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#21
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Ski Trip from hell!
"helloblondie" wrote in message
... thx Bill, i like the idea of an overnight stop, but would have meant missing boxing day with family. Done an all in one trip. Hard as hell to do as you arrive absolutely knackered. You really have to pick your time of departure carefully. If you leave home first thing in the morning it's not so bad... but then you have a long wait before you can check in after you get there. If you leave later on (7pm the time I did it) you get there around the right time, but you've been up all day so you've been awake longer. We lost a day of that holiday simply recovering from the trip down... except the 5 year old. Little sod even had the temerity to snore while we were driving!!! LOL An all in one isn't so bad on the way back, though. We usually get a midnight or so ferry which means leaving the resort just after breakfast. Get home (Birmingham) about 3 in the morning. Not too much later than a normal day. Just make sure you have the day after off work, though!! LOL |
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#22
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Ski Trip from hell!
"Schneck" wrote in message ... "helloblondie" wrote in message ... Hi all Hi! Right, here's someone who's done it... with a travel scared girlfriend and a hyper active 5 year old!! LOL!! And I'm doing it all again in january??? I need my head reading!! 1. Leave the day before you're due to arrive in resort. 2. Get a morning ferry from Dover to Calais... about 10am is fine. 3. Drive PAST Paris!! That place is not for the faint hearted on the roads!! Don't go anywhere near Paris, take the autoroute past Troyes, empty roads every time I've done it. Bill |
#23
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Ski Trip from hell!
"helloblondie" wrote in message ... Good idea Rob but if i go by train i'll subject all u nice people 2 "the family from hell" ( i like that one ). If you are "the family from hell" then Meribel is the right place to go! You are very thoughtful ;-) -- Mike W |
#24
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Ski Trip from hell!
"helloblondie" wrote
Anyone have some good, useful tips on how to survive a 1k Km road trip from Kingston, SW London to Meribel, France with 2 children who love each others company provide its for no longer than 5 mins, a wife who gets travel sick looking at a car and in a car which coped badly with a little London snow last year. I've done the trip at least twice (to Meribel funnily enough). I'm in Lewes, so the times are probably comparable. Allow at least 12 hours if you take it easy with plenty of rests, less if you drive at 80-90mph all the way (any more and the toll booths will do you for your average speed being in excess). I have driven the full stretch with a few coffee-breaks (they have superb coffee machines!), but it's highly recommended to have at least 2 drivers. I'd set off at 8pm and handle everything until you reach the French autoroutes, then let your wife drive while you attempt to kip. Wake up for "Where the flip are we/do we go now?! navigational corrections and then drive up the mountain at 8am or so. Treat that arrival day as just getting sorted, do some souvenir shopping,etc. Stay on the nursery slopes. Do not attempt anything risky. ;-) Otherwise, set off at the crack of dawn, but do try and rest throughout the drive - you can then hit the sack like a ton of bricks on arrival. The good thing about the night drive is that it's slightly easier to kip en route, and you get a brief 'morning booster' for the drive up the mountain in broad daylight (hopefully after any frost has melted off a bit). Otherwise you tend to arrive at nightfall and it may be a little trickier... You can risk it without chains, and buy them from a garage at the last minute if it's snowing (or has been). If a day or so has passed, you can probably get by without them until you reach certain parts of Meribel. If it hasn't snowed for a few days, you're unlikely to need chains. I drove up in a Range Rover while it was snowing and didn't need chains, but it can get hairy if you aren't a fast learner when it comes to driving in snow (skidding backwards is 'fun'). :-) Check out if your parking space is heated/covered/open. It will give you a clue as to how tricky your arrival will be. If your car has any drafts in the footwell via the foot pedals you will certainly regret not wearing thick socks (if it's bloody cold outside). Unlike passengers it's pretty tricky to exercise your right foot when you're cruising at 80mph. Put winter mix in the screen wash, get new wiper blades, and check anti-freeze, tyres, etc. Do your headlights. Get European insurance/recovery, etc. Plan your route. Learn the phrases for unleaded (sans plombe), etc. Carry a wodge of cash in case your cards don't work or you get an on the spot fine. Pre-programme your car radio for Meribel (97.9 Mhz and 98.9 Mhz FM) - it may amuse the kids to see how soon they can receive it. |
#25
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Ski Trip from hell!
