thoughts after Alpe d'Huez

On Mon, 26 Feb 2007 07:52:29 +0100, "pg"
wrote:




French half term? Eat at 11, or 2.30. Ski on comparatively quiet pistes
throughout lunchtime while the frogs are gorging themselves during their
compulsory break.

Shhhhhhhhh! We were doing that all week, and found some quiet
especially over on the runs down to Villard Reculas and Vaujany, but
I'm afraid too many other people are cottoning on to the idea!



Sum up the courage to go high where the snow would
have been much easier to ski on (better snow, less bodies to avoid)

Sure - realised that but needed a more experienced companion or an
instructor - neither of those were available till the last day

- or
pick a resort with blues accessible by gondola at altitude (and a route
back down by gondola if necessary)

Usually we do just that but my daughter is working in AdH so the
choice was dependent on her!

- the further away you are from the
resort centre during the half term period, the quieter the lifts. Get on
the first lift - as shortly after 9.30 when the ESF mob has emerged,
queues can be monstrous.

Yes, did that too, and yes they were!

I suppose the whole week emphasised what a multi-factorial thing a
good week of skiing is - snow conditions incredibly variable on time
of day, aspect, geography, wear and tear, and people conditions just
as variable.

To be fair, I can't say I noticed any particularly bad tempered
lifties .... OK they weren't all saying " Passez un bon jour! " but
that kind of thing sometimes gets a bit wearing! Also, no problems
with snowmobiles or helicopter noise - I guess all the mechanical
fiends were laying low for half term.

Next year's resolutions:

1. Take advantage of change of wife's job, and avoid half term like La
Peste.
2. Have another crack at ski school or at least pre-book a couple of
private lessons.
3. If possible, book last minute and be led by snow conditions as to
destination.

Paul
Leigh
Lancs

We might have passed. I was up there a couple of times last week too...
think it was wednesday and friday. Was a good run down early friday
morning....except for the mud hopping near the bottom at Villaroger....nice
restaurant near the bottom too (La Soleil or something I think)!

All in all, had a great week with good snow (above 1600m or so), quieter
than expected, (used to Chamonix at 1/2 term) and clear blue skies with no
wind for 6 days!

Shame I only managed to tick off about 300kms of the 425kms of
paradiski.....I'll just have to go again! ;-)

John Ricketts



"pg" wrote in message
...

"Paul Richardson" wrote in message
...
| Hi all
|
| A busy half term week in Alpe d'Huez.
|
| Snow was pretty good - excellent higher up. Resort level of course is
| well known for its fan of wide, green runs, that are mostly south
| facing and get slushy very quickly in the warm southern sun.
|
| Superb scenery, great weather, but for our rather humble skiing
| aspirations, a distinct lack of blues at higher level with good snow.
| Reds we like and can cope with, but they were getting icey by midweek
| which makes them much more intimidating. I was put off trying any of
| the blacks by the condition of some of the reds - really should have
| got organised for a guide or a lesson early in the week because the
| blacks are all high, and would no doubt have had much better snow.
|
| Biggest grouse: SLOW lift system! Huge bottlenecks at the main
| gondolas, Marmotte and DMC, with queues lasting 20 minutes to half
| hour at peak times. Chairs painfully old and slow compared with other
| places we know, especially Italy. Some days, seemed to spend more time
| in queues than on the slopes.
|
| Nice town though, nice older part lower down where had a couple of
| excellent French meals - Le Genepi and Edelweiss.

French half term? Eat at 11, or 2.30. Ski on comparatively quiet pistes
throughout lunchtime while the frogs are gorging themselves during their
compulsory break. Sum up the courage to go high where the snow would
have been much easier to ski on (better snow, less bodies to avoid) - or
pick a resort with blues accessible by gondola at altitude (and a route
back down by gondola if necessary) - the further away you are from the
resort centre during the half term period, the quieter the lifts. Get on
the first lift - as shortly after 9.30 when the ESF mob has emerged,
queues can be monstrous. Alternatively, ski with a ski school for a day
or three - using the priority passage. Have a break when the crowds
emerge from the restaurants after lunch, recover your energy - then ski
right through to the last lift, over the last hour or so lots of the
skiers will have given up for the day. For example, at Les Arcs I took
the Aiguille Rouge cablecar a couple of times last week - mid-morning
the queues were massive, about a 30-40 minute wait. At 1pm, and on the
last lift of the day? Less than 5 minutes.

The snow conditions you described pretty much sum up the situation
throughout the French Alps.

