sympathetic than from the ESF. The whole experience is also much more positive, with polite and generally short lift queues and in many resorts, free on-piste Guides who will happily stop and help with recommendations and directions.

I also found that on-piste catering was great for families: the Americans are good at providing solid value-for-money food and in being able to do mass catering. On-piste prices were very reasonable.

The counter was that the skipass was generally more expensive than the French Alps (more in line with Swiss prices); and equipment hire was also comparatively more (again, on a par with CH). But the level of customer service and attention was higher than in France.

Bear in mind this comparison is based on self-organised apartment holidays. I haven't looked at what sort of prices are offered by the big Tour Operators for the USA. Just beware with the TOs that they sometimes imply the airport-to-resort drives are trivial (usually by using a large-scale map): For example, I've talked to people who've flown to San Francisco then driven to Lake Tahoe: it looks OK on a little brochure map, but it's comparable to driving from London to Manchester or Calais to Paris.

My Leki poles must be over 15 years old by now. At least they're (a) easy to spot and (b) unattractive to thieves. Or perhaps they were always unattractive .... I have wondered whether the metal fatigues with age and if I should replace them, but I'm rather attached ...

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Heli-skiing

out of Croix de Coeur is certainly not cheap at CHF 380+ per person, including a guide for the day. But it would be an experience. For example:

http://www.tzoumazbooking.com/web/?page_id=1618&lang=en

Looks like you have to be 7 people plus guide to get that rate. I'm assuming it's actually CHF 2'660 for the 8-seater helicopter including guide, then split pro-rata between up to 7 people.
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Mountain Cabins

Another option might be to stay up in a mountain hut. The Cabin du Mt.Fort is the one in the Verbier ski area, but it's only one of a string connecting Mt.Blanc to the Matterhorn. This certainly would be a novel experience ...

http://www.cabanemontfort.ch/

It's CHF 52/person per night or CHF 92/person, half-board. I don't think that you'd necessarily make this your main accomodation, but it could be something worth trying out for a couple of nights. This is the one I'm familiar with, but I daresay there would be some in most of the larger Alpine ski Domaines.

CanadianSkier Well Verbier Ski Bum has certainly put me in my place! {more suitable for families with kids who don't like to go out} But he has a point - If you are really keen off-piste skiers then his advice is based on local off-piste experience. It prompts me to ask, "Would you heli-ski?". If so, you can helicopter out from Croix de Coeur, but I've not done this myself so I can't comment on whether it's worth the expense.

Some viaMichelin route calculations, from centre of Amsterdam:

10h08m - Champéry, Portes du Soleil, Switzerland (1'039m/2'466m)
10h24m - La Tzoumaz, Quatre Valées, Switzerland (1'522m/3'330m)
10h33m - Verbier, Quatre Valées, Switzerland (1'495m/3'330m)
10h35m - Obergurgl, Austria (1'911m/3'080)
10h51m - Chamonix, France (1'036m/3'842m)
11h41m - Zermatt, Switzerland (1'620/3'900)
14h27m - Soldeu, Andorra (1'710/2'640m)

So you have quite a lot of choice if you're prepared to drive for 10-12 hours.

Height is location/highest skiable point in the domain.

Obviously, some of these ski areas are much bigger than others: but you'll have to do that research yourself!

We generally stop overnight outbound about 4½-5 hours from Calais, but drive back in one go if there are 3+ drivers available to each rotate 2 hour shifts.

CanadianSkier - Glad it was useful. However, I must declare an interest: we've owned a small apartment in La Tzoumaz since 2003, so of course, I'm biased! As the article indicates, they are plenty of similar 'satellites' all over the Alps. To give you an idea of cost, here's the website for our Agency, which is just one of 4-5 in the village:

http://www.carron-immobilier.ch/en/

(ou «/fr» si vous êtes Québécois) Look at the RENTAL column - note that the number of rooms includes the living area, so 2 bedrooms is 3 rooms. Our 2-bedroom apartment is CHF 1'450 in the high season (CAN$ 1,885) but as you can see there's a variety of apartments and chalets available. A friend of mine has a chalet near us (www.chaletcathay.com) which rents out at CHF 3'000-5'000 a week (CAN$ 3,900-6,500) and sleeps 11 comfortably, 13 with a sofabed (catering is extra).

Out of school holidays, flights from the UK to Geneva on easyJet or BA can be surprisingly cheap - I just paid £17.50 for a single LGW>GVA a week ago, but more typically an off-peak fare would be £30-£50 single. However, if you hit the business travel slots such as Monday morning, then expect to pay £100+ single. Swiss (www.swiss.com) airlines is another option.

You're probably aware that there are four 'London' airports: Heathrow (LHR), Gatwick (LGW), City (LCY) and Stanstead (STN). If you're not flying direct to the Alps (such as Geneva, Zurich, Grenoble, Lyons etc.), then obviously it's preferable to transfer at the same airport hub.
Heathrow and Gatwick have the most carriers and flights to GVA. London City is in the commercial district and on the opposite, eastern side of London to Heathrow - from Heathrow it's a train into West London, then a circuitous subway route across. Stanstead is way outside to the NE of London - more convenient for people in NE London and Essex.

Car hire prices out of Geneva can be very variable: the GVA website is a good starting-point for budgeting.

http://www.gva.ch/en/desktopdefault.aspx/tabid-72/

I seem to end up forking out about £40 (CAN$ 75) a day for a basic small 4-seater with winter tyres and chains. Be aware that car hire prices on the French side may look cheaper but often don't include winter tyres, motorway 'vignette' etc.

A £97 (CAN$ 180) Swiss Transfer Ticket is also worth considering. Only available to foreigners, this is an open rail return from any Point of Entry to/fron a destination. Valid for a month, it gets stamped on your inbound journey and you then have a month to use the return. This is more an option for an individual or just 2-3 people staying at one location for a week or more - you just need to do the rail vs car hire math.

If you're using public transport, try to get a flight arriving in GVA before 12:30 and outbound leaving after 14:30, to give yourself plenty of leeway for changing trains or delays. There's an integrated rail/télépherique/bus timetable and journey planner on the Swiss Rail website (select 'Genève-Aéroport' as point of entry).

http://www.sbb.ch/en/home.html

The London Swiss Tourist Centre is a good place to research rail tickets, itineraries and offers:

http://www.stc.co.uk

Geneva is a major point of entry for both the Swiss and French Alps. I'd have to admit there are probably more transfer operators running to the French resorts. The obvious downside of sharing a transfer coach is having to wait for other people on delayed flights.

Ideally, you'd transfer on a Weekday. Predictably, Saturdays and to some extent Sundays at Geneva Airport et al can be extremely busy and chaotic if flights are delayed.

Finally, you can get the Eurostar/TGV «Train à Grande Vitesse» from London to Lille, then Lille to Geneva-Martigny-Sion. This is an attractive way to get across France. Details are on the STC website. However, it can be expensive - cheaper tickets go quickly and I've never managed to get a fare that's competitive with flying. But you might be more fortunate.