Crosbie Fitch wrote:
I've done the trip at least twice (to Meribel funnily enough). I'm in Lewes, so the times are probably comparable. I don't actually see what the problem is. It's not a humungous drive. Can be nasty if the weather socks in, but I've done London-Cap Ferrat in a day. -- Trophy 1200 750SS CB400F GN250 CD200 ST70 YTC#3 GAGARPHOF#30 GHPOTHUF#1 IHABWTJ#1 BOTAFOT#60 ANORAK#06 BOF#30 WUSS#5 "Worse than Timo" - Official |
#26
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Ski Trip from hell!
Just a point on Long Drives.
Austrian locals do not widely report deaths in there resorts (not good for business) but it is quite a well known statistic amongst them, that the majority of coronaries there resort medics have to deal with are Germans who have jumped in there cars after work on Friday & driven 6-10hrs & then gone out skiing straight away . Nigel The Older Gentleman wrote: Crosbie Fitch wrote: I've done the trip at least twice (to Meribel funnily enough). I'm in Lewes, so the times are probably comparable. I don't actually see what the problem is. It's not a humungous drive. Can be nasty if the weather socks in, but I've done London-Cap Ferrat in a day. |
#27
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Ski Trip from hell!
I thank u sir,
Been to 3 vallee many times and love it, yes meribel can be a bit ...... but as a family we'll give it a wide berth! My wife and children are adorable really. "VisionSet" wrote in message ... "helloblondie" wrote in message ... Good idea Rob but if i go by train i'll subject all u nice people 2 "the family from hell" ( i like that one ). If you are "the family from hell" then Meribel is the right place to go! You are very thoughtful ;-) -- Mike W |
#28
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Ski Trip from hell!
On Mon, 10 Nov 2003 19:12:28 -0000, "helloblondie"
wrote: "Ace" wrote in message .. . On Mon, 10 Nov 2003 17:43:29 -0000, "helloblondie" wrote: chains "full lock" does that mean u need them on the front wheels as well? They'll go on the driven wheels, whichever they are. thx, that's what i thought, i have a rear wheel drive car. Also do u drive with all the driving aids on or off? When i was driving up 'untreated' hills in London during freak snow in january i seemed to do better with aids off. Or will this just not be an issue with snow chains? by driving aids i mean traction control, dynamic stability control etc. I can't imagine why you'd want to turn traction control _off_ for snowy conditions (and the others would be largely irrelevant at low speeds anyway). The first, and only, time I was in a 4-wheel slide in the volvo, before I had snow tyres, the only thing that saved me was the combination of ABS and TCS, when a quick tap on the brakes locked and released the wheels, suddenly allowing them to drive me out of trouble. 4wd probably helped too. BTW, your posting style is getting really irritating. Do us a favour and learn to write proper words, could you? And preferably below the text to which you're replying, snipping irrelevant stuff and signatures. Makes it a lot easier to read. Ta. -- Ace (bruce dot rogers at roche dot com) 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. |
#29
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Ski Trip from hell!
On Tue, 11 Nov 2003 07:42:36 +0000,
(The Older Gentleman) wrote: Crosbie Fitch wrote: I've done the trip at least twice (to Meribel funnily enough). I'm in Lewes, so the times are probably comparable. I don't actually see what the problem is. Kids in the car, I read. Not something I'd like to have experience of. It's not a humungous drive. Can be nasty if the weather socks in, but I've done London-Cap Ferrat in a day. My best was Milton Keynes - Tignes in 12 hours. And it was ****ing down (rain, then snow) for the last three so I was only doing 60 tops, even on the autoroute. -- Ace (bruce dot rogers at roche dot com) 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. |
#30
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Ski Trip from hell!
Thx 4 that cheery stat nigel! I'm not german and i am travelling during the
Holidays. And to be honest a 10-12 hour drive is a walk in the park for me and indeed my car. The children may protest a little tho' "Nigel (Remove NOSPAM)" wrote in message ... Just a point on Long Drives. Austrian locals do not widely report deaths in there resorts (not good for business) but it is quite a well known statistic amongst them, that the majority of coronaries there resort medics have to deal with are Germans who have jumped in there cars after work on Friday & driven 6-10hrs & then gone out skiing straight away . Nigel The Older Gentleman wrote: Crosbie Fitch wrote: I've done the trip at least twice (to Meribel funnily enough). I'm in Lewes, so the times are probably comparable. I don't actually see what the problem is. It's not a humungous drive. Can be nasty if the weather socks in, but I've done London-Cap Ferrat in a day. |
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