Pete
http://mysnowsports.com

"JR" wrote in message
...
| We might have passed. I was up there a couple of times last week
too...
| think it was wednesday and friday. Was a good run down early friday
| morning....except for the mud hopping near the bottom at
Villaroger....nice
| restaurant near the bottom too (La Soleil or something I think)!
|
| All in all, had a great week with good snow (above 1600m or so),
quieter
| than expected, (used to Chamonix at 1/2 term) and clear blue skies
with no
| wind for 6 days!
|
| Shame I only managed to tick off about 300kms of the 425kms of
| paradiski.....I'll just have to go again! ;-)

The restaurant's "Le Solliet" ... try "La Ferme" in Villaroger (Le Pre)
itself next time, great food.

Was getting a bit thin by the end of the week, then the snow started
coming down on Saturday morning, and conditions have been fantastic
these past two days. Still, you had plenty of sunshine...

Pete
http://mysnowsports.com

On Tue, 27 Feb 2007 14:40:24 GMT, Paul Richardson
wrote:

On Mon, 26 Feb 2007 07:52:29 +0100, "pg"
wrote:

French half term? Eat at 11, or 2.30. Ski on comparatively quiet pistes
throughout lunchtime while the frogs are gorging themselves during their
compulsory break.

Shhhhhhhhh! We were doing that all week, and found some quiet
especially over on the runs down to Villard Reculas and Vaujany, but
I'm afraid too many other people are cottoning on to the idea!

Sum up the courage to go high where the snow would
have been much easier to ski on (better snow, less bodies to avoid)

Sure - realised that but needed a more experienced companion or an
instructor - neither of those were available till the last day

The Ski Club rep would have been available all week - didn't you think
of that, or don't you know how we operate? See my sig for link to more
details. I know that when I repped there last season we were able to
ensure we used the less crowded areas and got restaurant bookings over
that way.

Next year's resolutions:

1. Take advantage of change of wife's job, and avoid half term like La
Peste.

Wise move.

2. Have another crack at ski school or at least pre-book a couple of
private lessons.

Try and do the latter. If it's not too busy a period it shouldn't be
too difficult. Ask your ski club rep to recommend one if you can't
find one.

3. If possible, book last minute and be led by snow conditions as to
destination.

As long as it's not too busy a period, yes. Alternatively, choose a
general area and book cheap flights as far in advance as poss, then
decide on your final destination closer to the time.

--
Ace (brucedotrogers a.t rochedotcom)
Ski Club of Great Britain - http://www.skiclub.co.uk
All opinions expressed are personal and in no way represent those of the Ski Club.

Thanks. There seemed to be a shortage of "authentic" alpine restaurants in
Les Arcs.... everywhere we went we bumped into modern looking chalet
restaurants. La Solliet was a reminder of some of my favourites at Les
Houche. There are a couple near the Kandahar (if my memory serves me)....one
down a track in the woods which is good but pricey, and a great one a bit
higher up, candlelit with a big log-burner....

I'll have to see if I can negotiate a long weekend soon and get back there
again....

John

"pg" wrote in message
...

"JR" wrote in message
...
| We might have passed. I was up there a couple of times last week
too...
| think it was wednesday and friday. Was a good run down early friday
| morning....except for the mud hopping near the bottom at
Villaroger....nice
| restaurant near the bottom too (La Soleil or something I think)!
|
| All in all, had a great week with good snow (above 1600m or so),
quieter
| than expected, (used to Chamonix at 1/2 term) and clear blue skies
with no
| wind for 6 days!
|
| Shame I only managed to tick off about 300kms of the 425kms of
| paradiski.....I'll just have to go again! ;-)

The restaurant's "Le Solliet" ... try "La Ferme" in Villaroger (Le Pre)
itself next time, great food.

Was getting a bit thin by the end of the week, then the snow started
coming down on Saturday morning, and conditions have been fantastic
these past two days. Still, you had plenty of sunshine...

Pete
http://mysnowsports.com

On Tue, 27 Feb 2007 16:36:27 +0100, Ace wrote:


The Ski Club rep would have been available all week - didn't you think
of that, or don't you know how we operate? See my sig for link to more
details. I know that when I repped there last season we were able to
ensure we used the less crowded areas and got restaurant bookings over
that way.


Thanks for that, Ace - we obviously need to look into joining the Ski
Club of GB - I haven't really seriously considered it, thinking it was
for youthful pro types, but will have a more detailed look at the
website!

Paul